How can I get a VPN location for Canada and not the USA?

A Former User

My mother decided recently to quit subscribing to a cable-package, because she thinks it's expensive. However she'll lose the one thing she never missed on the telly - her favorite soap opera.

I was going to surprise her to find a way for her to watch the episodes on her laptop, so a while back I checked out Opera's VPN to familiarize myself with it (I've never used Opera nor VPN's of any sort) and I found a website in Canada that showed the episodes for free - presumably with ads (which is more than fine) but I knew how to allow ads in Opera and I assume the process is still the same, although that can have changed as well grumblegrumble*

Now a few days before the subscription is cancelled I find out there's no VPN for Canada anymore!!! The VPN seems hell-bent on being in Virgina in the USA.

Is there any way to move the VPN location to Canada?

I also see that CBS and a few other corporations offer to watch these episodes for a fee, however I very much assume they wouldn't want my money off my credit card as it's not an USA credit card and the local cable company here very probably has a license to show them.

(My mother and I live in Northern Europe).

Does anyone know of any site where she can watch that? I'm more than willing to pay for her access, as long as she'll never find out about it and thus no pop-ups or integrated ads in the video that say "Thanks for your subscription" or similar, as she flat out refuses that I pay for her subscription at our local cable company, as she's saying she's voting with her wallet.

leocg

leocg Moderator Volunteer @Guest

@throwawayaccount Nope, there isn't.

A Former User @leocg

@leocg said in How can I get a VPN location for Canada and not the USA?:

@throwawayaccount Nope, there isn't.

Thanks for replying.

Darn it, them I'm back to square one. If I were to buy a VPN service is there a possibility to just let one single browser use that? ...so when she were to use her regular browser she could do her banking with out being blocked because her regular browser would think she's logging in from some other country.

I was thinking about downloading a browser and telling my mother that she should only use that to watch her favorite show. Is there a way to restrict VPN to a single browser?

Any VPN service you or others recommended more for that task than others?

A Former User

Hi

I can understand your problem, because here in Germany, I need VPN to watch a couple of US TV shows that are freely available there, but not here.

In case a non-opera-based solution come into question ...

I use a couple of methods. Luckily, I currently have 2 1 year long Giveaways. These however take-over the whole connection, which I do not always want.

For a browser-based solution like you want, I normally use a free Google Chrome extension called Unlimited Free VPN - Hola. Current version 1.82.539. If you go to Chrome extensions and search, in case you have more than one option, the one with the thumbnail with a smiley + "Hola!" & smiley image surrounded by a couple of social media site icons. That is the correct one, though when I tried it with that whole extension name in thick letters, only the correct one came at the top of list.
After installation, you see the icon up right in browser. To watch a site in Canada (which I have not tried), click on symbol and in pull-down menu, select Canada. After a short while, you should see the Canada flag replace the Hola smiley icon in Chrome. You can now type in the Canadian site. Should it not work, click the icon & under "Did it work?", select "No fix it".
If you are lucky, they try another IP.
It mostly works for me for the sites I watch, though now & then not, but just try later in that case.
No opera version of extension.
For a non-browser solution, I also have Windscribe, from windscribe.com. They offer free VPN BUT only I think 2GB/month, If you however sign up & confirm your account via email, you get 10GB/month free. Most services do not offer that much free.

They also offer paid plans, which I think are affordable.
You then download & install their client, then log in with credentials created above. You can set it NOT to start with Windows, so you only turn it on when you need it.

I have just discovered, though, that Chrome offers a "Windscribe - Free VPN and Ad Blocker" add-on (extension) and installed it. If you click on the Windscribe icon (also top-right in Chrome), you are offered a login interface. If you have created an account like mentioned above, it seems this works WITHOUT installing the client & only locally in Chrome browser. I tested this & I could watch Stephen Colbert on CBS. I have an existing 1 year Giveaway account, but you can test it with a free 10 GB account. It did not work for one site I tested though, but will try it later. 2 Chrome add-ons are no big deal for me. One can always enable or disable add-on (extensions) with a click.
To select a country like Canada, click on icon in Chrome, make sure beside the switch-like icon, you have the connection mode set to manual. I had to do this because the automatic (Cruise control) mode did not somehow recognize cbs.com as US site. In the opening list, select any of the available 2 Canada options.
Then go in the chrome location bar to the Canadian site.
I also had to disable the integrated ad-blocker via settings, top-left => Privacy options.
Some sites like CBS talk shows do not tolerate ad-blockers.

Remember you can always disable the VPN-client, browser-based or stand-alone as said.

Also, unless you fully trust one, ... I would say no bank or similar stuff using them. If one trusts a VPN service, it's otherwise safer than using none especially on questionable sites.

I hope this helps in some way.

A Former User @Guest

@throwawayaccount

I also need to add:
Just in case you decide to buy VPN, do so from a reputable company to be on the safe side. One of the 2 VPN Giveaways I mentioned above is Avira Phantom VPN (no GB limit). I got it as a free Giveaway last Xmas for a year.
Avira makes I think the most widely used free Antivirus in Germany, I think, though they have paid versions. There are other providers, like Cyberghost, Okay Freedom, I think from a Finnish Antivirus firm, etc. I used a Giveaway of the full version a while back. It's just that these may be a bit expensive. The Avira mentioned above costs according to their site 7.95 Euros/Mon!

I have used their giveaways for the last 2, 3 years, recommended them to friends who need VPN & I'm satisfied with it, though I do not know where the firm is based. I always get 1 year long Giveaways now & then. I do not use my PC for bank stuff, though. Otherwise they have an interesting unlimited plan of 4.08 dollar/mon.
Positive review here: https://www.pcworld.com/article/3239292/software/windscribe-vpn-review.html.

With Hola free VPN, i.e. not made research on reputable reviews.

If you are satisfied with the suggested free services, whose integrity Google Chrome Webstore does not seem to mind (Hola: 8,823,919 users, average of 4.7/5 stars ... and Windscribe with 579,627 users, average high rating) though, as said, you can always shut down any of the VPN clients, like I do the Windscribe or Avira Phantom VPN, in order not to disturb stuff like logins on different sites, equivalent to the bank issue of your mother - in case you use a stand-alone VPN. Only let itrun when you need it.
In the case of browser-based solutions, just go to the add-ons/extension section of Chrome & with one click disable or enable the extension, depending on the case, if she wants to watch the Canadian stream.

For an enthusiastic user of free stuff like VPN, ... I have 3 accounts at Windscribe for 10GB /month each , so if I did not have the current 1 year long Giveaways, I would get away free. If 10GB gets exhausted, just log out of Windscribe in browser or client & login with another account.
Depending on how much one watches streams, it might be it suffices without buying. At the end of each month, beginning from the day you sign up, Windscribe alerts you via email it has reset your quota to 10GB or whatever your plan offers. The Giveaway I have is 50GB/month. There are some sites where every few months they offer Giveaways with all features for a year.

A Former User

@xprt007 thank you so much! Blimey, that must have taken a long time.

Kinda bummed out I didn't see your post before I got a recommendation for TunnelBear, but I'm satisfied with it. It comes with a browser plugin and it was unbelievably easy to set up - and I've never used VPN's, let alone a browser VPN-plugin, of any kind nor ever set them up.

It does what I need it to do for my mother, and an unlimited data is 60 dollars yearly.

Now I'm contemplating trying to see if I can find Canadian sites that show Dr Phil and Ellen for her, as she's watched that as well but with less rigor than her soap opera

But thank you so much for your post.

A Former User

@throwawayaccount said in How can I get a VPN location for Canada and not the USA?:

TunnelBear

I'm glad you got a solution you liked. I see on their site that the $60 1 year plan has been halved to that. Make sure before renewal, that the price will be maintained, otherwise there might be cheaper alternatives, if that matters.
It seems you'll have to part with some more money to watch both shows, probably shown on some networks, or not? But .....

Regards.