If you're willing to put up with some ads, Hotspot Shield VPN is a free app that aims to make your Wi-Fi connections secure and protect your privacy while online.

The interface is clean and simple. Hotspot Shield VPN is basically ready to go as soon as you open it. It's capable of optimizing data flow, providing you with a little more mileage when using 3G or 4G networks (depending on your unit), and further encrypting your sent data so that info and messages will not be intercepted by a third party. It also shields your IP address, so you can surf anonymously. One downside to this simplicity is that you don't have direct control of the app. Instead, Hotspot Shield VPN adjusts settings and connects to networks on its own. The other is that the free version is supported by ads and doesn't give you access to customer service 24 hours a day.

The 1Mobile Market for Android offers a curated selection of fun, useful, and otherwise interesting apps, all of which are free. It's unique because it's managed by a team of actual editors, rather than a set of algorithms that try to home in on what you're looking for.

First thing you'll notice is that 1Mobile's main panel looks a bit like a cheap knock-off of Google Play, with its large tiles and similar color scheme.

While looks may not be 1Mobile's strong suit, the app does offer tons of value in other ways. It's a lot more manageable (size-wise) than Google Play, and it offers a number of useful tools to find the apps you're looking for.

Swipe left from the main panel, and you'll see a list of categories for a typical browsing experience. Swipe right to see Top apps, AppLists, and Editor's Picks. AppLists are uniquely helpful, in that they group apps based on specific interests. For instance, there are lists for Fitness fiends, vegetarians, movie lovers, bookworms, and so on. These groupings are one good reason to check 1Mobile before going straight to Google Play.

Another way to find apps on 1Mobile Market is through Search. If you do a typical keyword search, 1Mobile will attempt to autocomplete your terms, which can be very helpful. Also, there's a unique (thought not necessarily useful) keyword cloud that offers handfuls of typical search terms for you to try.

It's important to note that you don't actually download any apps directly from 1Mobile. Rather, each product page just features a link, which leads directly to the download page on Google Play. Also, on the product page you can Like or Dislike an app, see all its vitals, and view screenshots.

One thing to watch out for with 1Mobile is invalid links. Since the whole market is curated by editors, sometimes a recommendation can lead to a page that no longer exists on Google Play.

With a few changes and some additional functions, Talking Tom Cat 2, an interactive voice-recognition app, brings more cuteness to your Android device.

The opening screen of Talking Tom Cat 2 has many of the same elements as the original, but now Tom is set up in his own apartment with a new nemesis, Ben. The graphics are just as good in the second version and the onscreen movements are very fluid. The talk function is there again and Tom can repeat anything you say in his distinctive voice. He'll also reflexively react when you poke or swipe certain parts of his body. If you try pulling his tail for example, he'll react defensively. For even more fun, you can dress up Tom in clothes, costumes, and accessories. At times, the humor is a bit juvenile, but there's nothing really offensive here and Talking Tom 2's only goal seems to make his owner laugh. The app can be installed on lower-tier smartphones that have limited graphics, although a few hiccups might occur, but it works best on devices with full graphics capabilities.

There's more to do here than in the first Talking Tom Cat and, although it might not have seemed possible, they've upped the cute factor even more. We highly recommend this app to anyone who needs a quick laugh or fun diversion during down time.

Simulating access to any type of Wi-Fi network, Wifi Hack can bring you a couple of minutes of fame as a hacker. However, even though it's fun to see your phone pierce its way through a Wi-Fi network in a fake manner, the entertainment with the Wifi Hack app only lasts once for every set of audience that you show your trick to.

Upon accessing the app, you are simply given a list of available Wi-Fi networks in the area. The list is of course based on the actual available networks that your unit can detect. Choose one of these, and the app will start babbling out some technical computer status update lines. It will try to look like it is technically doing something, but in reality those are just words written on the screen. After successfully hacking into the selected network, the Wi-Fi indicator will show up, falsely telling that it is already connected to the desired network.

It's quite fun to use actually, especially if you show it off to your friends who haven't heard about this app. The trick can even be more convincing if you have 3G or 4G connection at the moment, since you can show to them that you are really connected to the Internet. Functionally, though, the Wifi Hack app does not have anything to offer, and the trick would get old pretty easily after each of your friends sees it once.

Did you forget your wireless password again? At a friend’s house and they have no idea what their login information is? Wish you didn't have to sit at the library waiting for a wifi key? Now you won’t have to wait, with Wifi Hacker 2013, the premier application for hacking and decoding protected wireless signals! Wifi Hacker 2013 scans your local area for available wireless signals and displays information about each one, including the security abilities of each router. Then if you tap on one of the wifi routers in range, the hacking dialog appears! Wifi Hacker 2013 is made for entertainment purposes only, and does not actually hack into any wireless routers or networks. What it does do is return funny and potentially embarrassing passwords for the routers that it finds. Bring it to your friend’s house and make him or her look like a fool in front of the group! Or just use the app to trick your friends into thinking you are a pro hacker. Wifi Hacker is perfect for playing jokes on friends, pranking your enemies, or impressing the ladies at the club. You can probably get 3 or 4 dates with this app alone and only moderately good looks. Try it next time you are at the club. The results may amaze you.