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- Quick specs
- Price: Free
- Operating system: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7
- Date added: January 17, 2010
- Total Downloads: 2,982,821
- Downloads last week: 40,998
- See full specifications
- CNET editors' rating: stars
- Average user rating: stars out of 216 votes
See all user reviews
CNET editors' review
Reviewed by: Seth Rosenblatt on February 18, 2009
This freeware program promises to encrypt all your Internet connections, but since most public wi-fi access points in the U.S. are open, it's a bit hard to gauge Hotspot Shield's effectiveness. However, the connection itself is a bit wonky.
Once the program is installed, it creates an HTML link on your desktop. Double-clicking on it will open the application in your Web browser, and you'll be taken to a page detailing your Connection Status, IP Address, Server Address, Bytes sent and received, and the duration of the connection. Hotspot Shield is ad supported, so you'll get a big banner ad that lives at the top of every Web page, too. Closing the tab with the app's control panel doesn't disconnect the shield, though: for that, or to reload the control panel, you have to go through the green shield icon that gets loaded into your system tray. Also, there's a 5 GB transfer limit.
Overall, we can't give Hotspot Shield a strong recommendation, but as a last resort it might be worth trying out.
Publisher's description
From AnchorFree :Hotspot Shield protects you online and lets you access the information you need. Join 7+ million users in 100+ countries who use Hotspot Shield everyday to: 1. Access blocked services like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Skype in countries where internet is censored. 2. Keep hackers from stealing personal information while users are browsing internet on public locations like Starbucks. 3. Browse internet privately. Hotspot Shield is the most stable and the only 100% free VPN tool in the world with no bandwidth limit and it does not slow down the Internet speed. Hotspot Shield does all of this without collecting, let alone making use of, any information on your personal identity.
What's new in this version:
Version 1.37 has higher speed and better anti-blocking technology.
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User reviews
- Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 216 votes
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
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Showing 5 of 8 user reviewsSee all 8 user reviews
This software version | All versions -
Version: Hotspot Shield 1.37
Pros: Fast to install and easy to use
Cons: Not many. There is a slight slowdown in throughput and some occasionally nagging advertising, but nothing worh complaining about.
Summary: A few people have tried to do this sort of thing in the past, with mixed results. There was usually a vague sense of unease about who was 'behind the curtain,' or else it was difficult for the average person to use. Hotspot Shield seems to have gott... read more >>
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Version: Hotspot Shield 1.37
"Worked fine for 7 months, then things went downhill."
Pros: Easy, functional.
Cons: Vulnerable to nasties over time.
Summary: I'm out of the country on an extended assignment, and my "foreign" IP address was preventing me from enjoying some of my favorite sites, blocked in countries outside the US, Pandora, Hulu, (Google voice and Google analytics, for registrations only).... read more >>
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Version: Hotspot Shield 1.37
"It worked but not for what I wanted to use it for."
Pros: Easy to install and uninstall lol
Cons: could not access US based hulu.com because I was using a proxy server(Hotspot Shield) and might not be in the US
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1 out of 1 people found this review helpful
Version: Hotspot Shield 1.37
"It allows the viewing of sites from anywhere."
Pros: It does as advertised, it allows you access sites that are blocked from outside the US. Having to deal with the adds is not a big deal, especially as this was made clear before the download.
Cons: There are times when you enter some info it takes you to a different site which forces you to have to enter the information all over or when you are trying to stream something it does the same thing.
Summary: I think it is great, I travel outside the us and have been frustrated far too often when trying to access sites that get blocked. The editor comment about using it as a last resort gave me a laugh. There is no other resort that I could find. Proxy s... read more >>
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1 out of 1 people found this review helpful
Version: Hotspot Shield 1.37
"finally a browser which is easy and works"
Pros: fast and easy to install. Works right form the get go :)
I tried sooo many browers here in the land of blocked URLs, and none worked.
This one works.Cons: none yet seems okay
Summary: if you are in the land of blocked url's then this is for you
- See all 8 user reviews Write review
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