How to Still Be Able to Watch Your Favorite Shows When on Vacation

Have you ever taken your laptop on a long vacation or trip, only to be disappointed to find that you have been blocked from viewing your favorite videos or television shows online? Geo blocking is a technology which blocks viewers from seeing content unless they are in certain areas of the US, and can determine where a user is by discovering the location of their IP address. Moving out of the location where the content is exclusive to, for example by going on vacation, means that you’re no longer able to view the content that you would like to. However, there’s a way around this which you can use, allowing you to view content from wherever in the world you are based. This service is known as a DNS proxyserver.

What is a DNS Proxy?

When location restricted content is blocked on your computer, it’s because your IP address has been detected as being outside of the location where the content is allowed. However, in short, a DNS proxy service is used to change your computer’s IP address, causing it to become one which can be recognized as being within the location boundaries, and therefore allowing you to unblock the previously geo blocked content. DNS proxy services work from DNS servers, and do not require you to buy any extra physical hardware. It will work on any internet enabled device which you have, including desktops and laptop computers, smartphones, tablets, smart televisions and gaming consoles.

How to Set a DNS Proxy Up

Setting a DNS proxy up is quite a simple procedure. First, you will need to register with a service such as Smart DNS, which will provide you with a DNS IP address to switch your computer’s regular IP address with. You will also be provided with instructions on how to do this so that setup runs smoothly, allowing you to start watching location restricted content almost immediately. DNS proxy services do tend to come with a cost, however there is usually a free trial period, which you can use to test different services and decide which the one which you prefer is.

Virtual Private Networks

You may have heard of a Virtual Private Network (VPN) before, which works in a quite similar way to a DNS proxy service. However, although VPN services were once a popular method for unblocking geo blocked content on the web, they have become more and more outdated, and are now less reliable and slower when being used for this service. VPN’s require software to be downloaded onto your device, and can often interfere with your device performance or even your internet connection, causing any video streaming to be slow, interrupted, or even lagging. However, with a DNS proxy service, there is no need to worry about worsened performance of your device or connection, as the only information which needs to be rerouted to the DNS server is the new IP address.

Why Use a DNS Server?

When it comes to using a DNS proxy server, there are a number of different reasons why users choose to have them, along with the main one of being able to access geo blocked content. In fact, even if you’re not interested in accessing sites and content which have been location restricted, a DNS server can be useful when it comes to increasing the speed and reliability of your internet connection. Many DNS services also come with heightened security options, increasing the security of your device and connection and making it less susceptible to hackers and suspicious and malicious malware.

DNS proxy servers can also be of much use to those who have young children who use the internet at home. Understandably, many parents are worried about what their children may be exposed to online, with a majority of parents using some kind of internet parental control service. With a DNS proxy server, parental control settings are often included along with the other benefits, giving users the option to log in and set up website filtering, choosing different categories of websites which you don’t want to be displayed. Once these settings have been changed on the main DNS server website, you can be assured that they will apply to every device in your home which is connected to your main internet connection.

DNS proxy servers have a number of uses, as well as being useful when it comes to watching your favorite television shows when on vacation. Have you used a DNS server? How did you find it useful? Let us know in the comments.

Articles You May Like