The HotSpot Shield VPN now incorporates an anti-malware site blocker. HotSpot Shield maker AnchorFree has built an extra wall of protection into its popular virtual private network software, available today.

The update adds a malware site guard to the VPN client without requiring you to download a new version of the program because the changes have all been made on the server, not on your computer.
With the anti-malware site guard in place, HotSpot Shield will throw up a warning like the one you see in the screenshot above. Available on Windows, Mac, and iOS, the new anti-malware site protection is based off a database of more than 3 million malicious sites. Between the three operating systems, AnchorFree says that HotSpot Shield has more than 10 million active monthly users. Since the site guard is implemented on the server-side, it will be available in the coming HotSpot ShieldAndroid app, too.
For people who use the free, ad-supported version of HotSpot Shield, the new guard will block malware sites. If you upgrade to the ad-free and bandwidth-prioritized Elite version, you will also receive protection against three additional types of passive Web threats. These include otherwise safe sites that have been infected by third-party malware, phishing sites, and sites that promulgate spam.
AnchorFree CEO David Gorodyansky said during a phone call on Tuesday that the update makes HotSpot Shield a complete secure browsing solution. "There was no issue for us in integrating the secure browsing with the VPN."