Netflix VPN detection - actual engineer needed

Fri Jun 3 20:34:54 UTC 2016

Their app could request your devices location.  Problem is a lot of devices (like TVs, Apple TVs, most DVD player, i.e. device with built in Netflix) don't know where they are and it cannot easily be added (indoor GPS is still difficult/expensive) and even if they could should they be believed.  I think the bigger issue is whether any kind of regional controls are enforceable or effective any more.

Steven Naslund
Chicago IL

-----Original Message-----
From: NANOG [mailto:nanog-bounces at nanog.org] On Behalf Of Cryptographrix
Sent: Friday, June 03, 2016 3:21 PM
To: Spencer Ryan
Cc: North American Network Operators' Group
Subject: Re: Netflix VPN detection - actual engineer needed

Come now, content providers really just care that they have access to regional controls more so than their ability to blanket-deny access (ok, minus the MLB who are just insane).

And part of those regional controls deal with the accuracy of the location information.

If their app can request my device's precise location, it doesn't need to infer my location from my IP any more.

As a matter of fact, it's only detrimental to them for it to do so, because of the lack of accuracy from geo databases and the various reasons that people use VPNs nowadays (i.e. for some devices that you can't even turn VPN connections off for - OR in the case of IPv6, when you can't reach a segment of the Internet without it).

On Fri, Jun 3, 2016 at 4:17 PM Spencer Ryan <sryan at arbor.net> wrote:

> There is a large difference between "the VPN run at your house" and 
> "Arguably the most popular, free, mostly anonymous tunnel broker service"
>
> If it were up to the content providers, they probably would block any 
> IP they saw a VPN server listening on.
>
>
> *Spencer Ryan* | Senior Systems Administrator | sryan at arbor.net *Arbor 
> Networks*
> +1.734.794.5033 (d) | +1.734.846.2053 (m)
> www.arbornetworks.com
>
> On Fri, Jun 3, 2016 at 4:09 PM, Cryptographrix 
> <cryptographrix at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> I have a VPN connection at my house. There's no way for them to know 
>> the difference between me using my home network connection from Hong 
>> Kong or my home network connection from my house.
>>
>> Are they going to disable connectivity from everywhere they can 
>> detect an open VPN port to, also?
>>
>> If they trust my v4 address, they can use that to establish 
>> historical reference. Additionally, they can fail over to v4 if they 
>> do not trust the
>> v6 address.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Jun 3, 2016 at 4:05 PM Spencer Ryan <sryan at arbor.net> wrote:
>>
>>> There is no way for Netflix to know the difference between you being 
>>> in NY and using the tunnel, and you living in Hong Kong and using the tunnel.
>>>
>>>
>>> *Spencer Ryan* | Senior Systems Administrator | sryan at arbor.net 
>>> *Arbor Networks*
>>> +1.734.794.5033 (d) | +1.734.846.2053 (m)
>>> www.arbornetworks.com
>>>
>>> On Fri, Jun 3, 2016 at 4:03 PM, Cryptographrix 
>>> <cryptographrix at gmail.com
>>> > wrote:
>>>
>>>> Same, but until there's a real IPv6 presence in the US, it's really 
>>>> annoying that they haven't come up with some fix for this.
>>>>
>>>> I have no plans to turn off IPv6 at home - I actually have many 
>>>> uses for it, and as much as I dislike the controversy around it, 
>>>> think that adoption needs to be prioritized, not penalized.
>>>>
>>>> Additionally, I think that discussing content provider control over 
>>>> regional decisions isn't productive to the conversation, as they 
>>>> didn't build the banhammer (wouldn't you want to control your own 
>>>> content if you had made content specific to regional laws etc?).
>>>>
>>>> I.e. - not all shows need to have regional restrictions between New 
>>>> York (where I live) and California (where my IPv6 /64 says I live).
>>>>
>>>> I'm able to watch House in the any state in the U.S.? Great - 
>>>> ignore my intra-US proxy connection.
>>>>
>>>> My Netflix account randomly tries to connect from Tokyo because I 
>>>> forgot to shut off my work VPN? Fine....let me know and I'll turn
>>>> *that* off.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Fri, Jun 3, 2016 at 3:49 PM Spencer Ryan <sryan at arbor.net> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I don't blame them for blocking a (effectively) anonymous tunnel 
>>>>> broker. I'm sure their content providers are forcing their hand.
>>>>> On Jun 3, 2016 3:46 PM, "Cryptographrix" 
>>>>> <cryptographrix at gmail.com>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Netflix needs to figure out a fix for this until ISPs actually 
>>>>>> provide IPv6 natively.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Fri, Jun 3, 2016 at 3:13 PM Blair Trosper 
>>>>>> <blair.trosper at gmail.com
>>>>>> >
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> > Confirmed that Hurricane Electric's TunnelBroker is now blocked 
>>>>>> > by Netflix.  Anyone nice people from Netflix perhaps want to 
>>>>>> > take a
>>>>>> crack at
>>>>>> > this?
>>>>>> >
>>>>>> >
>>>>>> >
>>>>>> > On Thu, Jun 2, 2016 at 2:15 PM, <mike.hyde1 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>> >
>>>>>> > > Had the same problem at my house, but it was caused by the 
>>>>>> > > IPv6
>>>>>> > connection
>>>>>> > > to HE.  Turned of V6 and the device worked.
>>>>>> > >
>>>>>> > >
>>>>>> > > --
>>>>>> > >
>>>>>> > > Sent with Airmail
>>>>>> > >
>>>>>> > > On June 1, 2016 at 10:29:03 PM, Matthew Kaufman (
>>>>>> matthew at matthew.at)
>>>>>> > > wrote:
>>>>>> > >
>>>>>> > > Every device in my house is blocked from Netflix this evening 
>>>>>> > > due
>>>>>> to
>>>>>> > > their new "VPN blocker". My house is on my own IP space, and 
>>>>>> > > the
>>>>>> outside
>>>>>> > > of the NAT that the family devices are on is 198.202.199.254,
>>>>>> announced
>>>>>> > > by AS 11994. A simple ping from Netflix HQ in Los Gatos to my
>>>>>> house
>>>>>> > > should show that I'm no farther away than Santa Cruz, CA as
>>>>>> microwaves
>>>>>> > > fly.
>>>>>> > >
>>>>>> > > Unfortunately, when one calls Netflix support to talk about 
>>>>>> > > this,
>>>>>> the
>>>>>> > > only response is to say "call your ISP and have them turn off 
>>>>>> > > the
>>>>>> VPN
>>>>>> > > software they've added to your account". And they absolutely
>>>>>> refuse to
>>>>>> > > escalate. Even if you tell them that you are essentially your 
>>>>>> > > own
>>>>>> ISP.
>>>>>> > >
>>>>>> > > So... where's the Netflix network engineer on the list who 
>>>>>> > > all of
>>>>>> us can
>>>>>> > > send these issues to directly?
>>>>>> > >
>>>>>> > > Matthew Kaufman
>>>>>> > >
>>>>>> >
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>
>