What are the main methods to connect to blocked and blocked sites in our country and to keep anonymity online
Some websites cannot be seen all over the world and their content, often multimedia, is only available in certain geographic areas. This explains why it is not possible to access some sites from Italy or why, while watching a particular content on streaming sites, we see the message “this content is not available in your country”.Providers, network providers and websites know very well where surfers and visitors connect from, since each connected user is assigned a specific IP address and it also clearly shows which part of the world we connect from.
To cover geographic origin and remain anonymous when browsing the internet we can use the camouflage methods based on DNS, Proxies and VPNs. In the guide that follows we will show you what these camouflage methods consist of and how to remove the blocking of sites with some simple programs or extensions provided for free.
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Unlock method via DNS
One of the simplest ways to get around site blocks is the change of DNS serversusing a different DNS server for the purpose than the one provided by the internet provider.
The DNS server is a sort of telephone directory for accessing websites and, if the block is applied only on the DNS provided by the Internet telephony operatorby changing DNS we will be able to access the blocked site correctly without any obstacles.
The most famous public DNS that we can use on our device are available below:
- Google DNS: 8.8.8.8 e 8.8.4.4
- Cloudflare DNS: 1.1.1.1
- OpenDNS: 208.67.222.222 e 208.67.220.220
These DNS addresses must be entered into the devices we use to browse the Internet, as seen in our guides on how change DNS servers in Windows 10 and 11 settings and how change DNS on Android and iPhone.
To unblock the DNS on the entire home network we can try to set them directly inside the modem or router, as seen in the guide on how to set up DNS on the modem.
Proxy unlocking method
If the DNS is not sufficient to unblock a site inaccessible from Italy, we can consider the use of proxy web. It works as an intermediate filter to which we connect in order to subsequently access the destination site, disguising our starting IP.
With the proxy server active we can access almost all the services blocked in Italy or abroad, obtaining a minimum level of protection on the type of connection in use.
These types of connections are often used by thousands of people in real time, if offered for free provide a slow connection speed nor should we underestimate the data security issue; in fact, we will have to trust whoever provides us with the web server to be interposed in the connection.
To configure an effective proxy on a PC we can use the FoxyProxy extension on the Mozilla Firefox browser or the Best Proxy Switcher extension for Google Chrome; alternatively we can also read our guide on how to set up a proxy on windows 10 for chrome, firefox, edge.
If we don’t know which proxy to use for our connection, we can also read our guide to best free proxy lists to use.
VPN unblocking method
The most effective and safest method to access blocked sites and navigate without geographical boundaries requires the use of services VPN. This service works in a similar way to the proxy seen above but in a decidedly enhanced way: VPNs create an encrypted network tunnel with the chosen server, which will take care of accessing the requested site and providing the masked IP, totally hiding our identity.
By activating the encrypted connection, no one will ever be able to identify the starting IP of our connection (exactly like proxies) and, by choosing a VPN server present abroad, we can choose a new foreign IP addressso as to unblock the content accessible only in certain geographical areas. To this we add that the VPN server also provides secure and non-interceptable DNSso as to 100% protect the user’s privacy (which is not guaranteed with a simple proxy).
VPN servers offer very fast network connectionshigh connection security, no logging policy on the servers we choose and a vast network of VPN servers to choose at the right time. You pay for all this quality: the best VPN services are in fact those provided for a fee, as also seen in our guide to best VPN subscriptions to protect 100% privacy.
If we want to try a free VPN service (often limited in terms of speed, choice of servers and protection offered) we can try one of the services seen below:
- ProtonVPN: excellent free VPN to install on your PC from the dedicated site. Unfortunately, the connection speed is not fast and there are few free servers.
- CyberGhost Addon: a handy extension for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox of the famous Cyberghost service. The extension works without any registration and provides proxy connectivity on free VPN servers (average speed and automatic servers).
- Betternet: free VPN service without registration, just download it from the dedicated site and start surfing. Unlimited free trial valid for 7 days.
To learn more we can also read our guide to free VPN servicesaware of the limits that this type of services offer.
Conclusions
To effectively remove the blocking of sites we must consider using a VPN service, which offers an unmatched level of security, high speeds (at least for subscription services) and guaranteed privacy (with tunnel encryption, DNS protection and choice of server to use). If we don’t want to spend anything, we can also try unblocking with proxies and DNS servers, which however offer a lower level of effectiveness and protection than VPN services.
Alternatively we can try to secure the connection and remove the blocking of sites via challenge Tor, which creates network tunnels to connect to computers around the world and made available by volunteers; in this case the speed is not high, but being offered free for everyone we can give it a try and try to surf.