Most of us find ourselves in situations where a website we wish to visit
is blocked by a software or by our ISP (Internet Service Provider). So
the question arises, how can we access blocked websites? The answer to
this is simple: Proxy websites. Before going into details, let us know a
bit about these proxy websites.
Proxy WebsitesA proxy website acts as an
intermediate source between the user and server the site being contacted
is hosted on. Users send requests to proxy websites which conveys them
to the site's server. The reply received by the proxy website is then
forwarded to the user's computer. This gives an impression to ISP's and
blocking Software
that the user is visiting proxy website but in reality, s/he is
visiting the site which was blocked. Thus, proxy servers also provide
extra security to users by hiding their online activities from their
ISP's.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Commonly Blocked Web SitesThe sites which are most commonly blocked at workplaces, schools and offices include websites like
Facebook,
Orkut, Blogger (blogspot), Google News, Typepad, eBay, MySpace,
YouTube, MSN, Yahoo! Messenger, Bebo, Google Talk, Gmail, Photobucket,
AOL AIM, Flickr, Twitter etc. In some countries, social bookmarking
sites like Digg and Reddit are also blocked. Countries like Saudi
Arabia, Pakistan, China have even blocked access to mainstream media
websites like The New York times. A proxy website can be used to easily
access these blocked websites. As proxy websites hide a user's location,
they can also be used to access popular websites which are restricted
to particular countries and block users from other countries from
visiting them.
Types of Proxy WebsitesThere are two types of proxy websites.
First, the ones which have an interactive interface and second, the ones
which do not have an interactive interface and only work on the basis
of IP Addresses and port numbers. Proxy websites can also be segregated
on the basis of anonymity into Anonymous, Transparent and High Anonymous
depending upon the amount of privacy they provide.
How to Find Proxy WebsitesA simple google search containing the
word "proxy servers" is likely to return a lot of proxy websites. But
most of them are likely to be the ones you can setup using their IP
Address and Port Number. So, in order to find interactive proxy servers,
you will have to search for something like "Facebook Proxy Server" or
"Orkut Proxy Server". A search like this is most likely to return
interactive proxy servers with which you can access your website by
simply entering the URL in URL field. If you want additional
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and anonymity, you can opt for a paid proxy server.
If you do not want to search, here are 4 popular free proxy websites you can use:-
- [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
- [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
- [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
- [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]How to Setup Proxy Websites using their IP AddressIf you wish
to visit your blocked website using an interactive proxy website, you do
not need any setup. But, if you wish to use proxy websites that can
only be accessed using their IP address and port number, you must
configure your browser to use them. Follow the instructions given below
to setup this type of proxy websites in your browser:-
Google Chrome and Internet Explorer UsersGoogle Chrome uses the
same network settings as Internet Explorer. So, in order to configure
Google Chrome to use a proxy website, you have to configure Internet
Explorer to use a proxy website. You can configure a proxy website in
Internet Explorer by following the instructions given below:-
- Start Internet Explorer.
- Click on Tools, Internet Options.
- Click on Connections Tab, select your Network Connection and click on Settings.
- Check on Use a Proxy Server for this Connection.
- In the Address field, add the IP Address of your Proxy website and In the Port field, enter the Port Number.
- Click on OK and OK again.
Mozilla Firefox UsersMozilla Firefox users can configure their browser to use a proxy by following the instructions given below:-
- Start Mozilla Firefox.
- Click on Tools, Options.
- Click on Advanced Tab.
- Click on Network tab.
- Click on Settings.
- Encircle Manual Proxy Configuration.
- Enter the IP Address and Port Number in the appropriate category. In most cases, it will be a HTTP server.
After you have successfully configured your browser to use the
proxy, you will be able to access blocked websites whenever you browse
the internet with your browser.
