Whether you are based in Colorado or any part of the world, there are always moments when you encounter limited sites and restricted web zones. But if you encounter an internet block, don’t panic: to clarify, you only have to learn how to unblock barred sites and internet limitations.
Why Some Websites Are Blocked and Restricted
There may be many causes of why a website may be blocked.
1. Many services employ geo-blocking tools to prevent people in certain countries from accessing them. The problem is, perhaps, most widely linked to Netflix’s list. It can refer to social media videos, sports clips, news articles, and full services that are geo-restricted, meaning they cannot be accessed in other countries, such as Hulu.
2. The government sometimes bars popular websites to fit its plan. The case of internet restriction in China is probably the most popular: the Chinese Great Firewall prevents access to many popular sites, such as X (Twitter), Instagram, and YouTube. But we’ve also seen Turkey shut down social media to prevent protests in 2016 and Sri Lanka in the wake of the April 2019 Easter bombings to curb fake news.
3. Managers regularly restrict websites from the company’s intranet because of increased efficiency and to remove temptations even though it is infuriating. The same can be said for most schools and all educational institutions.
These restrictions may not be permanent. Other restrictions These restrictions may not necessarily be permanent. For instance, in a one-time ERA, some music videos on YouTube were banned in Germany until YouTube and the German government agreed to share profits.
How to Bypass Blocked Sites
What would you do if you encountered a restricted site? Below, you get a comprehensive list of ways to help you unblock any site and get to the page you need.
1. Use a VPN
The most effective method of unblocking a website is through a high-quality paid Virtual Private Network (VPN).
They may even prevent access from VPN IP addresses. Sometimes, services block the IP that belongs to the VPN network. In practice, this has led to an enormous game of cat and mouse, in which the VPN providers are typically the winners.
However, it is important to understand that it is possible to use free VPNs. Many of them keep track of traffic or only offer bad security. Free VPNs are often unreliable and filled with botnets and malware; therefore, using a paid VPN service is better.
Need a VPN? To secure a low-priced subscription, use these links to subscribe to CyberGhost and ExpressVPN. Both are reliable, equally efficient, and care about your rights to privacy as a user.
2. Use a Smart DNS
Streaming sites such as Netflix and BBC iPlayer have cracked down on VPNs, leading to the emergence of smart DNS services. These providers allow users to visit restricted sites. However, smart DNS services have advantages and disadvantages similar to VPN services, but there are specific differences.
On a serious note, DNS services are not as privacy-friendly as VPNs work in a way that they reveal the user’s identity. They don’t protect your traffic with encryption, and they hide your IP address. If the authorities in your location prosecuted you based on your frequent sites, then a smart DNS provider is your problem.
3. Use a Free Proxy
A proxy will shield your IP address, protecting your actual location. However, it will not encrypt your traffic, which means proxies are not as secure as VPNs. They are very suitable for bypassing the restrictions of work and school networks but are not safe for anonymous surfing.
Moreover, proxies are generally significantly slower than VPNs, and there are many other downsides. You will also discover that they often face problems with respect to the format of the pages and images. That is why both of these problems make them unfeasible to be used as long-term solutions. You should also check the validity of the proxy you intend to use, whether fake or from those you cannot trust.
4. Use the Tor Browser
If one moves through the web through the Tor network, it encrypts the traffic multiple times and then routes it through the system of nodes worldwide. This makes it very hard for any ordinary website to determine the request’s source, and therefore, it cannot be trapped in any blocking filters. For this reason, Tor is a free application downloaded by millions of users each day.
However, you should know that Tor, as a service, and the Dark Web are generally far from anonymous. Democratic state powers can surveil the target individual on the network. The process would be longer than expected if done through browsers and the internet.
5. Use Your Smartphone as a Hotspot
At the end of the day, if things are getting too hot, you can jump ship to another network. If, for example, you are working in a library and your access to some content is restricted because of Wi-Fi, you could switch to the smartphone’s connection.
You can toggle back as soon as you read, watch, or listen to restricted items and continue using the free Wi-Fi.
6. Alternate Between HTTP and HTTPS
In the early web, all the URLs on the site employed the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). However, it was considered insecure and unsuitable for the current world wide web, so Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) was invented. The newer version incorporated much more encryption on-site connections — which is perfect as it becomes more difficult for others to spy on and tap your lines.
Using this workaround, however, is much less common now that most sites run over HTTPS exclusively. It is also important to point out that with HTTP, you are not protected as well, and your information might be compromised.
