Ways to Reach Blocked Websites: VPN, Proxy, Tor and More

Note: Check the law in your country and the rules of your school, employer or network before you try to get around a filter. Some places forbid it.

What internet restriction is

Internet restriction means that a network, an employer, a school or a government blocks access to some websites or services. The block can be by address, by DNS or by content filter.

Ways to get around it

1. A VPN. A VPN sends your traffic through an encrypted tunnel to a server in another place. The filter sees only the connection to the VPN. Pick a trusted provider, or run your own VPN on a VPS.

2. A proxy server. A proxy sits between you and the site. The site sees the address of the proxy, not yours. Proxies often do not encrypt your traffic, so they are less private than a VPN.

3. The Tor Browser. Tor passes your traffic through several volunteer servers, which hides your location. It is slower, but strong for privacy.

4. Change your DNS. Some blocks work only at the DNS level. Switching to a public DNS such as 8.8.8.8 (Google) or 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare) can solve it.

5. A web-based proxy. Open a web proxy site, type the address of the blocked site and the proxy loads it for you. It is simple, but not safe for logins or private data.

6. An SSH tunnel. If you have a VPS, you can make a tunnel with SSH and use it as a proxy:

ssh -D 1080 -N user@your_server_ip

Then set your browser to use a SOCKS5 proxy at localhost:1080.

Stay safe

Use trusted tools. Free VPNs and proxies may sell or leak your data.
Do not log in to important accounts through unknown proxies.
Keep your own devices updated.
Remember that your employer or school may still log the traffic.

Quick recap

A VPN is the most complete choice, a DNS change is the easiest.
Tor is best for privacy, an SSH tunnel is good if you own a VPS.
Follow the law and the rules of your network.