The Linux client is intended to be compatible with Ubuntu, CentOS, Debian, and Fedora Linux OS distributions. HSS Linux client will be available for Premium users only in .deb and .rpm packages via the links on the Account page.
Important requirements:
- Hotspot Shield Linux currently does not support live-boot mode (E.g. boot from flash drive, iso, network). The root mount point must be a local file system that was mounted with read-write (AWS instances often use boot from network).
- GUI environment with Network Manager installed is required. You can deploy your Linux environment as "server station" and then set up Network Manager. In this setup, it is unlikely that NM will work by default. You can set up a 'workstation' profile that includes GUI + NM that already does network management by default.
Step-by-step guide:
- To download the installation package, click here. Alternatively, you can log in to the Hotspot Shield Account page and select Hotspot Shield from the menu on the left. You will find links to all supported devices on the bottom of the page.
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Click on the Download.deb or Download.rpm button to download the respective package.
- Open Terminal (keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + Alt + T).
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From within Terminal, navigate to the directory where the package was downloaded to. This can be done by typing in the command: cd \Downloads
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If you have an older version installed already, please remove it first. Run the following command to install Hotspot Shield:
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For .deb package: sudo apt install ./[filename]
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For .rpm package: sudo dnf install [filename]
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Example:
For .deb package running Ubuntu 18.04, 19.10, 20.04: sudo apt install ./hotspotshield_0.6.0_amd64.
deb
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- Update the package list by running the command:
- For .deb package sudo apt update -y and sudo apt upgrade -y
- For .rpm package sudo dnf upgrade -yNote: these commands can be used to update the Hotspot Shield VPN.
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Once the package is installed, sign-in into your Hotspot Shield Premium account using the command: hotspotshield account signin (only Premium accounts are supported)
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You can check your account status by typing hotspotshield account status
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To establish a VPN connection simply type hotspotshield connect and you will be connected to the default virtual location in the United States. For subsequent connections, you will be connected to the most recent virtual location you selected.
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Type hotspotshield locations to find the list of all available virtual locations and respective location index.
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To connect to a specific virtual location type hotspotshield connect [country code]. For example: hotspotshield connect USNY to connect to USA - New York or hotspotshield connect DE to connect to Germany.
- To disconnect or if you want to change to another virtual location, type hotspotshield disconnect
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To check the VPN connection status, type hotspotshield status
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To check your public IP when connected please run the command: curl ipinfo.io If you don't have that installed, install curl on your Linux computer, or you can check your IP via a web browser by clicking on this link.
- Update your Ubuntu box, run: sudo apt update or sudo apt upgrade
- Next, install cURL, execute: sudo apt install curl
- Verify install of curl on Ubuntu by running: curl --version
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To disconnect from the VPN type command: hotspotshield disconnect
Here is a summary of all the available Hotspot Shield commands