How to Access Blocked Sites Online

The case of blocked websites is increasing every year due to various factors. In many countries, due to increased censorship, governments are actively censoring internet access and forcing users to stay away from even popular websites and social networks. Similar instances occur in schools and offices too where network admins force us to look for methods to unblock websites.

In this article, you can see some easy ways to bypass censorship to access blocked websites. This easy-to-use and effective method includes using VPNs, extensions, DNS hacks, proxy websites and more.

How to Unblock a Website?

1. Use VPN to unblock online

As the name suggests, VPN (Virtual Private Network) software acts as a hide layer which doesn't reveal your real IP address. When using a VPN, traffic from your device passes through a VPN server that is not blocked by the government or ISP, therefore, allowing you to surf the website.

As per our experience and expert reviews, using a reliable VPN service is the best way to unblock websites easily. All popular VPNs have apps for Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, etc., which make it easy to unblock sites at work or school.

If you are interested in delving deeper, you can check out our detailed article on what a VPN is and how it works. Here are some great VPN plans for you to try:

PIA (Private Internet Access)

ExpressVPN

NordVPN

If the best security is not your main goal, you can also try a free VPN service to open blocked sites.

 2. Website Unblocker: Use a Proxy Website

Often, in a professional setting, employers create certain restrictions to restrict your access to certain websites and services such as video streaming, social networking, or even personal e-mails. Sometimes, you need a way to access blocked websites, and in those situations, the proxy website acts as a rescue method.

However, please note that unblocking proxies is not as secure as a VPN. So, if you are keeping your work a secret, method 1 is the one to choose.

On the web, there are hundreds of proxy websites that make your web experience 'unrestricted'. Proxy websites disguise blocked sites from ISPs and allow you to access blocked websites.

For example, if Facebook is blocked by your institution, you can go to a proxy site and enter the blocked URL to access the service -

Smartproxy.com

Hidemyass.com

Spysurfing.com

3. Access blocked sites on Chrome

It's also possible that Chrome has blocked certain websites on your computer or that someone else has configured them to do so. In this case, there are some simple steps you can follow to change certain settings to allow access to certain websites.

To unblock a website in such a case, enter the website's web address in Chrome and to the left of the address bar, look at the icon. Click on it and look for Site settings to change the blocked status.

4. Use IP Instead of URL

Most of you probably know that every website URL has an IP address, and the authorities blocking the site might just store the URL instead of the IP. If so, you can use the IP address of the website to open restricted web pages in your Chrome browser.

On Windows, type tracert websitename.com at the command prompt to get the IP address.

On a Mac, open Network Utility> click the Traceroute option at the top and enter the website address to find its IP address.

For iPhones and Androids, find an app called Traceroute on the App Store and Play Store.

On Linux, type dig websitename.com in Terminal to get an IP address.

These are some of the most effective and easy-to-use methods of avoiding censorship that have been placed on your favorite websites. Tell us which ones you prefer to access blocked websites in your area

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