And the fact that they are so portable makes them ideal for travel. However, this puts you in a situation where your home Streaming TV catalogs remain geographically blocked – and that’s where a VPN comes in. To get around this geo-blocking, you can use a virtual private network (VPN). This masks your IP address with a US IP address. VPNs also encrypt your traffic, protecting your browsing (and streaming) habits from spying on ISPs and government agencies.