unblock-us VPN on Fritzbox

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3puttssuck

744 posts

Ultimate Geek

#185150 11-Nov-2015 18:58

I currently have 2 Apple TV's running unblock-us VPN software. I'm thinking about setting up my Fritzbox with the DNS settings instead. Are there any advantages or disadvantages with doing this to my router. TIA.

SaltyNZ

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#1426457 11-Nov-2015 19:27

It means you don't have to setup any other devices individually ever again.

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These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.

3puttssuck

744 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1426486 11-Nov-2015 19:41

From a 2degrees prospective, no problems with the end user doing this. It won't effect performance or stability etc ?

SaltyNZ

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#1426489 11-Nov-2015 19:44

From the internet side, nobody can see the difference. There is a slight trick to it if you're using IPv6, which is that you will need to convert the IPv4 addresses to IPv6 and load them as well as the IPv4 addresses, but other than that it works perfectly. I had mine configured that way just fine.

iPad Pro 11" + iPhone 15 Pro Max + 2degrees 4tw!

These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.

3puttssuck

744 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1426490 11-Nov-2015 19:45

SaltyNZ: From the internet side, nobody can see the difference. There is a slight trick to it if you're using IPv6, which is that you will need to convert the IPv4 addresses to IPv6 and load them as well as the IPv4 addresses, but other than that it works perfectly. I had mine configured that way just fine.

Thanks SaltyNZ. I would never use IPv6. Looks like the way to go.

UncleArthur

197 posts

Master Geek

#1426644 12-Nov-2015 01:07

3puttssuck:
SaltyNZ: From the internet side, nobody can see the difference. There is a slight trick to it if you're using IPv6, which is that you will need to convert the IPv4 addresses to IPv6 and load them as well as the IPv4 addresses, but other than that it works perfectly. I had mine configured that way just fine.

Thanks SaltyNZ. I would never use IPv6. Looks like the way to go.

Never is a long time to be sure you won't ever use IPv6... Can we chalk that one next to Bill Gates with his famous "no one will ever need more than 640kb of ram?"

Jiriteach

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#1426665 12-Nov-2015 07:08

UncleArthur:
3puttssuck:
SaltyNZ: From the internet side, nobody can see the difference. There is a slight trick to it if you're using IPv6, which is that you will need to convert the IPv4 addresses to IPv6 and load them as well as the IPv4 addresses, but other than that it works perfectly. I had mine configured that way just fine.

Thanks SaltyNZ. I would never use IPv6. Looks like the way to go.

Never is a long time to be sure you won't ever use IPv6... Can we chalk that one next to Bill Gates with his famous "no one will ever need more than 640kb of ram?"

BTW that trick of converting the IPV4 address to IPV6 doesn't work anymore on the FritzBox's. It locks them up. Have tried many times.
Recommendation is to turn off IPV6.

But otherwise Unblock US works perfectly fine on the FritzBox.

-- opinions expressed by me are solely my own. ie - personal

nathan

5695 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1426681 12-Nov-2015 07:56

3puttssuck: I currently have 2 Apple TV's running unblock-us VPN software. I'm thinking about setting up my Fritzbox with the DNS settings instead. Are there any advantages or disadvantages with doing this to my router. TIA.

If you’re going to use a service like unblock-us, then its better if you set it up on a per-device basis.

Unblock-us basically does a combination of DNS poisoning + reverse proxy.

When your device tries to contact the NetFlix authorization server, instead of resolving to the real server, it resolves to unblock-us’s reverse proxy. Your device then talks to that reverse proxy, which then talks to NetFlix on your behalf. So as far as NetFlix is concerned, you’re coming from a device that’s located in the US. It issues you a token, which you then take off to the NetFlix content servers (which aren’t geo-fenced), and ask to stream the content. This is great, because it only means the authentication traffic is going over unblock-us, and your streaming speeds are not limited by the VPN speed.

Content Distribution Networks (Akamai, Windows Update, Youtube, etc), work by looking at the DNS server that the DNS requests are coming from, and returning the IP address for a node/datacentre that is closest to that DNS server. They establish this “ping matrix” by pinging the DNS servers from their different nodes

In the case that you ARE using your ISPs DNS server, they work with the CDNs to make sure that you get a node is “close” to you – ideally, on their own network.

But for unblock-us, the question is: for a DNS request that they are NOT going to poison/reverse-proxy, where is that DNS server going to be, in relation to the CDNs?

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SaltyNZ

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#1426735 12-Nov-2015 09:18

nathan:

If you’re going to use a service like unblock-us, then its better if you set it up on a per-device basis.

But for unblock-us, the question is: for a DNS request that they are NOT going to poison/reverse-proxy, where is that DNS server going to be, in relation to the CDNs?

I don't see how it makes any difference whether I setup my PC with Unblock-US servers directly, or setup my router with Unblock-US servers to tell my PC via DHCP. Either way, my PC ends up using Unblock-US servers.

It may make a few milliseconds less latency for devices that won't be used for watching Netflix, but personally I've never had a problem with the speed of the Unblock-US servers. The ones I am currently using are in Queensland and NSW, although if I go to their setup page now, they want to point me at a couple in California.

iPad Pro 11" + iPhone 15 Pro Max + 2degrees 4tw!

These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.

n4

959 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1426769 12-Nov-2015 10:04

SaltyNZ:
nathan:

If you’re going to use a service like unblock-us, then its better if you set it up on a per-device basis.

But for unblock-us, the question is: for a DNS request that they are NOT going to poison/reverse-proxy, where is that DNS server going to be, in relation to the CDNs?

I don't see how it makes any difference whether I setup my PC with Unblock-US servers directly, or setup my router with Unblock-US servers to tell my PC via DHCP. Either way, my PC ends up using Unblock-US servers.

It may make a few milliseconds less latency for devices that won't be used for watching Netflix, but personally I've never had a problem with the speed of the Unblock-US servers. The ones I am currently using are in Queensland and NSW, although if I go to their setup page now, they want to point me at a couple in California.

Or avoid the issue entirely by using Unotelly (has a server in Auckland).

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