- Quick specs
- Price: Free
- Operating system: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7
- Date added: January 17, 2010
- Total Downloads: 2,777,106
- Downloads last week: 42,807
- See full specifications
- CNET editors' rating: stars
- Average user rating: stars out of 210 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.
More popular Encryption Software downloads
- 42,807 downloads 1. Hotspot Shield
- 41,529 downloads 2. RoboForm
- 32,872 downloads 3. Computer Use Reporter
- 7,727 downloads 4. Folder Lock
- 5,291 downloads 5. RAR Password Cracker
- See all Encryption Software downloads
User reviews
- Average user rating: 0 stars Not yet available
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
-
Showing 2 of 2 user reviewsSee all 2 user reviews
This software version | All versions -
Version: Hotspot Shield 1.37
Pros: I live in the UK but can watch hours of Hulu (or any other American site) for free.
Cons: Don't know what they're all whining about, I thought it was great
Summary: Download it!
-
Version: Hotspot Shield 1.37
Pros: get hulu sometimes
Cons: hulu catches me sometimes
Summary: I feel the internet should be open to everyone around the world
- See all 2 user reviews Write review
Submit your review
- See more CNET content tagged:
- AnchorFree Inc.,
- Hotspot Shield,
- Skype,
- control panel,
- freeware
Previous Versions:
