Assumptions
For this chapter of my Guide, I assume that:
You purchased the wireless router I recommended earlier (Linksys EA4500 App-Enabled N900 Dual-Band Wireless-N Router with Gigabit and USB), and performed a default setup with its included Cisco Connect software.
You will subscribe to Unblock-Us.com service. You can also try competitive services like UnoDNS, Blockless, Show Monkey, or Tunlr. I have experience only with Unblock-Us.com.
Process
Open a browser window and type http://www.unblock-us.com in the browser address bar. The Unblock-us.com homepage appears.
Enter your email address in the Try it for one week field and click the [Start Trial] button. You will receive a welcome email from Unblock-us.com. Your browser will automatically redirect to the Unblock-us.com setup page. You will not be asked to enter your credit card information until your one-week trial ends.
Open a browser window and type 192.168.1.1 in the browser address bar. A username and password prompt appears.
Enter admin as your username. Enter the password you created when you setup your router with Cisco Connect. If you don’t remember your router password, follow these instructions to retrieve it. Click [Log In]. The router’s “Basic Setup” page appears.
Fill in the Static DNS 1-3 fields with the following information:
Static DNS 1: 208.122.23.22
Static DNS 2: 208.122.23.23
Static DNS 3: 184.106.242.193
Click the [Save Settings] button at the bottom of the page.
Restart your computer.
Revisit the Unblock-us.com homepage and click the [Check Service] button in the upper right-hand corner of your browser window. You should receive the message: “This device is setup correctly. It is using our DNS.” If you do not, contact Unblock-us.com customer support. Unblock-us.com is extremely responsive and should be able to resolve your issue with minimal fuss.
Hows and Whys
Geoblocking (or “geogating”) is a technology that content providers use to protect domestic copyright. It identifies the Internet Protocol (IP) address that your service provider assigns to your household. It then blocks access to copyrighted content if your IP address is located outside the licensed programming area.
This is how Netflix, Hulu, and other US-based content providers know you’re not in the United States when you try to subscribe to their services.
Geoblocking is not a terribly sophisticated means to protect domestic copyright. You can bypass it with ease by using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) or a DNS proxy server. Either solution “fools” geoblockers by creating an encrypted, anonymous “tunnel” through the Internet – as in the case of a VPN – or by acting as a selectively-anonymous intermediary between your Internet connection and the online services you wish to use.
I prefer DNS proxy servers. VPNs, as I said, are secured and anonymous, which is a good thing if you’re a privacy fetishist or one of those tinfoil-hat conservatives who thinks Barack Obama is trying to control you with his thought beams. But because VPNs are encrypted, that means they’re slow and unwieldy. Slow and unwieldy always affects the quality of your online user experience.
Also, VPNs are subject to a variety of technical problems that can limit the number of websites you visit. Since you’re reading this guide, I have to assume that resolving network-encryption issues is not among your strong suits.
A subscription-based DNS proxy service, on the other hand, provides selective, anonymous Internet access. Some services offer features that optimize browsing speeds and download times. By being “selectively anonymous,” you can access the Internet as you ordinarily would but remain anonymous only when you download content from geoblocked websites that the DNS proxy service supports.
This provides the same benefits of a VPN, without the technical strictures.
I use Unblock-us.com service. The company’s website isn’t much, but the service has yet to fail me – and it’s cheap: $4.99 per month, with unlimited support. Not that I’ve ever needed it. I might have emailed them once, to ask about credit card payment options before my trial period had lapsed. I submitted my email at 9:11 in the morning. I had my answer at 10:46.
At the time that I cut my cable, Unblock-us.com was the only selectively-anonymous DNS proxy service available to Canadian customers. It now has competition: UnoDNS, Blockless, Show Monkey, and Tunlr.
UnoDNS and Blockless appear to be nearly identical services at identical prices. Blockless is a bit of a puzzle, in that its FAQ is a word-for-word reproduction from knowledgebase articles that appear on Unblock-us.com. So, either both services are owned by the same people, or someone at Blockless owes Unblock-us.com an apology.
Show Monkey – is it me, or are there too many web-based services named after primates? – is still in Beta, and its website offers virtually no useful information. Proceed at your own risk.
And Tunlr? Free of charge… but the people who own this service actively discourage you from using it – except for occasional content streaming. Have fun with that, you cheap bastard.
Speaking of which: I wrote in an earlier chapter that you would thank me for paying more for your wireless router. So, thank me.
At various times, I have attempted to setup Unblock-us.com with other N900 wireless routers. None worked, even though I precisely followed the directions Unblock-us.com provides on its website.
As far as I’m concerned, if I can’t figure out why hardware doesn’t operate as described, in 15 minutes or less, then there’s something wrong with the product.
The Cisco I recommend should not give you any trouble, at all.
Next
Subscribe to US streaming services. It’s time to dust off that Amex!