If you have Brave Browser on your devices, then you may also have Brave VPN services installed. Brave installs these services without user consent on Windows devices.
Brave Firewall + VPN is an additional service that Brave users can subscribe to for a monthly fee. Launched in mid-2022, it is a collaboration between Brave Software, maker of Brave Browser, and Guardian, the company that manages VPN and Firewall services. Both services cost a total of $9,99 per month.
A Publication in the Privacy Guides states that Brave Browser installs the VPN Service without the user's consent regardless of whether VPN is being used or has been used in the past.
You can check your computer easily by following these steps:
Use Windows-R to open RUN.
Type services.msc to open the Services Manager in Windows. Alternatively you can simply search for the term services.
Scroll down until you reach the Brave section.
Check for Brave VPN Service and Brave VPN Wireguard Service.
If they are, Brave has installed the services on your device. If you had never signed up for Brave Firewall + VPN, Brave did so on its own without your consent.
The two services have no description and the company does not give any explanation as to why these services were installed on the system.
Of course you can disable them by following the steps below.
Right-click one of the services and select Properties.
Change the startup type from Manual to Disabled.
Repeat the process for the second service.
George is still wondering what he is doing here….
