Censorship and other draconian tactics to keep the Internet anything but the free and expansive entity it should always be are unfortunately enforced in countries around the world to various degrees every single day. Luckily, the virtual denizens of the Internet are a sly bunch, employing tactics like VPNs and the use of the Tor network in order to skirt prohibition. VPNs can also be used to circumvent location restrictions around accessing certain Web sites such as the BBC iPlayer or Hulu if you’re not in their home countries.
Shellfire is a VPN service, has been operating out of Germany for the past 12 years. While its service works for computers and some smart devices, there are many other devices like consoles and Blu-ray players that can’t connect and be protected. As such, there are many people looking for a single solution that can securely connect any device on their home network. That’s the mission of the Shellfire Box.
Users need only connect the Shellfire Box to their router to encrypt all traffic accessed on its Wi-Fi network, all without a single screen of configuration. A worldwide infrastructure ensures speedy connections no matter where users choose to connect. A Shellfire Box with one year of premium VON service runs $59, a paltry sum for digital freedom. The $25,000 campaign is looking to get the product out to backers by July 2015.
There’s nothing positive about a censored Internet, so solutions like that provide easy to access VPN service can embolden many more users to take action and keep it free. The Shellfire Box will inevitable draw comparisons to the anonabox, but the key difference their is the latter’s dependence on the Tor network. Using the Tor network ultimately limits the types of devices that can be used, especially because of the severe speed limitations it imposes, while a VPN service like Shellfire allows users to stream video and play games without a hitch.