In A Nutshell

SmartDNS is a service that unblocks streaming sites like Hulu, Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and any websites that are blocked based on your location. If you don’t need to hide your IP or need to encrypt your internet connections, you may want to use a SmartDNS service instead of a VPN.

These are my recommended SmartDNS providers:

Overplay (fast connections, good customer support, you can cancel the service at any time and use your remaining paid time, $4.95 per month or $34 per year)

ibVPN (based in Europe, good reputation for privacy, $4.95 per month or $36.95 per year)

UnblockUS (designed to be very user friendly, great collection of set-up guides, free trial for one week with no credit card required, $4.99 per month, $59.88 per year)

Smart DNS Proxy (no payments for 14 days, 30-day money back guarantee, $4.90 per month, $34.90 per year )

The Details

If you don’t need to hide your IP or need to encrypt your internet connections, you may want to use a SmartDNS instead of a VPN. SmartDNS enables a computer and most other Internet-capable devices to access region-restricted or blocked content from anywhere in the world.

Connection speed tend to be faster than a full VPN because you are only changing your DNS settings to install SmartDNS . Unlike a VPN, there is no application to install and your IP address remains the same.

The other advantage of SmartDNS is that it can be used on any device that permits DNS changing such as iPad, AppleTV, Roku, Xbox and others. Note that note of these services will unblock Pandora’s streaming service.

A smart DNS proxy can be installed and set up across an entire network of devices such as desktop computers, laptops, mobile smart phone devices, smart televisions, and Internet-capable gaming consoles, and is compatible with all mobile operating services including Android, Apple’s iOS, Blackberry and Windows Phone.