Do you know about California-based XOware? In 2011, the startup began its adventure in creating easy-to-use hardware products that protect the privacy of personal digital communications and data (as described on the company’s mission statement). The entire team of engineers have been using their decades of hardware and software enterprise networking, and security experience to develop the best in end-to-end encryption. So far, the company’s XOkey and XOnet work together in just three steps to provide protected internet access, anywhere in the world.

XOware’s $40 USB device, XOkey, is perfect for the casual Starbucks blogger, or on-the-go web browser who tends to hop on unsecured wireless networks. It protects these types of users from becoming victims of identity theft or fraud. All you need for it to work is a compact router-sized box, the $70 XOnet gateway, which stays at your home or any secure location you trust, and acts as the malicious activity protector.

But wait, besides the introduction to these handy dandy web-protection tools, which was essential, that’s not even what we are here to talk about today. XOware has just released a new innovative feature for the XOnet via a recent software update- an ad-blocking capability that basically blocks any potentially unsafe ads for anyone who connects- no browser plugins, no extensions required, says ZD Net. The company’s chief executive, Ken Goldsholl, recently detailed the update as in an email:

“We implement ad-blocking by maintaining a blacklist of servers, and looking up all addresses on the list before performing a DNS lookup. If a URL that is requested by a client device is on the blacklist, we ignore it, so the data is never sent to the connected device”.

Although the actual startup has a limited reputation (I actually had to dig quite a bit to find the company’s actual website), Science World Report claims the XOkey USB wireless gateway has already been highly recommended for its tight security features for networking. Whether or not websites are free of ads or full of them, you never know what is clean or what is malicious. Having the XOkey and XOnet, both open-source devices by the way, are there to keep those who rely on or casually use the web from cyber threats, especially the ones that slip through the net. ZD Net says XOware’s update also includes a firewall and other technology for reducing data consumption on your mobile device. What else could you need to feel secure?