HotSpotVPN joins the trend to offer SSL-based full-service VPNs: The service, launched today, offers Blowfish (128 bit), AES-192 (192 bit), and AES-256 (256 bit) encryption using SSL via the open-source OpenVPN client. SSL VPNs are not all about application and browser-based tunneling! OpenVPN is a full VPN just like a PPTP or IPsec service tunneling all data.
The idea of HotSpotVPN and similar services is to bring corporate-grade network obscurity and data protection to those who don't have an information technology department supporting them on the road.
HotSpotVPN is calling the new service HotSpotVPN2, and charges $10.88, $11.88, or $13.88 per month for 128, 192, or 256 bits of encryption. Multiply those numbers by 10 to get the yearly rate. For now, HotSpotVPN works with Windows, but the underlying OpenVPN software has been built for many platforms; expect more platform support in the future. A free PPTP account is included with HotSpotVPN2.
HotSpotVPN2 competes with WiTopia's personalVPN offering, another recent addition to the traveler's arsenal. There's a little that varies in the setup, but WiTopia's $79 per year service is available only with 128-bit Blowfish encryption.