SOURCE: AnchorFree

May 04, 2009 08:00 ET

AnchorFree Named "Cool Vendor" by Leading Analyst Firm

AnchorFree, Creator of Free Privacy Download, Hotspot Shield, Included as One of Five "Cool Vendors in Software-as-a-Service Security, 2009"

SUNNYVALE, CA--(Marketwire - May 4, 2009) - AnchorFree Inc., the creator of Hotspot Shield, the world's first and only freely downloadable virtual private network (VPN), today announced that it has been named one of Gartner's "Cool Vendors in Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Security, 2009" in the March 2009 research report published by Gartner Inc. The report examines a select group of vendors Gartner considers innovative, impactful and intriguing in the SaaS security market.

The report notes that, "Gartner client interest in SaaS security has intensified to the point that this year, for the first time, we are presenting a cool vendors document focusing on this discrete market segment. The cool vendors that Gartner's security analysts have chosen for 2009 represent the leading edge in technological innovation in this crucial area."

Hotspot Shield enables universal access to all Web content across the globe, as well as personal data encryption to allow total privacy and anonymity online. With a fast-growing user base that grew more than fivefold last year to more than 5.5 millions users worldwide, Hotspot Shield has sparked a new movement in which users, rather than governments and enterprises, control their online sessions.

"In an increasingly mobile world, AnchorFree is dedicated to enabling secure access to an unfiltered Internet in which users are in control of their privacy and personal data," said David Gorodyansky, chief executive officer at AnchorFree. "To us, being named as a Gartner 'Cool Vendor' signifies our success to date in the emerging SaaS Security market. We aim to create a world where the Internet is secure and open for everyone, and we'll continue to work toward that goal in the years to come."

Some key findings and recommendations in the Gartner report include:

--  The demand for flexible, responsive, cost-effective security solutions
    is driving intense Gartner client interest in security-as-a-service
    offerings.
--  SaaS offerings are emerging as important security tools, especially
    for cost-sensitive and highly distributed business and computing
    environments.
--  Consider innovative new SaaS offerings -- including Gartner cool
    vendors -- when looking for flexible, cost-effective answers to security
    problems.
    

Gartner subscribers can access the report from the Gartner web site referencing document G00165350.

About Gartner's Cool Vendors Selection Process

Gartner's listing does not constitute an exhaustive list of vendors in any given technology area, but rather is designed to highlight interesting, new and innovative vendors, products and services. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness of a particular purpose. Gartner defines a cool vendor as a company that offers technologies or solutions that are: Innovative, enable users to do things they couldn't do before; Impactful, have, or will have, business impact (not just technology for the sake of technology); Intriguing, have caught Gartner's interest or curiosity in approximately the past six months.

About AnchorFree

AnchorFree has created a new marketing channel for brand and direct response marketers to deliver interactive, timely and targeted advertisements to Internet users when they are away from the home or office. AnchorFree connects advertisers with more than 13 million in-transit consumers in a captive, persistent manner. The AnchorFree Media Network now reaches 190 countries, serves over 5,000 Web site properties and delivers nearly one billion page views per month. AnchorFree is a privately held company based in Sunnyvale, California.

About Hotspot Shield

Hotspot Shield by AnchorFree is the world's first and only freely downloadable virtual private network, utilized by millions of consumers worldwide who want to safely access the Internet at airports, hotels, coffee shops, at home or work. Hotspot Shield is a free and easy way to ensure privacy and total anonymity online, and can be downloaded at http://www.hotspotshield.com.

*Gartner "Cool Vendors in Software-as-a-Service Security, 2009" by Ray Wagner, Peter Firstbrook, Arabella Hallawell, John Girard, John Pescatore, Kelly M. Kavanagh and Neil MacDonald, March 17, 2009.