![]() Wait a second! Aren’t there free VPN services like OpenVPN you could use instead?Īh, if only. If it’s no big deal, you’re good to go and now have a nice new tool for when you really want to ensure that your data communication is safe. If you’ve used wifi at an airport, you’ve probably seen these sort of persistent ads before. As long as you can deal with a banner ad automatically being inserted on the top of every Web page: Or, of course, you can stick with the free version and sidestep the issue. Good data to know when comparing pay-as-you-go with their flat subscription fee model. If that’s of interest, I suggest you run the free version for a day and use the status information to gauge your daily bandwidth usage. This is important because one of the ways you can opt to pay for the Elite version is based on the amount of data you’re going to use on the “pipe”. Here’s what I was shown after a few minutes of use: Easy!Ĭheck how much data you’ve uploaded and downloaded at any time by clicking on “Status”. It takes a few seconds to establish a connection with the remote server, but after just a moment it’ll turn green and you can now proceed without any performance penalty or other ill effect. To switch your existing connection to be secure, choose “Connect”. If you are running Hotspot Shield, it’s green. Now there’s a tiny new icon on your menubar, a little shield with a crescent moon. It’s confusing, but this isn’t asking “do you want to create a VPN connection immediately upon starting up your computer?” but simply whether you want the utility itself to load when you boot up each time. Simply double-click on the installer icon and it’ll jump into action, no computer restart required. Grab the Mac version and you’ll find from the get-go that it’s a professional, well designed package: ![]() In both cases, the app includes the ability to block know malware sites, but in addition to removing the advertisement, the Elite version also blocks phishing sites and a faster backend server network (VPN requires software on both your computer and a server somewhere on the Internet, and encrypts the data between the two). There are two versions: Hotspot Shield, which includes a pop-up advert that you might or might not find annoying (I’ll show you the ad in a second) or Hotspot Shield Elite, which removes the ad but has a fee associated with it. When AnchorFree asked if we’d be interested at trying their easy VPN utility, Hotspot Shield, we were quick to assent: it’s a problem we know is important, we just haven’t paid attention to it.Įasy to download and install, you can get their client app for either Mac or Windows. If we wanted it to be public, after all, we’d be posting it on Facebook and Google Plus. It’s worrying, particularly if we’re working on confidential corporate documents or private communications with clients or partner companies. Works great and lowers our overhead, but there’s a problem: everywhere we work there are a dozen or more other computer geeks busily typing away on their laptops. Instead, we typically camp out at a favorite local café and imbibe lots of caffeine while tapping into a convenient free, open wifi network. People are often surprised that the entire Ask Dave Taylor operation runs without us having a formal suite of offices. ![]() Even better, you can either opt to use it for free - in return for a small advert popping up - or for a small fee you can subscribe to the service. Problem is, getting a VPN set up can be complex. Put one of these in place and dubious hackers and stalkers will always be stymied trying to “sniff” your data packets and all your information will be safe. There are a number of ways to solve this problem, some expensive (your own personal encrypted mifi hotspot) and others complicated (only connect online through your own private network), but there’s also a slick solution that automatically encrypts every single byte of data you send or receive by creating what’s called a virtual private network or “VPN”. Sure some sites now offer a secure connection, but there are a lot more sites that don’t, leaving it your responsibility to ensure that your information is safe. It’s a problem that few people talk about, but it’s real: when you’re using a wireless network, most of your data is traveling through the air “in the clear” (that is, unencrypted) and anyone with the right software could easily be tapping into the data stream and stealing your information, email messages, passwords, credit card numbers, and anything else you might be sending, viewing or receiving.
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