Expat Shield

Expat Shield is a VPN solution that lets you browse the web securely. It is a free application, developed by AnchorFree, makers of the popular HotSpot Shield. Unlike HSP, this one does not give you a USA IP address, it gives you a UK IP. The benefits of connecting to Expat Shield are the same, though. Once connected, anyone who wants to track you will not be able to see your real IP address, which makes it difficult for anyone to attack you on the net. Privacy is also a benefit with this application. There will be no record of the websites that you browsed outside of your computer.

There are a few UK websites that impose geographical restrictions. The most popular one is BBC iPlayer, which streams UK TV shows and sports. When you are connected to Expat Shield, you will be able to stream content from those websites as if you are at a café in London. In my testing, I opened a full episode of Top Gear. It streamed rather quickly, and it never stopped to buffer content.

Expat Shield is ad-supported, so you are bound to see ads pop up. You can close them, but they will appear again. Considering most good VPN services are paid, an ad here and there does not bother me, especially when the utility works so well.