What makes Hotspot Shield special?
HS is like the free (usually also ad-based) browser proxy services you can find via any web search, but with some important pluses: HS uses a sophisticated discovery system to unfailingly find and open a path to the content you want to access; because HS is a VPN (virtual private network), it proxies to the HS server all your internet usage (not just browsing, like browser proxies or UltraSurf); HS encrypts all your communications, so your government’s surveillance software can’t even see what sites you’re accessing, let alone see your traffic; and because HS is revenue-generating for its owner, it is supported by massive bandwidth, which makes it relatively fast (1mbps per user).
