Hints & Tips



How to sign up for Hotstar premium

This guide gives tips and a work around solution to sign up for Hotstar.com premium.

Before starting, sign up for a VanishedVPN plan, and follow the guides to setup the sports VPN on your device, and connect.

Make sure you are connected to our  India VPN

Once connected to the VPN, visit hotstar.com , click on the movies tab, and pick a ‘premium’ title to watch.

Click on the ‘start your membership’, and choose which package you want (the monthly is 299RPS = approx $6 AUD, and the annual is 999RPS = approx $20 AUD)

Next, click on ‘Have a facebook or email account’ and then enter your email address on the next screen.
Click through, and enter your credit or debit card details
If you’re successful, congratulations, you can now access live HD streams for EPL, movies , HBO and much more – Enjoy.

If you’re unsuccessful, there are 2 options which have been proven to work:

1) Apply for a Qantas American Express Discovery Card. Wait for it to arrive (around 1 week), then use that . This card has no annual fee, and reasonable earning requirements, so should be accessible to most people. Customers have had a 100% success rate using this card. NOTE WE ARE NOT QUALIFIED TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL ADVICE, and we are not recommending this card as a financial solution. We are simply sharing the fact that we know it works for hotstar premium sign ups.

2) There is also an option to sign up via itunes. This is a ‘work around’ . It will take around half an hour, and it will require you to get an Indian itunes voucher (as you’ll need an itunes account in the India store with credit).

This has been tested by some customers and it works. The following is advice. Attempt at your own risk. We do not offer support for this.

You will need :

1) To setup an account in the India itunes store (video below shows you how)
2) An itunes voucher which is valid in the India itunes store (we used this seller . You can search on ebay & Amazon) Make sure your voucher is in Ruppees (we bought the RPS 799 which = approx $15AUD)

Note – Hotstar won’t charge you for initial sign up. There is a 30 day free trial, so you can spend the credit on music etc if you want after you’ve signed up.

Once you have you voucher, follow the instructions in the video below, and you’ll be setup .

When you setup iTunes India account and Hotstar make them the same email so they link automatically.

Part 1 – Create Indian itunes account

Part 2 – Sign up for Hotstar

Note – When you get to the end, you may get the ‘OK’ message, and then an error afterwards. If this happens, contact hello@hotstar.com (or via twitter), and tell them you tried to sign up via itunes, but it failed at the end. Customers who have done this have reported that they will then fix it. Remember, you are meant to be in India to use this Service, so be creative if asked.

Link to apple id

How to create a random address and identity

Some sites will require you to have an address in the country where they are based when you sign up for them.

If you need to generate an address or postcode for signing up, just use the identity generator on this site.

How to reduce your Netflix bill by up to 70%

Its a well known fact that Netflix catalogues vary by country, and Vanished VPN allows you to access the USA catalogue which has approx 3x the content of some other countries (including Australia). But, did you know that Netflix also varies its charges by country ?

So what ?

By using Vanished VPN, you can connect to our VPN servers in Turkey (the cheapest country in the world for Netflix), set up a subscription, and then just use Netflix as you would normally, and save a lot of $ (you will need to cancel your current subscription too).

This is 100% legal.

The table below shows a quick comparison of the cost of a Netflix subscription in the Turkey , compared to Australia & Switzerland (the most expensive country in the world for Netflix).

All prices are in $USD for comparison, and correct at time of writing (Aug 2019)

COUNTRY            BASIC SUB    STANDARD SUBPREMIUM SUB
Switzerland$11.72$16.65$21.58
Spain$9.11$14.80$18.22
UK$7.32$10.99$14.66
Australia    $6.99$9.79$12.59
Turkey    $2.62$4.58   $6.55

As you can see, if you’re in Australia, you can save up to $6 USD per month ($72 USD per year) on each plan by re-registering your Netflix account in Turkey.

If you’re in Switzerland, you can save $15 USD per month ($180 USD per year) on a premium subscription by using this method. 

See full list of countries here

Here’s how:

To gain the maximum benefit, you will need to cancel your existing Netflix account, and then sign up for the new one on the day that the old account expires. You will need a new email address (just set one up on gmail if you don’t have one). If you also pay with a different credit card to the original account, you will get a free month trial (which reduces the cost even further).

Once you’ve done this:

1) Register for a Vanished VPN subscription if you don’t already have one.

2) Connect to our Turkey VPN servers (OpenVPN file attached to this article)

3) Goto Netflix.com . If your existing account signs in automatically, just sign out (click the arrow in the top right hand corner).

4) You should now be able to scroll down, and click on ‘pick your price’ to see the prices in TL (Turkish Lira).

5) Click on the ‘join free for a month’, and then click through the following screens to enter your new email address and new credit card details (you can use the same credit card that you used on your original account, but you won’t get the freee month).

6) Disconnect from the Turkey VPN, and return to either your home Netflix (or connect to our US VPN for USA Netflix).

7) Netflix & Chill …..

Note, your credit card company may charge a small foreign transaction fee for paying in TL. This is likely to be much lower than the amount that you’re saving by using this method, but check with your credit card provider if you aren’t sure.

Also note that by setting up a new account, you will lose your Netflix history, so if this is more important than the savings, you should stay where you are.

Telstra Smart Modem V2

This modem works over cable, and backup over the 4G mobile network. It appears that Invizbox doesn’t work when the modem is connected to the 4G mobile network.

Workaround – Connect the modem to the cable broadband

MAC OSX Sierra VPNS have disappeared

In OSX Sierra, Apple have removed support for PPTP VPNs. If you have upgraded, and noticed that your VPNs are no longer there, you will need to create new L2TP VPNs using the instructions here

MAC OSX Sierra IP Addresses

We’re aware that Mac OSX Sierra VPN setup requires an IP address of the server rather than a Servername

IP addresss are likely to change from time to time, so we generally don’t publish them, however, to work around this for Sierra, do the following.

1. open a new terminal window

2. Type nslookup and then the servername 

nslookup usa1.vanishedvpn.com

3. The ip address will be at the bottom of the response

Non-authoritative answer:

Name:    usa1.vanishedvpn.com

Address: 108.61.168.215

How to setup Mac as a wireless router

This article will show you how to setup your Mac as a wireless hotspot, so that you can share your VPN with devices such as Play station, Xbox, ATV, Smart TV which don’t normally support VPN.

You will need to have your mac connected to the internet via a cable (so that the other device can connect via the wireless). You will also need to setup the VanishedVPN client using these instructions, and make sure it is working.

1) Right click the apple icon at the top of the screen, and select system preferences

In the Sharing menu, select Internet Sharing from the left panel. The Internet Sharing options will appear on the right side of the screen. Set the following settings:

Share your connection from: [the VPN connection you just created]
To computers using: check the box for Wi-Fi

Select Wi-Fi Options…, and enter the following details:

Network Name: [choose a network name]
Channel: [leave as default]
Security: WPA2 Personal
Password: [choose a password]
Verify: [re-enter your password]

Then click OK.


Anyone wishing to connect their device to your VPN network will need the password you’ve just set.

 

Start Internet Sharing

On the Sharing menu, check the box next to Internet Sharing.

You will see a prompt asking you to turn on Internet sharing. Click Start.

When Internet Sharing has been activated, a green light will appear next to the text: “Internet Sharing: On”.

Next , connect to your VPN client.

In the top menu bar , you should now see a timer icon (indicating the VPN is connected) and the wireless icon will change as shown below.

Finally , go to the other device (Playstation, Xbox, ATV, Smart TV), and connect to the wireless connection that you just set up using the password that you set.

You are now connected over the VPN that is being shared on your Mac, and you should be able to access unblocked content.

How to access NowTV

To access NowTV.com from anywhere, you will need to : 1) Sign up for a VanishedVPN subscription if you don’t already have one. 2) Connect to our UK VPN 3) Visit nowtv.com, where you can subscribe as if you were in the UK

How to flush DNS Cache

Some browsers and devices store website location data in your system for quicker access to the DNS Cache. DNS Cache needs to be flushed to remove stored website location details. 

Here are some of the common ways to flush your DNS cache.
 

Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8

  • Step 1: Open the Command Prompt
    • Windows XP: Click on the Start Menu and click  Run.Type in cmd and hit enter. 
    • Windows Vista/7: Type cmd in the search bar and hit Enter. 
    • Windows 8: Press Win key (Windows logo key) and X on your keyboard. Click on Command Prompt. 
  • Step 2: Flush DNS
    • Type ipconfig /flushdns and hit enter.

Mac OSX

  • Step 1:Open the Terminal
    • Navigate to Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal
  • Step 2:Flush DNS – Type the following command and hit enter. 
    • Mac OS X Yosemite and later
      sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder
    • Mac OS X Yosemite v10.10 through v10.10.3
      sudo discoveryutil mdnsflushcache
    • Mac OS X Mavericks, Mountain Lion and Lion
      sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder
    • Mac OS X Snow Leopard
      sudo dscacheutil -flushcache

Portable Devices

  • Step 1:Close the apps
    • Close the app completely. Make sure it is not running in the background as well. 
  • Step 2: Restart Wifi
    • Turn off the Wifi on your device and turn it back on.
  • Step 3: Open App
    • Open the app again. DNS Cache should be cleared.

iOS Devices

  • Press and hold both the Sleep/Wake and Home buttons for at least 10 seconds, until you see the Apple logo.

TV Devices

  • Step 1: Close the apps
    • Close the app completely. Make sure it is not running in the background as well. 
  • Step 2: Open App
    • Open the app again. DNS Cache should be cleared.

Bit Torrent / P2P guide

In order to protect your anonymity and provide a safe platform for you to use Bit Torrent / P2P, we have a dedicated servers which is located in Switzerland & Holland, where the laws around Bit Torrent are very liberal.

To protect your privacy, there is no logging on the P2P servers (as this is not required in Switzerland & Holland).

Please ensure that you use this server for P2P / Bit Torrent

servername =  p2p.vanishedvpn.com

The OpenVPN config file is available here.

SWITZERLAND: THE SAFEST COUNTRY FOR DOWNLOADING TORRENTS

Switzerland is by far the safest country for torrents. According to Swiss law, downloading music and movies (even copyrighted works) ‘for personal use’  appears to be completely legal.

‘Personal Use’ is a bit of a general definition, but generally if you aren’t attempt to profit from the download, or distributing it to a large number of people, it’s you’re likely ok.

But the Swiss will take your online freedom even further…
The monitoring of peer-to-peer downloads by a 3rd party is actually illegal!

According to this article on Torrent Freak, IP addresses are considered personal information (your IP address is the only personally identifying information available in a torrent swarm). Since collecting personal information without consent is illegal under Swiss law, 3rd party monitoring agencies are actually committing a crime if they do so. This effectively kills the ‘business strategy’ used by a number of ‘Copyright Trolls‘.

Though there are new laws under consideration that will help rightsholders remove copyrighted material from web servers, the Swiss protected personal freedom to download files for personal use will likely remain legal for the foreseeable future.

Source – http://www.best-bittorrent-vpn.com/-safest-countries-to-download-torrents.html