Advice Request Streaming -Friendly VPN recommendations

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n8chavez

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Feb 26, 2021
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I know there is a sticky VPN recommendations, but I'm trying to find a new service that is specifically steaming-friendly, so that I can access Hulu, Netflix, Prime video, Disney+, etc, while still behind a secure vpn. I am aware of ExpressVPN and NordVPN being streaming-friendly. I am sure there are other that I am not aware of. Anyone know of any that are also safe and secure?
 

n8chavez

Level 16
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Feb 26, 2021
774
Surfshark does seem very (very) good. A brief summation of what I found out:

  1. it does work perfectly fine on Hulu, Prime Video, Netflix, and Disney+
  2. it has very good speeds, (the connected server is close-ish to my physical location, as you can see from this test.
  3. it does support the new wireguard protocol
  4. it does have a "killswitch" (it doesn't actually kill user-set processes, but prevents network connections)
  5. it does allow multi-hop connections
  6. it does have a zero-logging policy (see here).
  7. it's jurisdiction is in the British Virgin Islands (away from the "eyes")
  8. it uses RAM servers, meaning that nothing is stored on disks
  9. it's $60 for 2 years!
  10. the GUI could use some work; it seems kind of clunky and not optimized to me.
This, so far is the winner. ExpressVPN is also good foe the exact same reasons as above, but the price is at least 2x.
 
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Cortex

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Use Windscribe for watching US Netflix, works flawlessly, it's the easiest to run on a TV, watched a heap of old Twilight Zones last night no issues - Got a 5 year plan a while ago for a pittance - Never found SurfShark worked well on any device for TV?
 

n8chavez

Level 16
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Feb 26, 2021
774
Use Windscribe for watching US Netflix, works flawlessly, it's the easiest to run on a TV, watched a heap of old Twilight Zones last night no issues - Got a 5 year plan a while ago for a pittance - Never found SurfShark worked well on any device for TV?
I like Windscribe. However they were just slow slow in comparison to Surfshark, ExpressVPN and AirVPN; often getting about 1/3 the speeds using servers in similar locations.
 

Cortex

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I do think with all VPN's either for streaming or other use there are many factors involved, (some unknown) not least your country, your ISP etc etc - If I use Windscribe on a PC here I get a decent speed, using it for Flix I've never measured it as it gives me HQ without any issues. I used Express for some time but had to contact support & give them a DNA sample before they gave me a Flix sever that worked, often Flix stopped it, not recent however - It does seem that USA content is now not much different to UK or Canada so I use a VPN less than I used to.
 

Kongo

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Feb 25, 2017
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I like Windscribe. However they were just slow slow in comparison to Surfshark, ExpressVPN and AirVPN; often getting about 1/3 the speeds using servers in similar locations.
I am using Surfshark and it’s very fast and reliable. However I mainly use it for security reasons in AV testing, but last time i tried it on Netflix US it was working perfectly fine. If it doesn’t work at first, try to clean ur browser's data and try again.
 

n8chavez

Level 16
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Feb 26, 2021
774
I am using Surfshark and it’s very fast and reliable. However I mainly use it for security reasons in AV testing, but last time i tried it on Netflix US it was working perfectly fine. If it doesn’t work at first, try to clean ur browser's data and try again.

I'm testing surfshark right now too. To be honest, even if winscrive works with netflix still having that drastic speed drop is not good at all
 

n8chavez

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Feb 26, 2021
774
@SecureKongo, can you do a little test for me? I am not able to visit ESPN with the surfshark app active. Cleanweb can be disabled or enabled, and I don't even have to have an active connection. But as long as the app is running, I cannot access ESPN in any gecko-based browser; it doesn't render properly and looks like garbage. Chrome-variants seems ok. This is strange for sure.
 

n8chavez

Level 16
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Feb 26, 2021
774
I have a very great, satisfying and long experience with AirVPN, but I am not sure if they are the right fit for primarily streaming purposes. I know Windscribe is for that.

I like them too. In fact, I still have a couple years left on "license" with them. But they do not work well at all with streaming services, and that's a must for me. I recently switched over to all streaming and ditched cable/satellite, so being able to access streaming networks is important. Also, in case you wanted to know, you might consider pairing AirVPN with Viscosity. Viscosity allows for scripting, so you can execute scripts before, after, and on disconnection. Plus, you don't have to deal with Eddie's quirkiness and constantly forgetting your settings. That makes a good combo. I'll have to try pairing it with surfshark.
 

Kongo

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@SecureKongo, can you do a little test for me? I am not able to visit ESPN with the surfshark app active. Cleanweb can be disabled or enabled, and I don't even have to have an active connection. But as long as the app is running, I cannot access ESPN in any gecko-based browser; it doesn't render properly and looks like garbage. Chrome-variants seems ok. This is strange for sure.
Working for me with connection to a server in Switzerland. The site is loading really slow tho.
 
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n8chavez

Level 16
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Feb 26, 2021
774
Working for me with connection to a server in Switzerland. The side is loading really slow tho.
Could you connect to a server in the U.S. and try with firefox? This is very odd. If I have surfshark active it looks like the site's javascript is messed up. If I disconnect the vpn and immediatedly reload espn.com it loads fine.
 
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Kongo

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Feb 25, 2017
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Could you connect to a server in the U.S. and try with firefox? This is very odd. If I have surfshark active it looks like the site's javascript is messed up. If I disconnect the vpn and immediatedly reload espn.com it loads fine.
I tried and it doesn't work with US servers.
 
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n8chavez

Level 16
Thread author
Well-known
Feb 26, 2021
774
I tried and it doesn't work with US servers.

You're saying that you cannot browser to espn.com from a U.S server in Firefox, right? I knew it!! They must be doing some kind of remote blocking on their end. That's not good at all. It makes me wonder what else they filter out.
 
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