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Sunday, October 25, 2015

How To Set Up Unlocator DNS Under Linux To Access Netflix, Hulu, CBS, ABC, Pandora and More Outside The US

Tunlr, a free DNS service that allowed its users to access US-based on-demand Internet streaming providers from outside the US, was shut down recently.

For those who are looking for a reliable alternative, there's Unlocator, a similar service that you can use to watch Netflix, Hulu, CBS, MTV, PBS, ABC, Pandora and more no matter where you live.

The service is free to use while in beta (I'm not sure when it will be out of beta) and once it leaves the beta, it will cost $4.95 / month.

Update: Unlocator is out of beta and is no longer free to use. There's a 7-day free trial and after that, the service costs $4.95 per month / 27.50 for 6 months or $49.95 for a year.

At the time I'm writing this article, Unlocator supports 78 services, including: Netflix, Hulu, Pandora, ABC, AMC, BBC, CBS, Channel4, Discovery Channel, ESPN, Fox, HBO Go, MTV, NBC, PBS, Showtime, TV.com, VEVO, USA Network, VH1 and others. A complete list can be found HERE.

While Unlocator works as advertised, there is one issue: using the Unlocator DNS permanently is not a good idea for privacy/security reasons, speed and so on. For this reason, I've adapted the instructions for Tunlr I wrote a while back on failsdownloads, for Unlocator.

How to properly configure the Unlocator DNS under Linux

Again: you can simply change your DNS servers to those provided by Unlocator if all you want is to use the service and you don't care about your privacy/security - there's a simple howto on Unlocator's website.

The instructions below are for those who don't want to permanently use the Unlocator DNS.

Below you'll find two ways of setting up the Unlocator DNS under Linux.

The first method (A) has an advantage over the second one: the Unlocator DNS is only used for Netflix, Hulu, etc. while using the default DNS for other websites. There's a drawback too though: if Unlocator changes the DNS servers, you must edit the /etc/NetworkManager/dnsmasq.d/dnsmasq.conf and manually add the new DNS.

The second (B) method has the advantage of always setting the correct Unlocator DNS servers since it automatically retrieves them from the Unlocator website (the DNS servers have changed quite a few times already). The disadvantage is that when switching Tunlr on using this script, all the traffic passes through the Tunlr DNS and not only the websites that need it, like it's done using the first method. But you can do this: only browse the websites you wouldn't normally have access to when switching the Tunlr DNS on and when you want to visit some other websites, switch the Tunlr DNS off.

Before continuing, you'll need to create an account (free while in beta) for Unlocator.

It's also important to note that if/when your IP changes, you need to login to your Unlocator account and click the "Update" button on your account settings page.

With these in mind, use the configuration method that suits you best.

A. Configure Unlocator DNS using Dnsmasq / Network Manager

In Ubuntu 12.04+, Network Manager uses dnsmasq by default so the instructions below are specific to Ubuntu users. For other Linux distributions, you can simply paste the code below (the two lines containing "server="...) in /etc/dnsmasq.conf and restart Dnsmasq. I only tested it in Ubuntu though.

Let's proceed.

Firstly, create the /etc/NetworkManager/dnsmasq.d folder (I believe it's not created by default in Ubuntu 12.04 for instance):

sudo mkdir -p /etc/NetworkManager/dnsmasq.d

Then, create (edit) a file called "dnsmasq.conf" under /etc/NetworkManager/dnsmasq.d/. I'll use Gedit below:

gksu gedit /etc/NetworkManager/dnsmasq.d/dnsmasq.conf

And in the dnsmasq.conf file, paste the contents of THIS file.

Some of the websites under the "server" lines above have been added to avoid the geofencing used by some websites. You can edit the "server" lines above to add more websites (but there is a limit to how many websites are supported so I suggest replacing existing websites instead).

You can find a list of Unlocator supported websites HERE. The IPs at the end of the "server=" lines are the Unlocator DNS servers. If accessing Hulu, Netflix, etc. stops working, make sure you check the Unlocator website for updated DNS.

When you're done, save the file, then run the following command to restart Network Manager:

sudo restart network-manager

Then, restart your browser and visit the Unlocator account page - under "DNS Setup for This Device " it should say: "Your DNS is setup correctly" like in the screenshot below:

If it doesn't work, firstly try to restart your computer. If it still doesn't work (some users are reporting issues with dnsmasq and private names), try editing /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf and commenting out (put "#" in front of the line) "dns=dnsmasq".

B. Quickly switch the Unlocator DNS on/off using a script

Another way of easily switching the Unlocator DNS on/off is using a script included with the Tunlr AUR package created by edloaa, which I've modified to work with Unlocator

To be able to use it, make sure "wget" is installed - Ubuntu users can install it using the following command (may already be installed):

sudo apt-get install wget

And then download and install the script using the following commands:

cd /tmp
wget https://raw.github.com/hotice/unlocator/master/unlocator
sudo install /tmp/unlocator /usr/local/bin/

Then, simply run the following command to use the Unlocator DNS:

sudo unlocator start

Next, restart your browser and visit the Unlocator account page - under "DNS Setup for This Device " it should say: "Your DNS is setup correctly".

To stop using the Unlocator DNS, use the command below:

sudo unlocator stop

And restart your browser.

Also see: Pipelight: Use Silverlight In Your Linux Browser To Watch Netflix, Maxdome Videos And More

Unlocator via +Antoni Norman (Pinguy)

How To Set Up Tunlr DNS Under Linux To Access Netflix, Hulu, CBS, ABC, Pandora and More Outside The US

Tunlr is a free DNS service that lets you use U.S.-based on-demand Internet streaming providers, such as Netflix, Hulu, CBS, MTV, ABC, Pandora and more, if you're living outside the U.S.

At the time I'm writing this article, Tunlr reports that the following streaming services are working:

US video streaming services: Netflix, Hulu, CBS, ABC, MTV, theWB, CW TV, Crackle, NBC, Fox, A&E TV, TV.com, Vevo, History, Logo TV, Crunchyroll, DramaFever, Discovery, Spike and VH1;
US audio streaming services: Pandora, Last.fm, IheartRadio, Rdio, MOG, Songza;
Non-US streaming services: BBC iPlayer (excluding live streams), iTV Player, NHL Gamecenter Live and TF1 Replay / WAT.tv (excluding "direct" stream).

In my test, Tunlr has worked as advertised, but there's one issue: using Tunlr DNS permanently is not a good idea: for privacy/security reasons, speed and so on. Even the Tunlr FAQ page says you shouldn't use the Tunlr DNS for every day web surfing. On Windows, there are some tools you can use to quickly switch the Tunlr DNS on/off, but there's no such tool for Linux, so here's how to properly use Tunlr under Linux.

Configure Tunlr DNS under Linux

Before proceeding, please note that Tunlr recommends using Firefox and also, Google Chrome is not supported!

Below you'll find two ways of setting up the Tunlr DNS under Linux.

The first one (A) has an advantage over the one (script) below: the Tunlr DNS is only used for Netflix, Hulu, etc. while using the default DNS for other websites. There's a drawback too though: if Tunlr changes the DNS servers, you must edit the /etc/NetworkManager/dnsmasq.d/dnsmasq.conf and manually add the new DNS. Update: I've added a script at the bottom of method A for automatically retrieving and updating the Tunlr DNS (thanks to Jochen Blacha!).

The second (B) method has the advantage of always setting the correct Tunlr DNS servers since it automatically retrieves them from the Tunlr website (the DNS servers have changed quite a few times already). The disadvantage is that when switching Tunlr on using this script, all the traffic passes through the Tunlr DNS and not only the websites that need it, like it's done using the first method. But you can do this: only browse the websites you wouldn't normally have access to when switching the Tunlr DNS on and when you want to visit some other websites, switch the Tunlr DNS off.

With these in mind, use the configuration method that suits you best.

A. Configure Tunlr DNS using Dnsmasq / Network Manager

Let's proceed. Firstly, create the /etc/NetworkManager/dnsmasq.d folder (I believe it's not created by default in Ubuntu 12.04 for instance):

sudo mkdir -p /etc/NetworkManager/dnsmasq.d

Then, create (edit) a file called "dnsmasq.conf" under /etc/NetworkManager/dnsmasq.d/. I'll use Gedit below:

gksu gedit /etc/NetworkManager/dnsmasq.d/dnsmasq.conf

And in this file, paste this:

domain-needed
all-servers
cache-size=5000
strict-order

server=/tunlr.net/netflix.com/hulu.com/pandora.com/cbs.com/bbc.co.uk/abc.go.com/mtv.com/go.com/abc.com/tv.com/pbs.com/vevo.com/fwmrm.net/thewb.com/cwtv.com/crackle.com/mog.com/iheart.com/mylifetime.com/doubleclick.net/rubiconproject.com/cpxinteractive.com/adnxs.com/brightcove.com/cpxadroit.com/atdmt.com/mtv.com/mtvnservices.com/imrworldwide.com/demdex.net/fox.com/foxfdm.com/eurovisionsports.tv/netflix.ne/nflximg.com/nflxext.com/chartbeat.com/nbc.com/history.com/discovery.com/vh1.com/itv.com/aetv.com/foxadhd.com/cbsstatic.com/cbsi.com/theplatform.com/akamaihd.net/pbs.org/sharethis.com/revsci.net/scrippsnetworks.com/scrippscontroller.com/imrworldwide.com/scorecardresearch.com/quantserve.com/liverail.com/elogua.com/inskinmedia.com/ip2location.com/rubiconproject.com/southparkstudios.com/conviva.com/liverail.com/local.yahooapis.com/msnbc.com/nbcuni.com/rdio.com/recaptcha.net/69.197.169.9
server=/tunlr.net/netflix.com/hulu.com/pandora.com/cbs.com/bbc.co.uk/abc.go.com/mtv.com/go.com/abc.com/tv.com/pbs.com/vevo.com/fwmrm.net/thewb.com/cwtv.com/crackle.com/mog.com/iheart.com/mylifetime.com/doubleclick.net/rubiconproject.com/cpxinteractive.com/adnxs.com/brightcove.com/cpxadroit.com/atdmt.com/mtv.com/mtvnservices.com/imrworldwide.com/demdex.net/fox.com/foxfdm.com/eurovisionsports.tv/netflix.ne/nflximg.com/nflxext.com/chartbeat.com/nbc.com/history.com/discovery.com/vh1.com/itv.com/aetv.com/foxadhd.com/cbsstatic.com/cbsi.com/theplatform.com/akamaihd.net/pbs.org/sharethis.com/revsci.net/scrippsnetworks.com/scrippscontroller.com/imrworldwide.com/scorecardresearch.com/quantserve.com/liverail.com/elogua.com/inskinmedia.com/ip2location.com/rubiconproject.com/southparkstudios.com/conviva.com/liverail.com/local.yahooapis.com/msnbc.com/nbcuni.com/rdio.com/recaptcha.net/192.95.16.109

Some of the websites under the "server" lines above have been added to avoid the geofencing used by some websites. You can edit the "server" lines above to add more websites. You can find a list of Tunlr supported websites HERE. The IPs at the end of the "server=" lines are the Tunlr DNS servers. If accessing Hulu, Netflix, etc. stops working, make sure you check the Tunlr website for updated DNS.

When you're done, save the file, then run the following command to restart Network Manager:

sudo restart network-manager

Then, restart your browser and visit the Tunlr status page - under "Tunlr activation check" it should say: "Tunlr DNS address is set. Tunlr is activated!" like in the screenshot below:

If it doesn't work, firstly try to restart your computer. If it still doesn't work (some users are reporting issues with dnsmasq and private names), try editing /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf and commenting out (put "#" in front of the line) "dns=dnsmasq".

Update: to automatically retrieve and update the Tunlr DNS in case it changes (it changes quite often), use THIS script.

B. Quickly switch the Tunlr DNS on/off using a script

Another way of easily switching the Tunlr DNS on/off is using a script included with the Tunlr AUR package created by edloaa.

If you're using Arch Linux, install wget - Ubuntu users can install it using the following command (may already be installed):

sudo apt-get install wget

And then download and install the script using the following commands:

sudo apt-get install wget
cd /tmp
wget https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/tu/tunlr/tunlr.tar.gz
tar -xvf /tmp/tunlr.tar.gz
sudo install /tmp/tunlr/tunlr /usr/local/bin/

Then, simply run the following command to use the Tunlr DNS:

sudo tunlr start

Next, restart your browser and visit the Tunlr status page - under "Tunlr activation check" it should say: "Tunlr DNS address is set. Tunlr is activated!".

To stop using the Tunlr DNS, use the command below:

sudo tunlr stop

And restart your browser.

Pandora Client `Pithos` 1.1.0 And 1.0.2 Released

Two new Pithos versions were released yesterday: 1.1.0 (for GTK 3.14+ only) and 1.0.2 and they include an important bug fix which caused the app to stop playing randomly.

Pithos is a Pandora.com (a music streaming and recommendation service that's only available in the United States, Australia and New Zealand) client which comes with pretty much everything you'd need in such an application, like:

cover art;
thumbs up / thumbs down / tired of this song options;
allows switching between Pandora stations;
allows editing QuickMix and creating stations;
desktop integration: Ubuntu AppIndicator, notifications, MPRIS v2 support - so Pithos integrates with the Ubuntu Sound Menu / GNOME Shell Mediaplayer extension;
media keys support;
proxy support;
last.fm scrobbling.

Pithos 1.1.0, which requires GTK 3.14 or newer (Ubuntu 15.04, Fedora 21 and newer), was released yesterday and it coms with redesigned plugin preferences, performance improvements, the MPRIS and Last.fm plugins are now optional and various other tweaks.

However, the most important change in this release is a fix for a major bug that caused the app to stop playing randomly. Because Pithos 1.1.0 requires GTK 3.14, this fix was backported to the Pithos 1.0.x series, which needs GTK 3.10+ (so it works with Ubuntu 14.04 and 14.10, Fedora 20, etc.).

Install Pithos in Ubuntu or Linux Mint

Pithos is available in the official Ubuntu repositories, but that's a pretty old version. To install Pithos 1.1.0 in Ubuntu 15.04 or Pithos 1.0.2 in Ubuntu 14.10 or 14.04 / Linux Mint 17.1 or 17, you can use the official Pithos PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:pithos/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install pithos

Arch Linux users can install Pithos via AUR.

For other Linux distributions, see the install section from the Pithos homepage.

Report any bugs you may find @ GitHub.

Pandora Client `Pithos` 1.0.1 Released With Bug Fixes

Pithos 1.0.1 was released recently and it includes some minor improvements and bug fixes - for instance, the bug that was causing the Ubuntu Sound Menu to stop working when using Pithos was fixed in this release.

For those not familiar with Pithos, this is a simple Pandora.com client which includes features such as:

cover art;
thumbs up / thumbs down / tired of this song options;
allows switching between Pandora stations;
allows editing QuickMix and creating stations;
desktop integration: Ubuntu AppIndicator, notifications, MPRIS v2 support - so Pithos integrates with the Ubuntu Sound Menu / GNOME Shell Mediaplayer extension;
media keys support;
proxy support;
last.fm scrobbling.

Pandora is a music streaming and recommendation service that's only available in the United States, Australia and New Zealand. You can use it in any other country with an US proxy, VPN, a DNS service or with Tor and SelekTOR.

Changes in Pithos 1.0.1:

Automatically install missing codecs if supported;
Save window position between sessions;
Fix saving last station on quit;
Fix pacparser support;
Improve pandora module docs;
Add setup.py command to build docs;
Add appdata file;
notification_icon: Make toggling visibility more reliable;
mpris: Fix exception when querying position;
mpris: Implement setting volume;
screensaver_pause: Improve Unity support;
OSX: mediakeys and notify support.

Install Pithos in Ubuntu 14.04 or 14.10 / Linux Mint 17

Pithos is available in the official Ubuntu repositories, but that's a pretty old version. To install the latest Pithos in Ubuntu 14.04 or 14.10 / Linux Mint 17, you can use the official Pithos PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:pithos/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install pithos

Arch Linux users can install Pithos via AUR.

For other Linux distributions, see the install section from the Pithos homepage (the app should also work on Windows and Mac, but there are no binaries for now).

Report any bugs you may find @ GitHub.

Pandora Linux Client `Pithos` 1.0 Released, Install It In Ubuntu 14.04

Pithos, a Pandora.com Linux client, was updated to version 1.0 recently. With this release, Pithos was ported to Python 3, GTK3 and GStreamer 1.0 but that's not all that's new - there are also some new features as well as a new app icon.

Pithos features:

switch between Pandora stations;
Cover Art;
thumbs up / thumbs down / tired of this song options;
desktop integration: Ubuntu AppIndicator, notifications;
allows editing QuickMix and creating stations;
media key support;
proxy support;
last.fm scrobblling.

Changes in the latest Pithos 1.0:

ported to Python3, GTK3 and Gstreamer 1.0;
new icons;
various UI changes;
added indication when songs are replaced by ads;
added support for Proxy Auto-Config;
display song bitrate;
show play/pause and skip actions in notifications (this doesn't work with Ubuntu's notifications);
various bug fixes: fixed buffering bug, handle PLAYLIST_EXCEEDED error, improved error handling with invalid album art url and more.

Also, with version 1.0, Pithos should work on Windows, but this is not officially supported yet.

Note that currently there's a bug in the Ubuntu Sound Menu which is triggered by Pithos: when using Pithos, the Ubuntu Sound Menu stops working - until this is fixed, a work-around to get the Sound indicator to work again is to log out and log back in or to restart the Unity panel using the following command: "restart unity-panel-service".

Install Pithos 1.0 in Ubuntu 14.04

Pithos 1.0 is available in its official PPA for Ubuntu 14.04 only (an older version of Pithos is available in the PPA as well as in the official Ubuntu repositories)!. Add the PPA and install Pithos 1.0 by using the following commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:pithos/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install pithos

Arch Linux users can install Pithos 1.0 via AUR.

For installing Pithos in Fedora (via RPMFusion) or how to install it from source, see the INSTALL section from the Pithos homepage.

If you encounter bugs, report them @ GitHub.

Thanks to Jason for the tip!

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