It's frustrating to search for a trending link, whether a video or another form of content, only to come across the message that it is unavailable in your country. No matter where you are in the world, you will always encounter restricted or blocked websites.

Internet censorship and filtering are becoming increasingly common as most countries aim to control their citizens. On the other hand, organizations want to restrict access to their internet content because of copyright agreements. It is not uncommon to see countries like China, Saudi Arabia, and Iran doing so. Nonetheless, you can still get around this issue through a few tweaks.

How to Bypass Blocked or Restricted Sites

There are many reasons why a country or service provider censors or filters the internet. Services such as Netflix and social media sites use geo-blocking tools to restrict content access in specific locations. Besides, some governments do so to drive a particular agenda in their countries. Some state laws limit or block access to certain materials. Your employer can also restrict internal networks.

Regardless, technological innovations provide ways to access these blocked or restricted sites. If you come across internet censorship and filtering, you can use the following methods to circumvent them.

Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN)

A virtual private network (VPN) is a cost-effective way to access blocked sites. You can select a different IP address from the VPN's pool to bypass geo-location restricted or blocked content. Besides, it encrypts your internet activities, giving you an extra layer of security to prevent tracking and privacy breaches.

A VPN essentially forms a data tunnel between your local network and an exit node elsewhere (which could be on the other side of the world.) This allows you to circumnavigate censorship and filtering. However, you should invest in premium VPN services to access unrestricted internet. Free VPNs are unreliable because they have slow loading speed, experience connection breaks, and can run into legal issues.

Use Proxies

Proxies maintain your anonymity while browsing through various websites. They mask your actual IP address, allowing you to access blocked or restricted content anywhere in the world. They are great when you want unfettered usage of the web.

However, unlike VPNs, proxies do not encrypt your web tracking. They are therefore not as safe as VPNs. Nonetheless, a simple undetectable proxy is effective for bypassing work or school network restrictions. Besides, there are no complicated settings with this tool.

Use a Smart DNS

The recent fight against VPNs by large corporations like Netflix has fueled the rise of Smart DNS. It's a technology that involves using your DNS to unblock restricted sites and services. Similar to proxies, it also routes your traffic through a server, and that hides your actual IP address and location. The main difference is that it only directs a portion of your traffic.

You can configure smart DNS to your specifications. They are effective at giving you access to geo-restricted content despite being less effective than VPNs. Besides, they provide faster connectivity, unlike VPNs. The high speeds are achievable because they only route some information through their servers.

However, unlike VPNs, they do not offer encryption or as many privacy benefits. Moreover, Smart DNSes don't change your IP. Therefore, if the websites you plan to visit can lead to prosecution in your location, you should refrain from using this method.

Use a Site's IP Address

When you type a domain name on your browser's address bar, the IP address hides behind it. This IP address routes your internet traffic while pointing to a server. The domain name (DNS) servers convert the URLs to IP addresses.

You can access a specific website when you enter its exact IP address on your browser. This trick can bypass many internet restrictions because most websites only block or restrict the domain name. You can use the website's IP address to enjoy unrestricted internet access, especially at work or school.

Most company or school networks restrict all short URLs pointing to specific websites. You can use the command prompt to get the website's IP address. Type the domain name after "tracert" to find the IP address and use it to bypass restrictions.

Final Words

Internet censorship and filtering limit your browsing capabilities. Government and service providers restrict or block websites to prevent access or compromise. It is annoying to see something trending among your friends but cannot view it due to internet restrictions. The above ways allow bypassing geo-blocks and filtering for uninterrupted access.