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CNET Editors' review
Hotspot Shield - Maintain and protect your privacy - Download Video Previews
The bottom line: The Internet connection protector Hotspot Shield encrypts your traffic to protect you from all kinds of spying while your computer communicates with the rest of the world. It's a must-have utility for anybody who uses public Wi-Fi networks.
Review:
The Internet connection protector Hotspot Shield encrypts your traffic to protect you from all kinds of spying while your computer communicates with the rest of the world. It's a must-have utility for anybody who uses public Wi-Fi networks, but it's also an excellent tool for ensuring on any network connection that you can access sites and data according to your tastes, and nobody else's. Hotspot Shield's Virtual Private Network services are used by more than 10 million people at the time this review was written, according to the software publisher AnchorFree, making it the largest VPN in the world.
The browser-independent Hotspot Shield establishes an encrypted connection to the Hotspot Shield servers, and turns all HTTP traffic to the safer HTTPS. By rerouting Web traffic and providing you with a new IP address hosted by AnchorFree, the company is able to ensure that your data isn't plucked out of the open by man-in-the-middle attacks or wireless network spoofing.
Recent changes include automatic detection of Wi-Fi connections nearby, the ability to work on corporate networks, and no longer requiring administrative privileges to install.
In our tests, we noticed that sometimes the program would actually resolve pages faster than when connected without it. This occurs, most likely, because of the geographic location of the company's servers. During a day of hands-on testing on the notoriously pokey CNET public Wi-Fi network, we noticed that Hotspot Shield Elite was remarkably fast. There were no connection lags despite the rerouting, and the program admirably handled high-definition streaming videos from sites such as Vimeo, YouTube, and CNET TV. We'd recommend the program for improving the Wi-Fi speeds alone, nevermind the additional security benefits.
The free version of Hotspot Shield does come at a cost. The installation opts you into a toolbar, which redirects your default search and home page, and a desktop icon. Also, whenever you activate Hotspot Shield, it will open a new tab to AnchorFree.com and begin autoplaying a video. That's seriously annoying, even in a free product that offers such a valuable service. Still, the toolbars and redirects are optional.
Once installed, it appears as a red icon that turns to green when activated in both your system tray and in your browser. Clicking will toggle it on or off. Choosing the Properties option opens a window that tells you that you're connected. Hit the Details link to learn more about your connection, including the VPN IP address, amount of data sent in and out, and how long you've been connected. The data transfer rate makes for a useful, quick-and-dirty gauge for people with data caps.
Hotspot Shield's paid upgrade is called Elite, which runs ad-free and on faster servers. Elite costs $0.50 per 24-hour session, with a minimum $10 deposit, or $5 per month, or $29.99 per year. Payment options include credit card, PayPal, prepaid cash cards or mobile phone payments via premium SMS. Along with built-in site malware protection, Hotspot Shield Elite comes with tech support, preferential bandwidth priority (read: faster Internet speeds) and serves you no additional ads from AnchorFree.
The company has created multiple ways to circumvent download blockers in countries with strict censorship, too. If you can't access a Web page with the download, you can send an e-mail to win@anchorfree.com for the Windows version or mac@anchorfree.com for the Mac version, and the small installer file will be sent directly to you.
Note that although the Windows version number and the Mac version number don't match, AnchorFree says the features are the same.
Even with the installation shenanigans, we highly recommend Hotspot Shield for anybody concerned with privacy. In today's world, that ought to be anybody connecting a computer to the Internet.
Hotspot Shield - Maintain and protect your privacy - Download Video Previews:Publisher's Description
From AnchorFree:
With over 100 million downloads, Hotspot Shield is the world's most popular Virtual Private Network (VPN) that secures your browsing session, detects and blocks malicious websites, makes you private and anonymous online, and allows you to access any blocked content.
Hotspot Shield allows you to:
- Secure your Web session, data, online shopping, and personal information online with HTTPS encryption.
- Browse the Web anonymously and privately, without being tracked.
- Access any blocked content from school or office networks.
What's new in this version: Version 2.88 features Windows 8 performance improvements and maintenance.
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All versions:
3.0 starsout of 503 votes
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Current version:
2.8 starsout of 27 votes
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My rating:
Write review
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"Seems Fine..."
Version: Hotspot Shield 2.88
Pros
Changes your IP address and protect you worldwide.
Cons
Loads of Advertisement, Annoying Pop-Ups, Makes internet connection a lot slower (Slower than the Public WiFi).
Summary
It makes me want to buy their Elite Version because I've read a lot of good reviews about it.
It would be great if they add more features, remove ads, remove pop-ups, doesn't slows internet connections. -
"The invasive AD infusion worries me"
Version: Hotspot Shield 2.88
Pros
free, but you get what you pay for....AD frustration
Cons
HI I BECAME VERY WORRIED ABOUT HOTSPOT SHIELD WHEN I READ THEIR WEBSITE TERMS WHICH REVEALS THEY CAN INJECT OR OVERLAY ADS INTO MY BROWSED WEB PAGES...WOW, CAN'T THAT POSSIBLY OPEN A DOOR TO VIRUS??? WHO KNOWS WHAT THE AD HTML HIDES???
FOR THIS REASON, I WENT WITH OPENVPN PRIVATE TUNNEL, THEY HAVE NO ANNOYING ADS!!! -
"seems good so far"
Version: Hotspot Shield 2.88
Pros
This is the first proxy type program that I have managed to run successfully on my windows 8 PC. Installation was easy and the free version seems to offer adequate protection The ability to turn it on and off from a small icon in the browser top bar is a really useful feature
Cons
If I wanted to use it all the time then I would find the adverts extremely annoying - as it is I mostly use it to watch videos available only in the US and once the video goes to full screen no ads visible - so for my purposes it is fine
Summary
as freeware goes it does what it says on the tin with the odd nice touch added. It is theoretically easy to set up proxies like this with completely freeware (ie no advertising) but for some reason they did not work on my windows pc so for me the advertising is a small price to pay
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"its an ok program"
Version: Hotspot Shield 2.88
Pros
works as it should
Cons
annoying ads keep popping up
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"Safer to know you are unprotected than to think you are"
Version: Hotspot Shield 2.88
Pros
It's free.
Cons
Ads and slow connection, but that's to be expected with a program like this.
There is no real way to tell if it's doing anything. Read my summary for an explanation.Summary
After installing I turned Hotspot Shield on and opened up Firefox (actually the program opened it up on its own). I wipe all the personal info and cookies from Firefox daily, so I went to a basic website what was taking a poll and voted.
Next I closed Firefox, turned off HotSpot Shield (, then HotSpot Shield reopened my Firefox, I closed it again), and I went into Chrome. Using Chrome I went to the same site to vote again, but the site was registering that I had voted.
This was not some kind of secure site and still HotSpot Shield could not mask my IP or my ID. Given that I have no guarantee that the program is doing anything.
It's safer to know that you are unprotected, than to think you are. -
"It does what I need"
Version: Hotspot Shield 2.88
Pros
Provides with Wi-Fi security which is great if are connected to a public internet hotspot. I also like to use it to get to US websites like Netflix and Pandora when I travel overseas.
Cons
Advertising.
Summary
It's free and it works fine.
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"Best way to protect your privacy"
Version: Hotspot Shield 2.88
Pros
Simple and intuitive. Provides security, privacy and access when I am travelling. Also has malware protection. Free.
Cons
none - this service rocks
Summary
It is the only way to access the internet to ensure you are secure and private.
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"Perfect for a business traveler like me"
Version: Hotspot Shield 2.88
Pros
I don't know why other people are giving poor reviews...but Hotspot Shield is a LIFESAVER! I travel often for work in Asia and I'm unable to get onto Facebook and my gmail account due to censorship issues in some countries. Using Hotspot Shield allowed me to check my Facebook and email..so 5 stars for this VPN!
Cons
It's a bit slow sometimes, but people have to realize that all VPNs WILL slow down your internet connection. Once you disconnect from a VPN, your internet will go back to it's normal speed. Other than that, I think this app works perfectly fine.
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"Something is wrong here"
Version: Hotspot Shield 2.88
Pros
Might eventually do what it says it does.
Cons
Can do some nasty damage to your system.
Summary
I got a BSOD towards the end of the install process, then after restarting I couldn't connect to the wifi any more. Uninstall took like half a second (weird), but I still have networking issues.
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"Kind of worthless"
Version: Hotspot Shield 2.88
Pros
none I can see
Cons
Intrusive program, lots of adds and slow connection, Spot flux is so much better, no comparison!
Summary
Just avoid this one
