Imagine a scenario. You’re at work or school & want to view a banned website for research purposes or maybe check your social media account or watch YouTube videos. But unfortunately, everything’s blocked. You may use a proxy website or VPN service to bypass the Wi-Fi firewalls. But it does require an additional effort to use, and in some instances make payment also.
So, how can you unblock sites without VPNs/Proxies on a PC? Is there really a way to bypass restrictions? Well, the good news is – – there are plenty of tools and techniques you can use to access blocked websites and browse the Internet freely.
You might want to learn first: Proxy vs. VPN: What’s the Difference?
5 Ways to Access Blocked Sites Without Using Proxies or VPNs
Using A VPN or proxies is not the only means to access blocked websites. Continue reading the article to get an idea about the alternate ways using which users can easily open blocked sites without proxy.
1. Replace HTTPS By HTTP:
This is yet the most simple and easiest way to unblock a website. Everyone who browses the Internet knows that every URL that users opens need to have the HyperTextTransferProtocol(HTTP).
While HTTP is insecure, HTTPS, on the other hand, is referred to as a secure connection. What happens is, local networks usually block websites by blocking the common port number 80 where traffic of HTTP ends. However, while blocking the ports, there are many times that port number 443 is left open and users can take benefit of this loophole.
Just by using HTTPS instead of HTTP, users can bypass proxy and can access blocked sites easily. This, however, does not stand true always.
2. Try Using the IP Associated With The Blocked Website:
Not everyone knows it, but yes, every website we scroll has a private IP associated with it. Whenever a site is blocked by the ISP or the government, the URL is taken and entered in their respective systems and are blocked.
At times when sites get blocked without any reason and we can find the IP associated with the blocked website. Then chances of accessing the blocked sites get easy.
In order to locate the IP address, open the command prompt and type “ping www.blockedURL.com’ and press enter. A user must replace blockedURL.com by the website address of the blocked website. Pressing enter will give the IP address associated with the URL which can easily be accessed by simply copy-pasting the same in the browser.
3. Make Alterations In Your DNS Server:
Usually, ISP blocks any website by restricting the DNS server related to the website. That means if the user alters the DNS server to a third party, he can easily access blocked sites without proxy servers or VPNs.
In order to change the DNS server to a third party one, users may simply navigate to Network & Internet Sharing section from the Control Panel and then head to the DNS section. The two DNS servers to which one can switch to are OpenDNS and Google DNS servers. Where 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 are Google DNS servers, OpenDNS servers are 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220.
4. Connect To Wi-Fi Using Smartphone Hotspot:
This is one of the easiest methods to open blocked sites without proxy or VPN. If you tether your smartphone and make your computer use the Personal Hotspot to connect to the Internet, you can easily bypass the blocked IP and easily access blocked sites without proxy.
While using VPN and proxies are some of the most used methods to open blocked websites, they are not the only means. There are ample of other ways using which you can easily access blocked sites. The above-mentioned ways aim is providing easy access to blocked sites without using proxy. Using these effective and easy ways around you can easily open blocked sites without proxy.
5. Use Short Links To Bypass Unsophisticated Website-Blockers
Well, this is a widely popular method & works in most cases. Using a URL shortener service like TinyURL, Firebase Dynamic Links Is, and Bitly can help users bypass less sophisticated blocked websites in no time. These services simply replace the website’s URL address with a shorter domain name.
So, there are chances that if your school, university, or workplace has blocked YouTube, the shortened version of the website URL might unblock the video for you. Using these nifty tools is super easy, all you have to do is:
Open your favorite browser and look for the blocked website you wish to access. Simply copy the webpage’s URL. Open any of the Link Shortener services and paste the URL into the ‘Shorten your link’ field.
Now, copy the new shortened link that appears in front of you and paste the same into your web browser’s address bar. As soon as you hit the Enter button, you may be taken to the website you want to access!
Bottom Line
While using VPN and proxies are some of the most used methods to open blocked websites, they are not the only means. There are ample of other ways using which you can easily access blocked sites. The above-mentioned ways aim is providing easy access to blocked sites without using a proxy. Utilizing these effective and easy ways around you can easily open blocked sites without a proxy or a VPN.
In case you know any other workaround that can help users to access banned websites, do share your ideas and suggestions in the comments section below.
FAQ:
Q1. Why Can’t I See 18+ Sites?
Well, this happens because content lock is enabled on your account. Hence, for certain secured websites (HTTPS) that are 18+ you might see an error ‘Timed out’ or ‘No Response’. You might be asked to verify your age as well. It is enabled to protect under age Internet users from accessing adult content and other harmful sites.
Q2. Which browser can open all blocked sites?
Well, you can try using Tor Browser to unblock banned websites & platforms. It’s a free and open-source tool that sends your data through a network of volunteer servers. It even hides your original IP address and the destination server IP from your Internet Service Provider.
Q3. How to bypass blocked sites?
Some of the most convenient ways to bypass website permissions are listed below:
- Use a reliable VPN service. One of the most popular & safest choices right now is Systweak VPN. To know more about the tool, check out the unbiased review!
- Use a Smart DNS.
- Use a Proxy.
- Take the help of the Tor browser.
If you have enough knowledge to effectively use a VPN service or proxy site, listed below are some helpful guides for you: