Proxy instead of VPN for accessing geo blocked web content from outside USA/UK?

I'm outside the USA and UK and currently use a VPN to access geo blocked content (Hulu, Netflix etc) but don't like my entire connection running through the VPN (I need a direct connection for gaming etc).

I've installed Proxy Switchy! in Chrome and am hoping to find a US based proxy to use instead of the VPN.

- Does anyone know if a proxy in the browser alone can get around the geo blocks Hulu etc use or do Flash/Silverlight plugins reveal real IPs?

- What are some good proxy providers with US and UK I could look at?

- For my purposes what would the difference between a HTTP Proxy and a SCOKSv4 or v5 host?


Cheers

ps. I couldn't find any documentation on Proxy Switchy, does anyone know how it works, is it changing the proxy for Chrome only or is it changing it at an OS level?

 

As far as I know, this should work as long as the proxy suppresses the X-Forwarded-For header which normally reveals your real IP. Since it's just a HTTP/SOCKS proxy, though, it is definitely possible to leak your IP in other ways. I'm not sure any of the streaming services go this far since it's easier for them to simply block the proxy.

There are providers like proxy.lc and Insorg but you might want to look at Tunlr which is a (currently) free solution that uses DNS redirection to help you bypass geolocation detection for streaming services. There's also playmoTV which does something similar but will definitely be a paid service in future. Using any of these solutions will allow you to only proxy certain sites while leaving other traffic untouched.

At a basic level, SOCKS proxies allow you to proxy "anything" rather than just web traffic (P2P is popular). A HTTP proxy is only for web traffic but providers can configure them to manipulate the HTTP headers to help with anonymity.

 

I'd be careful with web proxies, easy way to get hacked or malware. Some are also honeypots.

 

Thanks for your responses traxx75

Yeah I wouldn't use a free one because of that risk so was hoping to get some suggestions.

I found this post so it looks like a proxy is not enough to get around Hulu's restrictions.

http://techcrunch.com/2009/05/06/control-freaks-hulu-now-blocks-anonymous-proxies-too/

 

Yes I have done this, you can, but don't confuse Flash with Silverlight, it doesn't work in Silverlight. Hulu/Pandora don't use it so it's ok.

Cotse.net (US) or Tunnelr.com (US&UK&DE) make sure that you choose the SSH tunnel and not the VPN service. Any SSH tunnel provider will work, there aren't many.