You can use Unlocator (http://unlocator.com/) to get around it. I've been using this for a number of months, and highly recommend it. (And for now, at least, it's free!)
This is a practical workaround for what I agree is a stupid policy.
This is a practical workaround for what I agree is a stupid policy.
ssh myvmaddress.com -D 10000
Then I set Firefox proxy to SOCKS on port 10000.
You can also do this on windows with putty. Great for when you need to use an untrusted wifi, because ssh checks that the proxy VM is who it says it is.
I just don't trust some shady proxy company with my data. 'So what is your business plan?', 'I am going to sell a service for hiding the dodgiest people on the internet, and also stealing BBC iplayer', 'oh, can I also send my banking data through it?'. I don't like this conversation.
I'm not really comfortable installing VPN software in my browser though, especially when it's free...
It seems so easy to forget to deactivate it and have all your plaintext traffic be highjacked by a third party. How do they pay for the VPN hosting anyway if it's free?
Amazon has a free usage tier which allows you 1 year of free micro instance which is enough power to keep a VPN.
I bought a VM from RamNode for 12$/year and again is enough to run your VPN.
Then you can question whether Amazon or other service providers are safe enough, but this is another story ...