Three Strikes and You are Out Software Piracy New Zealand

The recent change in rules in respect of downloads has had a remarkable effect in respect of data usage in New Zealand. The main internet service providers have been hit by substantial reductions in traffic used and users have complained about their rights to privacy being invaded.

As a result of the perceived invasion of privacy, canny users have taken to ‘disguising’ their ip addresses so that they cannot be caught out. An ip address is what identifies a computer’s location and owner (much like a real address).

There are numerous ways of hiding or changing your ip address, these tools have been around for some time, and are usually used to watch international television programs online that are not streamed outside the country of origin.

One of the original (and arguable the best) of these services is called Babble Tunnel https://www.bubbletunnel.com/. For a small monthly fee ($8USD) you can select a server or ‘address’ in either the USA (preferable for New Zealand) or the UK (preferable if you need your Eastenders fix!).

It will be interesting to see how things progress with lots of copycat websites like Bubble Tunnel appearing every day. Watch this space!