If you travel then you realize that some of the things that you take for granite in the States are not available abroad. Even though you can pick up a wireless signal just about anywhere on this planet, you may not be able listen to your favorite play list or catch up on the latest Top Chef episodes. That is because some of your favorite sites like Hulu and Pandora are are off limits in most countries, Costa Rica included.
WHY SOME WEBSITES ARE BLOCKED IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES
I came across this problem when we moved to Costa Rica, and over the years I have found two ways around it. Both of the solutions I offer I have used an tested. But before we get to the solution, let’s talk about the problem for a minute.
The reason they are off limits is because the content is protected by copyright laws, some countries respect these laws, others don’t. Take Netflix for example, a paid service to watch movies and TV shows. If you pull it up in hotel room in San Jose, or anywhere in Latin America for that matter, you will get a Latin version of Netflix. Most of the movies you can still watch in English, but some of them force the Spanish Subtitle. The big difference is what is actually available in comparison to what is available in the US.
Hulu and Pandora operate under a different license so their service is actually only available in a few countries. So how do you get around it? You first need to know how it works.
When you go from one website to another you travel with your IP (Internet Protocol) address.
Your IP address is like an id number that can be tracked to a location. So right off the bat the website knows where you are located. In some cases down to the street address. So if you change your IP address, your location changes, hypothetically speaking in this instance. So let’s say you try log into Pandora from a hotel in Tamarindo, but you get there through an IP with an address from Miami, FL, Pandora will think you are coming via Miami and let you listen to your station.
So the way to listen to Pandora in Costa Rica or watch Hulu is to change your IP address. The good news is there are different ways to do this. The bad news is that there are a lot of different ways. Some are awesome and some are completely lame.
I have found two ways to watch Hulu or listen to Pandora in Costa Rica. They both tend to work pretty well. One is a paid service, $30.00 a year, the other is a free service with a paid upgrade.
Listen to Pandora or Watch Hulu When You Are in Costa Rica
Easy Hide lets you hide your real IP address and geograpic location.
Easy Hide IP lets you bypass virtually any form of censorship or internet traffic blocking imposed on you by your ISP, your company, or third parties. Your internet traffic is routed through remote servers. On your ISP’s log file, only the IPs of the remote servers will be shown, not the sites you have visited.
I like Easy Hide IP because as an online marketer I am able so see how websites are ranking all around the world. This tool comes in handy for local marketing as well.
Cost: $29.95 a year
The goal at HOLA.ORG is to make the Internet faster and fully accessible to everyone.
Install Hola on your PC, phone or tablet to make your Internet faster, reduce data costs, and have unlimited access to information that is otherwise not available in your country, while protecting your online privacy. Hola works by sharing the idle resources of its users for the benefit of all.
Hola is a free service. It is the only service of its kind that can remain free over time, since it uses the power of the community (Peers) as opposed to power-hungry costly servers. You may upgrade to Hola Premium, which entitles you to an even better service, does not use your device as a peer, and helps fund the Hola project.
Hola has some issues, but is free so you get what you pay for.
Cost: FREE
Premium Subscription Available for $5.95 a Month
I know there are many more IP hiders out there. Please feel free to share your experience in the comments section below