In our last article, we wrote on how to access blocked websites like Orkut, Youtube, Myspace, Facebook, etc. using proxy websites. Most of these proxy websites are vulnerable to security risks as they are not SSL secured and as open to the service providers. Proxy websites just only act as a mediator between us and the target website or service. At the same a VPN ( Virtual private networks ) is operated in a secured medium. VPN services first encrypt our data and associates a custom key or wrapper and transfer over the internet. The data is then decrypted at the end of the VPN end point and transferred to the web service So in between this transfer none will be knowing your personal details, and you will get all benefits of using a proxy. So by using VPN service, we can hide our IP, login username, password, credit card information, etc. in an extra secured environment. Furthermore, you can use VPN services to fool ISPs and bans employed by countries to particular websites. There are both paid and free Virtual Private networks. Here we have collected few VPN networks that you may use for accessing private services.

These free VPN services will have some limitations on download quantity, bandwidth, etc., But they are good if you’re looking only for browsing purposes.

ALONWEB free VPN service: Complete registration, download and install Alonweb OpenVPN client for Windows. After instillation click on icon from system try and connect  Enter username and password registered with service.

Now VPN will be established. ALONEWEB will now let the user to surf anonymously and download by bypassing country and ISP firewalls. But free service is limited to 1GB monthly traffic share.

(Update: The service seems to be discontinued)

Loki free VPN service : Loki is yet another free and SSL secured VPN service for Windows OS . Here you don’t any site registration to access VPN service. A guest role is enough to use there VPN servers located at different parts of the world.

Download Loki VPN client and install. Similar to that in ALONEWEB VPN, click on connect button and establish a secured connection to access blocked websites on a secured mode.

A good and reliable free VPN service that I use personally is Cyberghost VPN. I got a user name and password for the service though a promotional offer and so far it is working great. You can try their free version here.

Many of the colleges, schools and offices have blocked access to Orkut, Myspace, Youtube and other related sites from their computer centers and internal Internet network. Actually, the college authorities or company network administrator block these websites to provide a better working environment and to use the Internet for activities related with studies /work. However, those people who are addicted Myspace, Orkut, Facebook Twitter and Youtube, and they are always looking for alternate methods to Access these blocked websites. The network administrator usually uses a software to block sites by either IP or name.

We can access blocked websites by finding out the used method for that.

Access Blocked websites: Case Name

If the sites like Orkut, Myspace and Youtube are blocked by Name, then you can use the site IP address instead of entering the original site URL. For example, instead of entering http://www.orkut.com. Enter the exact IP address http://72.14.209.85/ in the browser URL bar. To find the IP address of a blocked website, press Win+R and enter ” ping blocked website ” without quotes. Replace the required website with Orkut, Myspace, Youtube or whatsoever.

Another method in this case is the use of URL shortening services like bit.ly, tinyurl.com etc. Links provided by these sites spell differently, but direct to the original site on execution. So the site blocking software allow access to these URL s  by considering it as an unblocked website.

Access Blocked websites: Case IP

If the websites are blocked by IP, then you need to use IP changing software or Proxy websites.
Proxy websites bypasses your current ISP’s IP and opens the blocked website with a different one set on their server.

Here is a list of proxies which can be used to access blocked websites like Myspace, Facebook Orkut and Youtube.

http://flyproxy.com, http://proxify.coml, http://www.hidemyass.com, http://surfshield.net, http://kproxy.com/index.jsp, http://www.proxifree.com, http://www.anonproxy.info, http://www.3proxy.com .

Use Google to access blocked websites:

We can use Google’s translator tool as a proxy and access blocked websites. Google cannot be banned from your Internet network. So this is the best method if you want access to the blocked websites in a safe and secure manner.

http://www.google.com/translate?langpair=en|en&u=www.blockedwebsitesite.com

Change the blockedwebsite.com with the URL to be accessed. Here the website is redirected to Google.com( so it is not blocked) for language translation and the site is translated from English to English.

Use software to access blocked websites :
Use software like JAP to change the IP address to a common IP address. JAP provides a static IP address for all its users, thereby making it not possible to determine the visited user or website. But in most cases, you need administrative privileges to install a software to public college or office network.

Last but best method in this regard is using a VPN. I have  collected a set of free VPN services here. They provide a secure connection to the desired website through a server set up in another country.