Originally Posted by
gamerdude77
hi m8's,
this is actually one of the few sites i get on in work due to them restricting access to sites that do not fall in the correct category, this is really what prompted me to post.
when I try to access certain sites the web block thing kicks in and says I cannot access it because the site is deemed to be a gaming site or that the site is deemed to be tasteless etc..
when I try to go to multimap or yellow pages though it lets me access them, ok so im thinking that these sites must fall under ip categories or something, I think I have even read in the past something to this effect although I may be mistaken.
Can anyone elaborate a little on this for me ?
Thanks
Website filters work on IP addresses, host names, and sometimes keywords. When you open your browser and try to go to a website that is blocked, the request passes through their filtering server (or this can be done locally through software), and they block it and replace it with a "this site is blocked" page. This will explain more:
------------(LAN)--------------------------(Internet)-----------------
<You>=============<Filtering server>=============<Blocked site>
As you can see, in this setup, the server that all your data has to pass through blocks you from visiting the website, because it is blocked based on any of the above rules. Any requests to a website that is blocked will result in you being denied access. To get past these restrictions, you need to know what rules this filtering server/local software uses. If it filters simply on host name (like [url]www.google.com)[/url], then you can open up a command prompt, type ping [url]www.thewebsite.com[/url], and somewhere in there will be the site's IP address. Type this IP number into your browser, and you will bypass the restrictions. Of course, most filtering is a lot more secure than that, and needs to be bypassed using a proxy. If the filter blocks both IP addresses and host names of websites, the only way around this is to use another computer to relay the data to you.
--------(LAN)------------------(Internet)--------(Internet)-------------
<You>=======<Filtering server>=======<Proxy>=======<Blocked site>
In this setup, your connection still has to go through the filter server/software, but instead of going directly to the blocked site, you connect to a proxy server, which will relay the data from the blocked site to you. As far as the filter knows, you are connecting to some random IP number, which doesn't break any of the rules. But by connecting to this proxy, you are receiving the actual website, just from another place. Because you have to wait for the proxy to download the data, then upload it back to you, proxies can sometimes be slow, but it is usually the only way past filters.
You can use proxies directly, or through website scripts. A few script based proxies can be found here:
[url]http://www.w*privacy.com/[/url]
[url]http://anonymizer.nntime.com/[/url]
[url]http://www.the-cloak.com/anonymous-surfing-home.html[/url]
The best way to use proxy servers is to directly connect through your browser. Go to the settings page, and you should find two text boxes to enter in the IP of a proxy, and it's port. You can find proxy listings here:
[url]http://www.samair.ru/proxy/[/url]
[url]http://www.multiproxy.org/[/url]
[url]http://www.proxy4free.com/page*.html[/url]
Who needs drugs when you have electrons?