There are several proxy extensions for both
Chrome and Firefox but few work as well and as simply as
ZenMate.
ZenMate
encrypts and routes your internet traffic through a proxy in a
different country so that you can surf the internet more
privately. It
also enables you to circumvent
Geo-restrictions which prevent you
viewing content that is normally blocked in your region.
Free during launch with Pro version planned
ZenMate is a new proxy extension that's easy enough for anyone to
setup, works immediately and is free to use. Although ZenMate is free to
use, in the future a the developer plans to release a Pro version with a
subscription fee but the basic version will remain free.
A pleasure to setup and use
Like most Chrome extensions, installing ZenMate is extremely easy.
Once you've clicked install in Chrome, you simply have to enter your
e-mail address to activate ZenMate. You don't need to enter any
activation codes or click on any e-mail links although it is
questionable why a service which claims to allow you to surf anonymously
requires any e-mail address at all.
ZenMate sits in the top-right corner of Chrome and turns green when
you are protected. To administer it, just click on the green shield.
What we really liked about ZenMate is the ability to switch between a
countries instantly. By default, your internet traffic is routed through
Switzerland but you can change it to a UK, US or German proxy
instantly. There's virtually no delay in connection time and ZenMate
does an excellent job of ensuring your surfing speed stay more or less
the same. However, we did experience some slow-downs when streaming
video but not enough to be a pain.
A very promising proxy add-on
If you want to use services such as Hulu, Netflix and Pandora
outside of the USA, then ZenMate does an excellent job. As regards how
much it can genuinely protect your privacy, there can be no guarantees
but ZenMate claim to take privacy issues very seriously. On the
downside, the number of country proxies supported by ZenMate is very few
although it's likely more will be added as ZenMate develops. In
summary, along with Hola Unblocker, ZenMate is one of the better proxy add-ons out there.
Notes
Clicking download will take you to the Chrome Web Store where
you can install this extension (you must be using Chrome to do this).