AnchorFree to safeguard and optimise MENA's online life

More than 75 million people from 190 countries worldwide have downloaded HotSpot Shield -- the Mountain View, CA, company's flagship product - which provides a protected gateway to the World Wide Web.

Earlier this year, AnchorFree raised $52m in C-round funding (bringing its total to date to $61m), and 30-year old CEO David Gorodyansky is bullish about the future.

"For too long, internet users have been vulnerable to hackers, identity thieves and potentially debilitating malware," said Gorodyansky. "Hotspot Shieldfacilitates a radical new way of experiencing the Internet and MENA is one of our absolute key growth markets. With some of the world's most youthful and tech-savvy populations, the possibilities inspired by unencumbered web access and enhanced online privacy and security will underpin every aspect of this region's innovative future. What we have today is the power to catalyse and safeguard this continually evolving process, to remove obstacles to progress and to connect people like never before."

Available free of charge, AnchorFree's Hotspot Shield solution encrypts every accessed webpage and provides a secure, private tunnel, preventing hackers from preying on users of publicWiFi connections. The software alsoprotectsthem from more than 3.5 million malware, phishing and SPAM sitesThe free service is supported through advertising.

Available on Apple iOS, and Android devices, in addition to desktop PCs and Macs, Hotspot Shield also compresses data to speed up the browsing experience and more than double the amount of Web content users can access under their mobile data plans.

Year on year, Hot spot Shield, the free version of which is advertising supported, has experienced 100 percent growth in terms of downloads and page views and currently boasts 100 million monthly user sessions and more than two billion page views per month. Hot spot Shield is particularly popular among users concerned with privacy and security in public WiFi hot spots and international travellers. The company also offers a subscription version which is free of advertising.