Hotspot Shield
Safely access blocked and restricted sites
Hotspot Shield is a free program that allows you to
secure your connection while surfing WiFi hotspots and to access sites not normally available outside of the USA, like
Hulu and
Pandora.
What can you do with HotSpot Shield?
To secure your internet connection, Hotspot Shield creates a
Virtual Private Network (a secure connection, usually abbreviated to VPN) between your computer and the Hotspot Shield developer's website, Anchorfree, based in the USA. This connection makes websites think that you are based in the US.
The major reason why users are flocking to Hotspot Shield is because it allows you to view US websites that are usually restricted to people who don't live there. This is particularly useful for video sites such as
Hulu or region-restricted restricted videos on
YouTube.
Hotspot Shield now includes malware protection meaning that while using it, you shouldn't get infected by anything that may damage your system.
Is it easy to use?
Everything is done in an extra tab open in your browser, so there's no need to configure anything. A green and red shield in your system tray indicates when Hotspot Shield is or is not connected. The VPN is encrypted with 128 bit SSL encryption so you can surf safely without worrying about others intercepting your data.
Hotspot Shield generally works very well. It is ad-supported, however, and be warned that it tries to install a toolbar, although you can opt out of this. If you've got
Expat Shield installed, you'll also need to remove it before installing Hotspot Shield. Bear in mind that surfing with Hotspot Shield is noticeably slower than normal, but it's fine for
streaming video from video sites such as Hulu.
If you'd like an app that allows you to access other types of
blocked and banned sites, check out the rest of our VPNs and access apps
here.
Conclusion
Hotspot Shield is easy to install and a useful way of accessing sites and protecting your privacy.
Pros
- Secure connection
- Unrestricted US sites
- Easy installation
- Good streaming
- Unlimited data transfer
- Intrusive advertising
- Slow surfing
Benefits of Using Hotspot Shield
Secure WiFi Connection
Protect Internet connection and encrypt personal information so you can safely surf the web whether you are at home, work or in public.
Anonymous Browsing
Hotspot Shield VPN provides you with an easy and secure way to surf the Web anonymously and privately.
Unblock Proxy
Quickly access blocked and censored websites with Hotspot Shield VPN. Get safe access to social media, games and videos.
Get privacy protection, Wi-Fi security, unrestricted access to content, and much more
- Unblock websites
- Enjoy anonymous web browsing
- Get complete Wi-Fi security
- Protect your bank info, passwords & downloads
from snoopers
VPN Overview
VPN technology enables you to send encrypted data over previously unencrypted networks. Besides providing you with private and secure Web browsing, VPNs such as Hotspot Shield VPN provide many other important benefits. Compared to a
web proxy, VPN also offers much better security and privacy online.
Hotspot Shield VPN is the most trusted VPN in the world with over 200 million downloads. It is available for Mac, Windows, iPhone/iPad & Android devices.
Benefits of Hotspot Shield VPN
- Unblock websites - Unblock YouTube, unblock Facebook, unblock Twitter or sites at school, the library, or your office with Hotspot Shield VPN. You can bypass filters and firewalls set by your network administrator to gain access to your favorite content.
- Anonymous surfing - Because of privacy and security concerns, you may want to browse the Web anonymously. Hotspot Shield Free VPN creates an encrypted tunnel between your computer and our servers to let you conduct your online activities (visit the websites you want, make online transactions, download files) anonymously, without being tracked and spied upon.
- Hide your IP address - The Internet is infested with spammers, snoopers, and hackers. They silently monitor your online activities and steal your sensitive data like credit card information and passwords when you least expect it. If you connect with Hotspot Shield enabled, you get a new US IP address to mask your actual IP address and surf the Internet anonymously.
- Private & secure browsing - VPN offers an enhanced level of security online. Whenever you connect to the Internet through Hotspot Shield VPN, your data, including passwords, financial transactions and instant messages, is secured and encrypted. Additionally, your personal information is hidden from web spies.
- Wi-Fi security - If you browse the Internet at a public Wi-Fi hotspot like the Starbucks in your town, anyone on that network can monitor and spy on your web activities. Irrespective of where you connect from, a personal VPN secures your web browsing session and keeps your private data considerably more private.
- Malware protection - Hotspot Shield VPN will alert you if you visit sites that are known to contain malware, and then block the site. It detects and blocks more than 3.5 million malicious, phishing and spam sites from infecting your device.