# US sites and protectionism :)



## pronse (Apr 3, 2009)

Lately, many US websites (Walmart, Netflix, banks, shopping, etc) would show you a failed msg if you try to access them from out of the US!
I can understand the reasons but it's indicative of how vulnerable we've become and don't really know how to confront it?

What's the meaning of being an American if you can't travel? Duh!

I use VPNs to connect as if I am in the US. It's expensive to block VPN connections but some do.




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## Tukaram (Dec 18, 2014)

I think it has mostly to do with advertising money. Before Netflix was available in the PIs I could use a VPN with no problems. Now that they are licensed in the PIs they keep trying to block the VPNs. A good VPN company still gets around it. The Philippine Netflix choices are terribly limited, so I still want to use the VPN. 

A lot of YouTube content is restricted by countries too.

I have even had online shops cancel my order as soon as I enter my mail forwarding address. It immediately kicked back as a fake address. Others have balked at the VPN. So, they know, some just don't care. 

My bank does not care if I use a VPN. I have a mail forwarding company handle my mail (so the bank does not have my real address). I use a VPN for the website. I use MagicJack to call them. As long as they have my money - they don't seem to care.


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## pronse (Apr 3, 2009)

I agree regarding Netflix. I used to get it too but switched to their flipino Netflix when they switched too.
Buy, what's with the shopping sites? Walmart? Target? Etc.
What's with even phone companies? What's with others?
I expect more of the same though..
I too, use a mail forwarding service and still have my address in the US. Otherwise, no one would give me money 

What's a tried VPN that you use?
It's better not to try one then discover it's not working.

I use the free version of Tunnel Bear. I figured that Walmart doesn't want to ship if it discovers it. 
Amazon don't even require VPN for people to buy. You can order right away. No wonder Walmart is losing 


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## Tukaram (Dec 18, 2014)

I use Private Internet Access. It came highly recommended on the torrent boards. They are based outside the US. They say they keep no records of your traffic. When signing up you can pay with a store gift card (they use Target and WalMart as examples). So you never even have to give them your name or any contact info. I have used them for 3 years and been very happy with them. Recently Russia tried to make them keep tracking records - so they voluntarily shut down their Russian servers. I think it is like $35 a year.


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## Rebaqshratz (May 15, 2016)

Can someone please explain what this discussion is all about. I layman's terms lol I will be full time in the PI as of early May. Thanks

Reba


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

Rebaqshratz said:


> Can someone please explain what this discussion is all about. I layman's terms lol I will be full time in the PI as of early May. Thanks
> 
> Reba


A lot of the internet is country specific so people load special sofware on to their computers to spoof their location. It tends to be a game of cat and mouse between VPNs being blocked and new ones appearing.


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## Tukaram (Dec 18, 2014)

The VPN is a virtual private network. There are ways to set up your own, but most people use a service provider. The VPN allows you to trick the net into seeing your computer in another country (it basically gives you a different address). My service lets me pick what country or state I want to be "in".

Some content providers (YouTube etc) restrict access by country. One of my videos I uploaded says it is not available in Germany...because of a background song in it. Odd, but ok. I find it useful in banking. Some US banks get weird if you access them from overseas. Using a VPN you can pick a server and your bank thinks you are still there. (my bank does not care but Western Union did). Some online stores also try to make you use their site in whatever country you are in. Target tries to make me use their international site (but now allows you to still use the US site). 

Netflix has a complete different offering of shows in the PIs and the US. Using a VPN I can tell Netflix I am in the US and get many more shows. Sometimes I switch it to Canada or England and get a different offering of shows.


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## Rebaqshratz (May 15, 2016)

Thanks I had no clue!


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## pronse (Apr 3, 2009)

Check this site: whatsmyip.org. It tells what those websites can tell about you when you just visit them.


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## fmartin_gila (May 15, 2011)

pronse said:


> Check this site: whatsmyip.org. It tells what those websites can tell about you when you just visit them.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


It shows I am in Cebu City.

Fred


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## pronse (Apr 3, 2009)

That's your main gateway to the internet but not your location.
The ISP here connect you to the main which then connects you to the net.
These main ones could be anywhere but they are country specific.
Here, the main ones are in Manila and Cebu.
Heck, all we have is just two providers 


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## JShannon (Jan 28, 2014)

Tukaram said:


> I use Private Internet Access. It came highly recommended on the torrent boards. They are based outside the US. They say they keep no records of your traffic. When signing up you can pay with a store gift card (they use Target and WalMart as examples). So you never even have to give them your name or any contact info. I have used them for 3 years and been very happy with them. Recently Russia tried to make them keep tracking records - so they voluntarily shut down their Russian servers. I think it is like $35 a year.


Do you notice any speed reduction in your connection using PIA? I have never used a VPN before, downloaded one for a free trial and it cut my speed in more than half. PIA doesn't have a free trial.

Thanks


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

JShannon said:


> Do you notice any speed reduction in your connection using PIA? I have never used a VPN before, downloaded one for a free trial and it cut my speed in more than half. PIA doesn't have a free trial.
> 
> Thanks


I downloaded one a few days ago called "Hot Spot Shield." I used it maybe 3 times just for fun to test it out and noticed no difference, no drop in connection speed*. It's free so what the heck, it was worth trying. Not sure I'll ever really use the thing but was something I'd never tried before.

Jet Lag

* Should be noted here that IP speed here in paradise is slow to begin with..


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## JShannon (Jan 28, 2014)

Yes, the slow speed here does go without saying!!


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## Tukaram (Dec 18, 2014)

JShannon said:


> Do you notice any speed reduction in your connection using PIA? I have never used a VPN before, downloaded one for a free trial and it cut my speed in more than half. PIA doesn't have a free trial.
> 
> Thanks


No speed reduction and surprisingly quite often it gets faster. My guess is that Globe gets confused by the VPN and doesn't put their normal throttling on it. I get my best speeds out of Romania. Can't watch Netflix from Romania, but it is great for downloading torrents.


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## SierraMadreMe (Mar 26, 2015)

You folks might want to consider the Opera Browser with built in free vpn.I can't vouch for the privacy aspect,but it certainly does fool the exclusionary software that many sites employ these days to block traffic from certain areas.

Might want to also consider that the Philippines is well known as being a hotbed of hacking.It is far easier to block an entire country,than it is to continually block offending ip's.

SMM


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## pronse (Apr 3, 2009)

I downloaded the Opera browser on my Laptop but connecting to the US would take a loooong time!
If you allow it to pick what country it likes, you might get that country's website and language, like it did with me (Amazon.de).

I think it works though?

So, I went back to what I use ... Browsec on Chrome browser. It's free too  
Beware .. some apps don't have extensions for other browsers!


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## SierraMadreMe (Mar 26, 2015)

pronse said:


> I downloaded the Opera browser on my Laptop but connecting to the US would take a loooong time!
> If you allow it to pick what country it likes, you might get that country's website and language, like it did with me (Amazon.de).
> 
> I think it works though?
> ...


I wouldn't use Google Chrome for nuthin.Google should have to register as a spy agency...same with that doggone Facecrook.

Opera uses the same browser engine as Shmoogle Chrome,but without all the spying cr*p.No reason for it to take long to access the US ip address..in fact it is almost instant.

But Wait! There's more! You can even select what country to use as your proxy.Choose between US..Canada..Netherlands..Germany..Singapore .

Opera is a good browser and fast,but without all that annoying snoopy stuff.

http://www.opera.com/computer/features/free-vpn

Try it.

You can thank me later.

SMM


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## pronse (Apr 3, 2009)

No matter how long I try on Opera, connecting to the US is not possible. So,dump it .. it's propaganda


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

pronse said:


> Check this site: whatsmyip.org. It tells what those websites can tell about you when you just visit them.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Although I don't need a VPN I tried Opera today. I't's a bit faster than Chrome or Firefox if the VPN is turned off. It was able to import all my bookmarks etc so will continue using it for a few days and see how it goes.


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## SierraMadreMe (Mar 26, 2015)

pronse said:


> No matter how long I try on Opera, connecting to the US is not possible. So,dump it .. it's propaganda


Just because you can't figure out how to use it does not make it "propaganda".I use it everyday,and often all day long without a problem at all.If I can use it without a problem,then why can't you?It's the same as using a proxy,without all the mess.

You said you use Chrome.Did you know that it reports all your internet data back to Google?Go ahead if you want,but the one time I used Chrome,I got a rash...might have even been an STD.Never know what you will get if you use Chrome.


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## fmartin_gila (May 15, 2011)

SierraMadreMe said:


> the one time I used Chrome,I got a rash...might have even been an STD.Never know what you will get if you use Chrome.


LOLOL::: Goes along with the story some of the guys would tell about getting VD from a toilet seat back when I was in the Marines too many years ago. I picked it up a few times myself from some of the shady ladies. At least I didn't try to BS anybody about where it came from. I really learned to like penicillin shots in the butt, at least they got rid of the peeing pain & drip.

Fred


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## pronse (Apr 3, 2009)

SierraMadreMe said:


> Just because you can't figure out how to use it does not make it "propaganda".I use it everyday,and often all day long without a problem at all.If I can use it without a problem,then why can't you?It's the same as using a proxy,without all the mess.
> 
> You said you use Chrome.Did you know that it reports all your internet data back to Google?Go ahead if you want,but the one time I used Chrome,I got a rash...might have even been an STD.Never know what you will get if you use Chrome.


It's simple to use but it don't work. There could be other reasons like my location.

As for using Chrome, then what would Google want to know that I would care about?
For all I care they could see my behind like every body


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## SierraMadreMe (Mar 26, 2015)

pronse said:


> It's simple to use but it don't work. There could be other reasons like my location.
> 
> As for using Chrome, then what would Google want to know that I would care about?
> For all I care they could see my behind like every body


That is a prevalent Filipino attitude that can come back to haunt people.Surrendering a persons privacy so easily,makes it easier to give up rights later on.Desensitization is a word that could be roughly applied here.The more you agree to give up,the more you will be expected to give up.

As far as Opera goes..I don't know what to tell you.I have never seen or heard of anyone having an issue with it,but your privacy doesn't seem to be a priority to you,so go with what you like.


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

I've been using my new Opera browser all day and no problem at all. It's faster than the others. Even tried the VPN and was much faster than yesterday. Only downside is if I needed the VFP to connect to the US I can't see a way to do it. It kept connecting me to the Netherlands for some reason. Anyway the plain browser works and works well.

Jet


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## SierraMadreMe (Mar 26, 2015)

I don't know why it is defaulting to The Netherlands for you JL.You can select the country you wish to access from if you so choose.In case you might have missed it,when the VPN button turns blue,it means that the VPN is working.If you click on the VPN icon,a drop down menu will present itself,and you can then select the country you want to access the internet through..

Just in case you missed it though.

BTW: You can also go a step further and select New Private Window which also deletes all the browser info from the session when the browser window closes.The private window is available by clicking on the red Opera icon.

SMM


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

SierraMadreMe said:


> I don't know why it is defaulting to The Netherlands for you JL.You can select the country you wish to access from if you so choose.In case you might have missed it,when the VPN button turns blue,it means that the VPN is working.If you click on the VPN icon,a drop down menu will present itself,and you can then select the country you want to access the internet through..
> 
> Just in case you missed it though.
> 
> ...


Ahh okay now I understand and will give it a try. I've run into news stories and movies etc that will not let me watch from here so that VPN might be just the ticket. I've been enjoying the different Star Trek series on the Watch Series site and that does not require a VPN.


Thanks Again


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## hogrider (May 25, 2010)

SierraMadreMe said:


> That is a prevalent Filipino attitude that can come back to haunt people.Surrendering a persons privacy so easily,makes it easier to give up rights later on.Desensitization is a word that could be roughly applied here.The more you agree to give up,the more you will be expected to give up.
> 
> As far as Opera goes..I don't know what to tell you.I have never seen or heard of anyone having an issue with it,but your privacy doesn't seem to be a priority to you,so go with what you like.


I can use Opera OK, it seems about the same speed as Safari. However, I cannot use the VPN function. When I switch it on it just keeps trying to connect but never actually connects. I suspect it's my ISP blocking it.


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

*Data Tracking*

Here's a Good Article related to data tracking when using Google.

(source: Fox News)


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