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Many of the schools, colleges and offices block their students/workers from accessing social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, Orkut, Myspace etc. One of the most widely used methods to access blocked websites is to use Proxies or Anonymizer websites. But using proxies is not easy and most of the times only the network admins will have access to it, and almost all the anonymizer sites gets blocked by firewall as well. So what is the way out to access blocked websites?
Here is the big disclaimer: If it is blocked, it means that you are not supposed to access the Website. Especially at work, if you use one of the methods listed here and get caught, you might lose your job!
8 Alternative but Innovative Ways to Access Blocked Sites
1. Screen-Resolution.com
Screen Resolution Checker is actually meant to check how a website looks in different resolutions. It works only on Internet Explorer, but surely a cool alternative way to access blocked sites. You can click on the internal links and navigate through the website.
2. BrowserShots.org
Browser Shots is similar to Screen resolution checker, but doesn’t support navigation through the website. It gives the static snapshots of the website URL you request for, but can be useful to access those blocked websites which doesn’t need you to login to access the content. The snapshots given are of very high quality and it would be of the whole page from header to footer.
3. Google Cache
Search engines like Google and Yahoo cache webpages and these cached pages are stored in search engines themselves, which likely will be added to the blocked list. Click on the ‘cache’ will bring you to a cache version of the page, as updated as how Google caches it. I have seen many admins blocking the URL of Google cache itself, in that case try yahoo or other search engines, they must work!
4. Online Translation Services
Online translation services like Yahoo BabelFish, Google Translate etc allows you to translate a website from one language to another and display the translated results on their own page.The trick here is to enter the URL (website you’re blocked), re-translate it even if you don’t need to and let Google or Yahoo fetch you the content! And again, if Yahoo and Google Translate are blocked, you can search for other alternatives!
5. Retrieve web pages via Email
Web2Mail is a free service that sends websites you want to read right into your inbox. All you need to do is send an email to www@web2mail.com with the URL as subject title. You can also try WebinMail
6. Google mobile Cache
Use Google Mobile Search. Google display the normal HTML pages as if you are viewing them on a mobile phone. During the translation, Google removes the javascript content and CSS scripts and breaks a longer page into several smaller pages.
7. Subscribe to RSS Feed
This might not work for all sites, but if the site you intended to visit provides RSS feeds, you can subscribe and read it with a RSS reader, or have it regularly send the contents to your email.
8. Wayback Machine
Wayback Machine is a internet service that periodically keeps a copy of almost all websites in the Internet way from the date they’re started. Clicking on the latest copy of what Wayback Machine have should be somewhat similar to the real site. Another way to access blocked sites via caches. Not helpful always.
Update:
9. Yauba
Yauba is tipped to be the World’s first Privacy Safe search engine. Yauba basically delinks your browser and the target website and routes all traffic through their servers. Thanks Hanson for the heads up.
Do you know any other innovative and effective way to access blocked websites? Do you still prefer to use proxies?
Some of the related posts on accessing blocked websites which you might be interested to know about:
- Access Blocked Websites via Mobile Simulators
- UltraSurf – Access Any Blocked Site
- View Private Websites Safely at School/Work
- Access Blocked Websites by Bypassing URL Filtering
- Top 5 Free VPN Services
Related Posts:
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March 19th, 2009 at 10:39 am
Raju, I am surprised you have not included in this list, the best method for accessing blocked sites: Yauba.
Yauba was front page news on Alootechie and featured in Livemint http://blogs.livemint.com/blogs/lounge/archive/2009/03/19/bypass-any-website-blocker-in-your-office-with-yauba.aspx
March 19th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Great list. Thanks for share !
Danh ba web 2.0s last blog post..16 Wallpaper tuyệt đẹp của Apple
March 19th, 2009 at 7:54 pm
Raju, that’s some good innovative use of these websites/services
I have used almost all of them but only for their actual intended purposes. Did not really think about the blocked usage angle.
Ajith Edasserys last blog post..Characteristics of a Super Friendly Blog!
March 19th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
@Hanson,
Thanks for letting me know
@danh,
Thanks
@Ajith,
I am very sure there will be many more such services, we just need to dig out!
March 20th, 2009 at 4:56 am
Nice and useful list
Kurt Avishs last blog post..One Year For Me – 7 Years For Her Since She Is Gone!
March 21st, 2009 at 8:34 pm
Really innovative! I could only come up with proxy, google cash and translate before reading this. BTW, many of the filters identifies the cash and translate method.
Carokanns last blog post..Machine Translation, an experiment – a poll
March 21st, 2009 at 8:36 pm
I meant cache of course
Carokanns last blog post..Machine Translation, an experiment – a poll
March 21st, 2009 at 8:39 pm
@Carokann,
Thanks & Welcome to TechPP. Professional Paid software blocks Google cache and translate, but those manually blocking websites would miss them out!
March 21st, 2009 at 9:48 pm
@Raju,
I had published a list of 900 proxy sites on my blog few days back. Just do a search for proxy sites in binaryday. You will definitely get a useful proxy site.
I have also created a proxy site myself. Check it out at http://www.criclover.com
March 22nd, 2009 at 9:26 am
social networking sites and blogging platforms are blocked by our school’s network administrator. could i use these stuffs?
March 22nd, 2009 at 11:58 am
@elmot
Yes… especially the first and the last options are ideal for you
March 24th, 2009 at 12:16 am
@ Hanson
This is the post for innovative ways of unblocking websites…not the actual ways..
Else we have some cool softwares like
Your-freedom, Ultra surf, Your freedom and jap and many more….
meanwhile….
raju
This is a nice post..You should have asked some active Digger to submit this post….
I love this post..
Stumbled…
March 24th, 2009 at 3:53 am
Raju,
I tried lot of sites including all of them. Nothing worked but the i very happy to say that 9th one worked. Thank you very much!
Nihars last blog post..Easeus Partition Manager 3.0 Review
March 24th, 2009 at 6:50 am
@Nihar,
I am surprised. Where did you try? I can’t believe they have blocked the first 2 sites as well. Must be using really sophisticated software
April 15th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
Hi guys,
I use warid pakistan mobile gprs.I can access free only one company’s web sites without balance but I can’t access to other web sites.Is there any way to hack the network to access all web sites?
May 29th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
how do u unblock myspace at school
July 2nd, 2009 at 5:40 am
Yauba is a nice service and works just fine.
Thanks.
August 13th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
I must admit i have never heard of some of these techniques. I’m using an application to access blocked website because it’s very easy to use and works very well. Has some dedicated proxies from US and Europe which are not slowing down my internet connection.
December 15th, 2009 at 10:34 am
All the innovative ways above don’t work for ME.
Details:
I am a member in my company LAN with proxy use filtering software.
December 16th, 2009 at 7:39 am
Thank u so much!
February 26th, 2010 at 10:03 pm
OMG, I have been searching for this information. Technology always gets the best of me when I need it most.
March 2nd, 2010 at 3:20 pm
Raju .. at my workplace the have blocked all the websites which fall in the category games .. Now I have tried all the 8 mentioned ways of accessing them but sadly none of them works at my place .. wats the solution man ?
March 2nd, 2010 at 3:47 pm
As I mention always, probability of any of these working is inversely proportional to the smartness of your network admin! Look for other related posts – URL filtering, mobile simulators etc which I have written recently.
March 17th, 2010 at 9:06 pm