SMASH INTERNET GEOBLOCKS
VIEW ANYTHING FROM ANYWHERE: THE SERVICES, APPS AND TECHNIQUES YOU NEED TO KNOW
Even with Netflix, Presto and Stan, Australian content offerings still lag behind much of the rest of the world. Our Netflix library, for example, is anaemic compared to the US Netflix selection. We still don’t have access to video streaming sites likes Hulu, or Amazon Instant Video or a number of other great services available to overseas users – and we can’t access the US services directly thanks to geoblocking.
Unless, of course, you use an antigeoblocker. This month we’re going to take a look at the two most common work arounds for geoblocks: VPNs and smart DNS services.
VPNs VS SMART DNS SERVICES
There are two major methods of dodging geoblockers: VPN services and smart DNS services.
VPN services route all your internet traffic through a third party server. Everything you do online will appear to come from the IP address of the service provider. That has a number of advantages. It’s service-agnostic, which is to say that it will work for any streaming service. You can switch locations to get access to content in the country of your choice, which is great for the multi-lingual. And it has benefits beyond media streaming; since the link between you and the service provider is encrypted, local snooping on WiFi hotspots is foiled and even your ISP and government doesn’t know what you’re doing online. It also obscures your IP address when you download from things like BitTorrent, so peer to peer downloading is ‘safe’.
Smart DNS services work a little differently. The provider sets up proxies for specific streaming services, which will be listed on the provider’s web page. For example, they may set up a proxy for Netflix US or Hulu. It then provides you with a special DNS server address that you can enter into your internet settings. For most activity, the DNS server does what a DNS server normally does: translates URLs (like apcmag.com) into IP addresses for internet routing. But when you go to a supported service (say netflix.com), instead of giving your device the ‘real’ address it will return the proxy address, so your device will access the proxy instead.
The advantage of this is that it’s completely transparent to the end user. All online activity appears quite
“VPN services route all your internet traffic through a third party server..”
normal, and you don’t have to connect to anything or do anything, but when you go to netflix.com or hulu.com you’ll be accessing the US sites as a US user. This simple transparency makes them appealing for a lot of users, since it ‘just works’. They also happen to be cheaper than most VPN services. On the flipside, however, they provide no additional security or IP obscurity like a VPN does, and they only work with the specific streaming services that the provider has proxies for.
WHAT MAKES A GOOD VPN SERVICE?
If you’re looking for a VPN service, there’s a little homework you should do before handing out your credit card details. Things you should look at include: Usage limits. Look to the fine print: are there limits on the speed, the volume or the number of concurrent users? Logging and privacy. Check the provider’s privacy policy. You want one that doesn’t keep logs. Setup options and instructions. What platforms are apps available for? Does it have clear instructions on how to set up other devices, including routers? Speeds. This is a big one, since if the VPN can’t sustain a video stream it’s useless. Unfortunately, it’s not something that the VPN provider will tell you – they will all say that they’re “super-fast”. For this you generally have to look to reliable independent reviews. Cancellation policies and trail periods. Related to the above point, if you’re finding that the speed isn’t up to snuff, or that the service doesn’t do the things you want (like work around geoblockers), you want a way to get your money back.
SETTING UP A VPN ON A MOBILE OR PC
For the most part, setting up a VPN on a PC or mobile is as simple as installing an app provided by the VPN service provider. You install the app, enter your username and password and you’re on.
Within the application, you can then choose which server you’d like to connect to. This will determine where your apparent IP address will be located. For example, if you want to access a UK streaming service, you can select a London server. Then, to any site you try to access, you will appear to be from London.
You can even head to www. iplocation.net to confirm that your geolocation is detected as a Londoner.
SETTING UP A VPN ON A ROUTER
Unfortunately, setting up a VPN service on a device that isn’t a PC, Mac, iOS or Android device is not so easy. There are no simple apps you can install for PlayStations or smart TVs, for example.
It is possible, however, to set up your VPN service on a router so that all your internet traffic from all the devices connected to the router goes through the VPN. We should note that this is somewhat complicated and it means all your traffic is going to be going at VPN speeds. It also doesn’t allow easy switching between servers; you have to change your router config every time you want to change country.
The first thing you’ll need is a router that has VPN support. A handful of consumers routers do (like ASUS routers), but more likely you’ll have to install a third-party firmware such as DD-WRT ( dd-wrt.com). That’s not always easy; for DD-WRT, for instance, you’ll need to go to and search the router database for your specific model. Then follow the install instructions for that router very, very carefully to avoid bricking your router.
Alternatively, you can buy some routers pre-flashed from places like flashrouters.com. We’ve included a full guide to flashing DD-WRT in this issue (see page 57), but we’ve provided a brief overview of the process below.
Most third party firmware sets your router’s IP to 192.168.1.1. You’ll need to plug your PC into the router and head to that address in a web browser to access the administration console. The default username is (usually, but not always) root, password admin.
“The first thing you’ll need is a router that has VPN support. A handful of consumers routers do.”
“In general, there are three VPN protocols supported by most providers: L2TP, PPTP and OpenVPN.”
From there you can set up the internet connection and wireless.
After your router is flashed and connected to the internet, you should head to the VPN provider’s help page for a guide on how to set it up on a router. Again, carefully follow the instructions.
In general, there are three VPN protocols supported by most providers: L2TP, PPTP and OpenVPN. The first two are the easiest to set up, and generally only require a server address, username and password (note that, for many VPN providers, the L2TP/PPTP password is not the same as the primary password, and you’ll have to visit your account page to find it). If you have a broadband router running DD-WRT, you can simply set your WAN connection type to PPTP or L2TP on the basic connection page and enter the username and password and service provider’s server IP address (found on its web page) into the fields.
Alternatively, you can head to Services > VPN and set up there.
It’s on this page that you can also find the OpenVPN settings. OpenVPN is faster and more secure, but a lot more involved, and will likely require you to copy and paste scripts and cryptographic certificates from the VPN provider’s web page. Again, you’ll have to follow the provider’s instructions carefully.
SETTING UP A SMART DNS SERVICE ON ANYTHING
Compared to VPNs, setting up a smart DNS is relatively straightforward. For any device that you want to use the smart DNS service, you’ll need to go into its internet settings. Then you find the DNS server setting and enter the DNS server number supplied by your smart DNS provider. Getflix, for example, has a Sydney DNS server of 54.252.183.4. Just change the DNS server to that.
Now there are two complicating factors. The first is that some devices don’t let you set the DNS details unless you go for a full manual network configuration. This is annoying, but not insurmountable. If that’s the case, then you have to know the local IP address of your router (that’s the address that you enter into a web browser to access its admin console) enter the following details: IP address: this will the same as your router’s local IP address, but with the last number changed to something between 0 and 255. For instance, if your router’s address is 192.168.1.1,
then you could set this to 192.168.1.50. Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0 Gateway address: Your router’s IP address (commonly 192.168.1.1). DNS: The DNS number provided by your smart DNS service.
Alternatively, you should be able to configure your router so that it hands out the smart DNS address to all devices on your network when they connect. It varies a little between routers, but generally you have to log onto the administration console of your router and find the DHCP settings, which controls the auto-configuration of devices. Then you change the DNS number to that of the smart DNS service. Once you’ve that, devices that connect to your router will automatically be configured with the smart DNS.
The other complication is that DNS has no inherent authentication method, so the provider has no way of determining if you are a subscriber. So what the provider will do is require that you register your current IP address with it by logging on to its web site. Once your IP is registered, it knows that any DNS requests coming from that IP address are from a subscriber.
Unfortunately, you’ll have to do this every time your IP address changes (after a router reboot, for example). It’s annoying, but there is a cure if you’re willing to put in a little work up front. Follow these broad steps:
1 Go to www.noip.com and create a free DDNS hostname for yourself. It doesn’t matter what the hostname is, just register one and make note of what it is and the username and password associated with it.
2 Log onto your router’s admin console and find the DDNS settings. Enter the details of the No-IP account you just created, including the username, the password and the host name and save. Now that hostname will always point at your router’s IP address.
(Note that if your router does not have DDNS settings, there’s a PC agent that you can download from No-IP instead. Just install it and run it — as long as it’s running, your DDNS IP will be up to date.)
3 Go to your smart DNS provider’s web page and find the Dynamic DNS settings. Most allow you to register a DDNS URL in lieu of manually registering IP addresses. In the Dynamic DNS field, type in the full hostname you registered (such as
mynetworkname. noip.com). Once you’ve done all that, your smart DNS is good to go — no need to do anything else.