Guard against Hotspot Shield disconnection

sofYour connection via Hotspot Shield can be dropped any time without notification. This will occur if their servers are busy, and your connection is idle for some time. This false sense of security is even worse than public unencrypted Wi-Fi connections that HHS is designed to protect.

You may think that your browsing content and IP are secure over the wireless connection. But HHS can stop working anytime and your content and IP will be revealed without warning.

The only way I know to stop the browser when HHS stops working is via .pac files for automatic proxy setting.

function FindProxyForURL(url, host) {
if (!isInNet(myIpAddress(), "10.10.1.0", "255.0.0.0"))
 return "PROXY 127.0.0.1:12768; "; /*deny if not VPN*/
return "DIRECT";
}

This will work for typical home and Wifi connections. When HHS is function, you have a typical LAN IP such as 10.xxx.xxx.xxx. When this is not the case, a non-functional proxy url is returned so the browser will stop working immediately.

If you are directly connected to a cable/DSL modem at home, you have a typical public, external IP address. If you have a wireless router, your IP is typically 192.xxx.xxx.xxx.

The above instructions will not work directly if you are on a company LAN for example. You have to detect your fixed LAN IP. If your LAN IP is dynamic, you have to find a way to differentiate it with the dynamic HHS IP, using a suitable subnet mask.

Best way to block Hotspot Shield advertisements

This is simplest and fastest, same for most browsers.

All you need to do is to put this in a text file, eg, c:\hotspot.pac

function FindProxyForURL(url, host) {
  if (shExpMatch(url,"*anchorfree*"))
     return "PROXY 127.0.0.1:12768";
        /*any unused port will block ad*/
  else
     return "DIRECT";
}

Most browsers support automatic proxy configuration. In Firefox its at Tools>Options>Network>Settings>Automatic proxy configuration URL

You enter the filename:
flile://c:/hotspot.pac

You can also do fancy things such as ensure that Hotspot Shield is on before allowing internet access, to protect your IP against Hotspot, which may disconnects you at anytime without notice. That's for another day.