Netflix, America’s giant streaming service, with over 154 million subscriptions worldwide, is what is on the tip of everyone’s tongue when you think of the best streaming possibilities available. Everyone nowadays seems to only know Netflix as a modern-day streaming service, but very few actually looked into its history or origin. Founded by Reed Hastings back in 1997, Netflix first hit the media world as a DVD and Blu-ray rental by mail service. As of 2010, it set forward in being one of America’s top tier streaming businesses, holding back on the DVD services.
According to me, if I’m allowed to be opinionated, there are so many other, streaming big-dogs available in the market, like Disney+ that ship up way more content than Netflix provides. But again, everyone has their own preferences and maybe the Netflix originals are what builds up all the hype. As the Netflix website shows, it is home to numerous award-winning movies, TV shows, reality TV, documentaries and much more that you can easily get access to on numerous devices, provided that it is allowed in your country.
One of the better versions of why Netflix is also great is because of its free-trial for a span of 30-days. It allows you to subscribe to its services with a payment plan, for better quality services. But again, Netflix being a US giant also holds up censorship laws that vary according to which country you live in.
Netflix and security measures
Now that you’re a little caught up with a small background check on Netflix, you should know that It doesn’t matter what streaming service you want access to, nor does it matter how little you plan on using it, the whole point of this blog is basically to get you a little familiar with staying safe on the internet while trying to gain access to one of the biggest streaming services in the world.
The reason I chose Netflix among other streaming services, is the fact that this growing service is what everyone ever wants to talk about. But no heed is paid towards using the app or service safely.
Netflix and parental control
You probably have the Netflix app downloaded on the multiple devices it supports, and maybe, everyone in your family, young and old has access to it. Netflix is easily accessible to kids who are under age. Parents need to know how to keep track and follow up on some parental control guidelines that Netflix holds up, to avoid their kids from ever looking into PG-rated Netflix movies. For parental control, there are two options you can look into:
- Putting up a PIN code on either shows that are on the mature side or a PIN code for certain movies.
- There’s also an option to control which profile a kid logs into. You can set the bar straight directing your kid towards using only the Kids profile, when alone.
For more on the subject, you could read up the detailed version of how to get started with parental control locks.
Accessing Netflix in Geo-blocked locations
Netflix, though in all its glory, is only accessible towards a handful of countries around the world. This is due to the copyright laws it supports. For instance, Netflix may be available in India, but that doesn’t mean all its libraries are available. It’s very unlikely for an Indian to access the US library, while residing within the States.
Besides this, it is extremely difficult to access Netflix on a whole, if you’re living in countries like China or Russia. These countries among many others have massive censorship blocks within the country, prohibiting the viewing or usage of any international media sources, to the point that even Whatsapp is blocked in China.
Keeping this in mind, the people living in countries that hold up censorship blocks are turning to unsecured methods of trying to gain access to Netflix. I believe that most of you who have a small budget or just love taking the easy way out of things, turn to proxies and free VPNs to gain access to geo-blocked websites. If access is what you need, I beg you, please go for a paid VPN subscription with US servers. But, of course, do your research before buying anything. A good VPN can:
- Unblock Netflix securely with military-grade encryption.
- Provides numerous US and other server locations for easy access to streaming platforms.
- Sports fast speeds and unlimited bandwidth.
- Preserves your anonymity from online surveillance monitoring, especially in countries like China.
- Blocks off any unwanted ads or shady Netflix phishing pop-ups.
If you’re thinking of investing into VPN services, and after you’ve subscribed to a suitable plan, all you need to do is launch the VPN app and connect to any one of the US servers. This will immediately get you access to Netflix, securely and privately.
Keeping your account free from hackers
You may think that it’s okay for someone to hack your Netflix, because you assume they’re getting nothing out of it except free Netflix services, but sometimes it’s better to keep your personal information safe, meaning the ones you provided to create your account. To stay on the safe side, you can adopt a number of steps like:
- Always provide your phone number for extra security, so that if someone tries to hack into your account, you’ll immediately be notified.
- Subject a difficult password every 2 months, or 2 weeks if paranoia strikes.
- Don’t fall for clickbait or as I’ve mentioned phishing websites or links that will ask you for your email and bank account details, or even as you to deposit an amount for smooth services.
- I bet you’re signed into many devices with one Netflix account. If they’re not in use, sign out of them.
- Get yourself an Antivirus for your device.
- Inform the support team or hit the help center, if you feel the security measures aren’t up to par.
Conclusion
Regardless of the need to access Netflix, or any other media service for that matter, always be completely aware of all that could go wrong with just one click of a button. It could be a link, or an ad pop-up, it’ll either hack your account stealing your data or spread virus’ corrupting your system. In today’s day and age, to have fun; enjoying the perks of the internet, make sure you do it securely.
