Worried that Web sites are snooping on you as you surf? Concerned that when you're at a public Hot Spot, such as at a café, a hacker can intercept everything you send and receive--including passwords and other personal information? Then you should give CyberGhost VPN Free a try. It creates a virtual private network (VPN) connection when you're on the Internet, so that you can be safe when you go online. I reviewed v4.7.18.

Install the program, then restart your computer, and run CyberGhost VPN Free. During setup, it's best to have CyberGhost VPN select your anonymization server for you, unless you know how to do it yourself. For increased security, you can have CyberGhost VPN delete cookies and your browser history after you disconnect, although it does that only in Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Behind the scenes, CyberGhost VPN Free replaces your normal IP address with a CyberGhost IP address shared with many users. In addition, you're connected to anonymization servers, which further protect you. Once you connect, you're anonymous online. Just use the Internet as you would normally. It's that simple.

That's not to say it's free of issues. First is that this free version of CyberGhost VPN will work for only six hours at a time or 1GB of downloads at a time, whichever comes first. You get disconnected after that, although you can then relaunch it again. If you want more uninterrupted time and a larger download amount, you'll have to subscribe to a premium version, which costs from 4 Euros to 10 Euros a month, depending on the download limit you want. That means that the free version is best suited for individual Internet sessions, such as when you take your laptop to a Hot Spot, rather than for all-day use.

In addition, you'll be connected using a foreign IP address, so you may notice some oddities. For example, my home page is Google.com, but when I clicked the home button on my browser, I was sent to the German version of Google. And when I tried to go to Google manually, by typing in google.com into my browser, I was sent to the German version of Google as well.

If you're willing to put up with a few quirks, you'll find CyberGhost VPN a great, free program for keeping you save online. And you can always pay if you want more time and bandwidth.

--Preston Gralla