ESPN+ is one of our favourite sports sites. For $4.99 per month, you get access to a whole load of sport, including FA Cup, and Championship football. Note, not all the games are available, but normally the big games in each round which you would normally find on Sky Sports. Follow these steps :

1. Get a Vanished VPN subscription if you don’t already have one
2. Connect to our USA VPN
3. Go to ESPN+, and sign up for the free trial
4. Go to espn.com/watch/espnplus & enjoy the streams (we recommend using a chrome browser with an incognito window)

Check our full guide here if you get stuck.

After the free trial, ESPN+ will cost you $4.99 per month, but if you don’t want to pay for ESPN+, simply cancel your subscription before the end of the free trial, and then sign up again with a different email address next time you want to view.

Another option to access Championship stream is via nowtv.com (connect via our UK VPN) . Nowtv gives you access to Sky Sports streams online, with prices from £5.99 for a day to £33.99 for a month .This is not the cheapest option, but they do often have deals, so its worth checking their site.

To access Nowtv.com:

1. Get a Vanished VPN subscription if you don’t already have one
2. Connect to our UK VPN
3. Visit nowtv.com & sign up for a subscription
4. Enjoy the game

BBC iPlayer provides access to high quality Sport, Drama, Comedy & Box sets all for free. It also offers the ability to download shows so that you can watch on the go.

Usually , BBC iPlayer is blocked if you are outside the UK, but you can bypass this block while you are on your travels by using Vanished VPN. Just follow these steps:

1. Sign up for a VanishedVPN subscription if you don’t already have one (we have a 7 day money back guarantee) & configure your device using our setup guides.
2. Connect to our UK VPN
3. Go to BBC iPlayer, and enjoy the content

Note, BBC are actively blocking VPNs & DNS proxies. We have a solution which is innovative and unlikely to be blocked. We also have several fallback solutions. The big VPN providers are often blocked, and normally take weeks to get back online, as they cannot move fast. We will be introducing a money back guarantee for access to BBC iplayer to compliment the same offer that we have for USA Netflix. We are the only VPN provider in the world to offer this.

The EFL cup is a knockout competition which happens each season in the UK, featuring teams from all leagues, and often creates excitement when lower league teams are drawn against (and sometimes beat ) the bigger clubs.

EFL cup is now exclusively on premium TV channels like BT Sport in the UK, but you can access live streams for free using this simple guide.

1 Get a VanishedVPN subscription if you don’t already have one

2 Connect to our USA VPN

3 Visit ESPN+ and sign up for the free trial (remember to cancel if you don’t want to continue a paid subscription)

4 Enjoy the live, free streams of EFL Cup football

It’s crunch time in the last rounds of matches in the Nations League, with all the big teams playing at least once.

Most groups are still wide open, with a number of teams able to either gain promotion, or face relegation depending on the results this week. Check out the full guide to how the competition works, and what’s at stake here. 

Normally, these matches are only available on premium TV channels, but VanishedVPN subscribers can catch all of the action for free by following the guide below.

1) Sign up for a VanishedVPN subscription if you don’t already have one.
2) Connect to our India VPN
3) Visit Sonyliv.com where all the streams are available for free.

Sonyliv.com is usually blocked if you are outside of India, but we remove the blocking for you.

Some of these matches are also available for free on matchtv.ru (access via our Russia VPN).

Congratulations to Cameron from NSW, for winning the VanishedVPN World Cup fantasy league competition. Cameron wins the 1st prize of a new Invizbox.

We will be running a new Fantasy league competition for the forthcoming EPL season, so keep an eye on our Facebook page for details.

Vanished VPN allows you to stream content from other sites in other countries such as USA Netflix, BBC iplayer, Sling.tv, Fubo.tv, Hulu, Hotstar & many more which would normally be blocked based on your location. Our solution is solid, and has been recommended by lifehacker consistently because of this. That’s all fine, we hear you say, but is it legal ?

The short answer is ‘yes’. Using a VPN to circumvent geoblocks is not illegal in Australia, and the Prime Minister has even gone on record to back this up (presumably because the Aussie public are getting a raw deal from Uncle Sam).

The Copyright Act does not make it illegal to use a VPN to access overseas content. While content providers often have in place international commercial arrangements to protect copyright in different countries or regions, which can result in ‘geoblocking’, circumventing this is not illegal under the Copyright Act.

So for less than the price of a beer each month, you can use Vanished VPN to access up to 3 x more content on USA Netflix, free documentaries and drama on BBC iplayer, all the sport that you’ll ever need on cable cutting sites like Fubo.tv & Sling.tv, whilst also keeping yourself safe and anonymous.

IF YOU USE WIFI, AND DON’T USE A VPN, YOU COULD BE VULNERABLE 

A new wifi vulnerability (KRACK) was discovered recently, which allows hackers to easily intercept unencrypted data (including usernames and passwords) from devices which are connected to Wifi using WPA2 security. This is a very commonly used feature. Its likely that you are using WPA2 on your home network, or public wifi.

HOW DOES IT WORK ?

The vulnerability allows hackers to intercept your data without you knowing, by acting as a ‘man in the middle’ as shown in the diagram above. This video demonstrates this in action, and shows just how easy it is for hackers to intercept your data (even when the user is connected via HTTPS). Full technical details of the discovery can be found here.

IS MY DEVICE AT RISK

Any device connected to a wireless network using WPA2 security is potentially at risk. Android devices are particularly vulnerable (this includes Kodi boxes).

SO WHAT ?

If a hacker was to intercept your data, they could potentially steal personal information such as usernames & passwords, and access your email, social media & bank accounts. This could result in identity theft and financial loss.

HOW CAN I PROTECT MYSELF

1) Use a VPN – To fully protect yourself from KRACK, and other vulnerabilities we recommend that you use VanishedVPN whenever you are connected to Wifi. VanishedVPN provides military grade encryption to ensure that your data remains safe & confidential.

2) Update your operating system – Its good practice to do this anyway, but with the current threat, most suppliers are working on updates to improve security.

3) Purchase an Invizbox 2, and run all your devices through it. This device is cable of running multiple VPNs & up to 8 wifi networks, so you can ensure that all your devices are protected.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been busy launching new servers in even more countries, and now you can access all of these with your existing Vanished VPN subscription. We’ve now added VPNs in France, Spain, Switzerland, India, Korea, South Africa & Italy.

Connecting to these VPNs will allow you to unblock channels and websites in each country.

We will be publishing guides on what’s available in each country, but for now, why don’t you check out hotstar.com or sonyliv.com in India (connect via the India VPN). Both of these sites provide a lot of TV, Film & Sport content, which is either free, or available with a cheap subscription.

The Korea VPN allows access to some region locked and early release MMO games (more on this to come).

All OpenVPN config files for these new VPNs are available in the ‘my account’ section of our site. For L2TP VPN users, just use the following server name format which the appropriate country name. For example , france.vanishedvpn.com

Is Kodi Legal ? The answer is Yes, Kodi is legal. However, Kodi users in UK, USA, Australia, Ireland, France, Canada and Germany have received copyright infringement notices as a result of using certain Kodi add-ons. There is nothing illegal about downloading and installing Kodi itself. The legal issues arise from the fact that a lot of movie add-ons and live TV Plugins do get their content from pirated sources.
As an end-user, you probably have no idea you are doing anything wrong, however that does not remove any possible legal liability of using these addons.

Exodus, Alluc, SALTS, SportsDevil, Pro Sports, and similar XBMC add-ons might get their streaming sources from ‘illegal’ streaming sites. What a lot of people do not know is that their ISP is keeping tabs on what they are doing online. What makes things worse is that some Kodi add-ons are P2P-based. That means it’s even easier for your ISP to trace your actions and dish out those warning letters.

Whether you are watching a movie, downloading a file, or simply browsing the web. Your ISP can trace your every move online. If you do watch streams from pirated source, whether deliberately or not, your ISP can see that.

This is basically why so many people have been getting those warning letters . So, what can you do to avoid getting caught?

To be on the safe side, it is best to use VanishedVPN along with Kodi. VanishedVPN protects your privacy and keeps you anonymous. In addition to this, using our VPN service will also give you access to Kodi plugins like BBC  iplayer and hotstar which may be blocked based on your location.

Over the next few weeks we will be updating our knowledge base with instructions on how to configure VanishedVPN on Kodi, but if you feel comfortable with doing that yourself we recommend that you do it asap. You can also gain the same protection by running the VPN on your router.

Stay Safe.

The crew at VanishedVPN

Ransomware attacks are becoming more common, with the latest threat ‘Wannacry‘ causing an impact to users across the globe over the past few weeks. Our VPN solution will help you to keep safe from these threats, and there’s also other measures that you we recommend that you use .

What is ‘Ransomware’ ?

RansomWare like WannaCry works by encrypting most or even all of the files on a user’s computer. Then, the software demands that a ransom be paid in order to have the files decrypted. In the case of WannaCry specifically, the software demands that the victim pays a ransom of $300 in bitcoins at the time of infection. If the user doesn’t pay the ransom without three days, the amount doubles to $600. After seven days without payment, WannaCry will delete all of the encrypted files and all data will be lost.

It can affect both individual and corporate users. Most recently, UK’s NHS (National Health Service) was a victim of Ransomware. Due to the fact the NHS were using outdated Windows XP operating systems, cyber criminals found it easy to infiltrate their computers.

How to protect yourself ?

Your data is valuable to you and so it is natural you would not want it to be held hostage by malware creators. That is why it is imperative to step up defense against Ransomware and other malware. There are a few things you can do for this:

• Backing up your data is the first line of defense against Ransomware and related malware. Make it a habit to take backup of important data weekly or daily basis. Third party apps can be used for it. When you backup your precious data, it becomes easier to get rid of pesky situations created by ransomware.
• Always keep your operating system up-to-date. Windows 8, Windows XP, and Windows 2003 are extremely vulnerable to ransomware attacks.
• Use VanishedVPN to stay safe. Our servers block the ports that Ransomware typically uses to spread (445, 135, 138, 139), and we also hide your IP address, which gives you protection. To keep all of the devices on your network safe, we recommend using our pre-configured VPN routers, so that every connected device is protected.
• It is poignant that you use a suitable anti malware software on your PC and update it regularly. Updated antivirus can catch newer strains of malware, including Ransomware.
• It is also necessary that you use the PC and web in proper ways to ensure that Ransomware does not sneak into the system. Creators of such software embed the malware in various stuff such as email attachments, social media images and videos, etc. Refrain from opening suspicious attachments before scanning it with antivirus and do not click on videos sent by unknown people as well.
• Install a ransomware blocker. Both Cybereason Ransomfree and Malwarebytes Anti-Ransomware are reliable free options.

Wrap up

Using VanishedVPN will help to prevent your devices being infected by Ransomware. We also recommend that you take the preventative measures detailed above in order to stay safe.