After trying out Steganos Privacy Suite 18 digital safe and password manager, that I was very impressed with, when asked to try out the Online Shield VPN that protects your identity while online I, of course, agreed straightaway.
As when we use our computers we spend a lot of time on the internet; surfing websites, reading emails, doing our banking etc. there is always the risk of some unscrupulous people being able to see what you are doing and websites tracking where you are going so Steganos Online Shield VPN protects you online by creating a VPN (Virtual Private Network) for your internet access. This enables you to connect to an AES-256 bit encrypted Steganos server which then gives you a different IP address so you can surf the web in relatively safety. You can also prevent social tracking from Facebook and Twitter, automatically erase cookies on exit, block ads and pop ups and anonymise your browser type.
Now that sounds great but does sound like it would take some configuration to setup which may be above a standard computer users skills. There is no need to worry, it’s so simple a child can do it.
Once installed, the menu screen has five options that you simply turn on or off depending on what you want to control.
Another great feature is that some content may be blocked in the country that you are in but all you have to do is connect to a different server in another country (just pick one from the from the drop-down list) and get access. So, for example if an online video is blocked in the UK you can connect to another server to watch it.
With Steganos Online Shield VPN you get a free 7 day trial to test it for yourself, and on purchasing a license you can use this on 5 devices, including smartphones and tablets.
I have been using it for a couple of weeks and as it runs in the background I don’t actually notice it being there unless I get a loss of internet connection and then I get a message saying the VPN has lost connection. My only concern before using it was that it would give me a slower connection online as it was going through a proxy server, but so far this is not the case.
I haven’t noticed the ad blocker working but have had no pops but that could be I am not visiting sites where it would be in use or it is blocking ads and I am just not aware of it.
I have checked my IP before enabling the software and after and yes it does change so giving you some anonymity online.
This is a very simple piece of software to use that once installed and configured you can just forgot about (unless you want to turn it off or adjust settings for any reason). At £49.95 a year for a 5 user license (less than £10 per device) that is a great price to ensure your online security.
I have been very happy using the Online Shield VPN and if you value your online privacy you should give it a try, after all you get a 7 day trial to see for yourselves.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £49.95 (1 year licence for up to 5 devices)
For more information, your free 7 day trial or to purchase visit www.steganos.com.
Disclosure: I was provided with a free copy of this software for the purposes of writing a honest review. All opinions are my own.
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