[liberationtech] Anchor Free

Tue Feb 8 19:14:36 PST 2011

Have you guys seen this?

YC

 *SOURCE: AnchorFree*
<http://www.anchorfree.com/>
Feb 08, 2011 11:00 ET
Popular Privacy and Anti-Censorship Tool Sees Surge in Traffic as Egyptians
Struggle to Stay Connected Online

One Million Egyptians Access Censored Content With AnchorFree's Hotspot
Shield, More Than 10 Times the Pre-Revolt Number

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<http://ctt.marketwire.com/?release=718037&id=80179&type=1&url=http%3a%2f%2fbit.ly%2faWVY75%2b>
to
learn more about how Hotspot Shield works.

To download Hotspot Shield, visit:
http://www.hotspotshield.com<http://ctt.marketwire.com/?release=718037&id=80182&type=1&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.hotspotshield.com>.
The program is free and will install automatically. Anyone having problems
accessing the site<http://ctt.marketwire.com/?release=718037&id=80185&type=1&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.hotspotshield.com>
can
email win at afshield.com or mac at 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<http://ctt.marketwire.com/?release=718037&id=80188&type=1&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.anchorfree.com>.
The UK version of the tool, Expat Shield is available at
http://www.expatshield.com<http://ctt.marketwire.com/?release=718037&id=80191&type=1&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.expatshield.com>
.

Media Contacts
LaunchSquad (for AnchorFree)
415.625.8555
anchorfree(at)launchsquad(dot)com
Back <http://www.marketwire.com/en/1392338>

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