At school, at work or simply at home, a system has been installed to control and restrict access to the internet, but you need to access one of the websites that are blocked? Although these software are becoming more powerful and reliable every day, there are still solutions to circumvent the access restrictions applied to certain websites. The most reliable method is to use proxy servers, i.e. computers to connect to and from which to access the desired web pages. The operation process is very simple: the browsing information is sent from your computer to the proxy server, which will execute the html request for you and send you the received data in response, effectively bypassing the existing access restriction. You can use an already active proxy server or create your own proxy directly at home.
Steps
Method 1 of 4: Web Accessible Proxy Server
Step 1. Identify the sites that catalog the proxy servers accessible via the web
The name "proxy" defines a server capable of redirecting traffic to the requested site or web page. Normally, this process requires a specific browser configuration, which may sometimes not work on your computer. Proxy servers on the web are simply websites installed directly on a proxy server. To take advantage of a proxy service of this type, you need to access the website of the proxy server and from there navigate to the site that is normally blocked. The mechanism works because the webpage request is made by the proxy server (acting as an intermediary) rather than directly from your computer.
The number of websites that catalog proxy servers on the web is practically infinite. This type of tools can be found with a simple web search performed using the keywords "web proxy" and your favorite search engine. Note: Normally, access to most websites that catalog proxy servers is blocked by the same tool that blocks access to the content you requested, so you will most likely have to do a very thorough research or alternatively you will need to access these lists using another computer
Step 2. Connect to the proxy server
Access the website of one of the proxy servers on the list using the internet browser of your choice. If it is a well-known proxy server, it is very likely that access will be blocked. In this case you just have to try to use another server on the list.
Proxy server-based websites are constantly updated, so you shouldn't have a hard time finding one that is accessible and working
Step 3. Type the address of the website you wish to access
Virtually all web interfaces of proxy servers include a text field in which you can type the URL or IP address of the site you want to reach. For example, if you are trying to access YouTube, you will need to type in the URL www.youtube.com.
Step 4. Wait for the requested page to load
Accessing a website via a proxy server is slower than normal browsing, this is because the proxy server acts as an intermediary, first having to download the requested content and then transfer it to your computer. Within the displayed page there may be errors that refer to parts of the content that have not been transferred correctly.
Using proxy servers to access websites that require you to log in is highly discouraged. The reason is that it is not possible to know the number of people who will be able to access your personal information while in transit through the proxy server. If you need to access authenticated websites, please refer to this section of the article
Method 2 of 4: Google Translate
Step 1. Log in to the Google Translate website
Step 2. Type the URL of the website you want to access in the left pane
Step 3. Select a language other than the one used to compose the content on the website
To do this, use the buttons at the top of the left pane.
Step 4. Make sure that the translation inside the second (right) box is in the form of an HTML link (the text should appear underlined and colored blue)
Step 5. Use the buttons at the top of the right pane to select the current language in which the content on the requested website is written
Step 6. Press the Translate button
Step 7. If you receive the message This page has not been retrieved from its original location via a secure connection and the Google Translate search bar is not visible, it means that the connection to the requested site is not completely secure, so some attackers could intercept your sensitive information, such as your login passwords
In this case, avoid carrying out activities that involve the transfer of sensitive information.
Step 8. If the requested content loads without problems (i.e. no warning message is displayed), but the Google Translate bar is not visible, it means that the requested page is secured with a secure connection, so you can perform operations that require authenticated access, such as checking email or credit card balance (although this is still not recommended)
Step 9. Use the Google Translate bar to navigate
Type the URL of the web page you want to visit into the search bar at the top of the screen.
Method 3 of 4: Portable Internet Browser
Step 1. Download the "portable" version of an internet browser
This term refers to a web browser that can be run directly from USB media without having to be installed. The USB storage medium can be connected to any computer and the browser it contains can be used without having to first install it in the system. These types of applications are very useful since they allow you to change the configuration settings of the connection to the proxy server, an activity that is not normally allowed on company or school computers.
The best known portable version is that of Firefox. You can download it from the PortableApps.com website
Step 2. Install the portable version of the browser on your USB stick
Insert the removable device into your computer making sure it has at least 100MB of free space. Run the setup file you just downloaded, then select USB storage media as the destination. The installation should only take a few seconds.
Step 3. Find a proxy server to connect to
In order to take advantage of your new portable browser to circumvent active access restrictions on the network, you need to connect to a proxy server. Just as it happens for the proxy servers accessible via the web analyzed in the first section of the article, a proxy server acts as an intermediary by downloading the requested page and transferring the data to the browser in use. Instead of performing this process via the web interface, you are going to change the address to which the internet browser will connect, so that all http requests are forwarded directly and automatically to the indicated proxy server. This will affect the entire web browsing session.
- There are hundreds, if not thousands, of websites that catalog the proxy servers you can connect to. You will simply have to locate some of them through a computer that can access these types of sites without problems.
- Copy the host name or IP address of the chosen proxy server, along with the communication port to use.
- If you have created your own proxy directly in your home, you can connect using a portable internet browser. This is the safest option, but also the most complex to set up. If you have chosen this option, refer to the next section of the article for more details on how to install and configure a proxy server.
Step 4. Change the proxy settings of the portable browser
Launch the portable version of Firefox, then press the button to access the main menu (☰). Select the "Options" item and access the Network tab.
- Press the Settings… button related to the "Connection" section of the Network tab.
- Choose the item "Manual proxy configuration".
- Enter the host name or IP address of the selected proxy server in the "HTTP Proxy" field
- Enter the communication port number in the "Port" field
- When finished, press the OK button to save the changes.
Step 5. Always carry the portable version of your internet browser with you
The next time you intend to use a computer connected to a network on which access control and restriction is active, you can use the USB stick you have prepared and browse safely with the portable version of Firefox. This way you should be able to access all the websites you want, without encountering any difficulties.
- If you are using a proxy server obtained through a web search, remember that it will most likely change URLs very soon. These types of free proxies are not perennial, they "arise" and "die" very quickly, so the configuration settings of the portable browser you are using will need to be changed frequently.
- Using proxy servers to access websites that require you to login is highly discouraged. The reason is that it is not possible to know the number of people who will be able to have access to your personal information while in transit through the proxy server. If you need to access authenticated websites, please refer to this section of the article.
Method 4 of 4: Create a Personal Proxy Server
Step 1. Download and install a web server on your computer
The safest and easiest way to bypass a web access control and restriction system is to install a proxy server on your web server. The operation is very simple, once you have created and configured a web server directly in your home, you can connect to it from any point on the globe (obviously as long as the computer remains on). Setting up a web server is a simple and intuitive process. For users of Windows systems, the WAMP architecture is the simplest solution to implement, while users of OS X systems can use a MAMP platform.
- After installing a web server based on WAMP architecture, its icon will be displayed in the system tray.
- Select it with the right mouse button, then choose "Put Online". This will cause the server to start.
- Right-click the server icon again, then choose the "Localhost" option. If your WAMP server configuration page appears, it means that the installation was successful.
Step 2. Download and install PHProxy
It is an open-source proxy server, which can be downloaded and used for free. You can download the PHProxy installation file from the SourceForge site. Make sure you use this internet download source, otherwise you may get a modified version of the program.
- Extract the installation folder from the ZIP file you just downloaded.
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Copy the folder into the root directory of the WAMP (or MAMP) server. The default paths relative to the directory in question are:
- Windows systems: C: / wamp / www \.
- OS X systems: Applications / MAMP / htdocs /.
Enter a Blocked Website Step 12 Step 3. Check that the proxy server is working properly
PHProxy is installed simply by copying its file folder into the correct directory. Start your computer's internet browser, then use it to access the URL https:// localhost / phproxy / and test the proxy server is working properly. If the PHProxy page appears, it means that the program has been installed correctly.
Enter a Blocked Website Step 13 Step 4. Find your computer's IP address
In order to access the server from anywhere in the world, you need to redirect incoming requests to the web server on your home network. The first step is to identify the IP address of the machine on which the software is installed.
- Launch the Windows Command Prompt, then type the ipconfig command. The local IP address should be indicated in the data section for the active network connection. See this guide for more details on how to find a computer's local IP address.
- Make a note of the IP address as you will need it in the next steps.
Enter a Blocked Website Step 14 Step 5. Redirect incoming traffic to port 80 on the network router
When you connect to the web server on your home network from the outside, you must use port 80 of the router that manages the entire network in your home. Communication ports control the flow of data into and out of a network. In order to connect to the web server, you need to open the incoming port 80 of the network router (so that you can accept incoming connections from the outside) and redirect the traffic to your server.
- Access the configuration page of the network router. You can do this using an internet browser from a computer connected directly to the local network. Type the IP address of the router into the address bar of the browser. Consult this guide for more information on this.
- Access the section for configuring "port forwarding". The precise wording with which it is named may vary depending on the manufacturer of the router. Create a new routing rule using the web server's local IP address. Make sure that the communication port involved is only number 80 and that the data traffic concerns both the TCP and UDP protocol. See this guide for more details on how to perform "port forwarding".
Enter a Blocked Website Step 15 Step 6. Find the public IP address of your network's modem / router
Now that you have configured "port forwarding", the web server is ready to be used. All you need to be able to connect to it from anywhere on the globe is to know the public IP address of your home network. This is the IP address assigned to the modem / router that manages your ISP's internet access.
You can quickly find this information by accessing Google directly from the web server, and performing a search with the keywords my ip. The public IP address assigned to your home network should appear at the top of the results list
Enter a Blocked Website Step 16 Step 7. Connect to the proxy server
Now that everything is working and you know the public IP address of the network, you can connect to your proxy server from anywhere in the world. The server will load the requested web page, then transfer the data to your current location.
- To connect to PHProxy and use its web interface, you will need to use the following URL Public_IP_Address / phproxy /. Assuming that the public IP address of your network is 10.10.10.15, to access the PHProxy server from anywhere in the world, you must use the URL 10.10.10.15/phproxy/ and type it in the address bar of an internet browser.
- To connect to your proxy server using the portable version of a browser, you will need to configure its connection settings to use your network's public IP address and port 80.
