| What is Hotspot Shield? |
| How does it work? |
| Am I always protected when hotspot shield is active? |
| Which operating systems are supported by Hotspot Shield? |
| Does Hotspot Shield secure every page I visit? |
| Does Hotspot Shield have bandwidth limit? |
| Can my mobile device use Hotspot Shield? |
| How do I know that Hotspot Shield does not contain any virus or spyware? |
| What languages are supported? |
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| Installation and How to use |
| How do I install Hotspot Shield? |
| How do I connect? |
| How do I disconnect? |
| How do I use it after I install the software? |
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| Troubleshooting |
| I just downloaded and installed Hotspot Shield but it is not connecting. How can I fix it? |
| I cannot connect with Hotspot Shield while using my firewall software. Is there a way around it? |
| I have used Hotspot Shield for some time, but now I cannot connect. What should I do? |
| I am getting error message “cannot establish a connection with the server” in the browser tab. |
| I keep getting error about 127.0.0.0:895 after installing. |
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| Settings & Ads |
| Why do I see ads? |
| How do I close a banner on top of the page I’m currently looking at? |
| Is there a paid, ads free version of Hotspot Shield? |
| After installing, my home page has changed, how can I revert back to the old home page? |
| After installing, my search default has changed, how can I revert back to my previous search engine? |
| Why do I keep getting redirected to RSS or Ask page? |
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| Uninstall |
| How do I uninstall your Hotspot Shield Toolbar? |
| How do I uninstall Hotspot Shield? |
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| Getting Started |
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| What is Hotspot Shield? |
| Hotspot Shield is free software that allows users to:
a. Access blocked websites like Facebook & YouTube in countries where internet is censored
b. Browse Internet privately
c. Making internet connection secure |
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| How does it work? |
| Hotspot Shield is designed to be a complete security package. Using 128 bit encryption, we send everything over a secure tunnel, protecting traffic between the users and our VPN server so no one in-between can snoop into what's going on. For wireless devices, the most critical issue that Hotspot Shield addresses is securing the data traveling from the client's computer to the Wi-Fi access point.
Since all the traffic goes through our secured secure, we assign users a US based IP address. This means that websites have no way to know user's actual location or any other personal information. It allows users to stay private, secure and have the ability to overcome censorship and access any website they want. |
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| Am I always protected when hotspot shield is active? |
| Yes. All information sent over the internet is encrypted and passed through Anchorfree’s VPN. This ensures your security and anonymity. |
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| Which operating systems are supported by Hotspot Shield? |
| Hotspot Shield supports Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Mac Os. |
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| Does Hotspot Shield secure every page I visit? |
| Yes. It encrypts information sent over any HTTP site. HTTPS sites are already secured and encrypted. |
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| Does Hotspot Shield have bandwidth limit? |
| No. You can use Hotspot Shield as much as you would like. |
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| Can my mobile device use Hotspot Shield? |
| We currently only support iphone. Please click here to learn more about using Hotspot Shiled on your iPhone. |
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| How do I know that Hotspot Shield does not contain any virus or spyware? |
| Hotspot Shield is published by Anchorfree Inc. which is recognized by Verisign and other certificate authorities as a trusted software vendor. In addition, Hotspot Shield is reviewed by various reputed companies such as Wall Street Journal, CNN, San Francisco Chronicle, NY Times, LA Times, and Mercury News. PC Magazine has named Hotspot Shield as one of the top free downloads. |
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| What languages are supported? |
| English, Chinese, Arabic, Spanish, French, Russian, Vietnamese, Farsi, and Burmese |
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| Installation and How to use |
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| How do I install Hotspot Shield? |
| Please click on the download tab on our fan page to get the download instructions. If you cannot access the website, please send a blank email to win@afprivacy.com (for windows) or mac@afprivacy.com (for mac) to get the installation file. |
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| How do I connect? |
| Click on the Hotspot Shield Icon on your icon tray to open the menu. Then click on the “Connect” option. |
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| How do I disconnect? |
| Click on the Hotspot Shield Icon on your icon tray to open the menu. Then click on the “Disconnect” option. |
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| How do I use it after I install the software? |
| Click on the Hotspot Shield Icon on your icon tray to open the menu. Then click on the “Connect” option. Once connected, the internet connection has been secured. Browse internet as you normally do – Hotspot Shield is running on the background, keeping you safe and providing you access to information you want. |
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| Troubleshooting |
| I just downloaded and installed Hotspot Shield but it is not connecting. How can I fix it? |
| It could be that your current firewall or anti-virus software is blocking Hotspot Shield from connecting or installing properly. Please make sure Hotspot Shield is not blocked by your other security programs. |
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| I cannot connect with Hotspot Shield while using my firewall software. Is there a way around it? |
| Yes. You have to open UDP ports 8041-8044 in your firewall settings. This will allow you to browse the internet with Hotspot Shield and still be protected by your firewall software. |
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| I have used Hotspot Shield for some time, but now I cannot connect. What should I do? |
| Uninstall your older version. Restart your computer, download and install the latest version of Hotspot Shield. This usually solves most connection issues. |
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| I am getting error message “cannot establish a connection with the server” in the browser tab. |
Usually, when you get this message, it is one of the following causes.
1) Software did not install correctly: Sometimes anti-virus programs stop installation of our VPN drivers and/or services. As a result VPN to our servers does not work. You must configure your anti-virus program to allow installation of Hotspot Shield.
2) Hotspot Shield Service is not started. To verify this, click on Start button, then on Control Panel, then on Administrative Tools and then click on Services. Look for Hotspot Shield Service. Verify that is it started. If it is not, click on “Start Service”
4) A firewall or your ISP is blocking connection to our service. |
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| I keep getting error about 127.0.0.0:895 after installing. |
This error message is generated when:
1. Software did not install correctly.
Sometimes anti-virus programs stop installation of our VPN drivers and/or services. As a result VPN to our servers does not work. You must configure your anti-virus program to allow installation of Hotspot Shield.
2. Hotspot Shield Service is not started.
To verify this, click on Start button, then on Control Panel, then on Administrative Tools and then click on Services.
Look for Hotspot Shield Service.
Verify that is it started. If it is not, click on “Start Service" |
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| Settings & Ads |
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| Why do I see ads? |
| Hotspot Shield is a free, ad-supported product. In order to provide users with a free service, we show advertisement from our partners. Once you disconnect from Hotspot Shield, you will no longer see advertisement from our partners. |
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| How do I close a banner on top of the page I’m currently looking at? |
| Every banner we show has a small “X” in the top right corner. Clicking on it will close the ad for the current site you’re viewing. |
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| Is there a paid, ads free version of Hotspot Shield? |
| Currently we do not have a paid version. |
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| After installing, why has my home page changed? How can I revert back to the old home page? |
| Hotspot Shield and our partner provide an option to set your home page to our services. You can always change your home page using your browser options. |
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| After installing, my search default has changed, how can I revert back to my previous search engine? |
| Hotspot Shield provides a service to search anonymously. This prevents search engines such as Google from tracking your searches and collecting private information. You can always reset your search default in the browser by clicking on the drop down button on the search box and select your preferred search engine. |
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| Why do I keep getting redirected to RSS or Ask page? |
| RSS and Ask are our partners who cover some of the costs associated with providing you Hotspot Shield for Free. |
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| Uninstall |
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| How do I uninstall your Hotspot Shield Toolbar? |
Please follow the five easy steps below.
Step 1: Click "Start," then click "Control Panel."
Step 2: Double click "Add or Remove Programs" from the "Control Panel" window.
Step 3: Click "Hotspot Shield Toolbar," then click "Remove/Uninstall." Click "Yes" to confirm the uninstallation.
Step 4: If you are using Mozilla Firefox, click "Tools" on the top panel. Click "Add-Ons," then click the "Extensions" tab.
Step 5: Click "Hotspot Shield Toolbar," then click "Uninstall." Restart your Web browser. |
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| How do I uninstall Hotspot Shield? |
| Go to Start > Programs > Hotspot Shield > Uninstall Hotspot Shield. Uninstalling Hotspot Shield is just like uninstalling any other windows program. After you finish uninstalling, please open your web browser and delete cache. Restart your web browser. You are now done. |
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