Zenmate launches Android VPN app that extends its VPN service
Zenmate was rated one of the best Chrome VPN recently by us. While it is used by many to access geo-restricted contents, it is adding other VPN-specific features to it as well that include encrypting traffic and hiding the computer's IP address.
The company behind the extension has released an Android application called ZenMate Security & Privacy VPN which brings a similar feature set to Android devices.
It needs to be noted that it is only compatible with Android 4.0 and up, and that you need to either sign in to an existing account or create a new one by signing up with an email address of yours.
There are some differences between the app and the popular browser extension. First of all, the Android app brings a full VPN to the device which means that all applications and services running on it benefit from it. As you may know, the Chrome extension, which works in Opera as well by the way, is limited to the browser.
The Android app in addition to that is available as a free and premium version. The free version is limited to 500 Megabyte of traffic per month while premium traffic is not limited.
In addition to that, premium users can use compression and harmful sites blocking features that the free version does not offer.
New users are automatically signed up for a seven day free trial of the premium version that includes the two features. It is however possible to disable those if they are not required.
The premium version is available for $2.99 per month or $29.99 when paid yearly.
The application is easy to use. Once you have started it you can flip a switch to connect or disconnect directly. Once you are connected to the VPN all traffic of the device is using it regardless of application or service. The app displays a selection of locations, Germany and US for instance, that you can select one from to connect to.
On first connect, you may also need to authorize it to act as a VPN before you can do so.
While that is great most of the time, it is important to note that some services may block access based on that or at least add a record to the connection history if they notice a connection from a different location than last time.
500 Megabyte may be more than sufficient depending on what the device is used for. While it won't be sufficient for video or audio streaming, it should last sufficiently long for basic web surfing, email, messaging apps and the occasional social networking app check.
Conclusion
Zenmate for Android is an easy to use VPN application that comes as a limited free version and an unlimited premium version. Heavy users, those who stream media a lot, download lots of apps or use the Internet heavily in other ways, may want to consider subscribing to the premium version as the 500 MB traffic limit of the free version won't last long, certainly not a month.
Thanks for the tip Martin.
It is for these kinds of posts that I follow GHacks.
What’s up with the generic comment, are you a bot?
2G?
Where on the planet is that still in use? I was forced to give up using my RAZRV3 years ago because 2G was phased out by AT&T.
Everywhere 3G has been turned off and you don’t have LTE coverage, and believe me there are many developed countries where this is the case and if it weren’t for 2G you wouldn’t even be able to make a phone call.
Maybe I missed it, but I don’t believe tha term “2G” is in the article. Perhaps you are referring to “AGM G2”??
@Martin
Your website has gone insane.
When I the post button I then saw my comment posted on a different article page. When I opened this article again, it is here.
@Tachy @Martin Brinkmann
” Your website has gone insane. ”
Same here. Has happened several times.
@Tachy,
@Martin P.,
For over two weeks now,
I’ve been seeing “Comments” posted by subscribers appearing in different, unrelated articles.
https://www.ghacks.net/windows-11-update-stuck-fixed-for-good/#comment-4572991
https://www.ghacks.net/windows-11-update-stuck-fixed-for-good/#comment-4572951
For the time being,
it would be better to specify the “article name and URL” at the beginning of the post.
@tachy a lot of non-phone devices with a sim in them rely on 2G, at least here in europe.
Usually things reporting usage or errors/alarms on something remote that does not get day to day inspection in person. They are out there in vast numbers doing important work. Reliable, good range. The low datarate is no problem at all in those cases.
3G is gone or on its last legs everywhere, but this stuff still has too much use to cancel.
Anyhow, interesting that they would put that in. I can see the point if you suspect a hostile 2G environment (amateur eavesdroppers with laptop, ranging up to professional grade MITM fake towers while “strangely” not getting the stronger crypto voip 4G because it is being jammed, and back down to something as old ‘stingray’ devices fallen into the wrong hands).
But does this also mean that they have handled and rolled out a fix for that nasty 4G ‘pwn by broadcast’ problem you reported earlier this year? I had 4G disabled due to that, on the off chance that some of the local criminals would buy some cheap chinese gear, download a working exploit and probe every phone in range all over town in the hope of getting into phones of the police.
>”While most may never be attacked in stingrays, it is still recommended to disable 2G cellular connections, especially since it does not have any downsides.”
The downside would be losing connectivity. I spend a lot of time way out in the countryside where there’s often no service or almost none. My network allows 2G, and I need it sometimes. I have an option on the phone to disable 2G, I may do that when I’m in the city and I have good 5G connectivity, but not out in the country.
I would imagine that the stingray exploits, like most of the bad things in this world, are probably things you will run into in the crowded big cities.
I stopped using it in a mobile (Wi-Fi line) environment, so I’m almost ignorant of the actual situation,
But the recent reality in Japan makes me realize that “the infrastructure of the web is nothing more than a papier-mâché fiction”.
https://www.ghacks.net/2023/08/17/google-chrome-to-enable-https-first-by-default-for-all-users/#comment-4572402
It is already beyond the scope of what an individual can do.
What we should be aware of is the reality that “governments and those in power want to control the world through the Web”, and efforts to counter (resist and prevent) such ambitions are necessary.
Why do you want people to disable the privacy features? Hmmmmm?
Now You: do you plan to keep the Ads privacy features enabled?
I’d like to tell you, but apparently if you make a post critical of Google, you get censored. * [Editor: removed, just try to bring your opinion across without attacking anyone]
@Martin
You website is still psychotic. Comments attach to random stories.
@Martin please do fix the comments, it’s completely insane commenting here! :[
@Martin
The comments are seriously messed up on gHacks now. These comments are mixed with the article at the below URL.
https://www.ghacks.net/2023/08/18/android-how-to-disable-2g-cellular-connections-to-improve-security/
And comments on other articles are from as far back as 2010.
What does this article has anything to do with all the comments on this article? LOL I think this Websuite is ran by ChatGPT. every article is messed up. Some older comments from 2015 shown up in recant articles, LOL
The picture captioned “Clearing the Android Auto’s cache might resolve the issue” is from Apple Carplay ;)
How about other things that matter:
Drop survival?
Screen toughness?
Degree of water and dust protection?