Ultrasurf is a tiny network security application that sends your web traffic data to Ultrasurf's servers to anonymize.

Features

Ultrasurf is a super lightweight application so there aren't many features to speak of. When launched, the app will show the three status lights with their respective speeds next to them. You can select the one that gives you the best performance.

In the options, you'll find options for manipulating Internet Explorer, which Ultrasurf defaults to, though you can disable this. You can manually specify a port for listening so you can forward that port with your router.

Other than this, Ultrasurf doesn't really have any other features.

Interface

While Ultrasurf's interface is easy to use and comprehend, it looks like an app from 1998. The icons are low resolution and have low color depth. These are the stock icons you can find on a machine running Windows 2000.

Usability

Ultrasurf is easy to use but that's because there aren't many features. While this is good for beginners, the app really suffers from the lack of options and information. For example, there's no indication of where the proxy server you're accessing is from.

Other apps like Hotspot Shield give users much more control and is more transparent about what the program is doing. Ultrasurf is more like an on and off switch. There's no fancy encryption algorhythm to mask your traffic.

This is what the company has to say about Ultrasurf's encryption:

"Encryption is between your computer and Ultrasurf proxy servers. Normal web traffic (http) is not encrypted between Ultrasurf and web servers, while secure web traffic (https) is encrypted from user’s computer to the web server. Ultrasurf relays https traffic without interception."

Conclusion

While Ultrasurf is lightweight and simple to use, there are simply better alternatives out there that provide a more transparent options with more features.