Have you ever clicked on a funny video or got redirected to a website and discovered it just would not work. You might have got a blank page or perhaps a message saying this website isn’t available in your country. The reason this is happening is something called geotargeting and basically means selecting what you can get based on your location.
So for example, the technology can be used by the major search engines to ensure you get results tailored to where you live. So if you searched for a plumber, you will get results from your rough place and not from the other side of the world. In this situation it is actually really useful and helps steer your hunts into the right direction.
In many scenarios though, geotargeting is really damaging. In the USA some DIY shops will look up your location, subsequently bill you based on how much you’re from a challenger. It Is quite common practice for firms to use something called priced discrimination to maximise their profits. Take for example an international service like Netflix, if you logon from the UK you will get something like half as many pictures as those who logon to the American service.
The technology behind this is really quite easy. All that occurs is that your IP address is logged when you connect to the website. Subsequently that address is looked up in a large database to match the address to a specific location. The site then will determine what you can access or what it bills based on where you live.
This can get annoying, obviously being blocked or charged more purely based on where you happen to be. However there is a way around these tests, a process where you can command access to your location when you are online. The secret is to relay your connection through another server. Using proxies or VPNs in other states you can select your virtual place.
When your connection is relayed through one of these servers, your actual IP address is hidden and only the proxies is observable. It’s possible to set these up readily on computers, notebooks, iPads and even mobile phones.
Here’s tips on how to free up your internet connection on your own iPad. See the British Broadcasting from anywhere, access Pandora and Hulu with a click of the button. This video show’s you how to setup a VPN on your iPad or iPhone and never get blocked again.
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