Need your help will pay 20$: PIA on pfsense Netflix detects proxy
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@asphalt3 said in Need your help will pay 20$: PIA on pfsense Netflix detects proxy:
@johnpoz said in Need your help will pay 20$: PIA on pfsense Netflix detects proxy:
You can use whatever vpn want for your vpn stuff, but for netflix you just route that out your normal wan, without vpn... Which is what he linked too, and what brought up 22 days ago.. Policy Routing..
If you insist on sending your netflix traffic through your vpn then its going to be wack-a-mole.. It may work, it may not - as soon as they block that vpn it will stop, etc. etc.
What do you mean by “route that out your normal wan”? Right now I’ve assigned a static ip to my smart tv that I route through wan. I am not sure to understand what you’re saying. You mean that by using policy routing there’s another way around... I don’t understand
That is a policy-based rule. It selects an outbound gateway using conditions defined in the rule. In your case, you have a static IP assigned to your Smart TV, and when the rule detects traffic from your Smart TV outbound to the Internet that matches the ports/protocols you may have specified, the rule triggers and routes the traffic out the normal WAN interface instead of out on the VPN.
You have two options for handling how you route. You can assign static IP addresses to your streaming devices that you want to use for Netflix and then use your existing policy-based rule. The other option is to create an alias containing all the known IP addresses for the CDN that make up the Netflix distribution chain. The pfBlockerNG package helps with that because it can download lists of IP addresses and maintain the aliases for you. The only difference in this case is that your policy rule would change so the source IP was "any" instead of your assigned Smart TV static IPS and the destination IP would be the alias (or aliases) containing all the CDN IP addresses for Netflix.
I personally would recommend the option you are already using with static IP addresses for your streaming devices. That alias option is going to have hiccups because the list of CDN (content distribution network) IP addresses is ever-changing. Sometimes the third-party maintainer of those free IP lists falls behind on updates. If that happens and your alias containing all the Netflix CDN IP addresses gets out of date, then Netflix could get erroneously routed out via your VPN (because the destination IP that a client looked up via DNS happened to not match any of the IPs in the "Netflix Alias" configured in pfBlockerNG).
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@bmeeks
Hi
I had a similar problem and I had to separate the traffic of Netflix on the streaming device (Apple TV) from all other traffic and to put it on my desired direction.
Because the ip addresses of the servers Netflix is constantly changing (and a lot of them) , I have created a module in PFSense+Netgraph+parser DNS responses (written in C)
Now I can catch all dns responses that have text Netflix, nflxvideo or nflxso ,and put the ip addresses of these responses in the table PF .
And with the help of this table and PBR send the traffic where I need to go
It looks like this (the part of the log)Sep 17 13:46:18 daemon started Found file /usr/local/tmp/dns_parser/ip.db, restore table netflix_ip Successfully restored 291 ip-addresses Sep 17 13:50:39 Get DNS response for server: cast-uiboot.prod.http1.netflix.coM Alias name(CNAME): prod.http1.geo.netflix.coM Alias name(CNAME): prod.http1.eu-west-1.prodaa.netflix.coM Domain name(ANAME): prod.http1.eu-west-1.prodaa.netflix.coM IP address 34.252.211.92 will be added to table Domain name(ANAME): prod.http1.eu-west-1.prodaa.netflix.coM IP address 52.17.137.54 will be added to table Domain name(ANAME): prod.http1.eu-west-1.prodaa.netflix.coM IP address 52.214.57.81 will be added to table Domain name(ANAME): prod.http1.eu-west-1.prodaa.netflix.coM IP address 52.214.167.17 will be added to table Domain name(ANAME): prod.http1.eu-west-1.prodaa.netflix.coM IP address 54.77.61.253 will be added to table Domain name(ANAME): prod.http1.eu-west-1.prodaa.netflix.coM IP address 34.242.54.142 will be added to table Domain name(ANAME): prod.http1.eu-west-1.prodaa.netflix.coM IP address 34.251.119.18 will be added to table Domain name(ANAME): prod.http1.eu-west-1.prodaa.netflix.coM IP address 34.251.249.50 will be added to table Total ip addresses to add 8, Succefully added 8 ip addresses to table netflix_ip Sep 17 13:50:40 Get DNS response for server: occ-0-38-2773.1.nflxso.neT Domain name(ANAME): occ-0-38-2773.1.nflxso.neT IP address 23.246.26.150 will be added to table Domain name(ANAME): occ-0-38-2773.1.nflxso.neT IP address 23.246.26.157 will be added to table Total ip addresses to add 2, Succefully added 2 ip addresses to table netflix_ip Sep 17 13:50:45 Get DNS response for server: ipv4-c079-arn001-ix.1.oca.nflxvideo.neT Domain name(ANAME): ipv4-c079-arn001-ix.1.oca.nflxvideo.neT IP address 23.246.26.156 will be added to table Total ip addresses to add 1, Succefully added 1 ip addresses to table netflix_ipThis part of the table and rule for it
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One can also use pfBlockerNG for that. Import the Netflix AS delegations etc. and put that into an IP alias. Some of our customers are doing it like that without much problems. Netflix + AWS AS and a few minor IPs and you have a pretty solid working base.
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Yes, there are a couple of different ways to "skin this cat" so to speak. My personal preference would be either static IP addresses (or DHCP reservations) for my streaming devices. But using an IP list containing the Netflix or Amazon or Hulu, etc., IP addresses can work as well. I just know that from time to time those IP addresses are likely to change, and your streaming connection might hiccup if the destination IP the client obtained from its DNS lookup did not match an IP in your streaming provider alias list. That would then result in your streaming client being routed out via the VPN tunnel instead of your normal WAN IP and thus getting blocked.
Of course it is a hassle to assign static IP addresses, and especially so for "roaming" devices such as say your grandkids mobile devices (if you have grandchildren yet) or the mobile devices of other guests in your home. So I can definitely see the appeal of using the CDN list concept via pfBlockerNG or rolling your own solution.
In the end, though, I admit to being a huge non-fan of VPNs. I see them as required for only two scenarios: (1) to connect remote offices together into a company-wide LAN or (2) for secure remote access into my own LAN. I'm not a fan of the whole "privacy" thing so much. First of all, as has been stated here many times, you really have no meaningful guarantee of privacy from some of these VPN providers. Most certainly if you are doing something shady or patently illegal behind a VPN you don't have the protection you think you do. A subpoena or search warrant from a government law enforcement agency carries a lot of weight, and just about any VPN provider would cave (especially if they are located within your country of residence). Finally, for what little benefit you may convince yourself you are getting by hiding your web traffic behind a VPN, you also get a good bit of PITA (pain in the a**). Just do a search here on the pfSense forums for "vpn" and see how many folks have issues connecting to various services. You will find that most of the time the cause turns out to be their VPN configuration. In fact, just look at the origin of this very thread. The OP was having streaming issues trying to use the VPN.
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static is not all that hard, just set a reservation - once this mobile client has connected once.. Just set reservation for it from the dhcp lease listing, just click the little button and assign it an IP.. Next time it gets IP from dhcp it would get the reserved one..
edit: Isn't that what PIA vpn name stands for? Pain In Ass ;) hehehehe
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@johnpoz said in Need your help will pay 20$: PIA on pfsense Netflix detects proxy:
static is not all that hard, just set a reservation - once this mobile client has connected once.. Just set reservation for it from the dhcp lease listing, just click the little button and assign it an IP.. Next time it gets IP from dhcp it would get the reserved one..
edit: Isn't that what PIA stands for? Pain In Ass ;) hehehehe
Probably need to edit my acronymn to be PITA instead...
. Still only one coffee down the hatch this morning ...And by "hassle" I mean you have to login to the firewall, find the device's MAC and set the IP and reservation. True you won't have to repeat that again, though. I was mainly referring to that first time encounter with a particular device. It's difficult to concentrate on getting the static IP and reservation set up with a panicked 4 year-old in your ear who's "Dora the Explorer" show won't play on the iPad ...
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@bmeeks
My program updates the list of ip addresses of servers netflix dynamically based on the responses of the DNS server , and the list is constantly increasing in size . So at the moment I have ensured that I was able to split the traffic HBO and AMAZON PRIME traffic from NETFLIX on the same device.And the program is quite stable for 2 weeks.
I use VPN because HBO doesn't work in Russia , and I want to watch it ))) -
@Konstanti said in Need your help will pay 20$: PIA on pfsense Netflix detects proxy:
@bmeeks
My program updates the list of ip addresses of servers netflix dynamically based on the responses of the DNS server , and the list is constantly increasing in size . So at the moment I have ensured that I was able to split the traffic HBO and AMAZON PRIME traffic from NETFLIX on the same device.And the program is quite stable for 2 weeks.
I use VPN because HBO doesn't work in Russia , and I want to watch it )))Your situation is a bit different. You are then, in fact, using the VPN to bypass HBO's geo-restriction policy.
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@Konstanti said in Need your help will pay 20$: PIA on pfsense Netflix detects proxy:
I use VPN because HBO doesn't work in Russia , and I want to watch it )))
Well that is the actual real reason for vpn's as we all well know, circumvention of geo restrictions.. Not that silly nonsense about any sort of privacy ;)
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Very important discussion started here which help me to fix my problem.
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Well, yeah, content suppliers can't supply without knowing your real geographical position, they stop supplying you when you 'mystify' your location.
When you use a VPN, you're hiding your real 'view point' position.
Solution : don't use a network that is considered as a VPN.Netflix, etc, they all mention this in their "selling conditions".
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just google wack a mole vpn ;)
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This thing works on Netflix but not for Amazon prime, do you any solution for that too?
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@habanavee said in Need your help will pay 20$: PIA on pfsense Netflix detects proxy:
This thing works on Netflix but not for Amazon prime, do you any solution for that too?
Yep! Disconnect the VPN and Amazon Prime will work just fine (and as a bonus, Netflix will work, too!).
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@bmeeks But Amazon doesn't work in the country where I am right now (Pakistan) and even with VPN which I tried but no success.
Any suggestion?
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Not sure how many times have to say this - its going to be a wack a mole game... Find a different vpn service that it works on - good luck.. And few hours, days, weeks it will stop working and you will have to find a different vpn server or even service... ie Wack-A-Mole!!
The term "Whac-a-mole" (or "Whack-a-mole") is used colloquially to denote a repetitious and futile task: each time a task is finished or a problem is dealt with, yet another task/problem appears elsewhere. In a military context, the term is used to refer to ostensibly inferior opposing troops who keep re-appearing. In a programming/debugging context it refers to the fact that fixing a bug has a certain chance of creating a new bug which itself needs to be fixed. In a web context, it refers to the process of fending off recurring spammers, vandals or miscreants. It has also been used of fake news stories.
So you can either continue to play the game with netflix,amazon,hulu, etc. Or find a better solution - do you have buddy/friend in a country that allows watching the services you want to watch? If so vpn to them, or use something like a slingbox or something that allows you to view programs off their TV, etc. If you vpn through them, since they are not a major vpn service, and would have just a normal residential IP address - its unlikely they would get blocked.
Other option would be to get your own vps somewhere and use that as your vpn server.. Since its not part of a major players vpn service ip space - it might be missed as they wack a mole the vpn services IP space..
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@habanavee said in Need your help will pay 20$: PIA on pfsense Netflix detects proxy:
@bmeeks But Amazon doesn't work in the country where I am right now (Pakistan) and even with VPN which I tried but no success.
Any suggestion?
You have to understand that many (if not all) streaming service providers sign contracts with the producers of the content they stream (movies, TV shows, etc.), and those contracts specify which countries or jurisdictions can be shown that content. If the streaming providers violate their contractual obligations, then they are at risk for lawsuits and/or losing the ability to stream that content. So the streaming providers go to great lengths to ensure that only authorized viewers can see content. So that means if a given studio does not want their content shown in Pakistan, then Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and others will take every action they can to be sure the content is not available to viewers in Pakistan.
One reason for restrictions like this is that content that is legal to view in one country may be patently illegal to view in another. This is particularly true of movies with nudity and other sexual content. What may be perfectly okay in Western Europe is likely not okay at all in Pakistan when it comes to sexual content in movies or TV shows.
So how does this relate to VPNs? Well, most folks attempt to circumvent the geo-restrictions Amazon, Netflix and others use to control where streaming content is available by using a VPN to hide their true location. Amazon, Netflix and the other streaming services are not stupid. They know what VPNs are all about, so they actively seek to find all the VPN providers' exit node IP addresses and block them. To do any less would invite repercussions from the content producers they signed those contracts with. So like several of us have said here about a dozen times, you will never be 100% successful circumventing streaming provider geo-restrictions using a VPN. It may work for a while, but then it will surely break when Amazon, Neflix or whomever finds that VPN provider's IP address blocks and bans them from accesing their servers.
User @johnpoz has the best advice in his post immediately above this one. If you happen to live in a country where most all streaming content is blocked, your best choice is to lease your own VPS (virtual private server) in a data center that is located in a country where the content you want to view is available. Set up your server there, and then configure a point-to-point VPN from you to your server for viewing streaming content. So long as you choose your data center wisely, you should be good. Just do not use a VPN provider! Just create a point-to-point VPN tunnel from you to your remote server. But of course you then have the monthly expense of the hosting service along with the subscription price of a streaming service.
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Sorry about the image, I kept getting blocked by Akis-something.
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@skilledinept Great, a transparent(!) gif with black font - now I have black on black and can't read a thing... When posting pics, think about people, that use dark mode/backgrounds in apps! And if you post links with no reputation at all, it's no surprise, you get blocked from Akismet as that's typical spam bot behavior (editing/posting links in text). After a bit of
you'll get way more slack to post links and shouldn't get blocked posting :) -
My bad !
Actually I had post it with with white background and changed it to make it blend better with the forum's background--it didn't occurred to me people would view it on a standalone viewer or something.
I removed all of the links by adding underscores before each one but it still blocked me. I think it might be something else because that image is not uploaded to the forum, it's hosted elsewhere (therefore it needed a link) and it allowed it. Weird, huh?! 🤪
I modified it already, sorry again!
