Earlier this year, a relatively unknown startup from Finland made a startling announcement: It had finally solved solid-state batteries.
Technology
Google issues warning on fake VPN apps
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Google is sounding the alarm for Android users after uncovering a wave of fake VPN apps that sneak malware onto phones and tablets. These dangerous apps pose as privacy tools but hide info stealers, banking trojans and remote access malware designed to loot personal data.
More people are relying on VPNs to protect their privacy, secure home networks and shield personal information while using public Wi-Fi. Attackers know this demand is growing. They use it to lure users into downloading convincing VPN lookalikes that contain hidden malware.
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Fake VPN apps are spreading across Android devices by posing as trusted privacy tools. (iStock)
How fake VPN apps lure users
Cybercriminals create malicious VPN apps that impersonate trusted brands. They use sexually suggestive ads, geopolitical headlines or fake privacy claims to push people into quick downloads. Google says many of these campaigns run across app stores and shady websites.
DELETE THE FAKE VPN APP STEALING ANDROID USERS’ MONEY
Once installed, these apps inject malware that steals passwords, messages and financial details. Attackers can hijack accounts, drain bank balances or lock devices with ransomware. Some campaigns even use professional ad creatives and influencer-style promotions to appear legitimate.
Scammers now use AI tools to design ads, phishing pages and fake brands with alarming speed. This gives them the power to reach large groups of victims with very little effort.
Why malicious VPN apps are spreading
Fake VPN apps remain one of the most effective tools for attackers. These apps request sensitive permissions and often run silently in the background. Once active, they can collect browsing data, cryptocurrency wallet details or private messages.
According to Google, the most dangerous apps pretend to be known enterprise VPNs or premium privacy tools. Many promote themselves through adult ads, push notifications and cloned social media accounts.
How to recognize a genuine VPN app
Google recommends installing VPN services only from trusted sources. In Google Play, legitimate VPNs include a verified VPN badge to show that the app passed an authenticity check.
A real VPN will never ask for access to your contacts, photos or private messages. It will not ask you to sideload updates or follow outside links for installation.
Be careful with free VPN claims. Many free privacy tools rely on excessive data collection or hide malware inside downloadable files.
Ways to stay safe from fake VPN apps
Staying ahead of these fake VPN scams starts with a few smart habits that make your device much harder for attackers to target.
1) Download only from official app stores
Stick to the Google Play Store. Avoid links from ads, pop-ups or messages that try to rush you. Many fake VPN campaigns depend on off-platform downloads because they cannot pass the Play Store security checks.
2) Look for the VPN badge in Google Play
Google now includes a special VPN badge that verifies an app has passed an authenticity review. This badge confirms that the developer followed strict guidelines and that the app went through additional screening.
If you want a reliable VPN that has already been vetted for security and performance, see my expert review of the best VPNs for browsing the web privately on your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices at Cyberguy.com.
3) Use a data removal service
Malicious VPN apps often target information already floating around the web, including your email, phone number and personal details exposed through data brokers. A trusted data removal service can help pull your information from people-search sites and broker databases, which reduces the amount of data scammers can use against you. This limits the damage if a fake VPN app steals your info or if attackers try to match stolen data with public records to build convincing scams.
CAN YOU BE TRACKED WHEN USING A VPN?
While no service can guarantee the complete removal of your data from the internet, a data removal service is really a smart choice. They aren’t cheap, and neither is your privacy. These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites. It’s what gives me peace of mind and has proven to be the most effective way to erase your personal data from the internet. By limiting the information available, you reduce the risk of scammers cross-referencing data from breaches with information they might find on the dark web, making it harder for them to target you.
Once installed, these lookalike VPN apps steal passwords, messages and financial details. (iStock)
Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com
Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web: Cyberguy.com
4) Turn on Google Play Protect and use a strong antivirus software
Google Play Protect, which is built-in malware protection for Android devices, automatically removes known malware. However, it is important to note that Google Play Protect may not be enough. Historically, it isn’t 100% foolproof at removing all emerging malware from Android devices.
Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer
How to turn it on: Open Google Play Store → Tap your profile icon → Select Play Protect → Tap Settings → Turn on Scan apps with Play Protect → Turn on Improve harmful app detection.
While Google Play Protect offers a helpful first layer of defense, it is not a full antivirus. A strong antivirus software adds another layer of protection. It can block malicious downloads, detect hidden malware and warn you when an app acts in unusual ways. The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe.
Get my picks for the best 2025 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices at Cyberguy.com
5) Review app permissions carefully
A genuine VPN only needs network-related permissions. If a VPN asks for access to photos, contacts or messages, treat it as a major warning sign. Restrict permissions when possible.
6) Avoid sideloading apps from unknown sources
Sideloaded apps bypass Google’s security filters. Attackers often hide malware inside APK files or update prompts that promise extra features. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, sideloading means installing apps outside the Google Play Store, usually by downloading a file from a website, email or message. These apps never go through Google’s safety checks, which makes them far riskier to install.
7) Watch for aggressive ads and scare tactics
Fake VPN ads often claim your device is already infected or that your connection is not secure. Real privacy apps do not use panic-based marketing.
8) Research the developer before downloading
Look up the developer’s website and reviews. A legitimate VPN provider will have a clear privacy policy, customer support and a consistent history of app updates.
9) Be skeptical of anything labeled free
Free VPNs often rely on risky data practices or hide malware. If a service promises premium features at no cost, question how it pays its bills.
DO YOU NEED A VPN AT HOME? HERE ARE 10 REASONS YOU DO
10) Avoid recovery scams after an attack
If someone contacts you claiming they can recover stolen money, cut contact. Real agencies never demand upfront fees and never request remote access to your device.
11) Keep your device updated
Install security patches as soon as they appear. Updates protect your phone from malware strains that rely on old software vulnerabilities.
Scammers now use AI-generated ads and fake brands to trick you into quick downloads. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
Kurt’s key takeaways
Fake VPN apps are becoming a major threat to Android users as scammers exploit the rising demand for privacy tools and home network security. Attackers hide behind familiar logos, aggressive ads and AI-powered campaigns to push apps that steal data the moment you install them. Staying safe requires careful downloading habits, attention to permissions and a healthy amount of skepticism toward anything that claims instant privacy or premium features for free.
Do you think Google should do more to block fake VPN apps in the Play Store? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com
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Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy Report Get my best tech tips, urgent security alerts, and exclusive deals delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide — free when you join my CYBERGUY.COM newsletter
Copyright 2025 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.
Not only that, but Donut Lab, a spinoff of Verge Motorcycles, said that its solid-state battery — long considered the “Holy Grail of batteries” for their high-density, durable, fast-charging abilities — would go into production later this year.
Battery experts were understandably skeptical. After all, solid-state batteries are one of those technologies, along with artificial general intelligence and the hyperloop, that seem perpetually two years away. And while most legitimate efforts in this field — whether academic or commercial — have some level of published research or recognizable names attached, Donut Lab seemed to have emerged out of nowhere, with no known researchers or prior presence in the field. This lack of traceability immediately raised concerns about the startup’s credibility.
“I can’t say they didn’t do it,” said Eric Wachsman, the director of the Maryland Energy Innovation Institute and an expert on solid-state batteries and solid oxide fuel cells. “All I can say is they haven’t demonstrated that they have.”
The skepticism seems warranted, especially when you consider how many other people have been chasing the solid-state dream. Were we really to believe this obscure startup had beaten Toyota, Stellantis, and the entire nation of China to the punch? The odds were against it.
Donut Lab seemed to anticipate the doubt, launching a website last February called idonutbelieve.com that would serve as a platform to publish independent tests verifying that, in fact, its solid-state battery was real, and spectacular. Over the course of several weeks, the startup posted third-party results from state-owned VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland that it said proved its battery was what it said it was: a fast-charging, high-energy-density solid-state battery that wasn’t actually a supercapacitor in disguise.
“The resistance won’t disappear when we present the proof,” Donut Lab CEO and cofounder Marko Lehtimäki said in a video. “It will just intensify because this new technology is a threat to the established players in the industry.”
But Donut Lab is still hiding the ball on some key information. At CES in January, the startup said its solid-state battery has an energy density of 400Wh per kilogram—roughly twice that of typical lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries in production. Not only that, but it could charge to full in five minutes, had a practically unlimited lifespan of 100,000 charging cycles, was unaffected by heat and cold (negative 30 degrees Celsius and 100C), and contains no rare earth elements, precious metals, or flammable liquid electrolytes.
Much of that remains unsubstantiated. Even after posting five independent test reports from VTT, the startup has yet to demonstrate three of the most important metrics: chemistry, density, and cycle-life claims.
The stakes are incredibly high. Imagine an electric vehicle that can travel 700–800 miles on a single charge, and that wasn’t at risk of bursting into flames because the flammable electrolytes had been replaced with a solid material.
In lithium-ion batteries, the motion of the liquid electrolytes generates heat, and in certain situations, this can slip into a “thermal runaway” effect that results in a fire. By comparison, solid-state batteries would make it safer to quickly draw power from (or add it back to) the battery, meaning you could theoretically charge an EV faster. It also could mean, structurally, less room has to be devoted to temperature control, which could allow companies to squeeze more battery cells into the same size pack.
After reviewing the tests of the Donut battery, Wachsman said there are still significant concerns. During the extreme heat tests, for example, the pouch surrounding Donut’s battery lost its vacuum seal. Gas generation inside batteries — caused by processes like electrolyte decomposition or oxygen release — can lead to swelling and rupture of the battery pouch. But without knowing the exact chemistry of the cell, it’s difficult to say how significant it is that Donut’s battery had this failure.
Setting aside the Donut battery for a moment, solid-state batteries have struggled to graduate from the laboratory to the assembly line because of well-documented problems. These batteries are often plagued by the formation of metallic cracks called dendrites that cause them to short circuit. Think of them like cracks that form on a sidewalk when a tree root grows underneath.
Dendrites have been a thorn in the side of battery developers since the 1970s. One reason lithium-ion batteries have become ubiquitous while other approaches have stalled is that their commonly used graphite anodes are less susceptible to dendrite formation.
But new discoveries could help engineers finally overcome these hurdles. A research team from MIT recently published a study in Nature that found that chemical reactions caused by high electrical currents that weaken the electrolyte also make it more susceptible to dendrite growth. That’s why developing stronger electrolytes alone hasn’t solved the decades-old dendrite problem. And it could point to the importance of developing more chemically stable materials to finally fulfill the promise of solid-state batteries.
Progress is already being made — where else? — in China. Last month, CATL, which controls nearly 40 percent of the global battery market, filed a patent application for solid-state batteries with a reported 500Wh energy density. According to CarNewsChina, the battery maker has already been planning small-scale production in 2027. But automotive-grade cells won’t be ready likely until the end of the decade.
Other Chinese companies are rushing ahead. Automaker FAW said recently that its “liquid-solid-state” lithium-rich manganese cell with 500Wh/kg was ready for vehicle integration.
China is already laying the groundwork for mass production by the end of the decade, by which point it hopes the technology will be mature. And why wouldn’t it? This is a country that has taken EVs and battery development seriously for years, allowing it to corner the market on much of the world’s supply.
Different companies are taking different approaches. For example, Honda is committed to sulfur-based electrolytes despite emerging alternatives. Last October, Toyota announced “the world’s first practical use of all-solid-state batteries in BEVs” by 2027 or 2028. And Mercedes, using a prototype battery from startup Factorial, was able to get an electric EQS sedan a real-world range of 749 miles.
“The companies probably have a ways to go,” said Alevtina Smirnova, director of the NSF Industry-University Cooperative Research Center for Solid-State Electric Power Storage. “Because there is no comparison to what is happening now in China to what is happening here in the US.”
For its part, Donut Lab is unperturbed by the skepticism around its claims. On April 1st, Lehtimäki posted a new video addressing some of the controversy surrounding its solid-state batteries. He also revealed that Donut Lab had created a second, more production-ready version of its battery that would start shipping to customers later this year.
There was a crucial admission: The widely discussed “100,000 cycles” figure was a design target, he said, not an experimentally verified result. Actual testing has been conducted over shorter cycles, with projections extrapolated based on known variables such as charge rate, temperature, and usage conditions.
He then pivoted to a more near-term project: Donut Lab’s latest merch drop, including a “tin-foil”-covered bucket hat.
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A worker stocks merchandise at a Lowe’s home improvement store in Chicago, Illinois, on Feb. 26, 2025. Lowe’s reported fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded Wall Street estimates. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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HAMMERING IT HOME: Lowe’s CEO warns AI can’t climb a ladder as company makes $250M bet on blue-collar future – The CEO of Lowe’s highlighted the physical limitations of artificial intelligence, noting that AI “can’t climb a ladder,” while simultaneously announcing the home improvement company’s massive $250 million investment focused on the future of blue-collar work.
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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has struggled for years to have enough air traffic controllers to address shortages, with the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) saying in January that the number of people in the job in the US has declined by around 6 percent “in the last decade.” Now the Trump administration is rolling out a recruiting campaign targeting gamers ahead of the opening of the annual air traffic control hiring window on April 17th.
Even with the campaign, getting qualified individuals through training and into the role may still be a challenge: according to the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), the FAA is facing “considerable challenges with training, including a shortage of qualified instructors, training capacity limitations, an outdated curriculum, and high training failure rates.”
An FAA video full of clips of things like Madden NFL, Fortnite, League of Legends esports, and the Xbox One stinger from commercials promises an average salary of $155,000 per year after three years and says that “you’ve been training for this.”
In a press release, the FAA says that air traffic controllers said in exit interviews that gaming was an influence on “their ability to think quickly, stay focused, and manage complexity.” The FAA’s website about the application process encourages applicants to “level up” their career. However, the Trump administration isn’t the first to target gamers for the role; according to The New York Times, the Biden administration launched a “Level Up” recruiting push in 2021, encouraging gamers as well as women and members of minority groups to become air traffic controllers.
Getting more air traffic controllers has been a focus for Sean Duffy, President Trump’s secretary of transportation, and he announced a plan to “supercharge” hiring shortly after he was sworn in for the job last year. That campaign closed in March 2025 and “attracted more than 10,000 applications,” resulting in about 600 trainees entering the Controller Training Academy, the OIG says. And the GAO says that some attrition during the air traffic controller hiring process “may be preventable,” noting that the hiring process can be “difficult to navigate” and that applicants may have already accepted other jobs by the time they get an employment offer.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), the union representing air traffic controllers, “welcomes innovative approaches to expanding the candidate pool,” including “outreach to individuals with high-level aptitude skills such as gamers,” according to a statement from NATCA president Nick Daniels.
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