Safer Internet Day

Today is Safer Internet Day. Originally started in 2004, Safer Internet Day aims to raise awareness of emerging online issues. One such issue very close to us at GoTrusted is, of course, digital privacy. Our VPN service believes in the idea that people deserve privacy and safety browsing the internet and we work very hard to ensure that that remains possible.

Our digital lives are so interconnected with our regular lives that it's very important to be diligent in how we use the internet and who we allow access to our information. Something as simple as using an unsecured hot spot can result in your sensitive accounts being compromised. There's no reason your information should be going anywhere that you aren't fully aware of and that's just one of the things our VPN service can help with.

FastVPNService Now Offering VPN Analysis and Reviews

We'd like to welcome a new VPN comparison website to our industry, Fast VPN Service. At GoTrusted, we feel we compare well to other VPN services on price and performance, with no hidden costs.  We always think more information for the consumer helps them make the best choice (us!) when it comes to choosing their VPN Service so check out their reviews here.

New Version of GoTrusted released for Mac and Windows.

We've completed rolling out the new GoTrusted client versions for our users. The new version 2.3.5.7 for Windows and version 2.2.5.6 for Mac should increase connectivity in regions that have found difficulty in the past due to internet issues in the area and offer more stability for all users. 

We'll continue to implement and improve features with future releases so keep an eye out!

And remember, our GoTrusted support is available if you run into any problems or have any questions.

New GoTrusted Version Available for Mac and PC

We've released new versions for both our Mac (v2.2.5.4) and PC (v2.3.5.5) clients today.

We've added a new Menu button to the status window of the PC version. This should make the settings menu much easier to navigate to. Clicking the button will bring up the same menu that right clicking the icon tray 'G' brings up in previous versions.

The next big change is that we have updated our regions selection to allow for more specific server selections. This has been added in both the PC and Mac versions. You'll now be able to choose from North American East, West, Central, and Auto. You'll also have Europe East, West, and Auto available as well. The Auto feature will be selected by default and the preferred for most people. Auto will find the fastest server available at that time and connect you to it. For those that would like to connect to somewhere more specifically the East/West/Central option will give you that functionality.

We hope everyone likes the changes that have been made. It's due to direct customer feedback that these new options have been added and they should further add to the ease of use our customers have come to expect using our VPN service.

UK Net Filter to Be Controlled By Chinese Firm Huawei

It was announced that the new internet filter for the United Kingdom, known as HomeSafe, being pushed by Britain's Prime Minister will be run by the Chinese firm Huawei. The system has fallen under some scrutiny by US and UK politicians alike, according to the BBC.

The concern has been raised due to the close ties the company holds to the Chinese government and the lack of ministerial oversight of the rapid expansion of the company throughout UK infrastructure. The company was founded by Ren Zhengfei, a former officer in China's People's Liberation Army, which has also raised concerns that the company may be politically motivated and not just commercially so. Huawei has also been labeled a threat to national security by US intelligence committees.

An additional concern for many people is the fact that, even if you are opted out of the HomeSafe filtering, your searches and browsing are still sent through the Huawei databases causing many people to consider VPN services to ensure their privacy and access. Legitimate sites being blacklisted are also a concern as the system is automated and may blacklist sites that do not meet actual blacklist criteria.


The legislation is set to be passed through by the end of 2013. Making all ISPs within the UK compliant by mid-2014.

New GoTrusted Review on BestReviews.net

A new review has recently been posted by BestReviews.net about GoTrusted's VPN Service.

In the review, they highlight our company history and the features you'll be seeing when using GoTrusted. It's a good read for those looking for an additional resource before trying our VPN service.

Our customers can also leave their own customer reviews on the site. We hear a lot of great feed back through our support so if you feel the need, please let us know how we're doing on the site!

Safer Internet Day

It's that time of year again. Safer Internet Day is today and we have some more tips for protecting you and your loved ones while online.

1. Use different passwords

 It sounds like it could be confusing, but this is one of the best ways to make sure that if only one account is compromised instead of all of them. Saving you a lot of headaches in the end. 

2. Choose strong passwords 

Using password as your password, if you didn't know, is asking for someone to just help themselves to your account. Avoid using your name, birthdate or other similarly obvious password combinations. It's also a good idea to change your passwords every six months.

3. Use a VPN Service

Using a VPN Service is a great way to protect information you are sending and receiving. Services like GoTrusted encrypt your data so it is unreadable to anyone else, but the intended website. Even if someone is somehow able to nab the data they would have no way to look at it. This can keep you safer online whether you're at home or at the coffee shop down the way.

4. Don't reveal to much on social networks 

Be careful what you are sharing and who you are sharing it with. Information you post can easily be used by hackers to figure out security questions and passwords. This also stretches into reality as well. Publicly posting that you're out of town for the week could be an invitation for burglars.

5. Protect your Computer and Browser

This one is an obvious one. You should always be running the latest version of your anti-virus, operating system, and VPN. Making sure your'e up to date keeps you up to speed with current viruses that are circulating and closes known bugs in your operating system that could be exploited.

6. Secure your wireless connection

This means setting a password and changing your network ID from the default. How many times have you seen open networks named 'Linksys' or 'Netgear'? Leaving your connection open like that leaves you vulnerable. It's possible for people to connect to your network and look at any device connected to it. 

7. Shop at safe websites

Always look for the padlock next to the site address and that it has HTTPS in the url. This shows the site is secured. 

8. Think before clicking links

Scammers and phishers are getting smarter and more creative all the time. Anyone can make a complete copy of a website easily. Be careful with the links you click in an email. If they seem suspicious, don't click them! Receive an email from Amazon about your order that you never placed? It's always safer to navigate to the main site and log-in than it is through an email link. These are just some ways scammers are trying to get your login credentials. 

Safer Internet Day is organized by Insafe during February as a way to promote safety online.

GoTrusted Support Expanding, Live Chat Now Available.

Good news for our valued GoTrusted customers! In an effort to further expand our support options we have added live chat support functionality to our website.

Now we can work to resolve issues in real time with you to get you up and running and protected with GoTrusted or answer any questions you might have!

You'll find the live chat support button under the support page of our website.

We look forward to hearing from you and thank you for choosing GoTrusted for your privacy and security needs.

theVPNreviewer.com Gives GoTrusted's VPN High Marks

GoTrusted gets a great score on theVPNreviwer.com - with the industry website giving our service four-and-a-half out of five stars.

The review is chock full of information about using the GoTrusted VPN Service.  The article has lots of speed tests and other details that add up to a good experience with the review concluding that GoTrusted was "a reliable and fast VPN provider at a good price."

Check out the review, then, if you haven't already, check out our free trial.

Mountain Lion Now Supported in GoTrusted VPN v2242

GoTrusted has released GoTrusted Secure Tunnel version 2.2.4.2 with VPN support for the new Apple Macintosh Mountain Lion operating system (OSX 10.8).  

The new Mac VPN Service software is available for Download on the GoTrusted website by new and existing users.  As in previous versions, the new GoTrusted VPN software provides one-button operation for data encryption, network security, and identity protection.... just click and your Mac is secure on any Internet connection!

GoTrusted VPN Hong Kong Servers Are Live

GoTrusted has made live our new high-speed Hong Kong secure server location to better serve the Asia VPN Service market.

As is usual when using the GoTrusted VPN service, we take care of the hard work.  When connecting, the GoTrusted Macintosh and Windows VPN software will automatically select the Hong Kong servers if they will provide the best speed from your connecting country.  So there's nothing to do to use the new servers if 'Asia Region' is selected in Settings.

Don't Get Spooked By Online Halloween Shopping

According to a report released by the National Retail Federation, not even the ghosts of recession's past can scare away Halloween's buying brilliance. After taking a dip in 2009, 2010 saw a return to full-fledged spooky spending, with shoppers plunking down $1.8 billion on candy, $1.6 billion on decorations and another $1.8 billion on costumes, both for their children and themselves. While Halloween is fast becoming a holiday favorite, online shopping for your favorite scary gags without identity protection could leave you in very real terror.

Busy online shopping days like Cyber Monday (the newly-minted web-based answer to America's busiest shopping day, Black Friday) attract online scammers, hackers and snoops looking to catch your credit card number or other online information over non-encrypted wi-fi networks. If you are buying candy, costumes or decorations on a non-protected network without the protection of a VPN account, you may be broadcasting your personal shopping info to every prying eye within a one-block radius.

Just like your favorite Halloween mask, VPN services hide your IP address and other pertinent details so you can browse in private. Behind this mask, all your web information is transmitted through a remote server so that it isn't open to the average person looking in, no matter what security is available on your network.

While most online shopping portals and e-commerce sites are encrypted for safe shopping, some can be easily manipulated. And with many scammers using phony e-mails to steal personal information, busy shoppers getting e-mails from Halloween retailers are at increased risk for identity theft and hacking. But with dummy e-mail addresses and other security measures, VPN customers are better protected, behind a scary mask of security.

Don't get spooked by online Halloween shopping this year. Just get a better mask and scare the snoopers right back.

Take Our VPN Services To School

As summer begins its slow descent into fall, college students get ready to head back into the world of academia for yet another semester. But while pens and calculators may be on the school supply list for the college bookstore, few students will come to school with a dedicated VPN service in tow. But while VPNs, or Virtual Private Networks, may be known only to Computer Science majors, they can be invaluable to students across modern college campuses. Here are just a few ways a VPN account can improve your on-campus browsing experience.

Circumvent The Campus Firewall: Picture this: it is the night before your midterm report is due. You try to access a website looking for some additional context for a closing paragraph when you receive a big, blinking stop sign. For whatever reason, campus firewalls can impede your online research. Pages become blocked and harm your ability to research unfettered. VPN services can allow all of your transmitted information to go through a private server, circumventing campus website blockers. So your laptop can still access campus wi-fi without fearing the firewall.

E-mail With Confidence: Any large institution with unsecured wi-fi and large numbers of people can easily become the target of e-mail scams. Hackers have created fake Facebook accounts, fake CNN pages and several other links passed around in e-mails that, if clicked on, allow hackers access to important data that can be used against you. VPN services allow you to hide your IP address, create a dummy e-mail account and increase your identity protection against e-mail scams that, sadly, have become commonplace on college campuses.

Protect Your Proprietary Information: If the story of Facebook has taught us anything, its that college campuses are hotbeds of innovation and invention. Your business school presentation or marketing concept could have real-world potential. The last thing you want to do is risk your Fortune 500 future on an unsecured, public wi-fi network. VPN services ensure that you are browsing in private, so you are not giving away your best ideas to everyone in the student union.

Protecting Your Proprietary Info When You Are Swimming With Sharks

Thousands of tech start-ups will attend conferences this year. From the TED Talks in California to BarCamp events around the country, technology entrepreneurship conferences help new tech-based start-ups get access to the investors, innovators and like-minded souls needed to get a burgeoning company off the ground. But while conferences are home to some of the best technology minds on the planet, it is also home to unsecured Wi-Fi networks, making it impossible to browse in private.

Internet security may not matter much to the average tourist trying to check their Facebook status, but to entrepreneurs sharing proprietary information about the hottest new technology idea, private browsing can mean the difference between your success and the success of the entrepreneur down the hall.

Don't take that chance. With VPN services from GoTrusted, you can protect your proprietary information on unsecured networks, allowing you to use Wi-Fi across the conference floor, in the event halls and during keynote addresses and panel discussions, without risking your precious company info. It is like entering a shark tank in a cage. You can see them but they can't see you.

Imagine being able to transmit information, e-mail private files to potential investors and update your website all while hiding your IP address and not risking your information to the other entrepreneurs around you.

While technology conferences may find you the investment and interest you need to make it big, it could also find you in a world of trouble if your private information is infiltrated. Don't let the sharks take a bite out of your big idea.

Google Android Reaches 500k Daily Activations

Andy Rubin, director of mobile platforms at Google and overseer of the Android mobile device operating system, used on smartphones and tablets, had a lot of phone calls to make this week. That's because the open source Android operating system is now reporting 500,000 activations per day. This is up from 400,000 just two months ago.

The company is even in talks to create a new device in the Samsung Nexus family of smartphones. But with Android rapidly expanding into the tablet market and allowing more and more applications, even encouraging user modifications to the OS, are Android users still able to browse in private and hide an IP address on public networks?

Tech researchers at security software firm Trend Micro Inc. have called the system's security into question. In a statement to Bloomberg News in January, Trend Micro chairman Steve Chang stated that "Android is open-source, which means the hacker can also understand the underlying architecture and source code.” This knowledge, he said, could enable certain types of viruses that would be impossible to achieve on the iPhone.

The Apple App Store has very stringent restrictions that Google has argued reduces the potential for innovation and forces app creators to hand over most of their profits to Apple. Currently, Android leads Apple in the smartphone and tablet market by a wide margin.

As Android is an open platform, there are very few restrictions on the applications available. Google has said it does place some restrictions, trying to at once remain open to new innovation and protect its users.

“On all computing devices, users necessarily entrust at least some of their information to the developer of the application they’re using,” Mountain View, California-based Google said in an e-mailed statement. “Android has taken steps to inform users of this trust relationship and to limit the amount of trust a user must grant to any given application developer.”

The larger Android becomes, the more GoTrusted can help offer its users peace of mind. By using GoTrusted features like free proxy sites, VPN services and dummy e-mail addresses, you can browse the web at public locations and reduce the chances that your identity information can be hijacked by malicious applications or OS vulnerabilities.

Franken, Congress Pursue Smartphone Privacy Legislation

Ever since it was revealed in April that mobile device applications and OS makers can monitor and store smartphone user tracking and location data, possibly compromising private browsing from a mobile phone, consumers have been clamoring for more privacy. The technology giants claim their recording of the data is completely innocuous, but customers do like to be in the driver's seat when privacy is concerned. In response, Sens. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) unveiled a bill Wednesday that would require communication tech firms, along with app developers, to obtain consent before collecting or sharing consumers' location data.

The bill would require firms to get customers' expressed consent before collecting location data from their smartphones or mobile devices. Any firm that obtains location data from more than 5,000 mobile devices must take reasonable steps towards identity protection, deleting data if requested by the customer.

There are instances where mobile phone OS providers kept geo-location data, regardless if users hide an IP address. In certain cases, OS and app providers did not ask users if they wished to opt out of this info storage. Several firms have since sworn that no customer information has been shared without consent. The Franken bill would make this pledge mandatory.

“Geolocation technology gives us incredible benefits, but the same information that allows emergency responders to locate us when we're in trouble is not necessarily information all of us want to share with the rest of the world,” Franken said in a statement. “This legislation would give people the right to know what geolocation data is being collected about them and ensure they give their consent before it’s shared with others."

With smartphones constantly searching for public Wi-Fi connections you can utilize on the go, your personal information can be easily pick-pocketed. In this age of constant info connection, many smartphone users have eased privacy concerns by using a VPN service to browse in private. GoTrusted.com has features that can lock up your smartphone info so you can browse anywhere without fear. Be sure to read the privacy policies of all apps you download..