If you’ve been using Kodi for a while, I’m sure that by now you would have come across talk of using a VPN (Virtual Private Network).
Now what exactly is a VPN in the first place? To put it simply a VPN creates a tunnel between you and the VPN provider. Once the tunnel is established all your internet traffic will flow first to the VPN server, and from there out to the internet. This means that the destination you are trying to reach does not know your true identity or location, as the traffic it will be getting will be from the VPN server.
What is the point of this you may be asking? Well there are a number of advantages to using a VPN, and it will become more apparent further down, why it is very advantageous to be using one with Kodi.
Accessing Geo-blocked or Restricted Content
Many services on the internet are either completely blocked or only allow you to access a limited part of their content, depending on your location. Some examples of these are BBC iPlayer, Fox, ESPN, ITV, NBC Sports Extra, and hundreds of others. By using a VPN server, you are able to imitate being at a different location from where you really are, meaning that you will now be able to access those services.
Bypass ISP Blocks
You ISP (Internet Service Provider) is totally aware of the recent trend in streaming, and a lot of them are putting restrictions in place, to block your access to these streaming services. A good example of this would be those of 1Channel / Primewire, and IceFilms, which are blocked in the UK. The VPN server will allow you to bypass this restriction by choosing to connect to one of the servers located in a different country.
Bypass ISP Throttling
Another tactic IPSs are now using is to ‘throttle’ your speed, when they notice that you are accessing certain streaming services. This can be a contributing factor, although not limited to, the dreaded ‘buffering’ message that I’m sure we have all experienced. The VPN prohibits their ability to perform this type of packet inspection, and so speed throttling can then be eliminated as a cause of the buffering.
Anonymous Encrypted Traffic with NO Logs
Some of the content available on Kodi, especially many live streams, make use of AceStream links. These are in essence P2P type links, (think of torrents if you know what they are) meaning that while you are watching one of those links, at the same time in the background, you are also sharing the content to other users. By doing so you have now, unwittingly perhaps, also become a distributor of that content! You had better hope that the content is legal, otherwise you may be in for some trouble. Overall, by using a VPN your internet traffic usage is encrypted and also anonymous. The only log that your ISP will have of your activities is that you connected to a VPN service. Your ISP will not know, or have any logs in their system, of what activity you performed via the VPN.
What is the best VPN Provider For Kodi?
Well to answer that question there are a number of factors to consider. I’ve personally tried out a fair few of them, and for quite a while now my go-to VPN provider is IPVanish VPN.
Below are some of their features:
- User-friendly apps for all of your devices
- 5 simultaneous connections on multiple devices
- Access to the world’s fastest VPN
- Zero traffic logs
- 40,000+ shared IPs, 500+ VPN servers in 60+ countries
- Unlimited bandwidth
- 256-bit AES encryption
- Anonymous torrenting
- Unlimited P2P traffic
- Access to censored apps & websites
- OpenVPN, PPTP and L2TP/IPsec VPN protocols
- Unlimited server switching
- 24/7 customer support
- 7-day money-back guarantee
I cannot recommend them enough and you really need to try them to understand what I’m talking about. To be fair though, everyone has different needs, so do feel free to look around at what other VPN providers have to offer. All I can say to you though is ‘Save yourself the hassle’ and instead just get started with IPVanish VPN today!
One final thing to point out, and you can take it as a word of warning, DO NOT by any means use a ‘FREE’ VPN service. It has been suggested that many of the free VPN services may in fact be ‘honeypots’ setup by ISPs or government agencies even. They are traps to entice you into using them, and while instead of protecting you, are in fact gathering information on your activities. As to whether or not this is in fact true I cannot say, but only provide you with this food for thought.