Top 5 Ways to Access Blocked Websites

This post is a continuation of our recent article “Top 5 Ways to Access Blocked Websites“ in which we covered the most popular 5 ways using which you can unblock restricted websites at school, work or office. In this part II, we will discuss 5 more rather unconventional methods of unblocking websites, most of which are not so common and thus generally not known to most people. So here they go:

Method 1: Using Google Mobile Search

You can use Google Mobile Search to indirectly gain access to your desired website. Google Mobile Search removes the CSS & javascript elements from the web pages and breaks a large page into several small pages. Though the output will appear as if you are viewing the website on a mobile phone, this method certainly works quite well.

Method 2: Get Web Pages Via Email

Web2Mail is a great free service that sends websites you want to read directly into your inbox. Simply send an email to www@web2mail.com with the URL of the blocked website as the subject title and you will start receiving web pages from the website into your inbox.

Method 3: Using Encrypted VPN Service

The Your Freedom OpenVPM service is a sophisticated application that hides your network address from the end server. You just need to download the client application , install it and subsequently run it on your computer. Your PC will start acting as an anonymous web proxy and you can safely gain access to all blocked websites.

Similarly you can also download and use Tor , which is an advanced proxy server that uses multiple anonymous servers for a single Web request and allows you to access blocked websites while remaining anonymous.

Method 4: Using JAP

JAP or JonDo is a popular client that acts as a local proxy between the browser and the internet, allowing you to browse the blocked websites while remaining anonymous the whole time. As JAP uses a single static address which is shared by many JAP users, the end server won’t get to know your real IP address. All you need to do is to download the JAP client and install it. Then you need tochange your LAN settings in whatever browser you are using (throughTools->Internet Options) and check “Use a Proxy server for your LAN” option (or “Manual Proxy configuration” in Firefox). Enter “127.0.0.1″ in the server column and “4001″ in the port column. Then run the JAP client and check the “On” option under Anonymity tab. Now simply open your browser and browse the blocked websites freely.

Method 5: Using Wayback Machine

Wayback Machine is an internet service that keeps a copy of almost all websites on the internet right from the date they were started. Cached pages of each website are available, using which you can indirectly gain access to the blocked websites. However the only downside is that there is a 6 month time lag before the pages appear in the Wayback Machine.

Let’s see an example. My ISP has blocked IsoHunt, which is a major bit-torrent website. However by entering the URL of IsoHunt on Wayback Machine, I was able to access it without any problems. I then searched “America” on IsoHunt. Here’s the screenshot (Click on the image to enlarge it).



Do you know of any other ways to access blocked websites? Do share them with us.

Also, stay tuned for the next article in this series – “How to Open Facebook at School & Office”.

New Era Of Internet Starts Next Week: Welcome IPv6

Bangalore: The internet has seen an unprecedented network growth in the recent past. But According to the standard protocol there is a limitation in the number of IPs that can be supported. This hinted at a possibility that with the increasing number of devices the internet is about to run out of IP addresses very soon. The proposed solution is about to be implemented next week.

 
On June 6 all major Internet service providers (ISPs), home networking equipment manufacturers, and web companies around the world are coming together to permanently enable IPv6 for their products and services. It is the Internet Protocol version 6 which will allow 2^128 address spaces that can support billions of devices to connect to internet and it will also improve the QoS (Quality of Service) parameters in services including video and audio. The list of companies to shift to IPv6 includes Facebook, Google, Yahoo, AT&T, Cisco, and Akamai to name a few.

 
On June 8 2011, some companies tried out the IPv6 addresses for a day. The check was done to look for any issues that may crop up when the final transition from IPv4 to the new protocol is made. "Last year’s industry-wide test of IPv6 successfully showed that its global adoption is the best way to keep web devices communicating in the future.” saidJay Parikh, VP of Infrastructure Engineering at Facebook.

 
This change to IPv6 is not going to affect end users too much. The 4 digit IP addresses will change to 6 digit addresses and there will a large number of IP addresses available for users.

 
 “The Internet has grown to be an essential part of our daily lives. It connects our devices to our apps; more importantly, it connects us to each other. Yahoo! is proud to be a part of the World IPv6 Launch – an event that marks the next chapter of our Internet. IPv6 enables the Internet to grow, while remaining open and accessible to new applications and new ideas.” said Jason Fesler, Distinguished Architect and IPv6 Evangelist, Yahoo!

How to Set Up a Wireless Router

Setting up a wireless router is straightforward as long as you have a PC with a wireless network adapter, as well as an active high-speed Internet connection. You might also need a computer with a wired network adapter and router-specific setup software, which is typically included on a disc packaged with your router or available for download on the router manufacturer's support site.

If you have a router labeled with a Windows 7 logo and you are using Windows 7, setting things up should be quick if you follow the steps below.

Set Up Your Wireless Router on a Windows 7 PC

1. Connect the wireless router to your modem using an ethernet cable.

2. Connect your wireless router to a power source. Wait about a minute, and then continue to the next step.

3. Click the network icon in the notification area; the icon should look like a series of vertical bars, or a tiny PC with a network adapter alongside it.

4. Select your wireless network from the list of available networks to complete the setup process. By default, your network name will be the name of your router manufacturer.

Although newer routers connected to Windows 7 PCs are generally simple to set up, someproblematic wireless routers might require a little more attention. If you can’t set up your wireless router as explained above, follow the directions included with it. Chances are, you'll need to use one of the following two strategies.

Set Up Your Router Using the Setup Software

1. Make sure that your wireless router is completely disconnected from the modem, the computer, and the power source.

2. On your PC, insert the disc that came with your router, or download and run the latest version of the router's software from the vendor website.

3. Follow the on-screen instructions. The setup routine will ask you to connect components (including your modem and PC) in a certain order, and it may request that you temporarily connect your wireless router to a computer via an ethernet cable. You will also create a wireless network name and password at this point. If something goes wrong, you may want to consider manually configuring your wireless router.

Manually Configure Your Router Without Setup Software

1. Connect your wireless router to the modem, using an ethernet cable.

2. Connect the wireless router to a power source. Wait about a minute to ensure that your router is fully operational.

3. Connect the wireless router to your computer using an ethernet cable.

4. Log in to your router’s Web interface by opening a browser and entering the IP address of your router into the address bar. The IP address should be listed within your router’s documentation; if you can't find it, most routers use a common IP address such as http://192.168.1.1, http://192.168.0.1, or http://192.168.2.1.

5. Enter the default username and password, which you should find within your router’s documentation. Alternatively, visit Port Forward’s Default Router Passwords page.

6. Use the Web interface to set up a network name and password.

7. Disconnect your computer from the wireless router and then reconnect wirelessly. Finally, check out our router tips to speed up your wireless connection.

Caution: Be sure to use a password to protect your wireless network. Unauthorized parties can easily connect to an unprotected network, stealing your bandwidth as well as your personal data. Include a combination of letters, symbols, and numbers to build a better password, and don’t use words found in the dictionary. Don’t worry about memorizing your password; just write it down and file it away. The one-time minor inconvenience of connecting a computer to a password-protected network is worth the huge security advantage.