How can I protect myself from IP leaks caused by Flash or WebRTC?

While ZenMate VPN extension hides your IP address for browser traffic, it cannot prevent IP leaks caused by the Flash Player, and WebRTC is a well-known security threat for all VPNs. But don’t worry, there are ways to get around these issues.

• For the Flash Player issue 
• On Firefox
• On Chrome
• For the WebRTC issue 

Flash Player

Flash Player is a very old technology which is known to potentially cause security vulnerabilities. As Flash operates outside of your browser it is not covered by browser extensions. The easiest and most reliable solution is to use the ZenMate VPN clients for Windows and Mac OS X, as they secure your entire desktop.

If your device isn’t compatible with the desktop clients, or you prefer to use ZenMate VPN extension, we advise you to use the free browser extension "FlashControl" in addition to ZenMate VPN to let you control when Flash Player is used or not.

Alternatively, you can block Flash Player directly via your browser settings. Please see below for further instructions as to how to do this.

Firefox:

1. Ensure that Flash Player is installed. Visit the Adobe Flash Player Download Center to download the latest version.
2. Go to about:addons > “Plugins”
3. Scroll down to “Shockwave Flash” and select “Ask, to activate”
4. Test it on http://whoer.net/extended. If the result for “Flash” is “N/A” your Flash Player cannot leak your IP anymore. Good Job!
   
   

Chrome

1. Ensure that Flash Player is installed. Visit the Adobe Flash Player Download Center to download the latest version.
2. Open “Content settings” in the Privacy section of your advanced browser settings (copy chrome://settings/content in your browser address bar).
3. Scroll down to “Plug-Ins” and select “Click-to-Play” and save the changes.
4. Test it on http://whoer.net/extended. If the result for “Flash” is “N/A” your Flash Player cannot leak your IP anymore. Good Job!

WebRTC

WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) is a technology intended for browser-to-browser communication. It allows the development of applications that are native to the browser. In general, this means they are safer, but unfortunately, this technique also allows pages to send requests to the so-called 'STUN servers', which will return your local and your public IP addresses.

ZenMate VPN browser extension has the built-in feature, WebRTC Protect, which, when enabled, ensures your anonymity by completely deactivate WebRTC. 

How to enable WebRTC Protect:

1. Left click on the ZenMate icon in the corner of your browser window
2. Go to ‘Settings’ and find ‘WebRTC Protect’
3. Switch the toggle to ‘ON’
4. As this changes the behaviour of the extension, you might be asked again by your browser to allow the extension to edit your privacy settings.
5. You are now fully protected against WebRTC leaks!

(If you don't have the ZenMate VPN browser extension installed, you can use the separate Chrome extension, ZenMate WebRTC Protect, to disable WebRTC.)

Test the protection:

To confirm that you are protected, please perform this test: https://diafygi.github.io/webrtc-ips/

To pass the test, your public IP address should be either your current ZenMate VPN proxy IP or not be visible as shown below: