Let's be honest: for many of us, our work computer is a little island of home outside of the home. This is probably only fair, given that our home computer is often a branch of the office outside the office. So, between writing reports and thinking about spreadsheets with calculations, we use our work computers for our personal lives. We buy groceries for our birthday, watch funny clips on YouTube and chat with friends via ICQ or email.

And quite often, some things are easier to do with consumer technology than with the often clunky enterprise technology - just compare Gmail to a corporate email account.

This raises one problem: our employers are unhappy with our behavior in the workplace. Partly because they want us to work in the workplace. And partly they are afraid that what we are doing jeopardizes the company's internal networks. So they ask the IT department to stop us dragging our personal lives from home to work.

So, is the fairy tale over? Well no, not so fast. To find out if it's possible to get around the IT department's restrictions, we turned to network experts for advice. Namely, we asked them to find the top 10 secrets that people from the IT department are hiding from us. For example, how to access a blocked site without leaving a trace, or how to chat in real time without downloading a prohibited program.

However, to keep things fair, we also reached out to security experts to find out what we're risking by doing these workarounds.

For tips on hacking, we turned to Gina Trapani, editor of the online guide to productive use of the network Lifehacker.com, Leon Ho, editor of the blog Lifehack.org, and Mark Frauenfelder, founder of the blog BoingBoing.net and editor of Make magazine, which provides technology advice. in a do-it-yourself format.

To assess the risks, we spoke to three experts who make their living helping IT departments write rules and track down bad actors who want to break them. They are John Pironti, chief information threat strategist at Amsterdam-based consulting firm Getronics, information security specialist at PricewaterhouseCoopers Mark Loubel, and threat specialist at security software company McAfee Craig Shmugar.

So here are 10 secrets your IT department is hiding from you, the dangers associated with them, and tips to protect yourself and avoid losing your job when you put them into practice.

1. How to send giant files

Problem: We all need to send large files from time to time, ranging from presentation slides to vacation photos. But if you're sending anything larger than a few megabytes, you risk receiving a message that says you're over your company's limit.

Companies may limit the amount of data their employees can send by mail for one simple reason: they want to avoid overloading their servers, which will slow them down. And approaching management with a request to increase your limit on sent files can be a very tedious process.

Workaround: Use online services like YouSendIt, SendThisFile or DropSend, which allow you to send large files - sometimes up to several gigabits - for free. To use their services, you usually need to register by providing personal information such as your name and email address. You can then enter the recipient's email address and a message for him or her, and the site will give you instructions on how to download the file. In most cases, a link is sent to the recipient's address, following which he can download the file.

Risk: Since these service sites send your files over the Internet, they are beyond the control of the company. This makes it easier for wily hackers to intercept these files in transit.

How to protect yourself: Some of these sites have a better reputation than others. For example, YouSendIt is a new company run by the former head of Adobe Systems and funded by well-known venture capital firms. Other such sites offer little information about themselves and are therefore more likely to create security holes that hackers can exploit to steal your information.

If the owners of a site are not obvious, there are other benchmarks by which to evaluate it. Look for security icons - in Internet Explorer this icon looks like a small padlock at the bottom of the screen - which indicate that the site uses an encryption system to protect the privacy of information from visitors.

2. How to use software that your company prohibits you from downloading

Problem: Many companies require employees to get permission from the IT department before downloading software. However, this can be problematic if you want to download a program that the IT guys have blacklisted.

Workaround: There are two easy ways to solve this problem: find an alternative to this program on the Internet or bring the program on external media.

The first method is easier. Let's say your company doesn't allow you to download the popular real-time chat program AOL Instant Messenger. You can still communicate with your friends and colleagues using an online version of the program called AIM Express (AIM.com/aimexpress.adp). Google also has a real-time communication service, Google Talk, available at Google.com/talk. Such programs as music players and video games also have their own Internet versions - usually they are somewhat stripped down compared to the original programs.

The second approach to solving the problem is more complex, but with its help you get access to that very program on your computer. All three of our experts named the company Rare Ideas LLC (RareIdeas.com), which offers free versions of popular programs such as Firefox and OpenOffice. You can download programs to portable devices, such as an iPod or flash drive, through the Portable Apps service (PortableApps.com). After that, you connect this device to your work computer and you're done. (Although, if your company prohibits the use of external devices, consider yourself out of luck.)

Risk: The use of online services may place undue strain on company resources. And programs on external media create a security risk. IT people prefer to keep control over the software used by employees so that if a virus or other problem occurs, they can easily fix it. If you bring programs with you, the degree of control over them is reduced.

Another thing to keep in mind is that some less secure programs, especially file-sharing programs, may contain spyware.

How to protect yourself: If you bring the program on external media, Lowbell says, at least change the settings of the antivirus program on your work computer so that it scans the device for potential threats. This is easy to do by going to the “settings” or “options” menu. Likewise, if you use file sharing services, configure them so that others cannot access your files, also through “settings” or “options”.

3. How to access sites blocked by your company

Problem: Companies often restrict their employees' access to certain sites, ranging from the truly obscene (porn sites) and the likely less-than-scrupulous (gambling sites) to the practically innocent (email sites).

Workaround: Even if your company does not allow you to access these sites, by typing their address in the top line, you can sometimes still get to them in a roundabout way. You go to a site called a “proxy” and type the Internet address you need in the search bar. Then the proxy site goes to the site you need and gives you its image - this way you can see it without going to it directly. For example, Proxy.org serves more than 4 thousand proxy sites.

Frauenfelder and Trapani suggest another way to achieve the same result: use Google Translate and ask it to translate the site name from English to English. Just enter the following text: "Google.com/translate?langpair=en|en&u=www.blockedsite.com", replacing "blockedsite.com" with the address of the site you need. Google essentially acts as a proxy server, finding the mirror site for you.

Risk: If you use a proxy site to view email or YouTube videos, the main danger is that you will be caught by your superiors. But there are also more serious security threats. Sometimes Internet bad guys buy website addresses that are just a letter or two away from popular sites and use them to infect visitors' computers with viruses, Lowbell warns. Often companies block these sites too - but if you use a proxy, you will be defenseless against them.

How to protect yourself: Don't make using proxy sites a habit. Use this method only to access certain sites that your company has closed access to in order to improve productivity - for example, YouTube. And be more careful with spelling.

4. How to cover your tracks on a corporate laptop

Problem: If you use a company-owned laptop to work from home, it's likely that you use it for personal purposes: organizing family vacations, buying books to read on the beach, compiling online photo albums, and so on. Many companies reserve the right to track everything you do on that computer because it is technically the property of the company. What will happen if... uh... your friend accidentally wanders onto a porn site or searches on the Internet for a cure for some shameful disease?

Workaround: The latest versions of Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers allow you to cover your tracks. In IE7, select Tools, then Delete Browsing History. Here you can either erase your entire browsing history by selecting Delete All, or select multiple links that you want to erase. In Firefox, simply press Ctrl-Shift-Del or click on Clear Private Data in the Tools menu.

Risk: Even if you clear your history, surfing the internet freely still puts you at risk. You could unintentionally pick up spyware on a shady website or get your boss into legal trouble with your behavior. If you get caught, at best you could be in an awkward situation, and at worst, you could lose your job.

How to protect yourself: Clean up your personal data as often as possible. Better yet, don't use your work computer for anything you wouldn't want your boss to know about.

5. How to find work documents from home

Problem: You finish your work late at night or on the weekend - but the document you need is left on the office computer.

Workaround: Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and IAC/InterActiveCorp offer software to quickly search for documents on your computer desktop. In addition, some of them allow you to search from one computer for documents saved on the desktop of another. How it works? The search engine company stores copies of your documents on its server. This way it can scan these copies when you search remotely.

To use Google's software - one of the most popular - you need to follow these steps. First, set up a Google account on both machines by visiting Google.com/accounts. (Be sure to use the same account on both computers.)

Then go to Desktop.Google.com and download desktop search software. Once it's installed, again on both machines, click on Desktop Preferences, then on Google Account Features. Check the box next to the phrase Search Across Computers. From this point on, all documents you open on both computers are copied to Google's servers, allowing them to be found on both computers.

Risk: Enterprise technology professionals imagine a catastrophic scenario: You've stored highly sensitive financial information on your work computer. We installed a program to access these files from our personal laptop. And then the laptop got lost. Ah ah ah.

In addition, experts have discovered vulnerabilities in Google's computer search software that could allow hackers to trick a user into giving them access to files, says McAfee's Shmugar. (Those problem areas have since been fixed, but there may be others, he says.)

How to protect yourself: If you have files on your work computer that should never be shared publicly, ask your IT system administrator to help you install Google Desktop in a way that won't leak.

6. How to store work files online

Problem: In addition to desktop searches, most people who often have to work from home have found their own solution. They save work files on portable devices or on the company network, from where they later retrieve them remotely. But portable devices can be bulky, and connections to your work network can be slow and unreliable.

Workaround: Use online storage services such as Box.net, Streamload or AOL's Xdrive. Most of them offer free storage of one to five gigabytes of information, and charge a few dollars per month for a package with additional storage. Another guerrilla method is to send yourself these files to your personal email, such as Gmail or Hotmail.

Risk: Bad guys could steal your password for one of these sites and steal copies of your company's sensitive materials.

How to protect yourself: When you are about to save a particular file on the Internet, ask yourself what will happen if it becomes widely available or falls into the hands of the head of a company that is your main competitor. If nothing bad happens, then continue.

Problem: Many companies have the ability to monitor employee emails both at their work address and at other email addresses, as well as ICQ communications.

Workaround: When you send emails from your personal email account or work email, you can encrypt them so that only the recipient can read them. In Microsoft Outlook, click on Tools, then Options and select the Security line.

Here you can enter a password, and no one will be able to open the letter without knowing this password. (You must, of course, give this password to the people for whom these letters are intended in advance.)

For personal correspondence using Internet mail services, use Frauenfelder's advice. When you check your email, add an s after "http" in the address bar of your email site - for example, https://www.Gmail.com. This way you will start a secure session and no one will be able to track your emails. However, not all web services support this.

To encode your communications in real time, use Cerulean Studios' Trillian service, which works with AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Messenger and other real-time chat programs and helps you encode your conversations so that no one else can read them.

Risk: The main reason companies monitor employee emails is to catch those passing on sensitive information. By resorting to all of the above tricks, you can provoke a false alarm and make it difficult for IT department employees to deal with a real threat.

How to protect yourself: Use the methods described only occasionally, and do not use them by default.

8. How to get remote access to work email if your company doesn’t want to go broke on a PDA

Problem: Anyone who doesn't have a PDA knows the feeling: you go to a restaurant for lunch or a beer after work, and everyone reaches into their pockets for their PDAs, and you're the only one forced to dangle a glass in your hand.

Workaround: You too can stay in touch with your work email using a variety of mobile devices. Simply set up your work email so that emails are forwarded to your personal email address.

In Microsoft Outlook, you can do this by right-clicking on any email, selecting "Create Rule" and asking that all emails be forwarded to another address. Then set up your cell phone to check your email using the instructions from your ISP (the company that sends you your phone bills).

Risk: Now hackers can hack not only your computer, but also your phone.

How to protect yourself: There is a "correct" way to access work email using various personal mobile devices by obtaining the password and other information from the IT department.

9. How to access personal mail from a work PDA

Problem: If your company provided you with a PDA, you're probably facing the opposite problem. You want to check your personal email as easily as your work email.

Workaround: Pay attention to the "Settings" section of your personal mailbox and make sure that you have activated POP (postal protocol), which is used to receive mail through other addresses. Then go to your BlackBerry PDA service provider's website. Click on the "Profile" button, find the Email Accounts section there and select Other Email Accounts. Then click on Add Account and enter your personal email address information. Now your personal mail will arrive in the same place as corporate mail.

Risk: Your company probably uses an arsenal of security tools to combat viruses and spyware. When you receive personal email on your BlackBerry, it bypasses these security barriers. That means spyware or viruses could get into your PDA through your personal email, says McAfee's Shmugar.

What's worse, he says, when you plug your BlackBerry into your work computer, there's a chance that spyware will transfer to your hard drive.

How to protect yourself: Cross your fingers and hope that your email provider is doing its best to protect against viruses and spyware (they probably do).

10. How to pretend you're working

Problem: You're busy doing a vital Internet search when suddenly your boss appears behind you. Your actions?

Workaround: Quickly press Alt-Tab to minimize one window (like the one you're browsing in on ESPN.com) and open another (in preparation for today's presentation).

Risk: The good news is that there is no threat to the company's security.

How to protect yourself: Get to work.

Do you like that someone decides for you what sites to visit, what to read, what to watch, what to download, who to communicate with and how to live? Definitely not for me. Meanwhile, the practice of blocking web resources for certain offenses is spreading wider and wider.

Almost every week we hear about the closure of one or another Internet portal from Russian visitors. Plus, employers make their contribution. We won’t sit idly by looking at this! Let's talk about how to bypass website blocking in simple and free ways.

How to bypass website blocking: fast, easy and free

VPN

VPN(virtual private networks) are used not only for access to a corporate or private Intranet, but also for anonymity on the World Wide Web. Unlike browser extensions, they pass all computer or local network traffic through a proxy.

To surf closed sites, you need to install a VPN application. Most of them, unfortunately, are paid, but I have selected a few free ones for you.

The best free VPN service, in my opinion, is Freemer.org. He:

• Russian-speaking.
• Understandable.
• Has no restrictions on traffic volume.
• Maintains a directory of frequently visited sites, which you can create yourself. You simply go to Freemer.org, add the desired web resource to the list, and after a while it appears in the application. This is more convenient than using browser bookmarks.
• Works automatically. It has no manual settings, which means it won’t allow you to get confused or do something wrong.
• Always chooses a server that can provide the most stable and fastest connection to the desired web resource.
• Reliably protects your real IP and all transmitted data from leakage into the hands of strangers.

How to use Freemer

To add a blocked site to the Freemer directory, go to , enter its URL in the field shown in the screenshot and click the add button.

To go to any resource already included in the list, launch the application and click “ Site directory“. Or enter its URL in the address bar and click “ Find“.

Having found the desired website in the directory, simply click on its thumbnail. In a few seconds it will open on the same page.

Do you want to get to RuTracker.org? No problem! And by clicking on the star in the upper right corner of the window, you will add it to your visual bookmarks in the Freemer browser.

To get additional information about any site from the catalog - description, search tags, screenshot of the main page, click on the “ button on the thumbnail” More details“.

To quickly go to this site from the description page, click “ Play“. It's that simple!

I would put it in second place in the list of the best VPN services for the fact that it:

• cross-platform – works under Windows, Linux, OS X, Android and iOS;
• carries out proxying through servers of different countries;
• does not place restrictions on the volume of traffic;
• provides good connection speed;
• reliably hides the user’s original data;
• makes it possible to replace information about the operating system and web browser.

Other VPN service apps:

Bypassing blocking with the help of anonymizers is convenient and beautiful, but not without a flaw. The disadvantage of all such services is limited support: for example, they are useless for accessing gaming and multimedia portals. Often they do not open multi-structured web resources well - with numerous scripts and complex transitions. It happens that the design of pages is distorted - blocks are shifted and text spreads out. In short, it is better to use anonymizers for what they are designed for.

Browser turbo mode

Turbo mode, which speeds up the loading of web content, is also used to access blocked sites. True, not to everyone and not everywhere. Working in turbo mode, the browser routes traffic not along the usual path, but through a proxy server (intermediate network node), where data compression occurs. Bypassing blocking is an undocumented feature and a nice gift for users.

Option " Turbo"is available by default in Opera, Yandex.Browser and some web browsers for mobile platforms. In others it must be installed as an extension.

In Opera, the turbo mode activation button is located in the main menu:

In Yandex.Browser, the function is enabled in the settings:

The turbo extension for Google Chrome is called “” (Traffic Saving), and Mozilla Firefox, unfortunately, has no analogues today.

Browser extensions

To access blocked resources, it is convenient to use anonymizers in the form of browser extensions that direct web traffic first to proxy servers, and from there to the vastness of the global network under changed IPs. So, if the site is closed to visitors from Russia, the IP address of another state will serve as the “key to the front door” for him.

The friGate CDN extension is designed to remove the blocking of resources that are subject to sanctions by government agencies, by the way, today our favorite ones are among them. The list of disgraced pages is stored in the application itself, and the user has the opportunity to add to it.

Proxy servers are located in different countries. When you open a prohibited page, a small window will show which country you are under the flag of. If you want to select a different server, click on the flag image.

friGate supports Opera, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome browsers.

There are other extensions with similar functions:

Unlike friGate, Zenmate, Browsec and Hola encrypt and redirect all browser traffic to servers scattered around the world.

Tor

The last tool in today's review to bypass the blocking is. It uses “onion routing” technology, the essence of which is that all sent information is encrypted multiple times (layer-by-layer) and passes through a chain of intermediate nodes. This provides the highest level of anonymity and guarantees access to any blocked sites, although it significantly slows down communication.

For constant network surfing, Tor, as a rule, is not needed, but when all opportunities to get to the treasured resource have been exhausted, only it can save you.

And one more question worries many: by using means of bypassing the blocking, are we breaking the law? No! None of what I talked about in the article is prohibited in Russia. At least today we do not face any punishment for this.

For several years now, Roskomnadzor has been obliging Internet providers to block sites that the so-called “Experts” have considered unacceptable on the Russian Internet. They end up on the banned list. This contradicts the principles of the Internet, where all information should be distributed freely. Fortunately, there are ways to bypass the blocking.

This article will also be useful to those who want to bypass the blocking at school or at work. The instructions will only contain the simplest methods. Choose the one that suits you best. At the end of the article there are instructions for mobile devices.

Browser cache

Try using cache. This is temporary information. In this case, it contains the site at the time when it was last working. The only downside is that it may not be relevant.

In the Google search engine, you can use this by clicking on the small arrow next to the site address. When you go to the site, the date it was saved will be indicated. The same can be done in other search engines.

Browser extension

The easiest way to visit a blocked resource is with an extension friGate. It is popular because of its operating algorithm, which allows you to view blocked sites without reducing speed due to its own list. The list is constantly updated.

The extension uses its own proxy servers ( intermediate computers). Just turn it on and forget it. You will see a semi-transparent icon on the right. It means that the extension is working ( appears only if the site is in the list).

Install and use for:

If you are logging in from work or school, you will most likely have to add the site manually, since the administrator has probably blocked popular Internet resources.

If sites are not in the list, try adding them manually. To do this, go to settings and create your list.

Then open it.

In it, enter the address of the site you want to access.

TOR - browser for anonymity

Download the free TOR browser. It allows you to hide your location. With each new session, your IP changes randomly. The data begins to pass through the same users as you. This allows you to easily bypass the blocking.

Outwardly it looks like Mozilla Firefox. Use it like a regular browser and easily access blocked sites. Its main drawback is its slow speed. Loading will take much longer than usual.

Turbo mode in Opera and Yandex

In this mode, not only does page loading speed up, but it also makes it possible to bypass blocking due to the fact that traffic goes to the server where the data is compressed and only then transmitted to the client. Enable it in the menu as in the image below.

In Yandex it looks a little different. If you don’t want to constantly enable the mode every time you start, then go to the settings.

At the very bottom, check the “Always On” option as shown below.

Anonymizer sites

Any anonymizer will do an excellent job with the current task. It is a site through which others can browse anonymously. In the process, your IP changes and thanks to this the blocking does not work. You just need to enter the address of the desired site in the line.

Here are a few of them:

An example of a successful login to a website from the Roskomnadzor registry. As you can see, the link has been slightly changed, but otherwise there are no differences.

Login from mobile devices

All of the above methods are also suitable for mobile devices. In the case of the TOR browser, you can use the Orbot application. These are proxy servers combined with TOR for android devices.

You can also enable it in the settings of the mobile version of Google Chrome traffic savings. This will allow you to log in from phones or tablets.

You can download Opera Mini, which will have a similar effect.

The above methods should be sufficient. There are even more advanced methods ( setting up VPN, proxy), but their use in this case is inappropriate. If you have any difficulties, please contact us in the comments.

How did you bypass the blocking?

Poll Options are limited because JavaScript is disabled in your browser.

I used the extension. 33%, 35 votes

Recently, many resources on the Internet have been blocked and continue to constantly block more and more new ones, and sometimes there is even a situation where a site is not in any of the registers of prohibited sites, but access to it is still blocked by the provider. In its war with Telegram, Roskomnadzor blocked a huge number of IP addresses that were in no way connected with it. Several of my sites, which were launched long before this epic battle and were hosted by Hetzner in Germany, also came under attack, because... The blocking was done on entire subnets, and my sites were located in several of these subnets. So what to do in such a situation? There are several simple ways to get to the site you are interested in, let's look at them:

Special browser modes

A very simple, but at the same time quite effective way to access a blocked site is to use the “Turbo” mode on Opera, Yandex Browser and some others. Initially, Turbo mode was designed to increase the speed of loading sites on a slow Internet connection. When running in Turbo mode, the browser directs all traffic through an intermediate server node, where data compression and optimization occurs. Only after this the information reaches the user’s computer.

In addition to the main function of increasing the loading speed of Internet pages, Turbo mode makes it possible to access a blocked site. The resource lock bypass feature is undocumented and essentially a side feature, but a lot of people use it. Turbo mode can be considered a kind of anonymous proxy server that can be used without any settings.

Pros:

• High connection speed
• Complete absence of advertising
• Free

Minuses:

Opera browser instructions

To enable Turbo mode on the Opera browser, click on the “Opera” icon in the upper left corner and select “Opera Turbo”.

Instructions for the Yandex.Browser browser

In Yandex Browser, you first need to go to the settings.

At the bottom, find the “Turbo” item and set the selector opposite “Always on”.

Instructions for the Google Chrome browser

The Google Chrome browser does not have a standard Turbo mode function, but you can install a special turbo extension “ ”. Unfortunately, the Mozilla Firefox browser does not yet support Turbo mode.

The turbo mode of browsers can be very conveniently used to access a blocked site. But this method also has disadvantages. Thus, the servers used by browsers can themselves be blocked at the provider level. In this case, Turbo mode will not be able to solve the problem with a blocked site. So, for example, when using Yandex.Browser (remember, its servers are located in the Russian Federation), in some cases sites that are blocked for display in the Russian Federation directly by the content provider may not open.

If these methods did not help you, and you still do not know how to bypass site blocking, then try using the following tips.

Access a blocked site using an online translator

Using a regular translator, you can access a blocked site. The method is interesting, but not always effective.

Pros:

• High connection speed
• Complete absence of advertising
• Possibility of use without registration
• Free
• Supports working with “heavy” sites

Minuses:

• Doesn't work with all resources
• Possible design distortion
• Text may be distorted

Most often, people use Google Translator or Yandex Translator, but other online translation systems are also suitable for this purpose. The scheme for using translators is very simple. For example. in Google Translator, you need to enter the desired link in the translation area and simply click on the “Translate” button.

In Yandex Translator, go to the “SITE” tab, enter the site address in the box and click on “Translate”.

How to view a blocked site using the PS cache

As you know, all search engines store indexed pages in a cache. You can use this feature to visit a blocked site.

Pros:

• High connection speed
• Complete absence of advertising
• Possibility of use without registration
• Free
• Supports working with “heavy” sites

Minuses:

• Pages can only be opened one at a time
• Possible design distortion
• You cannot use the functionality of the site (watch videos, register, etc.)

It is advisable to use search engine cache in cases where you urgently need to access information from a blocked site (for example, read instructions). Enter the desired query into the search engine. After that, click on the triangle next to the site link and select “Saved copy”.

Using the friGate browser extension

The easiest way to bypass blocking of desired sites is to install the friGate browser extension (there is a version for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Opera).

Installation instructions for friGate for Google Chrome browser

Let's look at the extension in action. This is how the 2ip.ru resource determines our IP address if friGate is enabled.

And if you turn off FriGate, the real IP address will be visible:

As we can see, this plugin allows you to visit sites under a different IP address, which gives us the opportunity to access blocked resources, but does not provide any anonymity. Therefore, if you need to quickly access any prohibited site and anonymity is not important to you, then using this plugin is an excellent choice.

Pros:

• Easy controls
• Access to those sites that are not included in the extension list occurs bypassing a proxy
• No Ads
• High page loading speed

Minuses:

• There is no specific list of sites for which the extension uses a proxy, but it includes most of the most popular sites that are blocked in our country

If you don’t like friGate, then you can try using any other browser extension that works on the same principle, for example ZenMate, Data Compression Proxy, Hola, Stealthy, Hide My Ass! Web Proxy, AnonymoX FoxyProxy, Browsec.

Tor Browser

Tor is software that helps you protect yourself from Internet censorship, as well as maintain anonymity when visiting Internet resources. You can download Tor Browser from the official website using this link -.

Select the Operating System for which we want to download the distribution (in our example it is Windows):

Next, select the localization language we are interested in (point 1 in the screenshot) and click on the bold “DOWNLOAD Tor Browser” button (point 2).

After downloading the distribution, we can begin the installation:

As a result, if everything is installed and working, we will see the following picture:

Checking our address:

Pros:

• The ability to access absolutely any blocked sites, because you will always surf the Internet from the Tor Browser from Tor network addresses, and not from your IP address given to you by your provider.
• Anonymity is an order of magnitude higher than the previous version with a browser extension.
• The software is completely free.

Minuses:

• The need to install third-party software.

Using online anonymizers

To access blocked sites and view their content, you can use various anonymizer services, of which there are many on the World Wide Web. In fact, an anonymizer is the most common site, which, when used, acts as a kind of intermediary between your computer and a blocked site. You go to a special website, enter the address in the window, and then without any problems you get to the blocked resource.

• It is anonymity that is a big question, because... it is unknown to whom and when these services leak information;
• Possible distortion of page design, problems with opening multi-structured sites;
• Low loading speed for most pages.

VPN

The term VPN can be deciphered as a virtual private network. When using a VPN, all traffic on your computer will be passed through a special server, thereby achieving a high degree of anonymity.

In order to open access to blocked sites, you need to install a special application. Most VPN applications, unfortunately, are paid. But there are also several free solutions.

One of the best free VPN programs is Tunnel Bear. It reliably hides user data, provides good connection speed and works on various OS (clients for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS to choose from). You can download Tunnel Bear. You also need to register on this site in order to be able to use the VPN.

After downloading, the program must be installed on your computer. Despite the fact that the installer is entirely in English, there should be no problems with the installation - just click “Next”, “Install”, etc.

After installation, you need to launch the program itself and enter your username and password with which you registered on the official website of the program.

And after this, the program will show available VPN servers (located all over the world), and will also display the amount of remaining traffic (for the free basic version, the limit is 500 MB).

Pros:

• Good connection speed;
• Highest anonymity;
• Normal work with “heavy sites”.

Minuses:

• VPN services are usually paid (free VPNs have a number of limitations);
• Free VPNs often contain advertisements.

The Internet is diverse. A huge amount of content of a very different nature is available to users around the world. However, this very content does not always coexist with the legal framework of a particular country, so regulatory authorities try in every possible way to hide resources from users by introducing restrictions and blocking. The Russian Federation was no exception, where users are also forced to resort to various tricks to open blocked Internet pages.

Opera browser and its integrated bypass system

First, it’s worth taking a closer look at the Opera browser, which in 2016 acquired its own VPN (Virtual Private Network).

As part of the browser, this add-on is absolutely free, and its work is characterized by high levels of stability and speed of the Internet connection. Initially, the display of the launch button for this option is disabled; to activate it, you must perform the following steps:

• Call up the settings menu. In the latest versions of the browser, the settings icon is displayed on the express panel, and the menu can also be called up by typing “opera://settings/” in the address bar.
• On the left, click on the “Security” tab.
• In the main browser window, go down to the “VPN” block.
• Check the box next to “Enable VPN”, after which the required button will appear to the left of the address bar.

When you click on this button, the browser displays a drop-down menu in which you can enable or disable the option, go to the settings block, and also select the location of the servers that act as a network intermediary: Optimal location, Europe, America, Asia. Of course, using a VPN directly affects the connection speed; any speed testing service will help you test the servers and choose the most suitable one.

Browser extensions

In browsers that do not have a built-in anonymizer, bypassing the blocking is possible using add-ons that work on a principle similar to Opera VPN for encrypting session traffic inside the browser. The list of addons is impressive, the most popular of which are worth noting:

• friGate - used in Chrome and Firefox browsers and is a classic proxy add-on. It has its own updated list of resources, thanks to which access to the web addresses required by the user is maintained, and also maintains acceptable speed.
• Browsec VPN - available for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera, works as a proxy agent.
• Yandex Access - works on most browsers based on the Chromium engine. Designed primarily for free access to Yandex, VK and OK group sites.
• Data Saver is an addon for Chrome that compresses data to save traffic using Google servers. Due to recent events involving mass blocking of many IP addresses, operation may be unstable.
• - an add-on that works in Opera, Firefox and Chrome. A proxy anonymizer that provides additional protection for your wireless connection.

VPN

The principle of operation of a VPN, the use of which is offered by third-party companies, is similar to what Opera VPN does, with the only difference being that the communication channel is encrypted not at the browser level, but at the network level, which allows you to organize secure network interaction without being tied to a specific browser. There are both paid and free services that provide this service. Free ones are the most popular among most users, but they most often offer limited services (speed and connection time, amount of data transferred, and possible lack of country selection).

Among the most frequently used services are:

• CyberGhost VPN is a program for Windows, Android, Mac OS and iOS that provides anonymous and confidential data transfer. It works through traditional IP address spoofing and traffic encryption.
• Hotspot Shield Free - can be used not only as a means of bypassing blocking, but also as a means of protecting personal data by sending data via HTTPS.
• OkayFreedom VPN is a classic service that offers the use of servers both in Russia and in the USA, Europe and Asia.
• SoftEther VPN is an interesting VPN project based on the voluntary interaction of ordinary network users from all over the world. The connection speed is noticeably lower, but a high-quality encryption level is offered.
• Avast SecureLine VPN is a client-server application developed for Windows, Android, Mac OS X and iOS. The ability to protect any networks, including wireless ones, as well as anonymize and encrypt data.
• F-Secure Freedome VPN is another multi-platform VPN client that, in addition to standard functionality, has the ability to block dangerous web pages and mobile applications.

DNS

Sometimes it is possible to bypass the blocking of a particular resource by forcing a DNS change. The DNS server in this case will be used as a proxy server, redirecting user traffic. In this case, the blocking will not work, and there will be no problems with access to prohibited sites.

Now, in the era of wireless devices, there is a router in almost every home. Therefore, it would be more expedient to change the DNS server on it. When setting up DNS on the router, any prohibited web page will be accessible from any device, and there is no need to change the DNS settings.

Several services providing similar services:

• Google Public DNS is a free service that is quite capable of acting as a high-quality replacement for a local provider’s domain name system due to its good bandwidth and stable connection.
• OpenDNS Premium DNS - in addition to the basic function of providing DNS, it provides anti-phishing protection and malware blocking services. It implies a stable and reliable connection, as well as high speed.
• Norton ConnectSafe is a service that provides both DNS servers and local network protection from malicious sites. Does not require installation of specialized software.

Tor Browser

Tor is an organized proxy server system that uses virtual tunneling principles and provides anonymization as well as data encryption. This is achieved thanks to the so-called onion routing, which encrypts the transmitted data layer by layer at various network nodes. In addition, it is not subject to traffic analysis.

The free cross-platform client component of this complex network, the use of which virtually eliminates the interference of third parties in the user’s information exchange with the sites he needs, blocks information about the real IP address, and also easily bypasses site blocking.

Of course, with such a multi-component network organization, it is impossible to avoid the main problem - very low connection speed, although this is a more than reasonable price for complete anonymity and protection of personal data.