Unblock Facebook in China

Tunneling Through The Great Firewall

The Best Facebook proxy for Work

No Comments »

annoying boss at workOk, so the boss is out and you want to waste some time. I'm not judging – I've been there. But you've YouTube and Facebook are blocked.  You're going to need a proxy.  Using a proxy at work is pretty common these days – bosses are always trying to keep you on task, and block all your normal time wasters like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube Vimeo, MSN, and other chat/social networking sites.  They do this with a firewall.

To get around the firewall, you're going to need that proxy!  A proxy for your workplace firewall works like this.  It "redirects" your traffic through a computer server outside your office firewall.  Normally, your work firewall would block computers on the network from accessing sites like Facebook by recognizing and blocking communication between your network IP and the Facebook IP. However, with the middle-man proxy server, you're no longer surfing the network on your REAL IP address. You're now using the proxy's virtual IP address, so you'll be able to access any blocked sites – not just Facebook.  These are the basics of how to use a proxy at work, and the same principles apply for any place with a firewall blocking websites.

proxy for facebook at workNow there are software based proxies (ie you have to download and install) and web based proxies.  You want the second kind.  The main reason is that you don't have to install anything, so there's no traces of you using the proxy.  To access Facebook at work, just click the secure link from your email inbox (or the proxy site), and type your banned URL into the secure browser.  When you're finished, close the browser, and you're done. That's it.

A web based proxy has another big advantage for Facebook users at work – you can use it on any computer or phone.  Because there's no installation necessary, there's nothing stopping you from using it on your iPhone or Android, your personal laptop or your friends, you boss's computer or a public computer.  It's all the same!  And that's beside the fact that it's effective and quick to start up and close down.

Ok, enough explaining. So what's the best Facebook proxy for work?

SecuriTales

proxy for workThere's a number of reasons SecuriTales is the best Facebook proxy for work. Ok, five reasons.

  • 1. Free Trial
  • 2. 30 Day Money Back Guarantee
  • 3. Fast Connection Speed
  • 4. Professional and Secure
  • 5. Inexpensive

Ok, I realize that number 4. and 5. sounds like marketing ploys, but to be honest, having a professional and secure proxy is important, especially for the workplace.  Proxies are pretty easy to set up, and especially some of these "free" proxies have the reputation of abusing your IP information for sending out spam and tracking your online activity.  Getting a proxy service you can trust, and that can provide you with a secure connection to access Facebook at work is important.  On top of that, the monthly fee they're charging is much cheaper than other paid services – remember that some IP changing tools charge upwards of $20 USD per month.

Take a look at their site www.securitales.com and at least take advantage of their FREE trial.  You can even try them out for a month, and get your money back if you don't like it!

 

Previous Post

Access Blocked Websites at Work, School, China, and Everywhere Else

No Comments »

access blocked twitterThese days, controlled access and Internet filtering is the new trend. More and more schools and organizations are implementing filters in their computer systems so that students and employees do not get access to certain sites. In countries like China, most social networking and blogging sites are blocked. There are many reasons governments and Internet Service Providers block certain websites in their countries and there are equal
reasons for people like me and you to look for means of accessing blocked websites.

People love freedom and need want privacy.  It's not the business of our government, our ISPs, or advertisers what we do on the Internet. They can't come into our home and spy on us, so why can they control what we can can't see on the net?

Ok, maybe your boss and/or teacher have a point – Facebook is a huge time waster.  But you can't follow all the rules, all the time right?

So, lets get down to business. How do we access blocked websites?

access blocked facebookLets start with something easy – web based proxies. This is a great way to access blocked websites because it's quick and simple.  These can be paid or free, and are just a web page with a place to type your blocked URL.  The proxy takes off your IP data and makes the site request for you, so any firewall that's blocking you from the site will think it's the proxy's IP making the request, not you.  A simple case of hidden identity.

There are many web based proxies which also allow you to access blocked websites. You don't have to install anything, you can use them on your  phone, tablet, and computer, and they're free or cheap.  Paid services will have faster connection speeds, less advertising, and support. Many free proxies have been known to abuse IP data of their users, (ie to source their SPAM), so a paid service eliminates this risk as well. It'll probably cost you around 5-10 USD a month for a paid service.

web based proxySecuriTales is a great service to start with because they've got a free trial and a 30 day money back guarantee, so there's no risk of wasting your money on something you don't like that much.  I use them and can vouch for the speed and reliability of their web based proxy. Oh yeah, and there's a 25% discount after you sign up for the trial, so you end up paying only $4.5 USD per month.

Check 'em out at www.securitales.com

VPN services and sites provide a higher level of security, faster connection speeds and a more reliable connection.  Some sites like Hulu, Netflix, BBC iPlayer and other free/paid media streaming/viewing sites block proxies because of their association with spam and pirated media.

access hulu vpnYou can sign up for a virtual private network service over the Internet, and though you might have to install some software, there's not hardware, and you can get started almost instantly.  VPNs do a better job of hiding your real IP and replacing it with a virtual IP.
 
Basically, when making use of a VPN connection, a virtual tunnel is created which allows your data to be passed from your computer to the VPN server without your data being spied on or discovered. Moreover, the VPN server location will become your location – and you're free to choose where!  You could get a Canadian or American IP, a British or European IP…there are even places that offer IP addresses in Japan and other countries in Asia.  In most cases, the best way to access blocked websites is with an American/British IP.

If you're located in a country that censors the Internet, you might have to shop around a bit before you find a VPN service that can help you access blocked sites successfully because the governments of these countries may be blocking the main websites of these VPN providers, or even certain types of VPNs (usually PPTP or L2TP).  OpenVPN works everywhere.

I have use a couple different VPN providers over the years, and I'll list my top three here.

Top three VPN providers to access blocked websites

hidemyass access blocked websitesHide My Ass offers a very competitive ProVPN package.  Thousands of IP addresses across 30+ countries means you have choice, and lots of it.  You also pay less than other VPN services – just over $6 a month.  They also have other free goodies available at their site.  However, because of their immense popularity, they're often the first to get the axe in countries that censor the Internet, and they're blocked in Iran, Kuwait, China, and other Arabian countries.

http://hidemyass.com

……….

12vpn access blocked websites12VPN has a huge range of VPN protocols available, so if you've got something that's not the norm, this is the VPN service for you. They're cheap, fast, reliable, and their customer support team is fast and friendly. You couldn't ask for much more in a VPN service.  Some people are unimpressed by their site, but I think the simplicity is great.  They also have alternate domains available for countries that blocked their main site. I'll provide one below.  It's also easy to set up, so newbies, go for this one.

http://12vpn.com
Alternate domain – HERE

……….

StrongVPN offers a wide range of VPNs, in a wide range of countries. They're one of the most popular VPN service providers in the world, and they've been in the business for a long time.  There's live support, and they even have VPN packages based on your country location, so you can be sure to get fast and reliable connections.  StrongVPN won't disappoint you.

http://strongvpn.com

……….

 

Previous Post

SwitchVPN in China Review

No Comments »

switchvpn in china

SwitchVPN in China

SwitchVPN is a lesser known VPN, but still worth checking out. I have not tried this VPN so cannot vouch for it's reliability or speed. But there are a few things I can see from checking out their site.

1. Not a lot of choice. +1 -1

This is good, and bad. For one, it makes things simple. Lots of sites like to have EVERYTHING available which is a lot to take in for new users. Considering users in China can't use PPTP or L2TP this makes things much easier. You can ignore pretty much all of their plans but the SSL plan which is 12 dollars a month.

2. Live Support +1

3. Unlimited Bandwidth +1

3. Downloading Torrents OK +1 (some sites don't allow this)

4. Windows/Mac/Linux +1

5. 48 hour Money Back Guarantee -1

There are plenty of services out there that offer 7 day money back guarantees.

6. Site Design +1

I used to Knock their site for bad design and presentation. They've recently improved it, and it looks much better – more like a service I can trust.

7. Price +0

Not the cheapest, Not the most expensive.

8. Not Affected by March 2011 VPN crisis in china +2

9. Still Not Blocked in China +2

10, Site connection speed +1

11. Servers in Multiple Locations +1 (US, UK, Netherlands, Germany, Canada, Switzerland, Malaysia)

12. Free Server Switching +1

All in all, it looks like a decent VPN service.  One thing that really impresses me about SwitchVPN in China is that I've never had issues connecting to their site. Even some of my favorite VPN sites like StrongVPN and 12VPN have from time to time been inaccessible or a couple days. If you find that some of the links on my site get timed out, SwitchVPN is a cool service to check out.

SwitchVPN Official Site

 

 

Or check out my PureVPN in China Review