MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA--(Marketwire - February 8, 2011) - In response to their government's decision to curtail Internet communications, Egyptians turned to technology that enables freedom to access censored information. Masses of users in Egypt used technology solutions to access blocked sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Google. The tools have become one of the key technologies Egyptians have relied on to stay connected, communicate with each other, coordinate protests and deliver their messages to the world.
AnchorFree, providers of the world's most popular free privacy tool Hotspot Shield, witnessed a dramatic uptick in usage in the Middle East as soon as the Egyptian government began blocking sites. Traffic surged to ten times the average amount in Egypt, from 100,000 to one million users, as Egyptians worked to rally together and share with the world what was happening in their country.
Over the past couple of years, Hotspot Shield has proven to be a reliable way for people in countries like China and Tunisia to overcome government censorship and maintain their privacy and anonymity while using the Internet.
"We created Hotspot Shield as a privacy tool to keep people secure from hackers online and maintain their anonymity. It was never our intention to have it serve as an anti-censorship tool, but in times like these, it gives us great pride to know that people can use it to maintain free speech," said the CEO of AnchorFree, David Gorodyansky. "Our spike in traffic shows that one million Egyptians were able to access censored content with the help of Hotspot Shield, despite government intervention."
Traffic subsequently plummeted once the government shut down the country's ISPs on January 27, initiating a five-day Internet blackout. Despite this additional hurdle to free speech, citizens still managed to access blocked Internet content by using dial-up services and turning on Hotspot Shield.
Hotspot Shield works by establishing a secure tunnel between a user's computer and Internet connection, encrypting each user's entire Web sessions to keep users protected. When users connect to Hotspot Shield it encrypts every page they visit and makes them private online. In the United States and Europe people use Hotspot Shield to secure their browsing while at home and on Wi-Fi networks. In regions with censorship, Hotspot Shield is used to enable complete freedom and privacy online. Watch this video to learn more about how Hotspot Shield works.
To download Hotspot Shield, visit: http://www.hotspotshield.com. The program is free and will install automatically. Anyone having problems accessing the site can email win@afshield.com or mac@afshield.com to get a free version of the tool sent to them directly. Hotspot Shield is available on all Windows operating systems, as well as Mac OS X (10.6 Snow Leopard), Mac OS X (10.5 Leopard) and Mac OS X (10.4 Tiger).
About AnchorFree
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 8.5 million monthly users in 100 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 over two billion page views every month. AnchorFree is a privately held venture backed Company and is based in Mountain View, California. For more information or to download Hotspot Shield, please visit www.anchorfree.com. The UK version of the tool, Expat Shield is available at http://www.expatshield.com.
Contact Information:
Media Contacts
LaunchSquad (for AnchorFree)
415.625.8555
anchorfree(at)launchsquad(dot)com