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Accessing blocked content is easier than you think.
Last Updated: October 24, 2024
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It can be frustrating when you encounter blocked websites, whether at school, at work, or even in your own home. Internet service providers and the government sometimes block specific sites, limiting access to information. If you’re trying to access blocked social media sites at work or you’re traveling abroad and want to access your favorite streaming services, there are some methods you can follow to reclaim your internet freedom.
This article will examine the most popular methods for unblocking websites. However, it is important to understand why websites are blocked before we discuss the specifics of unblocking them.
Websites can be blocked for several reasons. Your school or work’s network administrator could restrict access to increase productivity, or your government could impose censorship to curb communication and the spread of information.
The silver lining is that there are workarounds to access restricted content and unblock websites. The proper method for you will depend on your location, the website you’re trying to access, and the reason it’s restricted. Before we address how to unblock websites, here’s a more detailed look at the reasons a website may be blocked for you.
Internet service providers typically block websites to protect your device from malware and other suspicious activity. Suppose you find that a site you can access using a different internet connection is blocked while using your connection. In that case, it’s usually because the site you’re trying to access is deemed untrustworthy by your ISP. In some cases, this can be a useful safety measure that protects your personal information and your data.
Your ISP may also block specific websites per the government’s rules if you live in a country where censorship is prominent.
Most school, work, and public library computers have lists of blocked websites that could be harmful, inappropriate, or hamper productivity.
While this kind of restriction can be argued as justified, there are certain cases where you might need access to a site that’s on your school or work’s blocklist. For instance, your employer or educational institution may have blocked all news websites, deeming them a hindrance to productivity.
Public institutions also sometimes block streaming services, as they require a lot of bandwidth and can cause issues for other users.
Geo-restrictions are enforced primarily on streaming services to control access to content licensed in specific regions. Content is geo-blocked to protect its copyrights and allow it to be streamed only in locations that adhere to such license agreements.
Internet censorship by the government is a highly controversial topic and one that’s been criticized by advocates of freedom of expression and other human rights. Some governments have imposed strict restrictions on content and media to maintain social stability and control over public discourse.
The Chinese government, for example, has a long history of limiting freedom of expression, and it views the Internet as a potential threat to its power. As a result, it has implemented a comprehensive system of internet censorship, known as the Great Firewall of China, designed to block access to a wide range of websites and online content that it considers inappropriate or threatening to its interests.
Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam are other countries with a lot of internet censorship.
In most cases, yes, you can unblock websites. When a website blocks your access, it typically reads your IP address and associates it with whatever form of restriction—by your ISP, your government, or any other institution.
Most of the methods we’ll examine below aim to address this particular issue by either masking your IP or giving you another IP from a different region. Virtual private network (VPN) servers are what first come to mind, but there are other lesser-known methods that don’t require installing an app or paying a subscription fee.
Blocked websites are terribly inconvenient, but getting past those blocks is possible. The best part is you don’t need a lot of technical expertise to follow these steps to gain access to a blocked site.
Here’s how to unblock websites using a few of the most well-known and low-effort techniques.
VPNs are widely regarded as the safest and most reliable tool to unblock websites. They work by rerouting your IP address via one of their servers in a different country. This allows you to access geo-restricted content and provides an additional layer of security by encrypting your internet traffic and shielding your online activity from view. As a result, they are the most straightforward way to maintain your freedom and stay private when you’re online.
There are many free VPNs, but they tend to be unreliable, throttle connection speeds, and riddle you with spam and malware. If you decide to go down the VPN route, I recommend opting for a reputed paid VPN. They come with features well worth the money and can unblock websites and keep your personal information secure without significantly affecting your connection speeds. Plus, VPNs offer money-back guarantees so you can test their services risk-free.
These three VPNs will do the best job of unblocking the sites and content you want to access:
A proxy server is similar to a VPN because it allows you to swap your IP address with one from its servers. However, unlike a VPN that does this for all your internet traffic, a web proxy does so for just one particular site. For that reason, web proxies make sense if you want to access blocked sites from school or work.
A key advantage of proxy websites is that they require minimal effort and don’t require downloading an app or paying for a subscription. All you have to do is input the URL of the website you want to access on a proxy website, and it will reroute your traffic through one of its servers, giving you access to the blocked site.
On the downside, web proxies are not as secure as a VPN and don’t encrypt your data, so you still run the risk of your information being stolen or hacked if you access a suspicious website. Plus, it requires you to manually input the URL to every page you want to visit and doesn’t reroute all your traffic like a VPN would, only your browser traffic.
While using a proxy site can be cumbersome, it’s great for public systems where installing an app can be even more tedious.
A VPN or web proxy browser extension expands on what we discussed above. These browser extensions are usually secure since browsers like Google Chrome remove extensions suspected of malicious activity.
A browser extension for a web proxy is more helpful, as it eliminates the need to access the proxy website each time you have to unblock sites. It’s more convenient since it’s built into the browser, and you can access restricted content at the click of a button.
Most paid VPNs also have reliable browser extensions that allow you to quickly change the VPN server or other settings without opening the VPN app.
To download a web proxy or VPN browser extension, search for a proxy in your browser extensions store (like the Chrome Web Store) and pick the one that works best for you.
Tor Browser is an open-source browser widely known for its privacy and encryption features. Like a VPN, Tor Browser masks your location by passing your data through multiple levels of encryption. As a result, you have high privacy and unblocking capabilities but will have to compromise on speed.
While Tor Browser does an excellent job of keeping your personal information safe, it also grants you access to what people often refer to as the dark side of the web, where malicious content or sites are easier to target. Unlike more common browsers like Firefox or Google Chrome, Tor Browser does not screen downloads, so you should be wary of what you’re downloading.
Aside from Tor, a few other browsers put privacy first. Some popular examples include Vivaldi and Brave. These browsers work like Tor, preventing corporations from tracking your activity or collecting your data. An example of this we see quite often is when you’re targeted with highly personalized ads, which these private browsers help you avoid. Private browsers also come with encryption features that will let you unblock sites.
Some users resort to using incognito mode in an attempt to stay private online. However, while using incognito prevents your search history from being recorded, it doesn’t stop your browser from storing some data usage statistics. On the other hand, a private browser ensures that your data remains secure.
The methods listed above are the most commonly used since they’re the most straightforward and are usually foolproof. However, if you find that you aren’t having much success with them, there are other methods you can try to unblock websites. Some of these require a little more effort but don’t require much technical knowledge.
Each webpage has a different URL and Internet Protocol (IP) address. If the block imposed is basic, sometimes only a website’s URL is blocked, not the IP address itself. This means that if you enter the site’s IP address in your browser’s address bar, you might be able to access it.
You can find the IP address of a website using a DNS lookup tool, like www.whatismyip.com/dns-lookup, to find the IP address associated with a site. Simply enter the website’s URL (including https://), copy the IP address, and paste it into your browser’s address bar.
As I mentioned, this doesn’t always work and can only bypass basic restrictions.
Some websites can block a group of IP addresses that may appear suspicious. If your IP address falls into one of these groups, you will not be able to access certain sites or pages.
Most ISPs use dynamic IP addresses, meaning your IP address changes each time you connect to the Internet. Restarting your router may fix an accessibility issue in such cases.
Many operating systems come with a firewall built in. For example, Microsoft’s Defender Firewall exists to protect your device from malicious content and potential hackers, so it could accidentally block websites that you want to access.
To unblock websites being blocked by your firewall, you can simply disable the firewall. To disable Microsoft’s Defender Firewall, search for Firewall & network protection in your system’s settings. Then, select your profile and turn off the Defender Firewall.
On a Mac, you can search your System Preferences for Security & Privacy, where you’ll find the firewall settings.
Keep in mind that sites blocked by your firewall are restricted to protect your device from potential threats, so you’ll want to be wary of suspicious links and files while your firewall is off. I recommend disabling your firewall only temporarily to see whether that fixes your issue. If the blocked site becomes accessible, I recommend doing what you need to do and then turning your firewall back on.
It’s possible that some websites are blocked because they’re on your browser’s restricted websites list.
Let’s use Google Chrome as an example. If a site is restricted by Chrome, you can adjust these settings by going to Chrome’s Settings > Privacy and Security > Security. Here, you’ll be able to change settings that could make certain blocked websites available to you.
Under the Safe Browsing panel, you can select between Enhanced protection, Standard protection, and No protection.
HTTP and HTTPS are the two most common internet protocols available today. The latter is simply an extension of HTTP and adds a layer of encryption to keep your data secure. Switching from HTTPS to HTTP can help you access a site otherwise blocked. Remember that it’s a less secure protocol, so it’s best to exercise caution.
I recommend you avoid entering sensitive data or downloading files that could prove harmful when accessing a site via HTTP. That means I wouldn’t enter any passwords, banking information, or other personal data.
Using a URL shortener is not a surefire way of bypassing restrictions and is simply a workaround that works in select cases. Some organizations, like schools or libraries, have systems in place to block particular URLs. Using a URL shortener, like TinyURL or Bitly, to get a shortened URL may help bypass these systems since the new URL no longer matches the one on the block list.
A cache is a copy of data from commonly visited sites that browsers store to make those sites load faster when you revisit them. In some cases, you can access the cached version of a blocked website.
To do this, open up Chrome and type cache:[website URL] into the address bar. For example, try entering cache:www.facebook.com for the latest cached version of the Facebook home page.
The site will likely lack several elements, as shown in the image above, and will contain only a basic outline of what the actual, unrestricted site looks like. It’s also worth noting that you will have a tough time navigating through certain sites since not all parts of them will be cached.
When you try this method, you might find that it sometimes takes you to a Google Search results page. In this case, click on the three dots next to the correct result and select Cached on the menu.
The Domain Name System (DNS) is the system that translates human-readable domain names (e.g., www.google.com) into numerical IP addresses (e.g., 142.251.162.99) that computers use to communicate with each other.
Changing your DNS server tricks a website into thinking you’re in a different location, allowing you to access geo-restricted content. You can easily do this on most major operating systems, including Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.
If you use a proxy DNS, your IP address is still visible to third parties, unlike with a VPN. In that sense, changing your DNS to unblock sites isn’t the most secure way and will not always work.
Using Google Translate seems like an unusual solution, but it can work if you’re only restricted by a basic block.
Go to the Google Translate website. Choose a random language in the “From” section and English or your preferred language in the “To” section. Enter the URL for your desired website in the text box, and when it’s translated, click on the link.
There will be some changes in the website’s layout and functionality, but you should still be able to use and access most functions of the site. Similar to previous methods, make sure you don’t share personal information or download questionable files when using this method.
This final method can be used as a last resort to access a blocked website. When you use an HTML to PDF converter, you can download the contents of the link you enter into the converter as a PDF document. Effectively, you get a PDF version of all the text and images on the site.
You can’t engage with the site when you view its PDF version, so this method doesn’t make sense unless you’re intending to consume static media.
The above methods should help you bypass most, if not all, restrictions on a website. However, I understand that many internet users are trying to access a handful of sites from regions or institutions that may be blocked. So, I’ve done the research and found the best methods to access each of the popular sites below.
Streaming platforms are blocked for two reasons: your school or work’s network administrator has blocked them to increase productivity, or the copyrighted content is licensed to be shown only in certain countries.
Changing your IP address is a surefire way to bypass these restrictions, and the easiest way to do so is by using a VPN. With a premium VPN, you can also access the international libraries of multiple streaming platforms while protecting your data and personal information from your ISP and other third parties.
While bypassing a network administrator’s blocks, it’s essential to be mindful of the time you spend on streaming platforms. If your bandwidth usage is monitored and you’re streaming a lot, you may be an obvious culprit. Plus, many public networks are not meant to tolerate high bandwidths, so you could disrupt other users on the network. Naturally, you could land yourself in trouble if you’re found accessing sites intended to be restricted on your network.
Social media consumes much of our time, so educational institutions and workplaces tend to block sites like Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, TikTok, and Twitter. However, if you need to use these sites in an emergency or just need a little break, using a VPN is your best bet.
You may also be able to access social media platforms by using other methods, like a URL shortener. Still, a VPN will allow for the most seamless usage without compromising on user experience.
Many users use a VPN to unblock gaming sites that are restricted in their locations. You can also use a VPN to switch to a different location if you want to play on another game server. For example, if all your friends are located in Europe and you’re in Asia, you can use a VPN to switch to a VPN server in Europe so you can all play together.
The legality of unblocking websites depends on the specific laws of your country or region and why the websites are blocked.
In some countries, the government censors certain websites because they contain illegal or objectionable content. It would be unlawful to unblock sites in the context of government-mandated blocks.
In most countries, VPNs are legal, so using them to unblock a website should be fine as long as you’re not doing it for illegal purposes. But it’s best to be aware of and respect the laws and regulations of your country or region when it comes to unblocking websites.
If an employer or school blocks specific sites to prevent employees or students from accessing them, it would probably violate the organization’s policies to unblock the websites—but it likely wouldn’t be illegal.
Ultimately, there’s no short yes-or-no answer to this. It depends on the circumstances in which you’ve decided to unblock sites.
Accessing the internet without restriction should be a fundamental right for everyone. However, there are multiple reasons a political or institutional body may choose to curb their patrons’ access to certain sites. While there are certainly cases where these blocks are warranted, there are also instances where it’s done to restrict freedom of speech and information.
This guide showed you how to unblock websites using tools like a VPN, a proxy server, or a private browser like Tor. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, so choosing the one that best fits your requirements is important. Some of the methods I explained will also increase your online privacy and security.
I don’t recommend unblocking websites restricted for legal or security reasons. Some countries may have laws against doing so, which could result in legal trouble. Verify the legality of unblocking a website in your country before doing so.
In short, unblocking websites is a way to restore your freedom and access to information on the Internet. However, it should be done responsibly and with consideration for your country’s laws.
A VPN masks your IP address and encrypts your internet traffic, routing it through a server in a different location. This makes it appear as though you are accessing the internet from that server's location, bypassing local restrictions and unblocking websites.
Free VPNs can be risky, as they often have limited features and bandwidth caps and may log user data. Some free VPNs may also inject ads or malware into your connection. It’s generally safer to use a reputable paid VPN service.
A VPN provides a secure, encrypted tunnel for all your internet traffic, while a proxy server only reroutes specific types of traffic, such as web browsing. VPNs offer better security and privacy compared to proxy servers.
In most countries, using a VPN is legal. However, some countries with strict internet censorship, like China and Iran, heavily regulate or ban VPN use. Always check your local laws before using a VPN.
Yes, changing your DNS settings to a public DNS service like Google DNS or OpenDNS can help bypass some restrictions. However, it may not be effective against more sophisticated blocks imposed by ISPs or governments.
Yes, there can be risks such as:
• Legal Issues: In some regions, unblocking websites may violate local laws.
• Security Risks: Using untrusted tools or services can expose you to malware or data breaches.
• Privacy Concerns: Some methods may compromise your privacy if not used correctly.
Using tools to unblock websites can sometimes affect device performance, especially if the tool consumes significant resources or if your internet connection is slowed down by the method used.
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