So, what is StrongDNS? StrongDNS is a Smart DNS service offered by StrongVPN. It will allow you to unblock geographically blocked streaming media. Their service will let you watch popular TV series, original programming , and your favorite movies from providers like BBC, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and many others. What’s more, you will be able to access them from anywhere in the world. Since their service works without using any form of encryption, it will not slow down your streaming speed. Finally, there are no bandwidth limitations.
StrongDNS Free Trial
The staff at StrongDNS knows that you will want to test their service. Therefore they are offering everyone a 7 day free trial of their service. When you sign up for the free trial, you will have to select a valid package, check the free trial box, enter credit information, and a phone number so they can call you if there are any problems processing your order. You basically have to go through the complete ordering process. You can cancel any time in the site customer area. This free trial is a full implementation of their Smart DNS service. We recommend that you fully test their service during the free trial to assure that it meets all of your needs. Note: You must cancel your account before the free trial ends or you will be charged. If you decide that StrongDNS meets all of your usage needs and enjoy their service then you can subscribe to one of their paid packages. They have a money back guarantee within the first 7 days of purchase. Just sign into the customer area of their website and cancel your subscription.
Pricing and Special Offers
StrongVPN offers both Smart DNS and VPN services. This review will mainly focus on their StrongDNS service. I will briefly mention that the difference between a Smart DNS service and a VPN is that a VPN encrypts all of your data. If you are concerned about your internet privacy and you want to find out more about how to protect it, then you can visit VPN Fan to learn more. Smart DNS is the right choice for you if all you want to do is unblock and watch geo-restricted channels like Netflix, BBC, or others. StrongVPN offers a Smart DNS service called StrongDNS. They offer the service in four different term packages: 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year. The packages offer increasing discounts based on the service term length. The pricing starts at $5.00 for 1 month of service with larger discounts offered for longer terms. You can enjoy a full year of StrongDNS service for $50.00. That works out to just about $4.16 a month. Signing up for the year term is like getting 12 months for the price of 10. This makes StrongDNS a good value. Payment options include Visa, MasterCard, Amex, Discover, Bitcoin, and PayPal.
As I mentioned previously, they have a money back guarantee within the first 7 days of purchase. You can cancel anytime by signing into the StrongDNS customer area and canceling your service.
What is SmartDNS and How Does StrongDNS Work?
To understand how StrongDNS or any Smart DNS service works, it helps to know something about how they operate. These services allow you to unblock geographic restrictions to content imposed by some streaming media providers. They do this by sending a local IP address to the site that you want to unblock that says you are located in a region or country that is not geo-blocked. By doing this, they let you enjoy movies, specials, and original content that would not be available in your country from providers such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Video. Not only can you watch content that you would otherwise not be able to see but you can see it from anywhere in the world. As I briefly mentioned above, this differs from a VPN which adds privacy protection through encryption. The encryption used by a VPN can slow down your connection and cost more. This makes Smart DNS a better choice for anyone who does not need the online privacy and anonymity of a VPN connection. Here’s an explanation of how StrongDNS works taken directly from their website:
Many popular US and UK websites stream video and audio as an alternative to a traditional TV/Cable/SAT service.
Some are subscription based, like Netflix and Hulu Plus. Others are pay per view, like Amazon, while some are free, such as Hulu, ABC, CBS, NBC, and the BBC. **But generally, you have to be in US or UK to view these sites.
StrongDNS has come up with a solution that gives you the ability to access them from Anywhere in the world
StrongDNS supports a large variety of different device types as I will show in the next section. They have set up guides and useful tips for using those devices with their service. Once you sign up they will send you a verification email welcoming you to their service. Verifying your order will give you access popular sites like Netflix, Hulu and the BBC from anywhere in the world.
Supported Devices
StrongDNS supports a large variety of devices: PC, Mac, Linux, smartphones, game consoles and tablets. They have a setup howto page with visual guides and tips for using their service on many of the devices that they support. These devices are organized into computers, home media devices and gaming consoles, mobile devices, and routers to make it easier to see if your device is one that they support. They also have other setup guides for a general router setup and various Smart TVs on their FAQ page. Likely, if you have a device that allows DNS setup, they can support it.
Here’s a list of supported devices:
- Computer – Mac OS, Mac OS X, Ubuntu, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Google Chrome OS/Chromium OS
- Mobile – iPad, iPhone, Android(version 4 and above), Android 2.3
- Home/Gaming – Apple TV, LG Smart TV, Panasonic Smart TV, Panasonic Blu-Ray Player, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Sony Smart TV, PS3
- Router – D-Link, Netgear, Cisco/Linksys, 2Wire, TP-Link Router, Sabai Technology, DD-WRT, Generic router setup
As you can see they have support for routers using DD-WRT custom firmware. Once again, the key is being able to configure the DNS settings for whatever device you want to use with their service. Making the change on your router can help you use the service on all of the devices on your network.
Channel Line-Up
What does StrongDNS offer in the way of channels? They offer access to over 100 channels. Their channel page on their site has a complete list of all the channels that they unblock, You can filter them into news, music, movies, tv shows, sports, and kids categories. Their StrongDNS service will allow access to channel content not in your geographical region. Some premium channels such as Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Video, and others will still require a paid subscription fee to access their content. Still others may need a cable access account to view them.
Here’s a list of channels available through StrongDNS:
News Channels – NBC, MTV, BBC, Channel 4, ITV, ABC News, TV.com, NBC Olympics, Globalnews.ca, CMT
Music Channels – CBS, ABC, MTV, Rhapsody, Rdio, vevo, Spotify, ITV, Pandora, ABC Family, VH1, Blinkbox, Slacker.com, iHeartRadio, Absolute Radio, Songza, Radio.com, 4Music, Blinkbox Music, Beats Music, Disney Junior, The Disney Channel, ZUUS, Playlist, CMT
Movies Channels – Hulu, Netflix, CBS, Amazon, theWB, MTV, South Park Studios, TNT, Crackle, CinemaNow, Channel 4, ITV, PBS KIDS, LOVEFiLM, CWTV, MAX GO, Spike.com, Muchmusic, Fandor.com, M-GO, CTV, dramafever.com, Showtime Anytime, FX, KDrama, OnDemandKorea.com, Marvel, Kaleidescape, Soompi TV, STARZ, Disney Junior, The Disney Channel, Disney XD, NOW TV
TV Shows Channels – Hulu, Netflix, NBC, FOX, CBS, Amazon, ABC, theWB, MTV, adultswim.com, tbs.com, TNT, trutv.com, Crackle, CinemaNow, HGTV, FoodNetwork, USA Network, PBS Video, BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5, ITV, ABC Family, TV.com, LOVEFiLM, GlobalTV, CWTV, VH1, Blinkbox, Spike.com, Muchmusic, CTV, TVPlayer, LogoTV, FX, Slice.ca, Syfy, 4Music, Kaleidescape, Sesame Go, Utopia, Disney Junior, Zattoo UK, The Disney Channel, National Geographic, Discovery US, Showcase, Action CA, HGTV CA, DIY Network, NOW TV, ZUUS, CMT, Cartoon Network
Sports Channels – NBC, TNT, UniversalSports.com, BBC, Yahoo Sport UK & Ireland, msn Video, ITV, ESPN, NBC Olympics, WWE.COM, beIN SPORTS, tsn.ca, NBA, Tennis Channel, Sky Sports, Fox Soccer 2 Go, Discovery US, NOW TV
Kids Channels – CBS, PBS KIDS PLAY, Disney Junior, The Disney Channel, Disney XD, Cartoon Network
The StrongDNS Supported Sites page defaults to all channels. However as I previously stated, the channels can be filtered by news, music, movies, tv shows, sports, and kids content. Each supported channel also has a link to its website and other information about the requirements to access its content.
StrongDNS Speed Test
So, what can you expect from a service like StrongDNS? As I mentioned earlier the difference between a Smart DNS service and VPN is encryption. Smart DNS is an excellent choice for those who want to unblock access to channel content in other countries. For example, if you have a subscription and want to watch Netflix (US) or Hulu shows from outside the United States then StrongDNS would be a great solution. The same is true for watching BBC iPlayer from outside the UK and many other channels. If you need the extra layer of privacy protection offered by encrypting your connection then I would recommend a VPN service. As I mentioned before, encrypting your data can slow down your connection and cost more. You can visit our VPN Fan site to learn more. This makes Smart DNS a better choice for anyone for whom privacy is not a concern. A SmartDNS service is different. It will help you unblock sites in other countries without the need for encryption. Doing so without the speed loss associated with using a VPN service. I did not experience any speed loss using StrongDNS.
StrongDNS Review : Conclusion
StrongDNS is a SmartDNS service offered by StrongVPN. Because it works transparently, you will not observe any noticeable difference in connection speed . Thus, the audio fidelity of the music you listen to or the visual acuity of HD movies that you watch will be unaffected by using their service. StrongDNS will grant you access to geo-blocked content from over 100 streaming media providers in the US, UK, and over 19 other countries. What you will notice is that you have access to a greater library of media content to choose from and that you can listen to popular music and watch your favorite shows from channels like Hulu Plus, Netflix US, Netflix UK, BBC iPlayer, Amazon Instant, and over 100 others from almost anywhere in the world.
StrongDNS has support for a variety of different streaming media devices including PC, Mac, Linux, smartphones, game consoles , tablets, smart TVs and routers. Additionally, they have setup guides for the devices that they support. They give you access to a large library of channels for an good price. Especially for those who sign up for 1 year of service. They also have excellent channel filtering that makes it easy to see which content is supported. Each channel has a link to its website, as well as information on how to access its content. StrongDNS has a FAQ page which contain tips for using it with the devices that it is compatible with. This makes their service user friendly.
I didn’t have any problems evaluating StrongDNS and would use it again. As with any SmartDNS service I suggest you try out StrongDNS for yourself. Sign up for their 7 day free trial and put their service through is paces. I suggest you watch content from channels in different areas of the world like Netflix US, BBC iPlayer in the UK, and even Channel 4. If possible, also try streaming some live sporting events during your trial period. After putting it through its paces, you can sign up for unlimited access from just $4.16 a month.
