"Unblock-us", for watching Netflix abroad, trashes Windows on uninstall

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kingdragonfly

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#152013 13-Sep-2014 09:26

Here in New Zealand, we can't watch Netflix without using some DNS relocator.

I used "Unblock-us", which was a little annoying to set up, and trashed my Windows 7 network adapter on uninstall.

Also stopping the recurring payment had to be done in two different places: once from "unblock-us", and repeated again from Paypal.

On setup, I had to manually find the executable, and add it to the start menu, startup group. Apparently my ISP changes IP address frequently.

My ISP added a new feature that eliminates the need for a DNS relocator to watch Netflix.

So I uninstalled "unblock-us" software.

Immediately I lost the Network Adapter. Weirdly "IPconfig" for "Local Area Connection" had no DNS setting: the IP address was there but the DNS line was completely missing.

Under Control Panel...Network and Sharing ... Change adapter settings, the window was blank.

I uninstalled the network adapter, through device manager, and reinstalled without luck.

Only by using the command line could I get my IP settings to work

netsh interface ipv4 set address name="Local Area Connection" static 10.1.1.16 255.255.255.0 10.1.1.1

netsh interface ipv4 set dnsservers name="Local Area Connection" source=static address="10.1.1.1" validate=no

So not really a satisfied customer.

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#1127668 13-Sep-2014 09:54

Huh?

You just need to alter the DNS setting. What sort of software do you install?

kingdragonfly

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#1127676 13-Sep-2014 09:59

As I said, my network adapter disappeared from the GUI; It is only configurable by the command line now.

Reinstalling drivers, and device, did not fix.

Nothing in the event logs

I can cruise the Internet OK, and my computer is usable, but I'll probably have to reinstall Windows as some point to clean up

semigeek

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#1127691 13-Sep-2014 10:07

Did you use the Easy Setup App? Why not just manually enter the DNS addresses into your system or into your modem/router?

kingdragonfly

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#1127717 13-Sep-2014 11:11

Every couple of days Unblock-us would lose its association with my PC.

So I installed their software, that runs in the system tray.

My ISP must have been changing more than just my DHCP IP address.

jamesrt

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#1127787 13-Sep-2014 12:30

It's possible to hide a network adapter from the Windows GUI by setting a registry value in the entry associated with the adapter.

The magic setting is the "*NdisDeviceType" entry (yes, with a star); a non-zero value will prevent the Network Adapter from being shown in the Network control panel thing (sorry, that was a little vague; I'm typing this on my Macbook and can't lookup the exact wording for the Windows GUI).

You could try searching the Windows Registry for "*NdisDeviceType", and if you find one somewhere under a sub-key of

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E972-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

then it'll probably be the right one; try setting the value to 0 if it's non-zero, and rebooting. Make sure you record the path to the entry so you can restore the value if things don't do what you want.

I originally discovered this when trying to sort out a VMWare Workstation issue, check "http://aspoc.net/archives/2008/10/30/unidentified-network-issue-with-vmwares-virtual-nics-in-vista/" or google search for "NdisDeviceType" to get more information.

This is advice only - I take no responsibility for a broken PC if you actually follow this advice!

kingdragonfly

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#1128233 14-Sep-2014 11:31

Interesting. Thanks JamesRt

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boland

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#1129863 16-Sep-2014 12:53

I switched to UnoTelly, that works like a rocket!

grant_k

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#1129866 16-Sep-2014 12:56

Another vote for UnoTelly. So easy, and no software to install.

petes117

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#1129872 16-Sep-2014 13:04

Spotflux works for me with Netflix. It's free, but can be a bit unreliable sometimes.

old3eyes

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#1130046 16-Sep-2014 16:10

Just as a matter of interest , how much is Unblock-us per month. Their website says "For only $4.99 a month" but is that per month if you sign up for 12 months or per month literally??

Regards,

Old3eyes

graemeh

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#1130050 16-Sep-2014 16:15

old3eyes: Just as a matter of interest , how much is Unblock-us per month. Their website says "For only $4.99 a month" but is that per month if you sign up for 12 months or per month literally??

It is literally $4.99 per month.

What they don't make clear is that is in Canadian dollars not US$.

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xpd

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#1130054 16-Sep-2014 16:31

kingdragonfly: Every couple of days Unblock-us would lose its association with my PC.

So I installed their software, that runs in the system tray.

My ISP must have been changing more than just my DHCP IP address.

Which ISP....

XPD / Gavin

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benokobi

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#1130097 16-Sep-2014 17:17

boland: I switched to UnoTelly, that works like a rocket!

The reason he had this problem was he installed a program that obviously automatically updated his ip addresses with their records. If he was on UnoTelly he would have to manually go to the website every time it happens.

boland

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#1130207 16-Sep-2014 20:01

benokobi:
boland: I switched to UnoTelly, that works like a rocket!
The reason he had this problem was he installed a program that obviously automatically updated his ip addresses with their records. If he was on UnoTelly he would have to manually go to the website every time it happens.

Unotelly has something similar. I don't use it anymore, but it has some tooling to auto update your IP address.

Support from Unotelly is amazing. I subscribed one day, something went wrong, so I e-mailed. Within 5 minutes (no kidding) a long reply, issue investigated and solved. At 8am NZ time. Wow.

grant_k

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#1130209 16-Sep-2014 20:04

benokobi: The reason he had this problem was he installed a program that obviously automatically updated his ip addresses with their records. If he was on UnoTelly he would have to manually go to the website every time it happens.

That's no longer correct. Unotelly provides various ways to update your IP address without going near their website:

A Task Scheduler job
A Batch File
Unohelper
An URL that you can visit without needing to login to your account
DynDNS in your router

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