How to Unblock Websites and Free Your Internet | ExpressVPN (2024)

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There are several scenarios in which you might want to unblock a website.

Censorship

Let’s say you’ve moved to a part of the world where the government censors sites like YouTube, Twitter, Skype, or Facebook. We believe you should be able to access these sites regardless of where you are. ExpressVPN helps you use popular social media services and read news sites to stay up to date. Many major companies also use VPNs in high-censorship countries to break through censorship to stay globally competitive.

At school or work

Many schools, universities, and workplaces block access to social media sites, streaming services, and more to limit distractions and save bandwidth. You can overcome these restrictions on your school or office’s Wi-Fi when you use ExpressVPN, as your device will not appear to be part of the restricted network.

Check out this list of services that can be accessed with ExpressVPN even on networks that block them.

Downloading ExpressVPN is easy. We’ve built beautiful, user-friendly apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, routers, and Linux, which you can start using in just a few clicks:

1. Sign up for an ExpressVPN account.

2. Download our apps.

3. Connect to one of our server locations to unblock your favorite content!

What are you waiting for? Download ExpressVPN to unblock websites wherever you are.

There are a variety of ways to unblock websites.

Free proxies. Using a free proxy has its limitations, namely that free proxies are likely choked with traffic, making them extremely slow. Free proxy providers must also find a way to recoup costs, and that might be to sell your data or serve you advertisem*nts.

Tor. Another way to access blocked sites is by connecting with Tor, which will increase your anonymity, too. However, some sites block Tor, and some networks won’t let you download the Tor browser. You might also experience slow speeds.

DNS. Changing your DNS or using Smart DNS can help you unblock sites but won’t encrypt your traffic. This means your connection isn’t private or secure.

Google cache. Google regularly crawls websites across the internet to create backups in the event a website goes down. This is a great way to view the contents of a website if it is not available, but you may be presented with outdated information depending on the last time a page was crawled. You can access Google cache pages by clicking on the three-dot symbol next to the URL on a Google search result. Once clicked, a pop-up box titled About this result will appear. Select Cached at the bottom of the page to view a cached version, if available.

Google Translate. A simple workaround to unblock a website involves using Google Translate to view blocked content. For this to work, type a blocked website’s URL into the input box on the left, and then click on the URL generated in the translation box on the right.

IP address. In instances where a specific URL is blocked on your network, a website can be accessed by using its IP address instead. To find a website’s IP address, you’ll need to access your operating system’s terminal and ping it’s URL. However, this doesn’t always work.

URL shortener. It is possible, in some cases, to access a blocked URL by using a URL shortener to mask a website’s address and trick your network into using that as the destination point instead. This method isn’t always successful, especially if your browser automatically routes to the source URL instead.

VPN. The easiest way to unblock sites while ensuring a secure online experience is to use a VPN. With ExpressVPN, you’ll be using our private, encrypted DNS, and get a fast connection, too.

To choose the right VPN server to connect to, determine which country you need to be in to access the content you want. Then open the ExpressVPN app on your device, select a server location in that country, and connect. You’re now free to enjoy your favorite content.

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