The International Schools Review Forum

I'm getting ready to head out soon, and I would like to know the best and most reliable VPNs that are not blocked in China. I would like to be able to access Youtube, Facebook, etc. Any recommendations?

Astrill VPN is good - it's what I used and never had any problems.

I've never used a VPN in China, but I've been using Astrill for the last three years. It works great!

Astrill was also recommended to me by folks in China. They were blocked briefly in June by the GFW, but it sounds like they got things back up and working within a few days. Astrill recommends you pay for a slightly more expensive service if you're in China or other countries with heavy censorship.

I was reading up on a few free services that seem to do alright, so you could go that route.

I use surf easy, its a bit pricey but its plug and play and works with Netflix, Hulu, and HBOGO. Its how I watched Game of Thrones overseas.

I've never used a VPN. Does it work like this:
I set one up on my computer in the U.S then when I am overseas the online info will get routed through the U.S router? In other words, "it" will think my computer in, say, China, is really in the U.S and will allow all the sites (Netflix) I can get when I am in the U.S.

Can I use this for other things beside internet?

Any information will be appreciated.

And what is "GFW"?

The GFW stands for "Great Fire Wall" and refers to the measures China has taken to block lots of sites.

So far at my school, it seems that StrongVPN, ExpressVPN, and Astrill are the best VPNs.

VPNs allow you to choose an IP based in another location, so the internet thinks you are in Seattle or New York or London or Hong Kong when you're really in mainland China. This allows you to access blocked sites like Facebook and Youtube, as well as region-locked content like Hulu.

I use Astrill (not in China) and it is set to put me in the UK as soon as I start the laptop up. I can also switch to the US, Canada, nearly every country in Europe, Russia, Australia, New Zealand and others. It's really easy (one on/off button).

A VPN routes from internet useage through a server in one of those countries, giving you an IP address in that country.

Astrill all the way..............

I'm about to head to China as well, and I'm probably going to switch to Astrill. I've used StrongVPN for the past few years with no issues, but the general consensus I've seen from folks behind the Great Firewall is that Astrill is the one to get.

Do I download and set up Astril in the U.S or overseas.

My wife is in Malaysia and cannot get Netflix. Can I set up Astril here and she can use it in KL?

Thank you all for the help.

I set it up before I headed out, but now I don't think it really matters. Playing Netflix will work, but your internet connection needs to be strong. Forget about doing it in China - even with a fast internet connection, the GFW makes surfing very slow.

And yes, you should be able to set up Astrill in the US and she can use it in KL - you just need to give her the user/pw.

You can download it wherever you want, as far as I know, but it might be better to do it before, in case the website is blocked when you get there.