5 Methods To Bypass Blocked Sites

  • December 6, 2008

  • By Ben

So you’re at work or school and you want to check your profile or watch a YouTube video. Lo and behold, it’s blocked. Now you have two options – be productive or try and bypass the filter. Usually one would choose the latter, but how would you do that? Here’s some options.

XeroBank

bypass blocked sites

The xB Browser is a whole web browser based on FireFox portable. It routes you via the Tor network. The down side? The Tor Network can be a bit slow and unreliable, but for the most part it looks and works just like a regular FireFox portable installation. It deletes all traces after exit. XeroBank also offers a monthly plan for their private, faster network.

We covered XeroBank in more detail here.  [Windows]

UltraSurf

proxy bypass This has recently become my favorite software tool for bypassing blocked web sites. UltraSurf is seriously one of the best tools for the job. There is no install, so download the “exe” file onto a USB drive and run it whenever you need it.

When you open it up, it will open Internet Explorer with the UltraSurf homepage. From there the web is your oyster.

But why do I like it so much? First of all, it’s fast, it routes you through a possible three servers so you get highly reliable speeds. Second, it uses IE which is what you have if you’re on IT lockdown, so it doesn’t look suspicious and you don’t need to have two different browsers open at the same time. Also, since it uses your existing browser, things like Flash and Java will work like normal. Once you close UltraSurf it will erase your history and cookies. [Windows]

Remote Access

I wrote about remote access earlier, but it also works great for bypassing blocked sites. Simply log on to your home computer with LogMeIn’s Java viewer or whatever else you use and browse the internet from your own computer! It might lag a bit, but it works great! You can also use any software on your computer, too.

WebToMail

This one is interesting. If you have access to email, you have access to WebToMail. Just send an email to send@webtomail.co.cc with the URL as the subject and wait a few minutes and you’ll get an email with the web page. Unfortunately, it won’t work with sites that you need to login to, or websites with Flash or Java, but works with most other pages.

webtomail

Bypass Firewalls using Proxies

There are literally thousands of proxy sites on the web. There are also sits that list proxy servers. Fact: 99.9% of them are blocked and the rest are going to be blocked by any decent filtering software. So you can host your own proxy with software like Glype proxy but for the most part they really don’t work too well.

These are some of the best ways to bypass websites that have been censored or blocked. But how do you bypass blocked websites?  Have I missed the best?  What do you think?

Tagged: • • • • • •

Ben

Similar Stuff

The comments were closed because the article is more than 90 days old.

If you have any questions related to stuff mentioned in the article or need help with any computer issue, just ask it on MakeUseOf Answers.

  • http://Mitb.net nathan kline

    At my college they have a public wifi spot but surfing is filtered and IM and third party email are blocked. My prefered method is to use ssh to my web server (or a home Linux server) and just add “-D ####” to create a socks proxy on the port that you specify with ####. Pick a port that is available and then set your browser to use it and all your traffic is not only unfiltered, but also encrypted through the ssh session.

  • Khanxay

    I love UltraSurf. I used it all the time in high school last year.

    I just might have a look at the browser since I’ve been playing with different browsers lately. (Iron, Chrome, Firefox, Opera, etc)

    • http://www.tic-tech-toe.com/ Ben

      XeroBank is pretty much FF portable but with some security and privacy add-ons.

    • http://myspace.com ashlei

      damnit i wish i knew cause i would be on that and not this

  • http://www.postlinearity.com gregorylent

    your site is undreadable, the gray is way too dark .. especially with a glossy screen .. increase the contrast please .

    • http://makeuseof.com Aibek

      that happens to very few people, but unfortunately we can’t replicate the problem on our end. No worries, we are working on the new design which should be out by the end of the week.

      Aibek

    • http://www.multimediauniversity.com HAKEEM

      Hey gregorylent , get a pair of glasses or change your brower coz everything looks alright to me.

  • kaly

    Also see WebInMail.com

    Link to MakeUseOf Review: http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/webinmail/

    • http://xplorinhom.blogspot.com prem godara

      We can even use google cached pages if the site and blocked. One another way is to use google translate option by specifying the URL in the “Translate a web page” text box.

  • Asif

    Hotspotshield anchorfree a very good service. dont miss it out and its free

    • phani

      please say me the site to open unblocked sites

      • http://zenairo.kicks-ass.net Zenairo

        phani, sorry to flame but that isnt really a proper sentence. if you mean proxies then just search “fresh new proxies” on google and click the first link to the google group. it has lists of about 10-20 new proxies every day.

        is it just me or are most of the people here new to english?

  • http://xplorinhom.blogspot.com prem godara

    There are two more ways by which we can bypass the blocked sites
    1) Use cached pages in google search results.
    2) Use google translate option by specifying the URL in the “Translate Web Page” text box.

  • Frenchbob

    Hi,

    Great website, I’m hooked! I live in France and would love to be able to access BBC i Player and ITV etc. Can this stuff help? Thanks in advance.

    Frenchbob

    • Frenchbob

      HI,
      Re my previous question, they are obviously very smart at the BBC as it seems they use some sophisticated software that recognises UK IP addresses. So, when I attempt to view it via UltraSurf I get message that basically as it can’t recognise my IP I am blocked and to contact my ISP! Didn’t think it would be possible, never mind. I’ll keep UltraSurf on the PC for a while see how it goes.

      Regards,

      Frenchbob

    • http://makeuseof.com Aibek

      Did you try connecting via some UK based proxy server. I think Hotspot Shield shold work, though I never heard anyone using it for BBC iPlayer. Maybe you can be the first one :-) , let us know how it works out.

      • Frenchbob

        Hi Aibek,

        I have read a little about proxies, will need to do more research. Are some of them a bit dodgy, as all my info goes via the proxy? Will also look at Hotspot Shield & let you know, although it doesn’t look good for me. BBC say they are currently looking at an International version although I imagine it will be somewhat restricted. TV here in France really is dire!!

        Regards,

        Frenchbob

        • http://makeuseof.com Aibek

          Frenchbob,

          If you’re going to look for proxies I recommend PrimeProxies

          http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/primeproxies/

          Now, as you have mentioned when using proxy server ur info pass through some other server and you don’t really know how safe/secure it is. What I would do in your case is only use proxy when watching BBC iPlayer. If you have stuff like gmail opened then better close it (log out) before switching to proxy

        • Frenchbob

          Hi Aibek,

          No luck with any of those mentioned, it seems that BBC iPlayer will only let you in if your ISP’s IP addresses are on their list of UK only providers. I tried a few different proxies, maybe I should keep trying more until perhaps one gets through?

          Regards,

          Frenchbob

        • john

          go to hide my ass website that where i went and it works

  • krishna

    Hi,
    I found ultrasurf interesting. I used it on firefox but unable to open some of the websites and can’t even logged into the website.
    Is there any solution for that?

  • youthworker

    My college blocks youtube (and other sites) via Internet Explorer, but they haven’t blocked iTunes ability to view video.

  • lmanpig

    I recommend Freegate, which resembles Ultrasurf, but in my case, I find it a little faster.

  • Rebecca

    I access all my blocked sites at work via google reader. I get an rss feed to a friend’s myspace blog or facebook status updates, click on the link, and sign in. Most proxy sites are blocked here, but google reader never fails.

  • Big Dave

    Ultrasurf came up as a Trojan on my anti-virus software – I would not recommend using it.

  • http://tyler tyler

    My problem is different,
    In my office there are 2 common internet computers and other computers are in LAN but they dont have internet connection or in other way the net connections is blocked in other connection.
    Now the good part is, the internet PC is in LAN with other computers.
    Is there any way to install any software which can use internet connection from that common PC and i can browse internet from my computer ??

    • jun

      these methods are all useless, since they are all blocked by our network provider.

  • Forte

    I’ve recently noticed that UltraSurf will not let me access some sites that require login forms to work.

    I’m not sure if the sites have been modified to block proxies, but it works with some web based proxies.

    Until recently the sites had worked. Anyone else having this problem?

  • http://www.orkut.com ABHINAV

    im not able to acess orkut through wifi of our university as it has been blocked by our it team .IS there any way through which i can acess it …..??

  • Juan F

    hi, im an exchange student and where im staying my “parents” have almost every webpage blocked… so xerobank or ultrasurf can work, correct ?

  • Anelly

    I read somewhere that it’s possible to access blocked websites using Google translator. I really don’t know if this is possible because i did not tried but seems interesting. I’m using IP Privacy http://www.privacy-pro.com and works fine for me.

  • rmck

    im on a school computer and alot of sites are blocked. Hotmail, google, etc… I tried to a few proxies but the are all blocked so far. Anyone know any good ones that might work? will certainly download that ultrasurf when i get home.

  • pari

    our college wi-fi has blocked songs,social sites etc.we cant access orkut,facebook etc.please tell me the proxy software for this.earlier we used to run it thru ultrasurf but now that also doesn’t works…….

  • Andrew P.

    For those situations where you’re “under IT lockdown” and can’t use anything other than Microsoft Internet Explorer, there may be alternatives — Firefox or Mozilla SeaMonkey equipped with the User Agent Switcher add-on. It comes with several profiles, but you can add your own. It makes the server think your browser is Internet Explorer, Opera, or whatever and can make it think you’re running on Vista when you’re really running on Linux. I haven’t tried to use it to get through a company firewall, but I don’t see why it shouldn’t work.

  • Kim

    I work at a bank and all the suggestions here are blocked… am I out of luck because of the high security here at the bank?

  • http://www.proxynetworks.com remote access software

    great web site unblocking tips, specially using IP address.

  • alexsimons218

    try humanpages.com, it is bloked for me in perris and riverside but it might work for you.

    • Jake

      That site does not exist according to Internet Explorer… hmmm

  • Jake

    Hey I’m running off of a highschool Laptop and A Lot of things are blocked that don’t make sense. I have been reading some of the reviews and so far that UltraSurf looks best, but there is a catch. One guy said that it came up as a trojan virus =/, which is not good because if they see aything like hat on a server they can tract who was using it. I can bypass blocks with a pass code. Any1 know where to get a good code gernerator/guesser?

  • Titanium Pen

    UltraSurf is fine for me. Try Jon Do. Don’t know the exact name though, but the program is extremely slow.

  • http://myspace.com ashlei

    damnit mannnn need to get on my pages yet i cant do it in school i NEED proxy sites fuck gimme some NEW proxy sites PPPPLLLLLLEEEEEEAAAASSSSSSEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    • Frenchbob

      Ashlei,

      Where do you think you are, a bit torrent website?! Grow up and try to conduct yourself with some manners.

      F.B

  • http://www.insegment.com sem

    Out of the listed methods I would have to say that UltraSurf has been very effective for me. Never tried XeroBank because I have never really had to. I recommend UltraSurf to anyone out there having difficulty.

  • grg m

    i just download a new browser

  • grg m

    fuckers

  • monkn

    Can someone send me the latest proxy list from anywhere??

  • http://Myspace.com Duncan

    myspace.com and Facebook.com

  • http://Myspace.com Duncan

    Myspace.com Facebook.com

  • http://www.freedur.net bloodnthirst79

    I’ve tried XeroBank and UltraSurf. XeroBank is a bit ‘heavy’, wonder if they’ll come up with a ‘lite’ version? But surfing wasn’t entirely smooth.

    UltraSurf installed okay but it didn’t work for me and I couldn’t figure out what the problem was.

    I’m now on Freedur and I must admit it’s one of the best I’ve tried so far, I finally get to access block sites and get to surf them without those pesky ads.

  • ossim

    wtf the links to the proxy’s r blocked :S

  • Ganz

    Hi,

    currently i am located in China … Here YouTube is blocked…
    I am planning to go for ultrasurf. Can anyone tell me will it works not??? and is there any risk behind it?

  • Sam

    Hi,

    there’s this stupid WiFi in my college that blocks all sorts of downloads and stuff like limewire,bittorrent,vdownloader etc. Is there any way i could get through these. Any help would be appreciated…

    thnx.