4 Ways to Bypass Internet Censorship that you Need to Know About
The idea that others can control what you can and can’t see on the internet may be troubling, especially if that censorship is based on their political ideology or beliefs. Internet censorship goes on all over the world, and not just in countries where there are oppressive governmental regimens. For example in the workplace, and in schools, a lot of internet content is censored to prevent employee and student access. Of course there are benefits to censorship as it can help keep people safe, and productive, however internet censorship can be annoying and in some cases just unfair. Thankfully there are ways to bypass internet censorship so that you can access the content that you want to access. Here are 4 ways to bypass internet censorship that you need to know about.
- Proxy
The most common way that internet content is censored is through IP blocking. For those wanting to prevent access, all this involves is blocking the target sites IP address. However, it can result in numerous sites which share the same IP address from being blocked too. A proxy which has access to the blocked IP address is all that is needed in order to bypass this form of internet censorship. There are numerous free proxies online.
- USB’s
It is possible to run a search engine such as Firefox completely from a USB stick simply by downloading the search engine onto the storage device. Searching the web via a USB will enable you to access the content that you want to without having to change any of your proxy preferences or computer settings. Using a USB for website access can have advantages over proxies because the USB will support plugin’s.
- VPN
Many schools and companies use content filters and control software to filter URL’s to prevent access to content. URL filtering involves scanning URLs for certain keywords instead of checking the domain name. There are two main ways to avoid URL filters. If you are tech savvy then you can use escape characters to get around URL filters. However an easier method that anyone can use is VPN’s and other encrypted protocols. VPN’s encrypt data which prevents the filter being able to read the URL. This will enable you to access any site that you choose.
- HTTPS
Man in the middle attacks (MITM) is a form of internet censorship that involved impersonation and interception. MITM are not commonly used by schools or companies, but have been known to be used by oppressive regimens such as those in China and North Korea. There are ways to bypass MITM attacks, and the best way to do so is through the use of encrypted network connections such as those offered by VPN’s and HTTPS. HTTPS use the browsers SSL in order to hide your network traffic from others. HTTPS will also send you a website warning if it thinks that the website is unsafe or that there is a potential MITM attack.
