How to watch Netflix anywhere in the world

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Netflix is region locked in many parts of the world. Fortunately, there is a very simple way to get your media without too much trouble. Say hola to the world of VPNs.


A VPN, or Virtual Private Network allows you to spoof a different country's IP. In other words, you can trick the computer to think that it is back home in the United States.

Conversely, if you're in the US, you can use the VPN to trick the computer into think its in Europe, thereby allowing you to access the European version of Netflix (UK or France for example).

Setting a VPN is relatively easy in that there are plenty of resources out there. A VPN such as https://www.tunnelbear.com is easy to install and works with most computers, phones and tablets. For as little as around 5 bucks a month, you're pretty much good to go. In the case of Tunnelbear, the first 500 megs is free for you to try before you invest any money into it.

If A Product Is Free...

Then you're the product, is how the axiom goes. There are free alternatives. For the low low price of 0 dollars and 0 cents, you can say, um... "hola" to Hola.



Hola and its throngs of free alternatives work by using other people's IPs as your VPN. Conversely, by installing and being a part of Hola's P2P network, other people might piggyback off your IP in order to access material from other parts of the world.

At first glance, it appears to be a pretty novel idea. However, the thought of potentially sharing your IP with 47 million other people prompted me to do a little research. Long story short, sharing *anything* over the internet puts your information at risk. Putting it through a P2P VPN exacerbates the issue. Hulu might be one thing, but I would *never* log into a bank or order anything online with Hola on. Moreover, you also may be implicated in wrongdoing if some hackers decide to use your IP to initiate DDOS attacks on other sites on the internet.

The Best Course of Action

Its best course of action is to turn off your laptop and actually enjoy your vacation. If you're out backpacking around Europe, or if you're doing the whole "Eat, Pray, Love" thing in Indonesia, the last thing you really should be doing is catching up on episodes of Grey's Anatomy on Netflix.  All those episodes will still be there waiting for you when you get home.



All joking aside, I do know of a lot of people who are living overseas and simply do not have access to their television shows. Having something as simple as Netflix or Hulu can go a long ways. So if you really need to relax and enjoy a little piece of home, I recommend ponying up and investing the 5-7 bucks a month to get your own private VPN. Its infinitely safer, and the last thing you want to do is get wrongfully indicted in a VPN-related hacker attack and then get thrown into a Thai prison. Nothing ruins a vacation faster than that. #brokedownpalace

further reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hola_(VPN)
http://arstechnica.com/
http://www.csoonline.com/
VPN Sites:
https://zenmate.com
https://www2.unotelly.com/home
https://www.surfeasy.com
https://www.tunnelbear.com




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