Simply bypass geoblocking

Surely it has happened to you before: when surfing the Internet you want to use a foreign service. But then, after a short time, a message appears: "This website is not available in your country".

Of course, such a message is annoying, as it denies you access to media libraries or other services such as news sites, flight bookings or online stores.

In order not to be stopped by such Internet blocks again and again, we would like to show you how you can easily bypass geoblocking.

Why does geoblocking exist at all?

Geoblocking is the geographical blocking of Internet content.

Geoblocking is used to deny access to Internet sites, for example, because streaming providers do not have the license for a certain country. Media libraries of the major TV channels but also Netflix and YouTube use geoblocking.

However, there is often geoblocking without you noticing it while surfing. For example, if you visit a foreign website of an online store, many companies will automatically redirect you to the domestic website. You can observe this by the domain extension, which for example changes from .com to .mx. This ensures that you can not benefit from foreign prices or special offers abroad.

How does geoblocking work?

When you open a certain web page, the server recognizes page where you come from. This recognition is based on the IP address, which is unique for each Internet user. It indicates in which country you live and which Internet provider you use. If the website is not allowed in your country or if the website owner does not want you to access the website from your country, you will be redirected to another website or a message will appear that the website cannot be accessed from your country.

The best solution against geoblocking is a VPN.

If you connect to a server in another country via VPN, such as the Steganos VPN Online Shield via the country selection within the VPN software, you can use its Internet connection and IP address. Corresponding websites, which would otherwise deny you access, then think you are in this country. This way you can outsmart the websites and their geoblocking and see content that was not originally intended for your country.

Bypass geoblocking with Steganos VPN Online Shield

Let's assume you are on vacation in Mexico and want to watch a show on the website of a well-known US TV channel on your laptop, tablet or smartphone.

You will see the following message

"Due to international rights agreements we only offer this video to viewers within the United States."

But luckily you have Steganos VPN Online Shield installed

You open your Steganos VPN Online Shield, select the country selection in the menu and thus switch to servers located in the USA.

After that you load again the page of the desired TV channel or its media library and nicely you can watch your desired program.

Now you can watch your desired program

With Steganos VPN Online Shield you benefit from additional features:

• Surf securely, privately and anonymously, no matter where you are.
• Access foreign websites at home without being prevented from doing so by geo-blockers
• Be able to use your national websites abroad, such as the livestream of your favorite local TV channels
• Protect yourself in public WiFi from hackers and data spies
• Easily switch to a server in another country at any time

Fortunately, nowadays, using a VPN service is easy for everyone to apply without any prior technical knowledge. Whether you're on vacation, want to watch your popular season of a series already available abroad in your home country, or are a business traveler traveling to countries that block social media services or other sites. VPN offers the right and secure solution for every occasion.

Why you should securely delete data and how Steganos Shredder helps you to do so

Moving files to the recycle bin and deleting them via the normal Windows method does not actually remove them from your physical disk. Only the references to where the data is located on the disk are removed. With appropriate software, it is easily possible to recover files deleted in this way, as long as they have not yet been overwritten.
It is therefore recommended to securely delete sensitive files and especially those that you copy to Steganos Data Safe when they are no longer needed. After all, the best encryption is of no use if the original data can still be read from the unencrypted area of your drives using relatively simple methods.
Below we explain how you can use Shredder to safely remove data from your drives. Steganos Shredder overwrites the deleted files with random data so that they cannot be easily recovered.

Securely delete files and folders with Steganos Shredder

1. First, open Steganos Data Safe and click on the Shredder icon.

   

2. Then click "Add File" or "Add Folder" and select the files or folders you want to permanently delete. You can also simply drag and drop the files/folders into the Shredder window.

   

3. Once you have selected all the files you want to delete, click on "Destroy" and then on "OK". Before you delete files with the shredder, you should of course make absolutely sure that you no longer need them!

   

4. Afterwards, the files will be securely deleted and overwritten and cannot be easily recovered now.

Securely delete files that have already been deleted in the normal way with the Free Space Shredder

The Free Space Shredder is used when you have already deleted files via the normal way, but now also want to make sure that they cannot be recovered.

1. To use it, simply click on "Free Space Shredder" in the main overview of Steganos Shredder. The program will request administrator rights, please confirm them.

2. You will then see the main overview of the Free Space Shredder. Here, simply select the drive whose empty space is to be safely overwritten and click "Start". The process may take some time, depending on how much free space needs to be overwritten.

   

3. Once this process is complete, even files that you did not securely delete directly with the shredder can no longer be recovered.

Here you can learn more about Steganos Privacy Suite and Steganos Data Safe and how they protect your privacy. Both products have the described Steganos Data Shredder as a component.

To use the Password Manager on the go, first install the app "Steganos Password Manager 26" in the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.

Launch the app. To be able to use your keychain on the go, you first need to synchronize it with a cloud storage. Once that's done, tap the cloud icon in the bottom left of the app, select the provider you're using, and follow the login process. Be sure to log in with the account you used on the PC to sync your keychain.

Once your app is connected to your cloud storage, you can now download your keychain by tapping it in the list. After entering your password, your passwords will then be available to you in the app as usual.

Password Manager for Android:

Password Manager for iOS:

If you want to use the autofill function on your Android device, you must first set up the Password Manager as a source for it.

To do this, please first open the settings of your device, then select "Steganos Password Manager" in "Passwords and accounts" as "Service for autofill".

Now the passwords from your keychain are available to you via Android's autofill function and should be available for selection in corresponding input fields in apps and browsers. Sometimes it is necessary to hold down your finger on an input field for a moment for the option to pop up.

If you want to use the autofill feature on your iOS device, you first need to set up the Password Manager as a source for it.

To do this, please first open the settings of your device, then select "Steganos Password Manager" in "Passwords" as "Autofill".

Now the passwords from your keychain are available to you via the autofill function of iOS and should be available for selection in corresponding input fields in apps and browsers.

Protection in public networks, hotspots, Wi-Fis

A VPN encrypts your traffic from the smartphone to the VPN server, helping you to use public Wi-Fi, hotspots, etc. without worry and still surf safely. Encryption prevents cybercriminals from recording or manipulating your traffic.

Maintain privacy and security from services and websites you use

By not exposing your IP address to the websites you use, you avoid them being able to track you via IP address. Also, you are protected from attacks against your IP address, as malicious actors can only learn the IP address of the VPN server, not their actual IP address, while the VPN is active.

Bypass content blocks and annoying firewall settings

With the help of a VPN, you can view content that is blocked in your country, such as video on YouTube or in media libraries. With the VPN, you simply connect to a server in a country where the content is not blocked and then call up the desired content. To the website, you now appear as a user from the country where the VPN server is located.

Likewise, VPN allows you to bypass firewalls that prohibit you from accessing certain websites on local networks.

Increase privacy towards your Internet provider

Encryption via the VPN can also help protect your privacy towards your Internet provider, as it prevents them from analyzing your Internet traffic. For example, this can be very specifically useful if your provider throttles certain types of traffic or blocks access to certain services or websites.

Steganos VPN Online Shield for Android

Steganos VPN Online Shield for iOS