If there is anything that can be annoying, it is being denied access to your favorite content basing on geographical location.
Geographical-based content censorship is not only a problem with oppressive governments like the Communist Party of China but may also be imposed by brands to make you pay more for their content.
For instance, a Netflix subscription may be more expensive in the U.S. than in Russia prompting U.S. consumers to prefer buying from Russian platforms. To prevent this, Netflix may impose a geo-block so that consumers outside Russia are not able to access its content from Russian platforms.
Whatever the reason for geo-blocking, we can all agree that it is not a pleasing experience for internet users. However, the good news is that with a good virtual private network (VPN), you can circumvent these geo-blocks to access your favorite content from anywhere across the globe.
What is a virtual private network (VPN)?
A VPN, short form for virtual private network, is a tool that masks the real IP address of an internet user by rerouting their internet traffic to a server in a given location before directing it to its final destination.
This means that a VPN user can appear to be surfing the web from a country of their choice without having to physically be in that country.
The best VPN providers usually come with multiple servers in different locations to give their users the option to switch their fake location to multiple countries. With this type of VPN, you can access geo-restricted content from different countries without having to change VPNs.
How does geo-blocking work?
Every computer on the web has a unique number that identifies it from other computers.
This number is known as Internet Protocol (IP) Address and usually, reflect the hosting ISP details and the geographical location of a computer. Geo-blocking involves classifying content viewers according to their IP address and denying access to those with an IP address associated with a given region.
A VPN bypasses geo-restriction by rerouting user internet traffic through a server located in their region of choice and assigning them a fake IP address showing that they are in that region.
What to look for in a virtual private network (VPN)
A reputable VPN should be stable, have a no-log policy and should not compromise your internet speed.
When shopping for a VPN, we recommend that you pay attention to the above factors among others such as accessibility, ease of use, versatility, and encryption reliability.
Also, ensure that the VPN provider offers static IP and have no bandwidth thresholds when it comes to P2P functionality. While price is another thing that you should pay attention to, you should avoid free and extremely low priced VPNs because, in most instances, there is still a price to pay.
Remember that free or cheap VPNs may be compromised in terms of quality and in some instances they may be offered by hackers as a way to gain entry into your devices. Always settle for well-known brands especially those known to bypass VPN blocks.
VPN blocks and what to do about them
Some countries and brands have realized the potential of VPNs and are now implementing measures to curb their usage.
For instance, in 2014, Netflix bowed to industry pressure and started implementing an anti-VPN technology to detect and block users. The Chinese government has also in the past instructed ISPs to block citizen’s abilities to bypass the great firewall of China.
However, informed internet users need not to be worried about VPN Blocks since there are numerous ways to circumvent it. In fact, some top VPN providers have already included features to bypass VPN-Blocks in their technologies.
Cyberghost, a popular VPN with over 2,800 servers across the globe, is one of the few VPNs with this feature. Read a review of CyberGhost services.
Others include ExpressVPN, NordVPN, TorGuard, IPVanish, and PrivateVPN. Apart from the anti-VPN block feature, these VPNs top the list of the most popular in the industry and have a reputation for speed and security.
We recommend that you compare them to determine the one that is suitable for your needs. While we can guarantee the reputation of the VPN providers mentioned above, we encourage you to do further due diligence by reading online reviews before settling on a given provider.
Wrap up
With a virtual private network (VPN), you need not to be worried about missing out on your favorite content due to geo-blocking. The best come with multiple servers to enable users to access content from several geo-blocked locations. When shopping for a VPN, it is important to ensure that it is highly reputable in terms of speed, security, ease of use, versatility, and encryption reliability.
Also, choose a VPN that can bypass VPN-blocks when accessing sites such as Netflix. The list mentioned earlier in this article presents the best options. However, you need to carry further due diligence to ensure that you settle for the one that perfectly meets your needs.
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