Singapore Expats

Hi all,

I am looking at possibly moving to Singapore in the near future.

I would like to set up a UK VPN to access BBC iplayer etc while in Singapore.

Has anyone any experience of setting up a VPN while in Singapore? Or should i set one up before I go?

Thanks for your responses.

Kate

Hi,

I would also appreciate recommendations for UK VPNs people have experience of using in Singapore.

Thanks

ExpatShield

hidemyass is another.

Just google for it. Or google for "UK VPN", "bbc iplayer Vpn". Etc. Compare prices, and look at their help section. Most of them will give you very clear detailed instructions on how to set it up. Make sure it isn't over your head before you pay for it.

You can set it up in Singapore or the UK, doesn't make a difference.

One word of warning though - international internet connections can be laboriously slow in Singapore. I do however manage to stream Netflix OK at near-HD quality.

I used to use ExpatShield, but got fed-up of the bandwidth and adverts, and switched to StrongVPN. $55 a year I think, does the job nicely.

Even better for the IT illiterate, it comes with an automatic installer package so you don't need to fiddle with settings yourself.

http://www.strongvpn.com/setup.shtml

Query whether you actually need a VPN or a DNS service. I'm sure that tech boffins can explain the difference, although it would appear to me that a DNS service doesn't degrade network speed. You follow the bouncing ball to plug some settings into your router, and all devices on your wireless network can take advantage (PC, laptop, iPad, AppleTV etc).

I use a DNS service called unblock-us to access Netflix, Hulu etc. USD $4.99 per month.

My Private Network is not bad. Expat Shield sucks though

tonycur wrote:Query whether you actually need a VPN or a DNS service. I'm sure that tech boffins can explain the difference, although it would appear to me that a DNS service doesn't degrade network speed. You follow the bouncing ball to plug some settings into your router, and all devices on your wireless network can take advantage (PC, laptop, iPad, AppleTV etc).

I use a DNS service called unblock-us to access Netflix, Hulu etc. USD $4.99 per month.

VPN is safer - it will always make you appear to be coming from the VPN source. UK in OP's case. A DNS service will potentially give better performance*, but it will only work with some types of IP Geolocation (namely those using DNS to determine where you are and block/redirect you).

* - In some odd cases (not quite so odd actually for sh1tty singtel and starhub) the VPN service may increase performance, because the ISP you use may have a worse route to your overseas destination than the VPN service. This generally isn't the case, but I've seen it happen and sometimes use my corporate VPN to work around ISP routing issues.

bskewell wrote:Hi all,

I am looking at possibly moving to Singapore in the near future.

I would like to set up a UK VPN to access BBC iplayer etc while in Singapore.

Has anyone any experience of setting up a VPN while in Singapore? Or should i set one up before I go?

Thanks for your responses.

Kate

If a person tries to access TV shows on these websites, outside USA or UK, he gets a message “service not available in your area”

you can setup your own proxy in the UK by asking your friends or relatives to host it for you. all you need is a laptop (lower power consumption), broadband connection and setting up the broadband router for port forwarding.

have a read thru this post (posted in 2008!!!)

http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/ftopic ... ayer+proxy

durain wrote:you can setup your own proxy in the UK by asking your friends or relatives to host it for you. all you need is a laptop (lower power consumption), broadband connection and setting up the broadband router for port forwarding.

have a read thru this post (posted in 2008!!!)

http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/ftopic ... ayer+proxy

The only problem is you are then relying on that persons down / up bandwidth and run the risk of causing them problems. You are also then relying on them being able to sort out issues with the hardware at their end (BOSD etc).

A lot of VPN services provide dual (US / UK) exit points so you can partake of both countries services.

I used to use PandaPOW which was ok but then didn't watch enough to justify continuing to pay for the service.

Some people rent a small VPS system and install OpenVPN on it.

Fibre broadband is fairly good speed wise and I have not had any issues with it at all. I get an average of 3-4MB/s download internationally (US/EU) and this has been seen to peak at somewhere between 6 & 7MB/s. I am using the Singtel 300Mbps (37.5MB/s) fibre package with 15Mbps (1.875MB/s) assured minimum.

RB

RimBlock wrote:

durain wrote:you can setup your own proxy in the UK by asking your friends or relatives to host it for you. all you need is a laptop (lower power consumption), broadband connection and setting up the broadband router for port forwarding.

have a read thru this post (posted in 2008!!!)

http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/ftopic ... ayer+proxy

The only problem is you are then relying on that persons down / up bandwidth and run the risk of causing them problems. You are also then relying on them being able to sort out issues with the hardware at their end (BOSD etc).

RB

my proxy is running on an IBM Thinkpad X31 (Pentium M 1.6GHz with 1GB ram) running Windows XP SP3. No BSoD and rock solid reliablility (yep, no one got sack for buying an IBM). Runs 24/7. My proxy is only providing a UK IP address and the download is at local, so impact at the host broadband. i installed remote control tools on it so i can control it remotely. works a treat.

durain wrote:

RimBlock wrote:

durain wrote:you can setup your own proxy in the UK by asking your friends or relatives to host it for you. all you need is a laptop (lower power consumption), broadband connection and setting up the broadband router for port forwarding.

have a read thru this post (posted in 2008!!!)

http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/ftopic ... ayer+proxy

The only problem is you are then relying on that persons down / up bandwidth and run the risk of causing them problems. You are also then relying on them being able to sort out issues with the hardware at their end (BOSD etc).

RB

my proxy is running on an IBM Thinkpad X31 (Pentium M 1.6GHz with 1GB ram) running Windows XP SP3. No BSoD and rock solid reliablility (yep, no one got sack for buying an IBM). Runs 24/7. My proxy is only providing a UK IP address and the download is at local, so impact at the host broadband. i installed remote control tools on it so i can control it remotely. works a treat.

How would you deal with a powercut or component fault ?.

An Atom based unit will do just as well or the new Intel NUC systems, both of which will most likely use less power. A handy laptop is not a bad solution though. Something with IPMI and KVMoIP would be even better though as you would be able to remotely turn a machine back on and get in to the BIOS if needed. Supermicro do some nice boards with IPMI and so do Intel (AMT)

I suspect from what you are saying that you are using DSR (Direct Server Return) or a half proxy setup where the initial connection is via a proxy in the correct region but the return data goes directly to the originating computer (i.e. straight to Singapore).

This gets around a lot of the bandwidth issues for the remote proxy hosting site and is fine if you are happy without the security that VPN provides. If the stream supplier decides to tighten up it's security then they should be able to block streams going outside of the region as well as blocking initial connections. Potential issues that may or may not have any relevance to individuals depending on their requirements.

What you have discribed sounds like a decent fit for what you seem to be using it for .

RB