Whats the diff between a DNS and VPN? Which is better if living in the LOS?

[advancebooking]

I confess to not having as much knowledge compared to some of the technically minded esteemed forum members and thus ask the above question. As far as I know..... DNS Proxy doesn't change your IP or your virtual location instead it automatically unblock the website which isn't available in your country. VPN services changes your IP address and virtual location in order to unblock a particular website, that's the difference

The main use of the internet for me is...

- standard social network sites

- bank accounts back in the nanny state

- Utorrent downloads

- sometimes surfing free romantic video sites when the wife is out shopping

- watching bbc / media tv files

Which option is best in your opinion? Which do you utilise?

thanks from a semi techie phobic user

[astral]

DNS is simply a look up service that converts an internet name such as www.thaivisa.com

to a numeric address 192.166.1.1 that can be used to route your messages to and fro

Generally you do not need to worry about DNS, your router and ISP will take care of it

VPN (Virtual Private Network) allows you to connect securely to a remote web site, and all your traffic will be

encrypted, so your local ISP cannot read it.

Sometimes used by large companies to create a secure zone for employees to access the confidential data.

It can also have the effect of making you appear to be in another country

If you subscribe to a VPN based in the UK you will appear to be in the UK

and this can be beneficial if you want to use the BBC iPlayer

Most ordinary users, and you appear to be that, from the list of what you want to do,

need not worry about a VPN

There is more information here to help you decide if you need VPN

[IMHO]

DNS services like this are only useful for websites that purely rely on giving the right IP's to people from the right countries, and the wrong IP's to people from the wrong countries. If the website in question also does it's own Geo-IP lookup on you, they won't work.

VPN's tunnel all your traffic to a different country, so both the DNS you get back, and to IP you come from, appear to be from the target country. Even they are not infallible though, as it's pretty easy for a website to work out they have a huge number of users all visiting from one IP (the VPN) and subsequently just block it.

The best service currently available is the hola.org plugin. Hola is a peer-to-peer VPN which makes it much, much, much harder to detect and block. if you're willing to also be a peer (default setting) it's free too.

[BB1950]

http://7labs.heypub.com/tips-tricks/unlock-websites-with-smart-dns-vpn.html

http://www.purevpn.com/blog/smartdns-vs-vpn-comparison/

https://hide.me/en/blog/2014/12/vpn-vs-proxy-ultimate-comparison/

Edited January 21, 2015 by BB1950

[IMHO]

http://7labs.heypub.com/tips-tricks/unlock-websites-with-smart-dns-vpn.html

http://www.purevpn.com/blog/smartdns-vs-vpn-comparison/

Isn't that the service the OP is currently trying to uninstall? http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/793661-cant-get-rid-of-smart-dns-proxy/

[lor]

Overplay.net run a great SmartDNS service. Much cheaper than a VPN. This enables you to connect to many sites around the world that would otherwise block you. eg Netflix, BBC, ITV etc etc.

But I believe it only works with Video providers. I tried it with UK Lotto and I was geo blocked. However can connect to every video stream service that I have tried.

Regards Chris

[Xircal]

Overplay.net run a great SmartDNS service. Much cheaper than a VPN. This enables you to connect to many sites around the world that would otherwise block you. eg Netflix, BBC, ITV etc etc.

But I believe it only works with Video providers. I tried it with UK Lotto and I was geo blocked. However can connect to every video stream service that I have tried.

Regards Chris

Have a look at Zenmate

It's free provided you use either Firefox, Google Chrome or Opera. There's also an Android and iPhone version available.

[johnnynmonic]

In search of a way to watch U.S. based streaming content here in LOS, I've tried both VPN's and DNS unblocking services. I've found dns unblockers to be cheaper and faster. They don't require ALL the data to pipe through their system, they only tell the websites that you are based in country x. The downside is, some websites don't load (certain blogs, wordpress sites, etc). Not a huge deal, but annoying sometimes. I get pretty good results from unblock-us.com, and they give you a week for free to try it out.

[KamalaRider]

Smart DNS is a good way to reroute your traffic to blocked sites although it doesn't take care of security for your connection.

A DNS proxy is just a way for people to connect to their countries subscribed services, spotify etc.

The server on the other side interprets your connection as local if you have connected your DNS to a smart DNS proxy but the Thai ISP can still monitor and track your traffic as it's not encrypted.

Using Smart DNS for bank transfers is still secure as ALL banks today secure their customers with secure HTTP (HTTPS, for all transfers with this technique) and some even have enhanced client protection.

A VPN on the hand hand, gives out a encrypted tunnel with an IP number from wherein your connection operates.

If the VPN provider has a serious business and not located within USA, your traffic is safe whether it's adult sites or bank transactions.

Mind you, using a VPN is a crime in Thailand if you intend to use it with for example adult sites, even if no one can track (tracking only to your VPN provider) you or read your traffic.

[recycler]

Try a TOR browser, just look for "tor project" it's free and covers most of your needs.

Otherwise subscribe to a VPN service, but make sure you know how to configure and use it and it may not always work and can be blocked to.

After the show in Paris 2 weeks ago we may be entering an era where encrypted communication will be banned if nutters like David Cameron get their way...

[advancebooking]

In search of a way to watch U.S. based streaming content here in LOS, I've tried both VPN's and DNS unblocking services. I've found dns unblockers to be cheaper and faster. They don't require ALL the data to pipe through their system, they only tell the websites that you are based in country x. The downside is, some websites don't load (certain blogs, wordpress sites, etc). Not a huge deal, but annoying sometimes. I get pretty good results from unblock-us.com, and they give you a week for free to try it out.

this is what unblock-us had to say:

UnblockUs is a DNS service and not a VPN.

Our DNS's core function is to unblock some websites. When you're using our DNS service we're making it possible for you to access the websites that you want to visit as long as it's part of our supported websites. Your IP address will be the same and your actual location will be the same as we don't operate like a traditional VPN service. We do not change your IP address therefore any other sites that you access normally on the internet will show your true location. You use our DNS and we show you to be in the location you need to be to access the sites and service we support.

[Tchooptip]

Smart DNS is a good way to reroute your traffic to blocked sites although it doesn't take care of security for your connection.

A DNS proxy is just a way for people to connect to their countries subscribed services, spotify etc.

The server on the other side interprets your connection as local if you have connected your DNS to a smart DNS proxy but the Thai ISP can still monitor and track your traffic as it's not encrypted.

Using Smart DNS for bank transfers is still secure as ALL banks today secure their customers with secure HTTP (HTTPS, for all transfers with this technique) and some even have enhanced client protection.

A VPN on the hand hand, gives out a encrypted tunnel with an IP number from wherein your connection operates.

If the VPN provider has a serious business and not located within USA, your traffic is safe whether it's adult sites or bank transactions.

Mind you, using a VPN is a crime in Thailand if you intend to use it with for example adult sites, even if no one can track (tracking only to your VPN provider) you or read your traffic.

Seriously VPN is a crime in Thailand?

I use it for Amazon Prime movies, its hard to dicover I am a criminal

[Tchooptip]

Try a TOR browser, just look for "tor project" it's free and covers most of your needs.

Otherwise subscribe to a VPN service, but make sure you know how to configure and use it and it may not always work and can be blocked to.

After the show in Paris 2 weeks ago we may be entering an era where encrypted communication will be banned if nutters like David Cameron get their way...

I hope not

[KamalaRider]

Smart DNS is a good way to reroute your traffic to blocked sites although it doesn't take care of security for your connection.

A DNS proxy is just a way for people to connect to their countries subscribed services, spotify etc.

The server on the other side interprets your connection as local if you have connected your DNS to a smart DNS proxy but the Thai ISP can still monitor and track your traffic as it's not encrypted.

Using Smart DNS for bank transfers is still secure as ALL banks today secure their customers with secure HTTP (HTTPS, for all transfers with this technique) and some even have enhanced client protection.

A VPN on the hand hand, gives out a encrypted tunnel with an IP number from wherein your connection operates.

If the VPN provider has a serious business and not located within USA, your traffic is safe whether it's adult sites or bank transactions.

Mind you, using a VPN is a crime in Thailand if you intend to use it with for example adult sites, even if no one can track (tracking only to your VPN provider) you or read your traffic.

Seriously VPN is a crime in Thailand?

I use it for Amazon Prime movies, its hard to dicover I am a criminal

It's not illegal to use VPN, it's illegal to use for criminal activity.

[Tchooptip]

Smart DNS is a good way to reroute your traffic to blocked sites although it doesn't take care of security for your connection.

A DNS proxy is just a way for people to connect to their countries subscribed services, spotify etc.

The server on the other side interprets your connection as local if you have connected your DNS to a smart DNS proxy but the Thai ISP can still monitor and track your traffic as it's not encrypted.

Using Smart DNS for bank transfers is still secure as ALL banks today secure their customers with secure HTTP (HTTPS, for all transfers with this technique) and some even have enhanced client protection.

A VPN on the hand hand, gives out a encrypted tunnel with an IP number from wherein your connection operates.

If the VPN provider has a serious business and not located within USA, your traffic is safe whether it's adult sites or bank transactions.

Mind you, using a VPN is a crime in Thailand if you intend to use it with for example adult sites, even if no one can track (tracking only to your VPN provider) you or read your traffic.

Seriously VPN is a crime in Thailand?

I use it for Amazon Prime movies, its hard to dicover I am a criminal

It's not illegal to use VPN, it's illegal to use for criminal activity.

Thank you, I am reassured, in LOS one never knows

[KhnomKhnom]

My own DNS went PDQ after a MLSOEP, here in LOS. You get the abbv. negative.

[elgenon]

DNS services like this are only useful for websites that purely rely on giving the right IP's to people from the right countries, and the wrong IP's to people from the wrong countries. If the website in question also does it's own Geo-IP lookup on you, they won't work.

VPN's tunnel all your traffic to a different country, so both the DNS you get back, and to IP you come from, appear to be from the target country. Even they are not infallible though, as it's pretty easy for a website to work out they have a huge number of users all visiting from one IP (the VPN) and subsequently just block it.

The best service currently available is the hola.org plugin. Hola is a peer-to-peer VPN which makes it much, much, much harder to detect and block. if you're willing to also be a peer (default setting) it's free too.

Excuse me, but what does peer-to-peer mean in this case?

[KamalaRider]

DNS services like this are only useful for websites that purely rely on giving the right IP's to people from the right countries, and the wrong IP's to people from the wrong countries. If the website in question also does it's own Geo-IP lookup on you, they won't work.

VPN's tunnel all your traffic to a different country, so both the DNS you get back, and to IP you come from, appear to be from the target country. Even they are not infallible though, as it's pretty easy for a website to work out they have a huge number of users all visiting from one IP (the VPN) and subsequently just block it.

The best service currently available is the hola.org plugin. Hola is a peer-to-peer VPN which makes it much, much, much harder to detect and block. if you're willing to also be a peer (default setting) it's free too.

Excuse me, but what does peer-to-peer mean in this case?

p2p mean you've got a channel opened directly to another peer (user), you go through that users connection encrypted and he can use yours or someone elses connection.

peer-to-peer means exactly what the words mean, user to user.

Torrent software are using p2p.

[IMHO]

DNS services like this are only useful for websites that purely rely on giving the right IP's to people from the right countries, and the wrong IP's to people from the wrong countries. If the website in question also does it's own Geo-IP lookup on you, they won't work.

VPN's tunnel all your traffic to a different country, so both the DNS you get back, and to IP you come from, appear to be from the target country. Even they are not infallible though, as it's pretty easy for a website to work out they have a huge number of users all visiting from one IP (the VPN) and subsequently just block it.

The best service currently available is the hola.org plugin. Hola is a peer-to-peer VPN which makes it much, much, much harder to detect and block. if you're willing to also be a peer (default setting) it's free too.

Excuse me, but what does peer-to-peer mean in this case?

p2p mean you've got a channel opened directly to another peer (user), you go through that users connection encrypted and he can use yours or someone elses connection.

peer-to-peer means exactly what the words mean, user to user.

Torrent software are using p2p.

Yep, exactly that - unless you pay for their service, in which case you can opt out of others using your connection to impersonate coming from Thailand.

From their wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hola_(VPN)

Hola is a freemium web and mobile application which claims to provide a faster, private and more secure Internet. It provides a form of virtual private network services to its users through a peer-to-peer network. It also uses peer-to-peer caching. When a user accesses certain domains that are known to use geo-blocking, the Hola application redirects the request to go through the computers and internet connections of other users in non-blocked areas, thereby circumventing the blocking. This also means that other users might access the internet through one's own computer, and that part of one's upload bandwidth might be used for serving cached data to other users.^[1][2][3][4] Paying users can choose to redirect all requests to peers but are themselves never used as peers.^[5] Free users are also limited in how much they can use Hola per day, whereas paying users are not.^[5]

Edited January 23, 2015 by IMHO

[advancebooking]

Thanks for all the opinions. After lots of research I decided to try Zenmate and find that its a good option for free. I can access dailymail and other sites blocked in LOS. Its really easy to install and user friendly. Im connecting with a server in the Uk as under E.U law they are less likely to share information.

Here is what zenmate said to me in an email:

''Thank you for your message.

Yes, ZenMate hides your real location and activity, and makes it possible for you to access bypass geo-restrictions. There's a free version of the ZenMate App which you can use if you want to try out the App!

You can easily download the ZenMate iOS App from
https://zenmate.com/get/ios

And the ZenMate App for Android from:
https://zenmate.com/get/android

We also offer a browser extension for Chrome/Chromium based browsers, Opera and Firefox offers you a great service that is free of any charges, unless you wish to upgrade to a premium account in the future. I. e. there will always be a free version of ZenMate which will be limited at some point. But as we haven't decided yet, you can install and use ZenMate without any data limits on your PC browser. The upcoming premium version will include some special features.

I hope this answers your question. Please, don't hesitate to contact us again if you have any further questions or thoughts.

If you want more information about how ZenMate works please visit our FAQ pagehttps://zenmate.com/faq/#how-work