How to Unblock Websites With (or Without) A VPN: Most companies impose geo-restrictions on their content or services in order to comply with local regulations, as a result of licensing restrictions, and sometimes just because they want to limit the strain on their resources.
Whatever the case, these restrictions usually lead to a lot of frustrations and inconveniences that can take all the fun out of using the internet. However, geo-restrictions cause more than an inconvenience. They can be downright unfair, and it is no wonder that even the European Union has banned some forms of geo-restrictions.
And if you love traveling, they can end up denying you services or content that you have been using or have always had access to all your life. The only good news is that it is possible to get around most restrictions. The following are the best ways of unblocking websites.
Read Also:
- Deadly Firefight Erupts at Kabul Airport
- Ireland is Betting on “Vaccine Passes” to Reopen Its Hospitality Industry
Contents
How to Unblock Websites With (or Without) A VPN
Method 1: Use a VPN
A VPN is the best way to bypass any geo-based content or service restrictions on the internet. When you use a VPN service, you get access to thousands of servers that are geographically distributed across different continents. You can, therefore choose almost any country on earth to be your point of access. However, to guarantee access, it is always advisable that you always use the best VPN for USA since most major companies rarely impose restrictions on the country.
For example, if Netflix or even YouTube hosts a video that is only available to people that are located in the United States, you can choose to use a server that is located in the country. In fact, you can even specify which state you want to access the content from. And since the content or service provider has no way of knowing your real physical location, and since the request to their servers is originating from the United States, they will give you full access to the content or service.
Another reason why VPNs are worth paying for is because of the incredible security that it comes with. With a good VPN, you will get access to state of the art security systems, a high level of encryptions, and great spoofing technologies that will protect your anonymity, privacy, and your devices from malicious people.
Method 2: Use a Proxy
While a VPN is great at unlocking the geo-restrictions websites, it has one main limitation: you cannot use it if you are using devices that you do not have administrative privileges over. This is because in order to use a VPN, you need to install it. That is a problem because if you are in school and you are using school computers or at work and are taking advantage of the network at your workplace, you will not be able to install a VPN.
For those who don’t have the luxury of using a VPN, using a proxy server is the next best thing. While it doesn’t come with the benefit of data encryption, a proxy server will get in between your traffic and your destination, and as a result, it will make the request on your behalf. Therefore, if you select to use a server that is located in New York, the content provider will process the request as if it originated from New York. This will be enough to unlock your content.
However, proxies tend to provide significantly slower connections. Using them can also be cumbersome especially if you are not using a browser extension. There is also the fact that they tend to come with significantly fewer security features. But other than these limitations, and when you consider the fact that you can get access to good proxies without spending any money, they are worth a try.
Method 3: Use the Tor Browser
The Tor network has a reputation for offering one of the best privacy and anonymity protections in the world. The Tor browser takes advantage of some of the security features offered by the Tor network to hide your IP address. When you consider this, in addition to the fact that using the Tor browser means that your traffic is automatically encrypted guarantees high levels of anonymity.
Since the content or service provider will not be able to tell your location, using the Tor browser should be enough to get you past most website restrictions. The only problem with this method is the connection speeds that Tor offers. It is incredibly slow and this can prove to be a little frustrating.
Read Also:
Method 4: Using the Website’s IP address Directly
It is the last method on how to Unblock Websites. If the restrictions are imposed by using software that uses basic blocking technology, you can get past the restriction by typing the blocked site’s IP address onto the browser’s address bar and then pressing enter.
To do this, you have to first search for the IP address of the website that you are targeting. Use the WHOIS lookup tool to do this. Once you find out the IP address, copy it and then paste it onto your address bar and then press enter. This can sometimes work. However, it is a hit-and-miss technique.
