The internet used to be pretty open but unfortunately there are now a huge amount of filters and blocks applied from every level. This has led obviously to a huge amount of tools and software designed to bypass these filters primarily based on a core of proxy and VPN servers. But they can get expensive if you want any flexibility purely because you often need more in different countries. Think of my friend who is from Krakow originally but now lives in the UK – he often likes to connect back to websites in his home land for obvious reasons. But increasingly he will get blocked because of his location. What he needs is a Poland proxy in order to access these sites – for instance the Polish media channels.

But my friend also likes to watch some strange American series which is only available in the US, plus he likes a show on Canadian pilots on Canadian TV. So to watch all these he’d need a Polish, US and Canadian proxy or VPN service. You’ll notice that many of the proxy providers will sell you access to specific servers but they usually charge extra for each location. But there are a couple who just charge a single subscription and give you access to their entire network.

Here’s how one of my favorites works – first I connect to Google with my normal address.

But unfortunately this means I am tied into a UK location, which is fine if you just want to access UK related sites but what if you want to access sites that are restricted to Poland, Russia, USA or anywhere else on the planet? I need to be able to fool these sites that I am located somewhere else which I can do through using either a proxy or VPN server. For this demonstration I am going to use a Poland based proxy from a company called Overplay.

Here’s what I do – just connect up to my Overplay software and scroll down their list of available proxies.  From the screenshot you can see I have a polish proxy server available so I just connect through that.   It takes about 10 seconds to connect and to extablish the connection after you put in your username and password.

Then you’re connected – at this point you have a VPN tunnel connected between you and the Overplay server in Krakow, Poland.  In plain English this means that you will now appear to every web site you visit to be from Poland.  For instance here’s what you see if you visit Google whilst using the Poland proxy.   The geo location checks your IP address and delivers the Polish version of the search engine.

Of course this isn’t particularly useful if you aren’t actually in Poland.  However if you are getting blocked from a specific site because of your location it can be an incredibly useful tool.   It means all Polish content is available to you whilst connected, any look ups will reveal your location to be Krakow because that’s where the server is located.

I’ve had a few emails recently basically asking how I can get a US IP address  so I thought I’d put a quick post up about it.   It’s  actually becoming more and more common, for the simple reason that much of the best sites on the internet restrict access depending on what IP address you have.   Just to make this clear – the IP address is the number assigned to your Internet device when you connect up through your ISP.  It’s uniquely identifiable to you which accounts for the privacy and security risks I tend to bang on about on this site.

Need a US IP Address?

The IP address is also linked to a specific country however, so any website can check where you are accessing from. So just to clarify again – you might be a UK citizen connecting on a UK bought laptop, but if you’re sitting in an airport in Italy that’s where you’ll be categorized as from.  So in this case you’d get blocked from the BBC Iplayer site and all it’s content as you’re considered Italian.  Now this doesn’t happen with the odd site, increasingly all the best commercial sites are restricting access in this way,  mainly due to licensing issues.  It’s also done for economic reasons, allowing sites to operate price discrimination systems (charging more in different countries) and blocking consumers using an adjacent country to order the goods at a cheaper price (very fair huh!).

So that’s where we are – so the individual looking for a US based IP address is probably trying to watch, download or buy something from a US site like Hulu whilst physically located outside the USA.   Fortunately in most circumstances there are ways around this – which I will just list below.

First the Technologies – there are two main ways of bypassing these restrictions,  both of which involve masking your true IP address and presenting a different one to the web site you are visiting.  You can either use a proxy or VPN server – both can hide your true IP address to some extent.  They function in similar ways however the proxy server routes traffic from a specific application or software (in our case usually the browser) to the proxy server.  Whereas the VPN is a secure, encrypted tunnel which routes all traffic from your computer through the remote VPN server.  Both have their advantages and disadvantages – in practice a VPN is normally harder to detect by the web sites however there is normally a slight overhead on speed due to the encryption.    Which one you select is normally down to your primary requirements – a VPN offers security and is required for a lot of media sites like Hulu and NBC, whilst a proxy server works best for the BBC Iplayer (although a VPN still works too!)

Finding a Server for our US IP Address

Hopefully that makes sense so let’s focus on how we can find one of these servers.  Let’s imagine we want to access Hulu from somewhere in Europe – for this a proxy won’t work so we need to find ourself a VPN service.  Unfortunately unlike proxies you are unlikely to find a free VPN service.   Although if you work for a big company who have American offices it might be worth checking if they have a US VPN you can use occasionally.  Many people forget that their connection back to work is likely to be a VPN so it’s an avenue worth investigating for many.

For anyone else you have two options – first make your own by installing a VPN server on your own US based computer (or perhaps a friend with a good internet connection).   The other option is to subscribe to a VPN service and use their servers when you need them.  They are fairly inexpensive now and the best ones let you access content all over the world – here’s a few checkpoints for selecting a provider to give you that American address you need.

• Ensure they have software for easy connection – best firms have custom software to make it easy to connect/switch servers
• Your subscription should provide access to multiple servers in multiple countries (not pay per country unless it’s very cheap!)
• Speed is essential especially for streaming media – try a short trial or test before subscribing for any length of time
• Watch out for recurring payments
• If you do subscribe with automatic renewal – select using something like Paypal which you can easily cancel at any time

The prices for these are falling now, but unfortunately there are a lot of  awful services set up by people without the skills and resources to provide a decent infrastructure.  Anyone can set up a VPN and charge people to connect but it takes skill and investment to provide the secure, high speed access people need for these sites.

I use two of these services which I can recommend – both have VPN and proxy services and are very good value.

Identity Cloaker – has proxy and VPN modes and is primarily a security product.  It’s probably the best option for UK based services like the BBC as it has a lot of fast UK servers.  It also has a lot of other servers included though like USA,  Canada and many others.

Overplay – again a good price, simple connection software and probably the biggest international selection of VPN servers of any provider.  Depends if you need Russian or Hungarian servers though.  Good service though and knowledgeable staff.  Easy to sign up for a month and cancel whenever through Paypal

There are lots of others, but I wouldn’t spend more than either of those two as they are probably the best in terms of speed and value.  There are a couple of cheaper ones I’ve tried but their US and UK servers where overloaded and you couldn’t stream video very well.

The guys at Overplay seem to be trying to get a proxy server in just about every country on the planet.  Their latest one is an Indian Proxy and VPN server housed in a datacentre in Maharashtra.  I think this will be one of their more popular servers for a very important reason – cricket !!!  Last year the IPL (Indian Premier League) broadcast their tournament on an official Youtube channel.  However most countries couldn’t get access to this channel, in fact you were only guaranteed access by watching from an Indian IP address.

Of course this wasn’t much help if you were a cricket fan living outside India.  In fact even if you were an Indian cricket fan but were connecting from the wrong place –  you’d get blocked.

I’m not sure what will happen with the IPL this year, the Youtube channel is still there where you can still watch some of the 2010.  Of course it will probably be on a few other channels as well.

I actually get lots of requests about where people can find an Indian Proxy and until now I didn’t really have a good suggestion for them – so I’m glad OverPlay have launched this extra service.

If you’ve never looked at them, the two reasons they stand out are really the sheer number of servers they have in different countries, plus that you get them all included in the standard subscription.  There are loads of companies which charge per country which I think is a complete rip off.

Indian Proxy Plus Loads More

The problem is that there is so much of this IP blocking going on, you encounter it around every corner – one minute you need to be from US, then the UK and later India.  To buy a separate subscription for each one would be ridiculous but fortunately Overplay just let you use any of their proxies in 40 different countries.

This Indian proxy will also attract many Bollywood and Indian TV fans I suspect, there are lots of dedicated media channels which are only accessible to Indian IP addresses.   Here’s Open VPN interface with some of the servers listed.

You just click the server you need and then your real IP address will be obscured and the Overplay one used instead.

So you could watch a little of the IPL one minute, then click through to a US server and watch an episode of The Simpsons on Hulu before changing to a UK proxy server to watch the BBC news – excellent huh ?

It’s becoming an essential tool for anyone online and I’m just glad there’s a few companies like Overplay not trying to overcharge people with ridiculous pricing structures (Overplay is $9.95 per month for access to very server, with no bandwidth restrictions at all – try them out here )

In the end all these companies will I hope switch to some global model so we don’t have to go through these lengths.  It’s creating a two tier internet society, although 10 bucks a month doesn’t sound expensive – it’s a lot of money in many countries of the world.  Until then applications like this are essential for those of us lucky enough to be able to pay for them.

If anyone knows any better deals than Overplay which include an Indian Proxy server or VPN then please let me know.

Someone mentioned to me they had need of a Japan proxy server for some online business they were involved in. It started me thinking about the increasing use of these services. I’ve been using proxies and VPNs most of my life, it started off mainly configuring at work but now they are definitely becoming fairly mainstream technology. Sure many people have probably used them for years too without really noticing. If you can use the internet at work or college, it’s very likely being redirected through a proxy server of some sort in order to maintain, audit and control what comes in and out of the network.

But why do people increasingly need proxies and specifically a Japan proxy or a US proxy etc. Well the two most common reasons by far – are first to bypass network or ISP restrictions blocking people from specific sites. There’s a whole host of content filtering software on most networks and increasingly installed at a country or ISP level which blocks access to specific sites. Using a proxy server can bypass these restrictions in many situations. the product Identity Cloaker is particularly adept at bypassing these blocks in any situation even the advanced content filters such as Websense which easily defeat online proxy sites. Whether this is a priority for you often depends on where you live and work. Trying to access normal technology can be a real pain in locations like Quatar and Saudi Arabia which routinely block useful sites like Skype, Facebook and Youtube for their own particular reasons.

But in these situations any proxy will do and the location is not that important. But sometimes people want a proxy in a specific country.

So Why Would Someone Want a Japan Proxy for Instance?

Well it might be that they wanted to access specific services or content in Japan whilst out of the country. Increasingly many companies are blocking access to different content when accessed outside the country. It may be for licensing issues, perhaps to restrict markets or offers to a specific area. It happens with just about all big TV and media companies for instance – they will all block access from outside their home territory. So if you wanted to watch Japan TV or radio then you’d likely need a Japan proxy server if you were somewhere else in the world.

Here’s what you’ll see if you connect through a Japanese proxy server for instance irrespective of where you are located.

Google uses similar technology to the companies who block based on location. So here Google has decided that we are based in Japan so it would be best to use the Japanese version of it’s search engine. Of course I am not really there but because I have access to a selection of Japanese proxies and VPNs I can access content there if I so wish.

But it’s not all about watching films or TV and shows online. Many people use proxies for marketing and in their online businesses. For instance I know some Australian businessmen who sell lots of stuff in Japan online but have to appear actually be there to post adverts, use Japanese websites and suchlike. Just like Ebay or Craiglist will block certain actions for non-residents, people who use the internet to sell or promote use networks of proxies to hide their real location.

These proxy services used to be very expensive but they have fallen rapidly in price as competition enters the market. Still too many companies try and charge fees for a single proxy or VPN in a specific country though. There are a couple who offer much more flexibility though – my favorite for price and sheer diversity of the servers that they have available is OverPlay, They have Japan proxy servers, more in Singapore, South America, USA, Canada, UK and loads of other places and your $10 subscription includes every single one of them.

Here’s the software in action – it actually make a VPN (Virtual private network connection) to each server simply by selecting the one from a list. This makes it easier to access US Media sites like Hulu, ABC which require a VPN connection to allow access.

It’s a cracking investment I use it to access whatever country I require, I use it in my work online and for watching media sites like the BBC IPlayer, Pandora and Hulu for fun. Check them out especially if you need a hard to find proxy or VPN like Australia or Japan – try them out for a month I’m certain you’ll be amazed at the possibilities it opens up online and there’s no better value believe me I’ve searched – Private Proxy Network

If you have any recommendations on other Japanese VPN or Proxy providers I’d love to hear about them!

Good Luck to all the Japanese People after their losses.

You wouldn’t think it would be that hard but if you have tried searching for an Australian proxy you’ll realise it’s not that easy. The reason I’ve been looking for one is a friend of mine (who is from Australia) is feeling a bit homesick and misses some of his home countries TV stations. He also misses that strange Australian Rules game for some strange reason. There is also some strange desire to ensure that his young children have decent access to the Wiggles, which again I find completely bewildering.

As with most media sites across the world, they are restricted to access from Australian IP addresses, which of course you’ll have to be in Oz to get one.  That is of course unless you connect via a proxy or VPN based there.

Anyway over the fast few weeks I’ve looked pretty hard for a free Australian proxy which he could use. Normally I don’t look for free proxies – it’s pretty much impossible to find a decent US or UK one that lasts for more than a couple of hours but I wondered if Australian ones would be quite as popular. Well to start off I had a look at the obvious places – Proxies by countries (Australia) and indeed found a few. The usual problem though, if after a while filtering and testing you’d find a decent proxy based in Oz then when you went back to it a few hours later it was so slow to be unusable.

There’s frequently none on this site though, but it’s worth a look if  you just have the need for a one-off use for such a proxy.    Anyway I then started looking at some other sites and again found a similar problem – they were both extremely difficult to find and were extremely slow.

There are a few ‘proxy scraper’ tools which are knocking around the internet but they come up with the same sorts of lists and as far as Australian proxies were concerned the list wasn’t terribly long.   In fact I’d pretty much given up when I saw mention of a very fast Open proxy with an Australian IP address on one of  the many proxy IRC channels that exist.

This was indeed super fast and even seemed to hang around for a bit.  Unfortunately a little bit of research showed that it was obviously a mis configured server at an Australian educational establishment.   It was certainly the fastest free Australian proxy I’d ever seen but again after a few days it had disappeared as presumably the admin realised his mistake.

Remember virtually all these free proxies are either accidentally left open servers or worse ones that have been hacked into and turned into open relay proxies.   Behind them all there is a bandwidth bill to be settled as if you allow unlimited traffic through a server then those bills will start rising fast.  The legitimate ones are set up on cheap hosting accounts using scripts like Glype financed by advertising – this is fine for just the occasional web browsing but you can’t watch online video using  them either.

The problem is that bandwidth and hosting accounts in Australia are rather expensive, so it’s unlikely you’ll find many proxies to use that are based in  Australia.   Even the proxy and VPN service providers in most cases don’t bother with Australian proxies due to demand and costs.   The demand for Australian stuff will probably grow though with Foxtel broadcasting more sports, Ten Sports with more free stuff and of course the big National channel ABC which people will definitely like access to.

I had a look at using Tor and Foxy Proxy but no luck here either, it was very difficult to find an Australian exit node you could use that all these channels needed.  In the end I had to recommend a company to provide the service there are one or two who do supply servers in Australia.   I never suggest ones who charge you per server as this get’s really expensive and very annoying when you want to access some content in a different country like Hulu, Pandora in the US or even UK channels if your travelling or on holiday.

So here they are one of the best VPN suppliers I have found, very cheap subscription, don’t force you into direct debits, you can subscribe for a month at a time and best of all they give you access to every single one of their servers included in the subscription.   Try them out for a month and see what you think – they’re called OverPlay.  They also have specific configurations to allow faster access to their Australian proxy from Europe and the US.  If you do try them also check out the other media sites using their other servers – Hulu, NBC and Pandora using the US proxies are great.  Use the UK Servers for  BBC Iplayer, Channel 4, ITV and Channel 5 for some great content that streams really quickly.  You’ll also find some great sites in other countries like M6 Replay in France and some great Canadian TV Sites using those servers.

So my recommendation for a cheap, fast Australian Proxy is OverPlay , the basic subscription also gives you access to hundreds of other servers in different countries, including some fantastic Japanese proxies.

Quick Update – Nov 10th, 2011

Identity Cloaker have also added some Australian Proxies as well although to be honest I haven’t really tested them for speed yet – might be worth checking them. They are similar price but safest to try the 10 day trial first to see if it works ok for you – 10 Day trial.