"How Netflix Will Deal With Australian (and New Zealand) VPN Users"

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#1197921 15-Dec-2014 16:35

JimmyH:
SepticSceptic: Sony should invest some hard earned cash into setting up anti-VPN geo-locking services for their Playstation Network, and then on-sell that technique to Netflix and other streamers. They'd make zillion dollars.

If it could be done ....

Why would Netflix want to spend money purchasing a system just so it is then able to reduce its number of paying customers?

The point is , is that it probably could not be done. If it could be done, Sony probably would have implemented it first for their PSN. Since Sony can't, it's pretty unreasonable to expect Netflix to do the same. Howling into the wind, AFAIAC

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Rikkitic

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#1197979 15-Dec-2014 17:53

This seems like an old argument to me. There used to be a time when most US-based businesses wouldn't ship overseas. So companies sprang up to provide local address and shipping services. Many commercial VPN and proxy services came into being as a direct result of geo-blocking. Others provided protection against download tracking. If payments are used to screen people, new businesses will come into being that offer proxy payment services. This is a cat and mouse game that never ends and those who actually think they can win this also probably think they can poke a hole in water.

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old3eyes

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#1206476 31-Dec-2014 14:12

This doesn't look too good. So far only the Android app. Guess the others will follow

Netflix making effort to block geoblock circumvention

Regards,

Old3eyes

trig42

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#1206523 31-Dec-2014 14:44

Ooh, that is bad.

I hope a way is worked out to get around this. I just paid for another year of Unotelly :(

richms

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#1206532 31-Dec-2014 15:01

Does redirecting 8.8.8.8 to a different dns work to make it work or is it actually checking that the requests go thr u googles DNS?

Richard rich.ms

sultanoswing

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#1206537 31-Dec-2014 15:25

old3eyes: This doesn't look too good. So far only the Android app. Guess the others will follow

Netflix making effort to block geoblock circumvention

This is old news, from October. Workarounds already exist (use a VPN, use an older version of the app, or get a decent router that can be set up to route traffic properly):
http://help.unotelly.com/support/articles/199318-netflix-3-7-2-not-working-on-android

mckenndk

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#1206550 31-Dec-2014 15:50

sultanoswing:
old3eyes: This doesn't look too good. So far only the Android app. Guess the others will follow

Netflix making effort to block geoblock circumvention

This is old news, from October. Workarounds already exist (use a VPN, use an older version of the app, or get a decent router that can be set up to route traffic properly):
http://help.unotelly.com/support/articles/199318-netflix-3-7-2-not-working-on-android

If you have a chromecast you would have your router sending Google's DNS requests to unotelly anyway so you can get the most out of it.

NonprayingMantis

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#1206566 31-Dec-2014 16:11

Rikkitic: This seems like an old argument to me. There used to be a time when most US-based businesses wouldn't ship overseas. So companies sprang up to provide local address and shipping services. Many commercial VPN and proxy services came into being as a direct result of geo-blocking. Others provided protection against download tracking. If payments are used to screen people, new businesses will come into being that offer proxy payment services. This is a cat and mouse game that never ends and those who actually think they can win this also probably think they can poke a hole in water.

The bit you are missing is that they don't need a method that stops all unblockers 100% of the time.
All they need to do is make it harder than 'trivially easy' for people to bypass geo blocking. That will stop the majority of people doing it.
It doesn't matter that workarounds exist and will continue to exist. Most people will have no idea how to use the workarounds and can't be botherd to learn. Sony, netflix etc don't care if a small minority get around their blocking.

Take slingshot global mode. At launch, it just 'worked' all the average joe needed to do was go to netflx and sign up using a fake address. Easy peasy.

But if the average joe now needs to worry about payment methods, changing DNS etc they aren't going to bother.

freitasm

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#1206571 31-Dec-2014 16:30

As above, old news. You can just configure UnoTelly on your router, then easily configure the firewall on your router to block outgoing connections to Google DNS, or null route these requests (if your router has more configuration options), or route to the DNS of your choice.

Nothing really to see here...

Kyanar

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#1207119 2-Jan-2015 12:01

freitasm: As above, old news. You can just configure UnoTelly on your router, then easily configure the firewall on your router to block outgoing connections to Google DNS, or null route these requests (if your router has more configuration options), or route to the DNS of your choice.

Nothing really to see here...

Actually if you block Google DNS, it will cause the app to not work at all, according to reports. So you have to redirect it (which isn't possible on all routers).

logo

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#1207142 2-Jan-2015 13:32

NonprayingMantis:
Rikkitic: This seems like an old argument to me. There used to be a time when most US-based businesses wouldn't ship overseas. So companies sprang up to provide local address and shipping services. Many commercial VPN and proxy services came into being as a direct result of geo-blocking. Others provided protection against download tracking. If payments are used to screen people, new businesses will come into being that offer proxy payment services. This is a cat and mouse game that never ends and those who actually think they can win this also probably think they can poke a hole in water.

The bit you are missing is that they don't need a method that stops all unblockers 100% of the time.
All they need to do is make it harder than 'trivially easy' for people to bypass geo blocking. That will stop the majority of people doing it.
It doesn't matter that workarounds exist and will continue to exist. Most people will have no idea how to use the workarounds and can't be botherd to learn. Sony, netflix etc don't care if a small minority get around their blocking.

Take slingshot global mode. At launch, it just 'worked' all the average joe needed to do was go to netflx and sign up using a fake address. Easy peasy.

But if the average joe now needs to worry about payment methods, changing DNS etc they aren't going to bother.

Exactly - I'm not going to suggest to my family and friends to get netflix US if every time they change something, I'm the one they all call to make it work again.

lchiu7

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#1207831 3-Jan-2015 21:34

Kyanar:
freitasm: As above, old news. You can just configure UnoTelly on your router, then easily configure the firewall on your router to block outgoing connections to Google DNS, or null route these requests (if your router has more configuration options), or route to the DNS of your choice.

Nothing really to see here...

Actually if you block Google DNS, it will cause the app to not work at all, according to reports. So you have to redirect it (which isn't possible on all routers).

I had problems routing Google's DNS to some other address not on my network to make my Chromecast work. The Chromecast would work but the my phone would not. Well it would display the programme summaries but would not play them.

In the end I just blocked the Chromecast MAC address from reaching Google's DNS and now both the Chromecast and my phone work fine.

As an aside if Netflix really wanted to make it harder for overseas users, why don't they block all non-US credit cards?

I have certainly encountered e-tailers in the US who won't accept non-US credit cards so it's hardly difficult to do. There are ways around it but but it would reduce the number of overseas users a fair bit I would imagine.

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macuser

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#1207845 3-Jan-2015 21:53

Actually you just redirect 8.8.8.8/8.8.4.4 to your routers IP address, we did this on our technicolor router and it works sweet as.

You can see here https://support.unlocator.com/customer/portal/articles/1501508-how-to-set-up-technicolor-router-for-chromecast