Urgent Fraud Alert: New Site Scams Users Into Buying AnchorFree's Hotspot Shield, the World's First Free Virtual Private Network

SUNNYVALE, CA--(Marketwire - January 9, 2009) - AnchorFree has issued an official consumer warning regarding VPN4Life, a website that is selling AnchorFree's proprietary free Hotspot Shield download for a $50 price tag.

The VPN4Life website promises to, "... free the world from ISP monitoring, government restrictions and capitalism's growing influences," by offering a VPN download for a one-time payment of $50. However, once users make the payment, they are simply directed to AnchorFree's free Hotspot Shield service, which is always available to users around the world at no cost.

AnchorFree warns users to not fall victim to this scam, and wants consumers who have purchased Hotspot Shield through VPN4Life to know that they should immediately file a report with PayPal for a full refund.

"We want to make it very clear that AnchorFree and Hotspot Shield are in no way affiliated with VPN4Life," said David Gorodyansky, CEO and founder of AnchorFree. "We are saddened to learn that people have fallen prey to the site's false offers, and urge anyone who has been mislead to purchase our service through the site to file a complaint with PayPal for a full refund. The real Hotspot Shield will always be 100% free to download."

Hotspot Shield provides millions of people around the world with access to a secure and uncensored Internet. As the world's first free consumer VPN, Hotspot Shield allows users to surf the web, email contacts, conduct business, pay bills and shop online securely no matter where they are located. The application is currently used by millions of people across 190 countries, and saw a 500% increase in popularity in 2008 alone. In November 2008, AnchorFree launched Hotspot Shield for iPhone to provide the same standard of security for mobile users in any country where the iPhone is available.

To download the authentic Hotspot Shield application, which currently runs on Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Mac OS X (10.5 Leopard) and Mac OS X (10.4 Tiger), visit http://www.hotspotshield.com. The iPhone configuration is available at http://hotspotshield.com/clientless/iphone.

About AnchorFree

AnchorFree operates a global platform of wireless connectivity and user privacy tools. We enable millions of people to access the Internet through our connectivity services in over 190 countries worldwide from a variety of computing and handheld devices. Our flagship consumer privacy tool, Hotspot Shield, offers a free and easy way to ensure privacy, security, and total anonymity online while our broadband monetization platform converts standard networks (Wi-Fi or broadband) into revenue generating ones through advertising. A full description of our services can be accessed at http://www.anchorfree.com. Those interested in staying abreast of online privacy issues and news should visit The Privacy Cops blog at www.privacycops.net.

Contact Information: Media Contact: Melissa Biles or Tessa Greenwood LaunchSquad 415-625-8555 or anchorfree(at)launchsquad(dot)com