This isn't as worrying as it might sound. Hotspot Shield is more difficult to assess, because although it now supports the standard IKEv2 protocol, the service mostly relies on its proprietary Catapult Hydra technology. This can be hugely complicated, but just seeing that a service supports a secure protocol like OpenVPN can give you reassuring feedback about its safety. Understanding a VPN's security usually starts by looking at its protocol support, encryption and authentication details. Hotspot Shield allows you to choose your preferred VPN protocol from its Settings menu (Image credit: Hotspot Shield) Privacy There's no Bitcoin payment option, unfortunately, but you can use card or PayPal, and if anything goes wrong later you're protected by an unusually generous 45-day money-back guarantee. If you'll use all those licenses, that translates to $2.40 per user per month, for the VPN, plus the antivirus, spam call blocker and password manager.

Hotspot Shield does have one handy option in the Family plan, which gets you coverage for five people, with five devices each, for only $19.99 billed monthly, or $11.99 on the annual plan. But if you only need the VPN, most vendors charge around $3 to $5 for annual products, and even less for long-term contracts ( Private Internet Access' three-year plan covers up to 10 devices for $2.19 a month). If you'll use the antivirus, call blocker or password manager, it still looks like a reasonable deal. That's at the high-end of the normal VPN price range. The paid VPN starts at $12.99 billed monthly, dropping to $7.99 on the annual plan to protect up to five devices.

It's useful as a way to check out the apps, but that's about it. Hotspot Shield's range starts with a very restrictive free plan: it has a 2Mbps speed limit, one location only (US) and a 500MB daily data allowance. You can either pay by card or PayPal (Image credit: Hotspot Shield) Hotspot Shield pricing

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