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HOW TO: WATCH ANY US SHOWS (ABC, NETFLIX, HULU, PANDORA) WHILE OVERSEAS

By Unknown - 2:01 PM

Living abroad comes with it's sacrifices. I've learned to live without Diet Dr Pepper, my car, Tex-Mex and DVR, but I just can't live without my TV shows. I tried, I really did, but once I finished The Hunger Games series, I was S.O.L. I did not have any friends yet and was seriously running out of ways to entertain myself. I'm outgoing and all, but never hit the point where I could enter a bar alone. Anyway, behold the Internet-God-like capabilities of a VPN Connection.

VPN stands for virtual private network. Don't worry, that means nothing to me neither. All that matters is what it does. VPNs disguise your IP Address so the Internet thinks you are back in the U.S. Pretty cool right? So, when you go to Google.com, it does not switch to Google.de (or  .fr or .au or... you get the picture). Same goes for when you are on YouTube. No more of these terrible screens:



This screen pops up for tons and tons of videos, particularly music related ones, on YouTube.


So, how do you get one? There are several options, but two basic ones.

1) Free: We all love free stuff, right? Well, if you want to go the free VPN route, I suggest Hotspot Shield. It works well and has apps for iOS. However, you will go absolutely insane with all the pop up ads that come along.

Update 24 January 2013: Hola Unblocker Gives You [Free] Access to iPlayer, Netflix, Pandora, Hulu, and More Regardless of Region (via Lifehacker)


2) Paid: After using Hotspot Shield so often, I decided paying for a VPN and went with StrongVPN (there are tons of services, though). For $7/month, you get unlimited VPN service. I rarely turn mine off. The customer service is exceptional and they even tapped (with permission) into my computer to set the whole thing up for me.

Update 28 December 2013: After my StrongVPN service expired, I switched to Astrill and much preferred it due to it's easy VPN network switches as well as the on-off button and ability to use it on multiple devices if only signed in at one location.


Do you use a VPN? What ways do you have of getting around stupid international internet barriers?

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13 comments

  1. DarylMay 14, 2012 at 1:11 AM

    We just use 1channel.ch to watch our shows - they have basically everything and tons of links to different sites to watch them. I have rarely ever NOT been able to find a TV show or movie on there. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. ifs ands & buttsMay 14, 2012 at 10:51 PM

    Oh I'll have to check it out. Is it legal? How's the quality?

    ReplyDelete
  3. elzMay 15, 2012 at 1:01 PM

    ah, i really need get my act together with this. we use a patchwork of torrent downloads & online streaming sites to watch shows & movies. it's a system that works, it's not broken...but, it could be so much easier if we used a IP address mask, I agree.

    Will let you know how things go if we decide to try it out!

    xo

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  4. ifs ands & buttsMay 19, 2012 at 2:37 PM

    Yes it is so so worth the VPN - set up is easy and you never have to worry about illegal again. Netflix and ABC.com are my best friends.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AntoinetteMay 30, 2012 at 8:41 PM

    OMG this drives me absolutely crazy!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. ifs ands & buttsJune 5, 2012 at 7:11 PM

    It's such an easy fix though with VPN! You gotta try it!

    ReplyDelete
  7. NikskieJune 28, 2012 at 6:01 PM

    VPN. i haven't tried any other way

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  8. ifs ands & buttsJuly 1, 2012 at 12:43 PM

    Truth. And a paid one is worth the little money because the ads on the free ones are just a mess.

    ReplyDelete
  9. StevenOctober 8, 2012 at 4:01 PM

    As a fellow tv junkie, I use a vpn service from HideMyAss.com. I also purchase some of my television through the iTunes store, but if you watch a lot of television (and I do), that can get pricey pretty quick.

    Now I want to know what you watch. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. martinjthorp1983March 12, 2014 at 2:33 PM

    for those who need free option. i started with browserassistant and it recoments hola for chrome, works great. i need change location to anothere sometimes but not usual. resomend a lot.

    Quickest way to watch hulu outside us with Browser Assistant

    http://browserassistant.com/quickest-way-to-watch-hulu-outside-us-with-browser-assistant/

    ReplyDelete
  11. Alex, Denglish SpeakerMarch 12, 2014 at 4:33 PM

    I agree, Hola is a great option!

    ReplyDelete
  12. tamaraApril 15, 2014 at 5:53 PM

    Another way is to install VPN extension Hola it is free and vorks great fot hulu netflixs bbc iplayer pandora also for tv chanels check it. also here is explanation of installation if you needed http://bestfreestreaming.blogspot.com/2014/04/how-to-watch-hulu-bbc-iplayer-outside-uk-us.html

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  13. KendraOctober 14, 2014 at 4:42 PM

    Thanks for the article Alexandra. ABC Go offers some great shows and of course the ABC live feature. If you don’t live in US, you can use UnoTelly or similar tools to access it in your country.

    ReplyDelete