When VPN is running videos are not being detected

[Claire]

Problem:
A user wrote us saying that when he was running VSO Downloader with his VPN up and running no videos were being detected. If the VPN was turned off, all was fine.

Solution:
He found a solution by switching to use a different driver in the Downloader:
"As I have discovered I needed to install your VSO EVE network driver to get the downloader program to work properly with both these VPN services."

[garylee6b]

After a restart of Windows 10, you may find that auto detect stops working even though you've set "VSO EVE" as your Network Driver. Even stranger is that the "TAP Network Adapter" no longer appears in VSO EVE's dropdown list of available network adapters even though it was there when VSO Downloader was initially installed (before the restart and when auto detect was working). nb. your VPN uses the TAP Network Adapter instead of the default adapter ... for auto detect to work, VSO EVE needs to have "TAP Network Adapter" as its selected adapter.

It looks like a Windows 10 restart resets the "TAP Network Adapter" Properties to disable the VSO EVE Network Driver (by default only WinPCap is enabled). One way of fixing this (at least temporarily until the next Windows restart) is to access the Properties for the TAP Network Adapter (eg. via the Network and Sharing Center option of Control Panel) and make sure that the "VSO EVE" box is checked (enabled). Sorry I don't know if Windows 10 will remember this change after a restart. (Windows 10 often forgets other changes that I make ... it reverts to its default settings).

[Benjamin]

the issue has been reported, we will check it ASAP in the meantime try to switch to the Winpcap driver.

[garylee6b]

For VSO Downloader 5 (Beta), WinPCap doesn't work with VPNs like Cyberghost. So the only viable option is "VSO EVE".

[Benjamin]

Did it work with V4?

[garylee6b]

Did it work with V4?

By default, V4 uses Network driver "VSO PROXY" with cache disabled. On these settings auto detect works when I try "detect my first video" with Cyberghost active.

If I change V4 to use "Winpcap" and if Cyberghost is active, when I try "detect my first video" auto detect no longer works. If I change V4 back to "VSO Proxy", auto detect starts working again.

So V4 with Winpcap doesn't work when Cyberghost is active.

[Benjamin]

Did you test Winpcap with Wireshark?
https://www.wireshark.org/

[garylee6b]

Looking through Wireshark capture traces is a bit beyond my capabilites but I'll see what I can do. (I'll see if there's any difference between a trace when WinPCap auto-detect works and when it doesn't work).

I did notice that Cyberghost creates its own network when it starts up. Before it starts, Windows only knows about my Local Area Network that uses the network adapter built into my Motherboard. After Cyberghost starts, Windows then sees a second network (called "unidentified Ethernet" network) that uses the TAP-Windows Adapter. Anyway, for both VSO V4 and V5, when I tried WinPcap with the TAP Windows Adapter instead of the standard N/W adapter, auto-detect wouldn't work (regardless of whether Cyberghost VPN was active or not).

*** I found this info about VPNs and WinPCap at https://www.winpcap.org/misc/faq.htm#Q-2

Q-6: Can I use WinPcap on a VPN connection?
A: If you use standard Windows VPNs, yes, with the restrictions explained in Q5. A Windows VPN is treated by the OS as a dial-up connection, so everything explained in Q5 applied here too. Third party VPN implementation: some of them are not detected because of their unclean NDIS intermediate driver structure.

Q-5: Can I use WinPcap on a PPP connection?
A: ...
Windows XP (x64)/2003 (x64). It's not possible to capture on PPP/VPN connections on these operating systems.
Windows Vista and more recent. It's not possible to capture on PPP/VPN connections on these operating systems.

[Benjamin]

I tested Cyberghost with the downloader, EVE didn't detect anything and Winpcap is able to detect the right NIC but the promiscuous mode is not supported, that's why you cannot detect media with the VPN on.
Did you report this issue to Cyberghost?

[garylee6b]

Because EVE (with TAP Windows Adapter as my NIC) works for me when Cyberghost VPN on, I haven't reported this to Cyberghost.

I didn't initiate this thread. It was started by a VSO team member (Claire) who suggested trying a different Driver, namely VSO EVE. I only contributed a follow up suggestion that may help other VSO users who were still having problems, namely that whenever the VPN is reactivated they should make sure that the VSO EVE option box is enabled (ticked) in the Properties panel of the TAP Windows Adapter. They can do this via Control Panel (Open Network and Sharing Center).

[Benjamin]

thanks to report it, as you can see the VPN experience can be difficult with a network analyser, it depends of the implementation of the VPN and the network adapter compatibility.

[dosibo51]

Hi,

I want to download some videos from http://www.vevo.com ... by default this website doesn't work in my country but I've enabled VPN in Opera 41 and then I'm able to see the videos.

I've started VSO downloader 5.0.0.116 (Network driver WinPcap) with detection but when I watch e.g. this video

http://www.vevo.com/watch/kool-and-the- ... IV30500014

nothing will be detected.

Any idea what I could try or is there something missing in VSO Downloader 5?

Would be great if vevo.com would work - they have great classic music videos!

Thanks a lot!

PS: I've tried "VSO EVE (NDIS)" but I have no compatible adapter (only Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller).

PSS: I also have to say that the video above uploaded by Vevo on youtube has a better quality instead on vevo.com itself ... but includes "VEVO" at the right bottom corner.

[Benjamin]

Opera's VPN is not a real VPN but a HTTP proxy that's why we cannot inspect its traffic and detect the streams.
To change your geolocalisation and be compatible with the downloader you need to use a real VPN like
Hide My Ass available here:
https://www.hidemyass.com/vpn/r2162/

By the way you can get this stream by using the "Download URL" feature.