Contact Information: Media Contact Tessa Greenwood or Sara Schulte LaunchSquad 415-625-8555 anchorfree(at)launchsquad(dot)com
AnchorFree's Online Privacy Tool Continues Explosive Growth in Wake of Increased Online Censorship
More Than 7.5 Million People Now Use Hotspot Shield Each Month to Surf an Uncensored and Secure Web
| Source: AnchorFree
SUNNYVALE, CA--(Marketwire - August 6, 2009) - With growing censorship and political
tensions around the world, an increasing number of Internet users are
turning to a free online privacy and security tool called Hotspot Shield to access the
Internet freely and safely. Developed by AnchorFree Inc. in 2005, Hotspot
Shield has seen its user base explode by 550 percent since 2008 and is now
serving more than 7.5 million monthly users across the globe, averaging
almost 30 million page views per day.
Hotspot Shield is a free ad-supported virtual private network (VPN) that
guarantees its users complete privacy and security online. Available on
desktop computers, laptops and iPhones, it establishes a secure tunnel
between a user's computer and Internet connection, encrypting entire Web
sessions to keep IP addresses protected and the user anonymous. As a
result, third party Web sites and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) cannot
block or censor Internet content, and therefore cannot track any
information exchanged by the individual online.
"Hotspot Shield has perhaps become the biggest disruptor of censorship in
the world, enabling anyone to access the Web freely and securely," said
AnchorFree Founder and CEO David Gorodyansky. "Many of our users are in
countries where individual efforts to thwart governmental censorship online
have recently been thrown into the spotlight. We are playing an important
role in opening the Web and allowing people to access sites like Twitter
and Facebook in order to share their stories with the world."
Providing Internet Access Abroad
When Hotspot Shield is downloaded and enabled, all Web activity is
immediately encrypted, and the user's identity becomes anonymous. This
opens the Web to users in emerging regions where content is censored and
enables complete freedom to access information online without any
geographical barriers. As a result, no matter where users are in the world,
they can enable Hotspot Shield to access Twitter, YouTube, Google and all
other Internet sites as if they were inside the USA.
As Internet content has continued to be censored in many regions, Hotspot
Shield has experienced massive growth in emerging regions, such as the
United Arab Emirates, Iran, Thailand, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and
China; eighty-five percent of these Hotspot Shield users are
English-speaking.
Hotspot Shield's growth worldwide has fueled a significant increase in
traffic flow and revenue to many prominent Web sites often prohibited
overseas, including Google, Orkut, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook, as well
as news sites such as BBC, FOX and CNN. For example, Hotspot Shield
currently brings 800,000 users per month onto YouTube in regions where it
is blocked, and about 500,000 users per month globally onto Facebook.
Keeping the Web Secure
In addition to allowing Internet access abroad, Hotspot Shield also
prevents potential security breaches at home or on public Internet
networks. Many Hotspot Shield users in the United States use the tool to
secure their Wi-Fi connections at airports, hotels or coffee shops, as well
as to secure online shopping or financial transactions.
Many users also use Hotspot Shield to prevent Web sites, ISPs and search
engines from tracking online activity, thus eliminating any concern over
the ever-thinning line between privacy and invasive targeting techniques
online.
About AnchorFree and Hotspot Shield
AnchorFree enables millions of
users globally to surf the Web freely and securely through Hotspot Shield, the world's first
and most popular ad-supported virtual private network. More than 7.5
million monthly users in 190 countries rely on Hotspot Shield to secure
their Web browsing experience, proliferating freedom of information online
and democratizing the Web. It is the only free way to ensure privacy and
total anonymity online on desktop computers, laptops and iPhones. Hotspot
Shield is powered by AnchorFree's proprietary communication platform that
enables marketers to distribute ad campaigns, messaging and content to
millions of users, totaling almost one billion page views every month.
AnchorFree is a privately held company with more than $11 million in
financing and is based in Sunnyvale, California. For more information or to
download Hotspot Shield, please visit www.anchorfree.com.