If you play Fortnite online, you may have already experienced a ban -- you have most certainly heard other players talking about these bans. A Fortnite ban blocks you from getting on the server to play the game. Some bans only last a short time and work on your Fortnite account id. Others are permanent and block your IP address. You can get around a Fortnite IP ban by using a VPN to unblock that access.

Why does Fortnite ban IPs?

Fortnite’s owners, Epic Games implements three types of bans. One type usually only lasts a short time and applies to your user account ID. Another is a permanent account ban. The other type of ban is permanent and blocks your IP address. Soft bans on user accounts are usually implemented because the player violated one of the rules in the game. IP bans are much more random and are often not aimed at individual users.

There are a large number of reasons that Epic Games bans users from Fortnite. The IP ban is a specific problem that can be caused by hacker activity and not because of something that you did wrong. Games servers are almost constantly under attack. 

One common example is a DDoS attack, which is cheap and easy to pull off. In this type of attack the hacker gets a lot of computers around the world to send connection requests to the target all at the same time. This overwhelms the target, which becomes unable to serve genuine connection requests. As an emergency measure, some network defense systems symply block all requests from a range of IP addresses. This is a panic measure that ends up punishing innocent gamers simply because the IP addresses assigned to them happen to fall within the range that an administrator entered into the defense software in a hurry. 

Who does Fortnite ban?

Account bans are easy to understand. They are implemented because of a rules violation. Repeat offenders get banned permanently. IP bans are a lot harder to work out. Sometimes entire nations can be suspended temporarily from Fortnite or a range of IP addresses gets blocked permanently. This will be an emergency measure to deal with a DDoS attack.

Individuals that get banned temporarily from the service for a rules violation just have to wait until their account is accessible again. People who get a permanent account ban have a lot more to deal with to get back on. A user with a permanent account ban could just set up a new account and start again – Fortnite is free to use, after all. However, the system registers the IP address of a permanently banned user, so permanent account bans also include IP bans.

How to bypass a Fortnite IP ban

The only way to get around an IP ban is to change your IP address. You can do this by changing your internet service provider (ISP). However, ISPs usually impose lock-in periods with a minimum number of months before you can get out of the contract so switching isn’t a practical strategy. The only other method available is to get a proxy or a VPN.

What are proxies and VPNs?

A proxy is a pass-through server that will switch your IP address mid-stream. All replies to the protected computer’s outgoing messages get sent to the substituted IP address of the proxy server. That server cross-references the masking IP address with the client’s real address and automatically forwards on all traffic.

Proxy services are very commonly used by gamers and so they actually don’t help. The replacement IP addresses that they offer could well have been banned by Fortnite already. Free proxies are particularly prone to abuse by hackers and only offer ready-corrupted replacement addresses.

A VPN is one step up from a proxy and offers a more competently managed identity masking service.

Use a VPN for Fortnite

“VPN” stands for “virtual private network.” It is more complicated than a proxy service because it protects the connection between the client computer and the VPN server with encryption. This service has a lot of other benefits, besides just identity protection. VPN servers have a lot of connection capacity and so they are very good at absorbing DDoS attacks, which are very common in the gaming world.

The VPN requires a client application to be installed on the protected device. In the case of games consoles, that process can be difficult or even impossible because they don’t have extensive operating systems like computers have and so don’t allow much freedom to the user to alter the network connection, which is what you need to do in order to use a VPN. 

However, many VPNs can be installed on a home router, which affords protection to all devices in the home, not just the games console. All of the internet traffic that goes out of the games consoles has to pass through the router. So, installing the VPN on the router catches all outgoing traffic from the games console and all other internet-connected devices in the home. Similarly, all incoming traffic has to pass through the router and so the VPN client software active on the router will be able to process that traffic as well.

VPNs usually allow each account holder to connect several devices to the service simultaneously. Installing the client on a router only takes up one instance of that allowance, leaving the rest free for mobile devices.

VPN problems

The problem with most of the VPNs on the market is that they also don’t protect the innocence of their protecting IP addresses and many are incapable of dodging bans at Fortnite. 

Once an IP address has been banned by Fortnite, it will block any user that tries to access the games site with that address. So, a cheap VPN that keeps recycling the same IP addresses to different users is just passing that ban on to the next person to which it allocates that IP address.

Very few VPNs go to the cost and effort of retiring IP addresses and buying new ones to avoid the problem of their services becoming useless. This review only includes VPNs that have proved they can dodge the Fortnite IP bans.

Switching Fortnite servers

There isn’t just one Fortnite server. Fortnite is hosted on many servers around the world. With the multi-player Fortnite Battle Royale, the ability to battle against players from other countries intensifies if you can log into other servers in different parts of the world.

The globe’s time zones mean that the server closest to you might be very heavily loaded with players, while servers on the other side of the world, where most of the local population are asleep might have fewer players and so faster response times. Your nearest server might come under attack making it impossible to play on. You can’t choose which server you go to, the connection system run by Epic Games does that for you.

Hopping to a different server can sometimes make a real difference. Although you should experience more delay when connected to a distant server, this is more than compensated for by the higher speeds of an under-utilized server. VPNs not only switch the IP addresses of their users, they also allow their customers to select which country they wish to appear to be in.

A VPN will enable you to skip over to a better server and find new players to pit your wits against. However, the diversion of all of your traffic through a VPN server will slow your connection response time a little. That’s why it is important to only subscribe to fast VPNs that impose little delay on your connection.

A VPN service with servers in many countries also gives you more choice over the server that you get switched to. Overall, to reduce the length of the trip that your data has to take, it is better to choose a VPN server that is as close as possible to your location or as close as possible to the Fortinet server that you want to access. So, choosing a VPN with servers in a lot of countries gives you more choice of Fortnite servers and gives you better connection performance.

Quality VPNs

As with proxy services, there are free VPNs available. However, those VPNs are usually slow, have tarnished IP addresses, don’t give much choice over server location, and are easy for the Fortnite server to spot.

One complication to this IP ban dodge that you should know about is that Epic Games also bans the use of VPNs for connections to its Fortnite servers. This doesn’t mean that you should give up on the plan to use a VPN, it means that you need to make sure that you get a good VPN. So choose your VPN provider carefully.

The top VPNs in the world are able to cloak themselves and fool VPN detection systems. Unfortunately, all the work that goes into creating a VPN service good enough to dodge detection by the Fortnite server costs money. So, you won’t get a good Fortnite VPN for free.

The qualities that you should aim for when selecting a VPN are:

• High speeds
• A track record of evading detection
• Many VPN server locations
• Value for money

Basically, you need to aim for the best VPNs in the world. Fortunately, we have found four excellent VPNs for Fortnite that don’t cost the earth.

Step-by-step guide to evading a Fortnite IP ban with a VPN

1. Sign up to one of the VPNs on our list.
2. Follow the VPN site instructions to download and install the VPN client on your router. 
3. Start up the VPN client on your router and choose a server in the country of the Fortnite server that you want to access or your home country if you don’t mind where you play.
4. Go to Fortnite on your games console. If you have a permanent account ban, sign up for a new account. If you don’t have an account ban you should now be able to play with your regular account.

The best VPNs for Fortnite

The Indian film industry is the largest in the world, churning out almost 2,000 films a year. So, although the name Bollywood was coined in imitation of Hollywood, the seat of the American film industry, the Indian counterpart is really the world leader and doesn’t need to imitate anyone else.

Bollywood uses a traditional musical format, which has millions of fans all around the world hooked. However, there are some innovative film producers rising to prominence that break that traditional mold, introducing some fascinating diversity into the Indian movie industry.

Cinema is very popular within India and the films of India are also popular all around the world. The Indian diaspora is spread out over many countries and catching Hindi movies online is a great way for expats to get back in touch with home. Culture vultures of other nationalities are also getting into Bollywood movies, so there is a lot of demand for Indian films right now.

How do I access Bollywood movies online?

Catching on to the worldwide demand for Bollywood movies, specialist online movie channels have sprung up on the internet. This is the best source of Indian movies for binge watching. However, it would be nice to be able to switch from channel to channel. When you try that you will find that even though all of these online streaming services play Bollywood films, they are all rooted in different countries. They only want audiences in their own home countries. So, people in the UK aren’t allowed to watch streaming sites based in Canada, people in the USA aren’t allowed to watch movie streaming services based in the Middle East.

Video streaming services operate what are known as “regional restrictions.” This stops people from outside the country of the site from accessing videos. The reason sites do that is because they pay for the right to show a movie and the entertainment industry prices its licenses per country. So, streaming sites still tend to just cater to their home markets.

Legally, video streaming sites can’t let people from other countries watch their content. The licenses work on where the viewer is not where the video is streamed from. So, one company will buy the right to show a movie in the USA and another streaming service will buy the right to show the same movie in the UK. If the USA streaming service lets people from the UK watch, it is reducing the value of the license that the UK streaming service paid for. In order to maintain the value of each license, movie distribution contracts are very tight and streaming sites that break the rules will be driven out of business by legal action.

Fortunately, there is a way to get around regional restrictions. If a streaming site makes all efforts to restrict the broadcast of its content to its own country, it has complied with its contracts. If some viewers are able to trick the location checks on the streaming service, then that isn’t really the broadcaster’s fault.

We will show you how to trick the location detection systems on streaming sites shortly. However, first, there is one more topic to cover.

Are there free Bollywood movie streaming services?

One way to get around the legal restrictions imposed on Bollywood streaming sites is to look for free sites. The only way free Bollywood movie streaming sites can operate is if they don’t pay for the rights to show the movies. In other words, they steal the films.

Free streaming sites can only survive through theft. So, those sites are not going to be too picky about where their viewers are. They don’t have to worry about breaking their contracts because they didn’t sign any in the first place.

Problem solved. You can get around the regional restrictions on Bollywood streaming sites by going to illegal video streaming services. However, there is a catch. It isn’t legal to watch illegal video streaming services. That means, by watching free Hindi films online you will be breaking the law, too.

You might be comfortable with stealing the work of others. However, it is stealing and if you get caught, you will be fined. In some places in the world, notably, the USA, illegal streaming is judged a criminal offense, which means you could even go to jail for it. Is it worth the risk?

If you are going to watch Hindi movies for free, you need to hide your identity so that you can’t be traced. You even need to hide your identity from the operators of the free sites. When the law catches up with those sites, prosecution lawyers seize the records of those shut-down sites that trace back to every single person who accessed the site. Then they go over the viewers.

You can hide your real location and make yourself impossible to trace if you use a VPN.

VPNs for online Bollywood movies

A VPN redirects all of your internet traffic. Streaming sites know where you are because all of your communications with them have a return address on them. That return address has to lead to you otherwise, the responses would come back to you. Addresses on the internet are called IP addresses and they can be traced to a physical location. So, all a streaming service has to do is reject all requests that have an IP address of origin outside of the country.

A VPN is like a forwarding service. Once a customer is connected to a VPN server all of the traffic from that computer goes through the VPN, no matter where its true final destination is. The VPN changes the IP address of origin on the message for its own. It then records which outgoing request came from which customer. The replies from the streaming service go back to the VPN, which then forwards the response back to the customer who made the request.

Most VPN services have servers in many countries around the world. So, in order to trick the regional restrictions on a Bollywood streaming site, all a viewer has to do is connect through a VPN server in that country.

VPNs are also useful for accessing free Bollywood movie streaming services. The connection from a viewer’s computer through to a web site has to pass through the internet service provider’s computers, which record every action that all of its customers make on the internet. The IP address actually belongs to the ISP. So, when a copyright law firm traces the activities of an IP address, it subpoenas the records of the ISP that registered the address. That ISP then has to give the lawyers the name and address of the person who was using that address at the time.

A VPN connection is completely encrypted from the client to the server, so when the request passes through the ISPs computers, the true destination of the request (the video streaming site) is hidden from the ISP. No one can tell that you accessed a free Bollywood site. Even the video streaming site doesn’t have records on your access because all of the requests you made to it are recorded as coming from the VPN server.

There is one link in the chain that could blow your cover. That is the record of the mapping between the original IP address of the customer and the replacement Ip address made by the VPN company. Fortunately, VPN services wipe all of their address mapping records for a session as soon as the customer disconnects. So, if the copyright lawyers turn up with a court order for information, there are no records to seize. Thus, you cannot possibly be traced. That record deletion strategy is called a “no-logs policy” and it is very important to look out for that when choosing a VPN.

Step-by-step guide to streaming Bollywood movies with a VPN

1. Sign up to one of the VPNs on our list.
2. Follow the VPN site instructions to download and install the VPN client on the device you want to watch Bollywood movies on. 
3. Start up the VPN client and choose a server in the country of the streaming service you want to use.
4. Open a web browser and navigate to the Bollywood movie streaming site.
5. Select a video and enjoy watching the movie.

VPNs for streaming Bollywood movies

In order to provide access to Bollywood movie streaming sites from all over the world and also protect the user’s identity, a good VPN for streaming Bollywood movies should have the following features:

• Fast speeds for video streaming
• Reliability
• Unlimited data throughput allowance
• The ability to dodge regional restrictions
• Strong security through encryption
• A no logs policy
• No data throughput limits
• Apps for all major operating systems

There are many VPNs on the market and even some free VPNs. However, very few of them are any good. When a streaming site spots a VPN IP address it blocks it forever and streaming sites circulate lists of banned addresses between them. So, VPNs need to replace all of their addresses regularly in order to keep getting access to streaming sites. Free VPNs can’t afford to do that, which is why they aren’t any use for getting into Bollywood streaming sites.

All VPNs say that they operate a no-logs policy but actually don’t. It is difficult to spot the ones that really don’t keep records.

We have tested all the VPNs on the market and know which are good and which are bad. The services in our list of recommendations all have speeds fast enough for uninterrupted video streaming and have very strong encryption to enforce anonymity.

We have compiled a list of the best VPNs for streaming Bollywood movies online.

Our recommended VPNs for streaming Bollywood movies online

Disney Plus is only available in five countries in the world: the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands. The service has only been around since November 2019, but already it has a major presence in the video streaming industry.

Like most video subscription services, Disney Plus practices regional restrictions on access to its content. That means that not only do you have to pay a subscription, but you have to be present in the country of your membership in order to access its content.

That means those with a Disney Plus subscription in the USA can only watch the service over the internet while they are in the United States. A Netherlands subscription to the service is different to a Canadian subscription. In short, Disney Plus operates as separate national video streaming services in each of the countries in which it operates.

How does Disney Plus know where I am?

Every device that connects to the internet has to have a unique address. This is called the “IP” address. “IP” stands for Internet Protocol. Those unique addresses have to be centrally controlled and then distributed. The physical location of each address owner is recorded and addresses cannot be duplicated. Each residential internet address is supplied by the user’s internet service provider.

When a subscriber logs into Disney Plus every exchange in the login process carries the IP address of the user. The Disney Plus server can reference that address to its physical location and so identify whether the requester is in the country of his subscription. 

So, when a US subscriber logs into the system the Disney Plus system from within the United States, all doors are open and that user can browse the video library and play a selection. If that user is not in the USA, he can explore the website, check on his account, change details in his profile and browse the video library. However, when he clicks on a video to watch it, the system will send a blocking message.

Evading the Disney Plus access block

The simplest way to unblock Disney Plus is to change your IP address. However, your IP address is allocated by the internet service provider of wherever you are. So, when you go on vacation and log into the internet, you don’t get an IP address from your ISP back home, you get an IP address from the local ISP that serves the location you are in. For example, if you are in a beachside café, you connect to the internet through the internet service of that café.

Substituting a fake address is called “spoofing.” A possible technique for tricking the regional restriction processes of the Disney Plus servers would be to give a fake address – one that is in the right country and gains access. The problem with that gambit is that the server will return the code for the video to the address it was given, so spoofing will not work.

The solution is to get an address to represent your requests to the Disney Plus server that can be reinterpreted back to your real IP address in order to deliver the video code. This is what a VPN does.

How does a VPN service work?

The VPN service includes a remote computer in a private network. Ordinarily, in a private network, all of the cable that connects all devices and computers together is contained in one building. The remote computer gets included in the network by converting the public medium of the internet into a private link.

The VPN provider can’t lease a big chunk of the internet to get a physical link through to your computer. Instead, the VPN applies encryption to make it impossible for anyone to tell where your communications are going. This trick is called “tunneling” and it creates privacy over the public internet.

The VPN link is formed by software on the VPN server and a client program resident on the customer’s computer. This guards the request that leaves your computer in order to request a video from the Disney Plus server. When the request arrives at the VPN server, the source IP address is switched out and replaced by an address owned by the VPN provider. When you connect to the VPN system, you have to nominate a location, so when your communications pass through the server, the return address that gets assigned to them is related to the chosen country.

The address leads back to the VPN server. When its location is accepted and the Disney Plus server sends the video code back to the VPN, that VPN server readdresses the data and sends it on to your computer.

Other VPN benefits

VPN services are not just useful to unblock Disney Plus. If you have other video streaming subscriptions for streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Hulu, you can also get around the regional restrictions on those sites as well. National TV channels all stream their content for free on the web, but all restrict access to their TV shows so that they can only be watched from within their countries. VPNs break those locks so you can watch ABC, NBC, and CBS from outside of the USA and watch TV shows on UK channels including the BBC iPlayer and Channel 4 from anywhere in the world.

VPNs get around local network bans as well. For example, you might be able to connect your phone to the network at work, but find that you get blocked by the network gateway when you try to access Disney Plus on it at lunchtime. VPNs mask the true destination of a connection, unblocking network restrictions.

Apart from breaking through regional restrictions, VPNs have good security uses. Public Wi-Fi hotspots in cafes and transport hubs are not safe to use. Hackers and scammers frequently set up fake free Wi-Fi systems to harvest the personal data of network users. This situation can lead to your internet traffic being intercepted and read, disclosing your access passwords to many sites, including online banking. VPNs encrypt all of your transmissions from your device all the way through to the VPN server, making it impossible for scammers to break in and read your information.

Step-by-step guide to streaming Disney Plus from abroad with a VPN

1. Subscribe to one of the VPNs on our list that has a server in your home country.
2. Follow the VPN site instructions to download and install the VPN client on the device you want to watch Disney Plus on. 
3. Start up the VPN client and choose a server in your home country. For example, select a US server if you have a Disney Plus account in the United States.
4. Navigate to the Disney Plus website, login, and select a video to watch.

Best VPNs for Disney Plus

There are a number of attributes that a Disney Plus VPN needs. The streaming platform’s location detector is also able to scan for VPN activity and it blocks any request that is mediated by one. This is typical of all streaming platforms that have regional restrictions, including Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video.

So, the best VPNs needed the following features in order to qualify for this list of recommendations:

• Fast speeds for video streaming
• Reliability
• Unlimited data throughput allowance
• Detection evasion
• Strong security
• Confidentiality through a no-logs policy
• Apps for all major operating systems: Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Linux, and Android
• Risk-free trial period

There are many VPNs available on the market today and a lot of them are free. However, maintaining a system that can dodge the strong regional restrictions operated by video streaming services requires a lot of expertise and costs a lot of money. Only the well-established VPN providers have the necessary experience to get users into Disney Plus from abroad.

Our recommended best VPNs for Disney Plus

Rugby fans take note: the 2019 Rugby World Cup is already underway. Held every four years, this year’s tournament witnesses 20 teams from five continents battling it out for the Webb Ellis Cup (the trophy awarded to the winning team) in host country Tokyo.

While matches began September 20th, the tournament continues until November 2nd, so there’s still plenty of hard-hitting rugby action remaining to catch on TV.  The impressive New Zealand All Blacks, who won the past two Rugby World Cups in 2011 and 2015, are the early favorite to win it all again this year, but great teams like England and South Africa will pose serious competition.

Where to watch the 2019 Rugby World Cup

Owing to its status as the biggest international rugby event, the 2019 Rugby World Cup can be found on TV networks around the world. The following networks are where you can catch matches in their respective countries:

• USA: NBC Sports
• Canada: TSN
• UK: ITV
• Ireland: EIR Sports
• Australia: Fox Sports, Network Ten
• South Africa: SuperSport
• New Zealand: Spark Sport
• France: TF1
• Germany: Ran
• Japan: Nippon TV, NHK, J SPORTS

Why use a VPN to stream the 2019 Rugby World Cup

Despite the fact that the Cup is airing on networks across the world, you still might find yourself unable to catch the matches live. Many of the networks require expensive cable packages, and for American expats living abroad temporarily, a long term lock-in cable contract to watch a six-week long event just isn’t a viable option.

Luckily there’s a solution for Americans outside of their country who can’t find the Rugby World Cup on TV where they are, or would just prefer to view their home country’s coverage of the event. The free NBC Sports app is airing many of the matches and can be downloaded on Android, iOS, Samsung TVs, streaming devices and other platforms. Unfortunately, due to legal restrictions, the app can only be used within the United States. However, there’s a simple workaround and it requires using a VPN.

A VPN is a handy tool that routes your internet connection through one of many proxy servers around the world, making it seem as if you are connecting from that country and allowing you to use services exclusively available in that nation. By logging on to a US server through your VPN, you can stream Rugby World Cup matches on the NBC Sports app from anywhere in the world.

Step-by-step guide to streaming the Rugby World Cup with a VPN

1. Subscribe to a good VPN with a wide selection of U.S. servers (Ivacy is offering 20% off all plans except their monthly plan with promo code RWC20).
2. Download and install the VPN client on the device you stream sports on. 
3. Connect to a U.S. server on your chosen streaming device.
4. Install the NBC Sports app.
5. When match time comes, check that you are still connected to a US server via the VPN client on your chosen streaming device and enter the NBC Sports app.
6. Enjoy 2019 Rugby World Cup matches from wherever you are in the world.

Supported devices

• VPNs are compatible with just about any device able to connect to the internet, including iOS and Android phones/tablets, digital streaming devices, smart TVs, and video game consoles. Check each VPN’s list of supported devices to find one that supports your favorite platforms.  
• The NBC Sport App is available for iOS devices, Android devices through the Google Play app, laptops, digital streaming devices, ChromeCast, Xbox, and Samsung TVs. Scope the list here.

The top five VPNs for streaming the Rugby World Cup

1. Ivacy VPN

Now offering 20% off all plans except their monthly plan with promo code RWC20.

• 1000+ Servers in over 100 countries, including 15 servers in the US.
• High-end 256-bit data encryption
• No bandwidth restrictions
• Advanced IPsec & IKEV protocols 
• 5 simultaneous connections with one 
• Automatic internet kill switch
• Option to pay with card, Paypal, Alipay, and BitPay
• Only $3.33 a month with a one year subscription, or $1.33 a month if you buy five years

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