Review Hotspot Shield: The fastest VPN available with proprietary technology

Hotspot Shield provides an interesting service based on its own technology, to provide a lightning-fast experience, while protecting the identity of the user. Therefore, Hotspot Shield offers very fast download and upload speeds, although it only operates on a medium-sized server network. The following is a detailed review of Hotspot Shield for your reference reading.

Host and location

Hotspot Shield operates a medium-sized network, with its servers located in nearly 100 locations in over 70 countries. From the list on the website, you can see that the servers are spread out everywhere, with about 20 servers in the United States. The company also provides more than 2,500 personal IP addresses.

Communication

Hotspot Shield provides applications for all popular platforms - namely macOS, Windows, iOS and Android. Linux applications are not available, while router support is available but not easy to set up. Streaming boxes and game consoles are also not supported.

On the other hand, browser extensions are available and - like the main application - very easy to use. Hotspot Shield works with Chrome and Firefox browsers.

A single license allows you to run Hotspot Shield on up to 5 devices and you don't need to set it up on your router.

Speed

Hotspot Shield is one of the fastest VPN services available, with quite a few tested servers offering fast download and upload speeds and low latency. Whether you need a VPN to stream, torrent or play games, you'll be pleased with Hotspot Shield.

Because the company does not have more servers than some competing services, this speed is related to the selected server locations and Hotspot Shield's proprietary protocol. In any case, if connection speed is the main criterion for choosing a VPN service, you won't have trouble with Hotspot Shield.

Security and privacy

Instead of using standard protocols like OpenVPN, Hotspot Shield chooses its own proprietary Catapult Hydra protocol. You cannot even change it into something else.

While this may sound limited, it's important to know that this VPN protocol is integrated by 70% of the world's largest security companies (e.g. McAfee, BitDefender, Cheetah Mobile) as well as a few companies. global telecommunications (like Telefonica, KDDI) and have passed many security checks. In addition, this technology makes Hotspot Shield one of the fastest VPNs on the market.

What you need to know is that Hotspot Shield uses unbreakable AES-256 encryption, also used by the NSA to communicate securely. The software also has a kill switch VPN, which protects users from DNS and IPv6 leaks.

Hotspot Shield has a log, but does not collect too much information. It will keep the IP address for the duration of the session, but the information is encrypted and is not associated with your activity while using the VPN.

In addition, when opening the application - but before connecting to the VPN - Hotspot Shield will collect device-specific information, such as device ID, hardware model, operating system version, language, and information. network news. This data will help the company improve the service and perform the analysis. In addition, they are unlikely to lead to Hotspot Shield identifying you as an individual user.

The most important thing you need to know is that no user activity is recorded.

Easy to use

Hotspot Shield applications are one of the easiest to use options, even new ones will have no trouble installing them on phones and computers. However, this simplicity can make advanced users yearn to have more choices. The company believes that its own protocol is the best available and the default setting doesn't have much room for advanced settings.

In addition to desktop and mobile applications, Hotspot Shield also provides browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox, which are equally easy to use. Just install them on your computer, log in and let them do the task in the background.

Support

The first thing to check with any VPN service is whether it offers 24/7 live chat support, and the good news is that that's true for Hotspot Shield. Moreover, this support is available to both paid and free customers.

Stream & torrent

Streaming with Hotspot Shield with all services like Netflix, Hulu, HBO and BBC iPlayer provides a buffer-free experience (temporarily storing data while waiting to be moved to a location). other).

Moreover, you won't have trouble choosing a server, Hotspot Shield will do this for you.

Similar to streaming, torrents also work, without having to choose a dedicated server for P2P traffic and all servers that allow you to download / upload files via BitTorrent. You can expect fast download and upload speeds, and enjoy a buffer-free streaming experience via Kodi (works via BitTorrent).

Skip moderation

Hotspot Shield does not work in highly censored countries, such as Pakistan, Iran, Oman, Qatar and China. So if you're looking for a VPN that will work in these places, you'll have to find another service.

A few more info

Unlike all other major VPN providers, Hotspot Shield has a free version (though there is a catch). First you will receive ads. In addition, unlimited bandwidth is not included in this package. When the VPN is up and running, you will benefit as paying customers.

Perhaps Hotspot Shield wants to help more users try their services, then buy paid products later.

Price

Hotspot Shield accepts all major credit cards as well as PayPal, but does not allow payment by cryptocurrency.

The service regularly runs promotions, offers a free 7-day trial, and then automatically renews for 1 month. For better benefits, it is better to sign up for a 1 or 3 year plan. Hotspot Shield also offers a 45-day money-back guarantee.

PlanPremium Price Amount to pay Savings 1 month $ 12.99 (VND 299,000) $ 12.99 1 year $ 5.99 (138,000 VND) $ 71.88 (1,653,000 VND) 54% saving 3 years $ 2.99 (69,000 VND) $ 107,64 (2,475,000 VND) Saving 77%

Conclude