Have you ever wanted to watch the programming on an American TV network (NBC, CBS, ABC etc.) from your computer in Canada (or perhaps another country), and then been annoyed by that message that identifies you as someone outside of the USA… “You appear to be outside the United States or its territories. Due to international rights agreements, we only offer this video to viewers located within the United States and its territories.”

That doesn’t mean we can’t find a way! Okay, so how do I watch US programming online? The most popular (and most ineffective way) has long been using a proxy located within the USA, but for video this just doesn’t work. The video players that play the shows use hidden URLs to stream you the video clips, proxy’s generally can’t pick these URLs up. This frustrated me, as I spent much time looking for a proxy that just might work,

But no more, using a VPN (Virtual Private Network), you can get a US IP address assigned to you, and CBS will think you’re in their backyard. The best one I’ve been able to find is Hotspot Shield, simple, effective and fast enough to stream video properly. I did notice some minor bugs with browsing and website display, but not enough to complain about. The program is small, installs quickly, and sits on your taskbar. Just disable it when you’re not using it (for your regular surfing). The advertising is annoying, but hey! it’s the price you pay.

Lost on ABC