get around website blocks
As a new member, I thought I'd do a bit to contribute to the forum by
writing a little tutorial about a technology topic I'm knowledgeable in.
In a society where many people use the Internet at work and school as
part of their everyday activities, it's no wonder that many schools and
corporations block access to a good portion of the web. Sites blocked
may only be a few, but often include popular social networking sites
such as MySpace and Facebook as well as popular forums like this one.
What is a web proxy? How do they work?
Often referred to as "proxy" or "website unblocker", a web proxy is a
special sort of site that loads websites through its own servers and
delivers them to your computer, which allows the web filters and firewalls
responsible for website blocks to be bypassed. Simply put, they are a
middle man of sorts between you and the Internet. Web proxies are a
popular way of getting around website blocks.
Whenever I'm browsing the web where a site is blocked, I use the proxy
http://www.unblockaroo.com.
Though there are many proxies out there, this one has been around for a
while and has a good reputation. It also isn't full of annoying
pop-ups.
Proxies are pretty straightforward and easy to use. Say for instance my
company decided to block this forum. If I wanted to unblock it, I
would go the the Internet address of a proxy site. I would then enter the
URL of the site and click "Submit", like I would with any other web
form. The proxy would then take me to what is known as a "proxified" page,
which would be the site in its unblocked form. From there I could
browse the site as I normally would, except it wouldn't be blocked. Pretty
cool, huh? Proxies work with just about every website out there.
I hope this guide is of use to everyone in this forum. Your school or
workplace might block sites, but now you can get around it!
