Tag Archives: Google

Clever Hacks to Get YouTube TV in Canada

YouTube TV launched in the U.S. in 2017. There’s been speculation that they would expand outside of the U.S. and offer their streaming service to Canadians along with others like Hulu. However, YouTube TV hasn’t made an official announcement about this.

So, Canadians that are tired of hoping and waiting may want to grab the bull by the horns. Yes, you can get access to YouTube TV in Canada today! All you need to do is jump through some hoops before signing up and follow the tech savvy steps in this guide.

Is It Worth the Effort?

Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and CBS All Access are available in Canada. Thus, one might wonder if getting YouTube TV in Canada is really worth it.

For those who want a comprehensive replacement for cable TV, it is. This a great opportunity to get sports, news, and special interest programming you don’t have access to on Netflix.

Channels on YouTube TV

Google has obtained deals with the five major TV networks in the U.S.: ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, and The CW. About 40 cable channels owned by the parent companies of those networks are all onboard. This includes content from The Walt Disney Company, CBS Corporation, NBCUniversal, Brave, USA Network, Discovery, CNN, Cartoon Network, Fox Sports 1, BBC, ESPN and more.

Like traditional cable TV, it’s also possible to add additional premium channels. Some of these channels include AMC Premiere, Showtime, and NBA League Pass.

How to Gain Access to YouTube TV in Canada

YouTube TV has a variety of methods to verify if the user is based in the U.S. Therefore, to pass these checks and successfully get a YouTube TV account, you need to ensure their site can’t tell you’re based in Canada.

1. VPN Location Magic

First, you’ll need a VPN. By using a VPN, you can access the web with an IP address associated with a physical location in the U.S.

To do that, sign up with a VPN provider, and choose a plan. These services are very inexpensive these days. And typically, if you’re willing to commit to a plan for a year or more, you can save quite a bit.

Recommended VPNs are listed below. For more details, read full reviews of the top 3 VPN services here.

2. Get a U.S. PayPal Account

If you use a Canadian credit card, you’re rolling the dice. You may be able to rig YouTube TV’s payment system to accept it, but that doesn’t work with every credit card provider.

The most reliable method is to set up a U.S. PayPal account.

To ensure success, be sure to follow these tips:

  1. Before you do anything, enable your VPN. And make sure the service has assigned you with a U.S. IP address. This will give you access to the U.S. version of PayPal.
  2. Use a valid email that isn’t already associated with a PayPal account.
  3. When signing up, put in your real street address and credit card info, as you normally would.
  4. You’ll need to choose a zip code and find the U.S. city that is associated with it. The full process is below.

Your Canadian postal code needs to converted to a zip code. To do this, remove all the letters from it. For example, a postal code of M4B 1G7 is changed to 417. Next, to make it valid, add zeros to the end so it’s five digits. So, your new zip code should look something like this: 41700.

Keep in mind the zip code you got from the above process must be real for it to work. To verify if it’s valid, go to the USPS website and enter it. If it’s invalid, replace one of the zeros with a one. That should do the trick.

Finally, enter the U.S. city from the address found in the USPS link, along with your real street address. Now you should be able to complete the PayPal sign-up process.

3. Create a U.S. Gmail Account

This part is really simple!

  • Go to Gmail.com and click on the option to get a new account.
  • Make sure that you select the United States as your location.
  • Validate your account with your mobile phone number.

4. Change Your Location in Chrome

Although you’re now using a VPN to hide your location, Chrome can still spill the beans and reveal that you’re actually based on Canada.

The final step in hiding your whereabouts is editing the settings in Chrome’s location services.

Important: you’ll need to repeat these steps every time you launch your browser

  • Launch Google Chrome
  • Press ‘Ctrl,’ ‘Shift,’ ‘I’ to open Chrome’s backend framework on a PC. Mac users will want to hit ‘Command,’ ‘Option’ and ‘I.”
  • Click the icon made up of three little dots in the top corner of the new panel that just launched. Go to ‘More Tools,’ and then select ‘Sensors.’
  • You’ll now see an option called ‘Geolocation’ with a dropdown menu next to it. Select a location in the U.S. such as ‘San Francisco’ or ‘Mountain View.’
  • Great, now Chrome will think that you’re in the U.S.

5. Access Your YouTube TV Account

Whew, you’re nearly there. All you need to do is test that everything worked.

  • Go to the YouTube TV website.
  • Sign in with your U.S. Gmail account.
  • Choose to pay for the service with PayPal, then sign in the PayPal account you just created.
  • If all is good you should see a $1 charge and refund in your PayPal account (this is part of the validation process).

You Did It!

Congrats! You now have YouTube TV, just like the fortunate folks in the States.

As the process is pretty involved this guide is intended for PC and Mac users.

If you’re even more ambitious and tech savvy you can also get YouTube TV to work on Google Cast, Android, iOS, and Apple TV. To learn more about support for these platforms check out the guide on MobileSyrup (and scroll to the bottom of the article).

Best Chrome Extensions that Protect Your Privacy

From ad and tracker blocking, HTTPS, advanced proxy to interfacing with the Tor network, the right extensions can turn Chrome into a dream machine.

It’s time to stop passively allowing corporations, shifty sites and shady third parties to feast on any private data they can manage to grab. Now that you’re on to them, arm yourself with some of the following top privacy-enhancing extensions for your browser.

AdBlock

Browsing history, cookies and other various data is exploited aggressively by Advertisers. So that gas barbeque you showed a fleeting interest in will definitely be showing up again in cube ads – haunting you for days. Changing your privacy settings on the most common offender’s sites makes a difference, but who has the time?

Adblockers are the most popular extensions out there and AdBlock continues to be the dominant force in this arena. Big boys in tech have devised methods to force their ads to display even when AdBlock is enabled. However, it’s still a great way to generally declutter your Web experience.

Ghostery

Almost every major site out there uses cookies and tracking technology, and it builds a profile of you based on your activity. Worse, there are suspicious third parties with malicious agendas far worse then just attempting to sell you the latest widget.

Ghostery finds every instance of trackers embedded on the sites you visit. It then gives you the ability to tailor how you handle these trackers depending on the level of trust you have for the site in question.

HTTPS Everywhere

Major sites have made the switch to beefed-up HTTPS security but many smaller operations haven’t caught up. This means ISPs can easily access your browsing on these sites if laws allow in your country.

Big names in anonymity software EFF and the Tor Project have joined forces to give web users a secure experience on every site. Insecure HTTP sites are automatically converted to secure HTTPS thus preventing surveillance, account hijacking, as well as some varieties of censorship.

Proxy SwitchyOmega

SwitchyOmega provides an alternative to digging though the advanced setting section in Chrome, and the chore of filling and clearing proxies in the config dialog of your OS. This is a powerful, timesaving idea for power users, because just one proxy server will often not get you very far, especially the free variety. Enter all your proxy servers IPs, plus port, protocol, then switch between them quickly with a mere click.

Kronymous

Formerly called KroTor, this extension allows you to access the Tor network. It’s a more advanced alternative to the easy-to-use Tor Browser that requires no configuration and works out of the box. Tinkerers will love the extensive options Kronymous provides, plus the ability to continue using your preferred browser, Chrome.

Cupcake

Cupcake aims to make Tor “the onion router” tastier by giving it a pathway into your web browser. A plain, happy or sad cupcake is displayed depending on the status of the proxy, signifying not in use, in use, or disabled respectively. Chrome users that don’t need the extensive options found in Kronymous may prefer this.

Open in Tor Browser

Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best, not to mention the least likely to break. Open in Tor Browser is perfect for Chrome users that occasionally want to switch to true incognito mode with Tor Browser when viewing sensitive content. The only catch is you’ll need to install a minimal native client for it to open links correctly in Tor Browser.

—

Graphic: Sean MacEntee

How to Hide Your IP on Android

As smartphone hardware becomes increasingly powerful, Google is equipping Android with powerful features once only found on the desktop. Hiding your IP with a VPN is a perfect example.

Although there are apps that can hide your IP for Android, you can do the same thing right within the OS. This tutorial teaches you how to utilize a VPN service to mask your IP with no additional software.

Please note that this tutorial was written using the stock version of KitKat on a Nexus phone. Android may be a bit different on your device.

Step 1

Using a VPN has become the standard solution for anonymous browsing, making it next to impossible to trace activity back to your true IP.

Before you get started with exploring the settings in Android you’ll need to choose a VPN service.

I used a free provider called JustFreeVPN for testing purposes. Please note that while free services can get the job done paid options are much faster and offer superior security. Most providers offer plans under $10/month or less if you pay for the full year.

Recommended services:

Step 2

Locate “Settings” either by browsing your apps or by swiping the top menu, tapping on the user icon on the top right, then touching the cog icon.

android-vpn-settings

Step 3

Now that the “Settings” menu has appeared, tap on “More…” directly below “Data usage.”

android-vpn-1

Step 4

Tap “VPN” just below “Tethering & portable hotspot.”

android-vpn-2

Step 5

In “VPN” options screen, touch the “+” icon to the right.

Step 6

A box labeled ”Edit VPN profile” will appear. Give the VPN service you plan to use a name, make sure “PPTP” is selected, and then enter the server address you were provided in step 1. Check the box next to “PPP encryption (MPPE)” then tap “Save.”

android-vpn-3

Step 7

Tap the VPN entry that has been created. A new box will appear allowing you to enter the username and password you got in step 1. Check the box so your info is saved for next time.

android-vpn-4

Step 8

Confirm that you have successfully connected to the VPN. It should say “Connected” directly below the name you gave the server in the beginning. A tiny key icon will also appear at the top left. For additional info about the connection or to disconnect, tap the entry again.

android-vpn-5

All Done

Congrats! Your IP is now hidden on Android!

How to Hide Your IP Address in Chrome

In order to hide your IP address you must replace it with another decoy IP. This means you’ll need to use a VPN service to achieve true anonymity in Chrome.

Unlike browsers like Firefox that allow you to enter proxy settings (supplied by a VPN service) natively, Google refers directly to your OS network settings.

Step 1

Locate the options icon to the far right of the Chrome browser window and click on it. A pull down will appear. Select “Settings” near the bottom.

chrome7-1

Step 2

The settings page will appear directly in the browser window. Scroll down to the very bottom and click on “Show advanced settings…”

Step 3

Continue scrolling down until you see a heading called “Network.” Click on the “Change proxy settings…” button directly below it.

chrome7-2

Step 4

In order to complete the next steps you’ll need an IP address, login and password supplied to you from a VPN service.

Avoid free services for anything other than testing. They’re uniformly unusably slow plus I wouldn’t trust my browsing data with most of the operations offering it.

Sign up with a reputable service listed below. They’re fast, inexpensive ($10/month or less) and highly recommended.

Recommended services:

Step 5

Windows

The “Internet Properties” window will open with the “Connections” tab selected for you automatically. Click on the “Add VPN…” button to the right.

chrome7-3

Enter the Internet address supplied to you by your VPN provider and give it a name in the field below. Click the “Next” button.

chrome7-4

A window will appear. Enter the login and password you were given by the VPN company.

Mac OS X

The “Network” window will appear with the “Proxies tab” selected. To use a VPN, check the box next to “Secure Web Proxy (HTTPS)” [preferable] or “Web Proxy (HTTP)” depending on the service.

Check the box next to “Proxy server requires password” and enter the login and password provided to you by the VPN company.

chrome-mavericks-1

All Done

Congrats! You’re now ready to browse with your true IP hidden from prying eyes. Go back to Google Chrome and surf to your heart’s content.