Evil ISP's - Any Tips?

[Corrode]

So I'm living in Japan for the next 3 months, and I just rented a place from a Japanese company that rents furnished apartments, short-term. They also take care of utilities, as well as cable and internet. Great, right?

Well, after signing the contract, I've done some more research on the 'broadband' internet they provide. Turns out they try to block many things from access, mainly peer to peer stuff, but even video streaming and skype.

Can someone give me some tips on how I could possibly get around this. The use of internet is mandatory in their fee for about $35 per month, so I should be at least able to watch Youtube, Skype, and that sort of thing.

What can I do to increase my chances of them not blocking this stuff, or finding a way to get around it. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

P.S. Since I'm only here for 3 months, switching ISP's is not an option. I have neither the money nor the language ability to do that.

 

[cjmillsnun]

Have you actually tried it yourself yet?

Wait and see... You may find it works...

If they do block, my suspicion is that they will block ports.

Youtube should be fine as it isn't really streaming video. It's flash downloaded from http (port 80).

Skype will allow you to change ports, and you may be able to get going that way.

 

[dazey]

if they allow VPN services then I believe that there are paid VPNs for things like this. Or if you have a connection in your home country you can use you can tunnel through that.

 

[miles01110]

VPN is the best way to go.

 

[rdowns]

Would changing DNS servers allow him to get around this?

 

[robbieduncan]

Would changing DNS servers allow him to get around this?

Almost certainly not. They are unlikely to be blocking the DNS lookup (which just translates the domain name to an IP address), rather the packets with the actual data.