Easy-to-use software to browse the Internet anonymously while hiding your IP address
Easy-to-use software to browse the Internet anonymously while hiding your IP address
UltraSurf download. Always available from trusted servers.
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- Always available
- Tested virus-free
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What is UltraSurf
Ultrasurf is a tool that helps users remain anonymous while online and hide browsing activity. The tool was originally developed in order to overcome the censorship and firewalls blocking users from accessing the Internet in China. It is now available free to anyone and has hundreds of millions of users. The program is intentionally designed to be compact and simple. It does not need to be installed and runs directly from a single executable. Ultrasurf can also be run from portable thumb drives and from within certain email applications.
The main feature of Ultrasurf is anonymous browsing. The application changes the settings within a browser so that data is sent to a proxy server instead of a server belonging to an Internet service provider. The proxy server hides the actual Internet address of the user, instead showing the address of the proxy server. This ensures that a person will not be tracked while browsing online. The proxy server also makes it possible for some individuals to overcome firewalls and blocking mechanisms based on real-world location. People using this software can access streaming media or other sites that are usually blocked within their region.
Ultrasurf employs encryption in order to add another layer of security. The application uses a tunneling protocol to encapsulate regular Internet data packets inside of generic data packets. This is necessary because servers on the Internet regularly examine packets to see where they are going and how they should be treated by the node. The tunneling protocol also encrypts the data in a secure way that is nearly impossible to decrypt. The result is that users of Ultrasurf can visit websites and exchange information without worrying about third parties intercepting, tracking or seeing the data.
The interface for Ultrasurf is very simple. The program has a number of buttons along the top that start the program, stop the program and open up an options menu. The center of the Interface shows the status of the different proxy servers and the relative speed of each one. Starting the program automatically opens up a browser window and begins the privacy and encryption process. It is also possible to enter a custom proxy address to use before data is redirected to Ultrasurf proxy servers and there are select features that can be customized by the user.
A feature some people might appreciate is that Ultrasurf automatically clears the cache and history in a browser as soon as the program is closed, although this only works with Internet Explorer. This automatic action can be changed in the options menu. A drawback of Ultrasurf is that it does not elegantly handle errors or network downtime. Most problems cause the program to freeze or crash with a generic error message. There is also very little information about data transfers. However, Ultrasurf is still one of the most effective and simple anonymous browsing programs available today.
Pros
- Very effective anonymous browsing capabilities
- Simple interface anyone can use
- Portable
Cons
- No real-time performance information
- Relies on proprietary Ultrasurf proxy servers
- Poor error handling