VPN tips, advice, recommendations, etc.

mtnskater said:
Well I'm not having much luck. I downloaded the Opera Browser and watched the tutorial (thanks @Dai's Blues for Klook). I set my VPN location in Asia but when I try to search using the link you gave for the men's free or type in ISU YouTube it says I'm not connected to the internet, which I know I am.

If Peacock would not have changed the game on us this year, this would not be an issue for me to take all this time to try and figure out how to get Opera to work. :angryfire I would appreciate any other suggestions people have as to why it says I'm not connected to the internet for some reason.
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Is the Opera browser actually connecting to your internet and you're just not finding it on YouTube's website? If so, like ChelleC said, you might need to play around with the VPN location. Or, doublecheck that your computer system is allowing the Opera browser to connect to the internet.
 
For major comps, it’s best to use a VPN that lets you select a specific country. Opera’s Asia setting may connect you in Japan or Korea where tv rights are an issue. Better to choose Thailand. Same with Europe, Monaco and Luxembourg are typically safe. And I’ve had good luck with Argentina.
 
GoneWithTheWind said:
Probably a slightly niche option, but when I looked into getting a VPN a few years ago I discovered that my McAfee antivirus subscription had one included in the price. I've been using their VPN since then; it works pretty well and is really easy to use, there's a good selection of countries available (nearly 40) including several which tend to appear on the ISU's non-geoblocked list. It also usually works to watch geoblocked content on the CBC Sport website (it's a little less reliable here, I think CBC Sports are very tight with their blocking), which may be useful for those who like Canadian coverage?

However, if you brought it as a standalone product, it would probably be considerably more expensive than other options, but might be worth looking into for anyone who wants new antivirus/already has McAfee? I know Norton also has a similar service, but I've never used it so cannot comment.
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I have McAfee subscription on my computer but I can't find anything about the VPN? Where should I be looking to select it or whatever I have to do if I have McAfee to make the ISU channel work? If I have to click something or do something, I can't find where to do that. :shuffle:
 
BaileyCatts said:
I have McAfee subscription on my computer but I can't find anything about the VPN? Where should I be looking to select it or whatever I have to do if I have McAfee to make the ISU channel work? If I have to click something or do something, I can't find where to do that. :shuffle:
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I have a direct link to McAfee LiveSafe app on my front screen (running Windows 11, but it was the same on 10 and 8), which appeared when I downloaded it for the first time. When I open it up the screen looks like this and I select the VPN option. If it isn't one of the quick links, then you could try this article about setting up the McAfee VPN which should help you find the link to it and get it working: https://www.mcafee.com/support/?articleId=TS103018&page=shell&shell=article-view

It seems the VPN is only included with Total Protection or LiveSafe, so if you have a different sort of subscription, it may not be available?

Hope that helps!
 
GoneWithTheWind said:
I have a direct link to McAfee LiveSafe app on my front screen (running Windows 11, but it was the same on 10 and 8), which appeared when I downloaded it for the first time. When I open it up the screen looks like this and I select the VPN option. If it isn't one of the quick links, then you could try this article about setting up the McAfee VPN which should help you find the link to it and get it working: https://www.mcafee.com/support/?articleId=TS103018&page=shell&shell=article-view

It seems the VPN is only included with Total Protection or LiveSafe, so if you have a different sort of subscription, it may not be available?

Hope that helps!
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Thanks. I'll try this when I get home. But since you have McAfee .... :shuffle: I'm wondering how much do you get billed a year for it? Cause I know I get billed way more than what's in the link .... or was that just the price I must have paid when I signed up for it then the yearly fee is much bigger? I don't understand any of this stuff. I think it came on my computer when I bought it and I just signed up for it. :shuffle:
 
BaileyCatts said:
Thanks. I'll try this when I get home. But since you have McAfee .... :shuffle: I'm wondering how much do you get billed a year for it? Cause I know I get billed way more than what's in the link .... or was that just the price I must have paid when I signed up for it then the yearly fee is much bigger? I don't understand any of this stuff. I think it came on my computer when I bought it and I just signed up for it. :shuffle:
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I got billed £89 last year. I suspect the price shown in the link might be a special offer, and then it goes up after a couple of years? I got a 5-year deal when I brought my laptop which made it significantly cheaper, so maybe you had a similar offer?
 
One thing: you might want to check what countries are available to you through the VPN. Any country with heavy censorship of the internet may not be available.
 
AJ Skatefan said:
Has anyone gotten Opera VPN to work on an iPad?
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No, nor on my iPhone. It also won’t work on my laptop regardless of what region I use. In doing some research it may be that my internet provider recognizes and blocks it. I went ahead and got Nord VPN, 2 years for $80. I can use it on up to 6 devices. It has worked so far on everything and I just change countries if the connection is bad.
 
Here you can scroll down to find the list of countries with broadcasting rights. However, please note that this list is not complete. For example, on the first tab, which is Asia, Japan is not listed despite the ISU stream definitely being blocked in Japan for the Grand Prix . This is a just an example. There may be other countries where the Youtube videos are blocked but are not included. I mentioned in a previous post that countries in Southeast Asia or South America are usually safe bets. I don't know if Opera or paid anti-virus programs have them as an option, but a paid VPN certainly will. And again, if country A doesn't work, move on to country B and so on. But start with avoiding any country listed on the ISU website because those are definite no-no's.
 
AJ Skatefan said:
Has anyone gotten Opera VPN to work on an iPad?
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It works fine on my IPad Air 2nd gen, but I can’t seem to get a non blocked VPN IP. My guess is that most of their servers are in countries with TV rights. I bit the bullet and got Nord.
 
clairecloutier said:
For people using VPNs: Is anyone able to get the skating content onto your TV screen using casting, etc.?
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That's a great question. I think I read further up that there are two different types of VPNs - one that masks your browser's location and one that masks your router/modem's location. The router/modem one will mask the location of ALL the devices connected to it. I tried to cast the ISU YT channel from the Opera browser to my TV, but I wasn't able to do so because my Chromecast device's location is in the US, therefore geo-blocked.
 
That reminded me that I was just using my laptop. I now have a tablet setup so I can type here on the laptop easily without having to minimize the screen. Very useful and much better for viewing.
 
mpal2 said:
That reminded me that I was just using my laptop. I now have a tablet setup so I can type here on the laptop easily without having to minimize the screen. Very useful and much better for viewing.
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This. Two screens is optimal if you have them. I like to stream to the tablet so I can carry it with me if necessary.
 
Keep trying to download Opera browser and it keeps telling me "Failed - Disk Full". What does that mean? How could my disk (i'm assuming that means computer) possible be full? I don't use my computer for anything other than getting on the internet. I got a handful of pictures and that's it. Its not like I have thousands of documents cause I got none of those. So what does it mean "disk full"?
 
BaileyCatts said:
Keep trying to download Opera browser and it keeps telling me "Failed - Disk Full". What does that mean? How could my disk (i'm assuming that means computer) possible be full? I don't use my computer for anything other than getting on the internet. I got a handful of pictures and that's it. Its not like I have thousands of documents cause I got none of those. So what does it mean "disk full"?
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You can see how much disk space you have left. If it shows a lot, then something else is wrong. But if it shows almost full, you'll need to do something.

See if these instructions work for your computer (Windows 7, yes?):

Storage settings in Windows - Microsoft Support

Learn about storage settings in Windows and how reserved storage works to conserve disk space for temporary files, caches, and other files.
support.microsoft.com support.microsoft.com

Then report back and we can give suggestions for the next step.
 
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I have been using NordVPN with their Chrome extension. It is like $80 for two years. I have connecting through Belgium with no problems so far. The quality of the video on youtube is good. I'm not even bothering with peacock at this point.
 
Aceon6 said:
I’m planning to dig out my HDMI cable and connect the tv that way for IdF. I can’t switch our router to another country without impacting some of DH’s streams and shared services.
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I think that’s what we’re going to do too. For the same reason, pretty much (although I don’t fully understand all the details, but it has to do with the router).
 
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