Every Friday I share one of my favourite finds of the week — a website, tool or an app that has impressed me.
My Friday Favourite this week is TunnelBear – VPN for Chromebooks.
What is it?
TunnelBear is a Virtual Private Networking (VPN) app that helps keep your data secure. It can easily be used on any device — PC, Mac, smartphone, tablet — and uniquely, works especially well on a Google Chromebook.
How can it help me?
A Virtual Private Network service encrypts your Internet traffic to ensure privacy. It is especially important you use a VPN when using public Wi-Fi at cafes, hotels and libraries. If you don’t use a VPN, the traffic you send over the Wi-Fi can be intercepted and used against you.
I’ve written before about Virtual Private Network (VPN) apps such as:-
- ExpressVPN – High-Speed, Secure & Anonymous VPN Service
- CyberGhost – The All-in-one online privacy app
- Hamachi – Free VPN software
All of these VPN apps are available for multiple devices such as laptop, smartphone and tablet — but as a Google Chromebook user, I’ve not found a VPN that can be easily used on a Chromebook.
TunnelBear is the exception. Because it installs as a fully-contained Google Chrome web-browser extension, it makes it easy to use a VPN when using a Chromebook.
(For fellow geeks, yes, I’m aware there are workarounds to install other VPN services on Chromebooks, but for the casual user and the lazy — of which I count myself — TunnelBear’s Chrome extension, which doesn’t require a separate executable install, wins hands-down)
Once you’ve installed the TunnelBear Chrome extension, it’s simply a case of clicking the Tunnelbear button within your browser and your Chromebook’s Wi-Fi is protected.
You can also choose which country you want your VPN tunnel to be associated with, to enable you to circumvent geographical content locks.
How much does it cost?
TunnelBear is free to use up to 500MB of data each month.
An unlimited TunnelBear account costs $49.99 per year.
How can I get it?
Visit the TunnelBear homepage to set up a new account. You can then download the TunnelBear app for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android or Chrome extension.
You can also visit the TunnelBear Facebook page, or follow @TheTunnelBear on Twitter.
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