The easiest way to unblock websites and access restricted content is to use a VPN (Virtual Private Network). However, some of computer users are not familiar with this technology and software used, and sometimes think it is something that only professionals use. We will try to dispel misconceptions and explain why everyone can use VPNs and how they work. Using a VPN isn’t the sole solution when trying to access restricted content. In some situations, you may want to try open proxies or try modifying your DNS settings a little. In this guide, we will provide you with efficient ways to access any site you want, regardless if it is blocked in your region or set as restricted by your workplace, school, or the government itself. Before we dive into the methods you can use, let’s overview the common reasons why you’re getting blocked from accessing certain websites.
Main reasons why you can’t access certain websites
Computer users typically get blocked from accessing some websites online due to several reasons. The majority of these restrictions occur because someone doesn’t want you to let into specific domains. It may be that the specific website has blocked your IP (for example, if you commented something inappropriate or if there was a suspicious traffic noticed from your IP address). Another common explanation is that your network has a blacklist of domains that can’t be accessed by its users – this is a typical practice for work or school networks. In other situations, you may not be able to visit some websites because they’re blocked by your internet service provider (ISP) or the government.
Blocked by your school or workplace
Blocking specific websites in school or workplace is a typical practice that is used to reduce wandering minds and help users to stay focused on what’s important in that specific facility. Moreover, it helps to keep network users safe by protecting them from online dangers. Naturally, no one at school or work wants users to access adult-only, gambling or torrent sites not only because it is inappropriate content, but also because visiting them and downloading content from them can expose the whole network to various cybersecurity risks. When it comes to social media, such sites are not only commonly blocked to limit inappropriate and illegal behaviours such as cyberbullying, sexting, but also protect users from online predators. On top of that, such restrictions help to keep students and employees productive.
Blocked by the Government
Internet censorship is often used by repressive governments for a variety of reasons. Censorship might be directed at political opposition to the ruling government (or anyone expressing criticism to it or country authorities), or at religion/minority groups. The main goal is usually preserving the reputation of the ruling government among the citizens. Government-imposed Internet restrictions and bans can also be related to specific online content, such as torrents, pornography, social media networks or even VPNs. Some of the most censored countries in the world are China, North Korea, Iran and Belarus. For example, in China users are unable to use messaging apps from abroad and are only allowed to use local apps such as WeChat. On top of that, VPNs are blocked in China, North Korea and also in Iran (with exceptions to government-approved ones), while in other countries usage of VPNs is restricted or controlled by repressive laws. Despite strict regulations and Internet censorship, many users still find ways to bypass Internet restrictions and access blocked websites.
Geo-blocking
The licensing deals define what content (shows, podcasts, music, videos) can be streamed and where they can’t. To put it simply, media producers (such as music labels, movie studios, artists, etc.) set the licensing price based on the size of audience that the created content will be provided to. Most of the time, media streaming companies try to adjust the licensing deals according to their understanding of what content is popular in specific countries. Although it seems a little bit ridiculous because these restrictions can be easily bypassed with VPN, they still exist.
Blocked by Internet Service Provider (ISP)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) typically block websites with illegal content according to specific country’s laws. These bans and restrictions might be related to topics such as drugs, terrorism, pornography, suicide, hate speech, gambling, malware and phishing, illegal file sharing or hacking. Such restrictions are meant to protect the users from unsafe content online and are usually valuable.
IP bans
Another common reason why users can no longer access specific websites is IP ban. Each Internet website typically has its own terms of use and if the visitor violates them, one’s IP can end up in the site’s blacklist. For example, if you have visited an online forum or a website and violated its rules by leaving offensive or spam comments, it is likely that the website administrators will issue a warning followed by a temporary or a permanent IP ban. Now that you know the main reasons why you can’t access specific websites and content online, let’s dive straight into the methods that will help you to browse the Internet without facing any virtual barricades!
Parental Controls
Parents often use parental controls to prevent their children from visiting specific websites willingly or unwillingly. Often times, parents use these tools to block sexually explicit or violent websites as well as limit time on social media, gaming or streaming sites.
Ways to Unblock Websites and Restricted Content
1. Use A VPN to bypass restrictions
Using a VPN to unblock websites is a hands-down the best method, especially if you want to find an efficient workaround for daily use. VPN stands for Virtual Private Network and this tool not only allows you to use another IP address located in a different country, but it also secures your identity online by rerouting your Internet traffic via an encrypted tunnel. In simple terms, websites that you were unable to access will see your new IP address located in the country that the VPN server is located at. Moreover, your ISP, network administrators and government won’t be able to track and trace your activities. See more reasons why you need a VPN and how does it protect you. UNBLOCK WEBSITES WITH PIA VPN It is also important to choose a reliable VPN provider that doesn’t log user activity – such as Private Internet Access. It has even successfully proved this claim in several court cases. On top of that, it has unlimited bandwidth, excellent kill switch, and allows up to 10 simultaneous connections on a variety of supported devices including desktop (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux), mobile (Android, iOS) and devices supporting Smart DNS.
2. Use Open Proxy
An Open Proxy is a server that allows anyone to use it and typically has low security regulations and connection rules. It is somewhat similar to a VPN but has a few key differences: first of all, it is not as secure since it doesn’t always encrypt your traffic, second, proxies has less servers than an average VPN provider. In short, it makes it a less reliable and secure option, because your traffic might be visible to third-parties and this can cause various cybersecurity risks. When using an open proxy, you should never submit sensitive information such as login credentials or personally identifiable information. Aside from the cybersecurity reasons, proxy websites might be inaccessible to you since many schools and workplaces block them. Using an open proxy might be a suitable option if you’re using a public computer and do not want to or cannot install VPN software on it.
3. Use Tor Browser
The Tor project is a non-profit research-education organization that conducts research and development regarding online privacy and anonymity. It has developed a web browser known as Tor (short for The Onion Router) that can be downloaded by anyone. It is designed to stop government agencies, corporations and websites from tracking you. It also provides multi-layered encryption as your Internet traffic will be relayed and encrypted three times when it passes the Tor network which is compromised of volunteer-run servers (known as relays). The Tor browser also isolates each website you visit to prevent third-party trackers and ads from following you as you browse the Internet and also clears cookies and browsing history once you’re done browsing. Keep in mind that Tor isn’t 100% efficient when it comes to unblocking restricted online content, but it is still worth a try. Another drawback is that you might experience longer site load times when using this browser. However, if you’re wondering which browser opens blocked sites, it is Tor that you’re looking for.
4. Use VPN/Proxy Browser Extension
Many VPN service providers as well as proxies can be installed in a form of a browser extension instead of than feature-packed software tools. These extensions can be installed on popular browsers such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft Edge. A great advantage of such VPN browser extension is that it doesn’t slow down connection speed for other applications since it only operates on the installed web browser. Our team relies on PIA VPN which can be used on 10 devices simultaneously. PROTECT YOUR PRIVACY WITH A VPN When it comes to proxies, keep in mind that they have less servers than regular VPNs and therefore there are more users connecting and using them, which might cause longer wait times.
Also beware that free VPN/proxy extensions often come with more security risks and might be vulnerable to IP or DNS leaks, activity tracking or even malware.
5. Use the website’s IP address instead of the domain name
Many schools and workplaces block websites using their domain names instead of their IPs. To explain this, you need to understand how DNS works, which is like a phonebook of the Internet. People use domain names to reach websites since these are easy to remember, just like names in a phonebook. Numbers are much harder to memorize – and so are website IP addresses. When you type a domain name like www.facebook.com or www.bbc.com to your browser, DNS translates this name into a IP address so that the browser can load the resources. If you’re unsure how to find the IP address of a website, you can use methods provided below.
How to find website’s IP address on Windows, Mac, Linux
NOTE. Keep in mind that not all websites can be accessed using their IP address directly. For example, if you try to reach a website that’s using shared hosting (without a static IP), the server might get confused because there is more than one site assigned to the same IP address.
6. Use Google Translate to view blocked content
Another creative yet very simple way to access restricted websites is by using Google Translate. Simply visit the site and choose Websites tab. Here, enter the website URL that you’re trying to access and press the blue arrow button. The translator will load the website and translate its contents to your preferred language. Keep in mind that the website’s layout, images and content overall might become distorted and the functionality might be faulty (for example, you may not be able to click on links provided, buttons, etc).
7. Try the HTTPS version instead of HTTP
You may succeed to bypass novice-level blocks with this simple method. Sometimes, network administrators forget or fail to include restrictions for both HTTP and HTTPS versions of the website in the network’s blocklist. Therefore, you might try alternating between these when trying to reach a specific domain. However, do not forget that HTTP and HTTPS website versions might serve different content. To use this method, type “https://” in the website’s URL instead of “http://” or vice versa.
8. Restart your router (for dynamic IP users)
If you can’t access a website because your IP address is blocked, you might want to try this method. However, keep in mind that it is only helpful in case your ISP assigns you a dynamic IP address rather than a static one. ISPs usually provide customers with cost-effective dynamic IP addresses that change from time to time.
Before you try this method, we recommend that you visit Google and search “what is my ip address.” This will show your current IP address.Now, you can restart your router and wait until a new IP address will be assigned.Then you can use Google search to figure out what your new IP is. If it has changed, it is likely that you will succeed to visit the website you were trying to visit earlier.
9. Convert HTML content from URL to PDF and download it
This method works like a charm if you only want to read the content on the specific website and have no intention to navigate through it or perform interactions (such as comment, click links, download files). For example, if you just want to read forum replies on a specific page, you can use HTML to PDF converter and download the said website snapshot in a form of a document. All you need to do is to use Google or another online search and use “HTML to PDF” search query to access a list of sites that offer this feature. You will need to enter the URL of the specific webpage that you want to read, and download its copy in PDF format once the converter completes its job.
10. Use Google Cache or Wayback Machine to access older site copies
You can try to access archived website copies that are regularly created and saved by Google, archive.org or other web crawlers. These copies might be created regularly or as soon as some changes in websites are noticed. If you’d like to try archive.org Wayback Machine, visit the site and enter the URL of the website you’d like to access. Here, you can choose the date of the cached website version as well as specific snapshot and view it. To access cached website version, google its URL using the Google Search and click the three dots next to the search result you want to open. Now, click on Cached.
11. Use URL Shorteners
You can also try using URL shortening services to bypass restrictions. However, keep in mind that the majority of firewalls are capable of identifying an attempt to bypass a restriction with the help of an URL shortener, therefore this might not work in all cases. The easiest way to test this is to try it out. Simply visit one of the URL shorteners online, such as Bitly, TinyURL or other. Enter your URL that you wish to access and copy the generated short URL. Try to use it to access the blocked website and see if it helps.
12. Check Windows HOSTS file
Windows HOSTS file can be used to restrict specific websites on the host. It can be modified by anyone else who uses the computer or network administrator. To prevent the computer user from visiting certain web resources, HOSTS file can be modified with wrongful mappings of IPs and domain names. The most frequently used scheme is mapping the website’s domain to localhost IP, which causes a DNS resolution error. You can learn how to modify and reset Windows HOSTS file in this tutorial.
13. Unblock a website on Chrome using Restricted sites list
You can check your computer’s Internet Properties to see if there are some websites added to the Restricted sites list. All you need to do is:
Final Thoughts
PROTECT YOUR PRIVACY WITH A VPN
