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What’s gone wrong with it – and what to use instead
Stop Using
GOOGLE SEARCH
- • Cancel your phone contract
Switch to a virtual network & save money - • Remove old anti-virus files
Otherwise you’re open to attack
FIVE NEW THINGS YOU CAN ACCESS WITH A VPN
Microsoft Defender Preview
Currently only available in the US,
Microsoft’s new security tool (www.
snipca.com/41702) lets you monitor and
protect all your devices in one place. By
using ProtonVPN to pretend we were in
New York, and changing our Windows
region to United States, we were able to
install and test the app. However, because
Defender Preview works over the web,
we had to keep our VPN running while
using it to stop Microsoft detecting our
real location and blocking us.
YouTube’s free TV shows
and films
In March, YouTube made more than
4,000 episodes of TV shows available for
free (with adverts of course), but only for
US viewers. With the aid of Windscribe
and a Dallas server, we bypassed the error
message that appears when you visit
http://www.youtube.com/freeshows in the UK,
and were able to watch series including
Bonanza, The Prisoner and Gordon
Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. We also
unblocked thousands of free films at
http://www.youtube.com/freemovies.
Paramount Plus
Set to launch in the UK this summer,
this new streaming service (www.
paramountplus.com) offers thousands of
TV shows and films, including every Star
Trek episode, from the original 1966
series to Strange New Worlds (see
screenshot below), which is exclusive to
Paramount Plus. If you can’t wait, you
can use a VPN to sign up for a free trial- though you’ll need to provide payment
details upfront (and a US zip code) – or
just browse the full list of shows at http://www.
snipca.com/41724.
Android apps in Windows 11
The long-awaited ability to run Android
apps in Windows 11 is still only available
in the US, but a VPN will let you try it
now in the UK. You’ll need one to install
the Amazon Appstore app (pictured
below) from the Microsoft Store and toregister for an Amazon.com account, so
you can open Android apps on your PC
(see Issue 621, page 74). You should also
change your Windows region to United
States via the ‘Time & language’ section
of the Settings app.Private search engine Neeva
In keeping with the theme of this feature,
Neeva (www.neeva.com, pictured above)
is a new, privacy-focused search engine
from ex-Google employees that doesn’t
collect or share your data or show ads. So
far, it’s only available in the US, so you
can either click ‘Join the waitlist’ on its
homepage, or jump the queue by
choosing a US server in your VPN. Neeva
asks you to create a free account but you
can search without one.Issue 631 • 11 – 24 May 2022Since Russia invaded
Ukraine in February, it has
forced Google to delist
links to VPN services to
prevent its citizens from
viewing uncensored
information about the war. But it isn’t
actually illegal for Russians to use VPNs,
partly because many businesses rely on
them, though their usage is restricted.
In November 2017, the Russian
government passed a law banning the
use of VPNs, Tor and proxy tools to
access unauthorised content, and has
targeted VPN providers that refuse to
comply with its rules and hand over user
data. Over the last few years, Russia hasbanned at least 15 services
including ExpressVPN,
NordVPN and ProtonVPN,
but others remain
operational.
However, to show
solidarity with Ukraine and avoid financing
Putin by paying for data centres, most
major VPNs have now shut down their
servers in Russia. This means users can no
longer have Russian IP addresses, though
they can still connect to servers in other
countries. One exception is CyberGhost
(pictured), which has a virtual server in
Russia that provides a local IP address
to those who need to browse privately
(www.snipca.com/41723).Has Russia banned VPNs?
VPN
MASTER YOUR