Yeah, Facebook is still blocked in China, but there have been a few recent changes to the game. Just a few days ago, my site got majorly deranked in Google. While I was ranking #1 for the terms 'Unblock Facebook in China" and "access Facebook in China", Google decided that my site wasn't good enough for page 1. So what's the deal?
Who knows.
Point being, I've got to make updates to my blog to make sure that Google things I'm still alive.
Because apparently they think that some jackass answers from 2009 in Yahoo! Answers and Flyer Forums is more relevant that my super helpful information on the site.
Sure, it's a bit narcissistic, but what expats in China are going to devote thousands of hours to bringing an easy to understand, up to date, and helpful website to people trying to unblock Facebook in China?
Not many.
Ok, so I make commissions of the sales, that's to be expected. Even sites like ChinaSMACK or LostLaoWai make money off of advertising – it's the way the game works.
But do they comment on which VPNs are blocked? No. They are news oriented.
Do they tell you the difference between VPNs and proxies? No. It's not on their agenda.
Do they make it easy to hide your IP address from The GFW? No. I do that.
So I'll continue to complain till Google gives my back my rankings.
Otherwise, expats and potential tourists in China are going to be stuck with retarded answers from Flyertalk (they really don't know what they're talking about there), and "access Facebook " proxies (that don't work BTW) are going to rank and give you false answer to the questions you're asking.
Are there certain websites such as Facebook and Twitter that you are unable to access from your computer? Duh, you're in China. There are tons websites that are blocked But, there is a solution on how to visit blocked sites in China, and it's not by asking, "Pretty, please…". So read on..jpg)
In most cases, the URL that you are trying to access will be banned. Actually, China's been known to ban whole lists of URLs just because they woke up on the wrong side of the bed. But you can try converting them to a shorter URL which will help you bypass the settings. There are short URL services available which can help with this. Again, I haven't had much luck with this.
Spending eight hours in school or at work can be boring. Sometimes, we all feel the need to do something different and kill some time. With smart phones, laptops, mini laptops, Internet at work and school, this is pretty easy. However, bosses and teachers have different ideas of what we should be doing on company/school time, and firewalls are put in place to block these sites. The same rules apply to areas of the world that block social networking or political sites in the name of "protecting the country's best interests" – ie China, Vietnam, Iran, Egypt, and more.
More common that software based proxies are actually web based proxy. A web based proxy can be used to unblock sites at work, school, or at home. These require no installation and therefore can't really be called "software". Web based proxies have been used from a very long time and the main purpose they serve is to protect the privacy of the user or bypass firewalls. People who don’t want others or a third party to find out their IP address or their location or browsing history through packet sniffing or tracking cookies often make use of proxies to protect their IP information. Web based proxies also work to bypass firewalls put in place by your ISP..jpg)
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At home, my dad was always strict whenever I was using the computer. He never allowed me to get on sites I wanted, saying that they had a bad influence on me, and distract me from my homework. He had an IT guy put a firewall against sites like Facebook, YouTube, and other sites that I probably shouldn't mention..jpg)
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These 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.gif)
Lets 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..jpg)
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You 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..png)
Hide My Ass
12VPN
StrongVPN
The Problem
Web Based Proxies
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VPN for YouTube in China
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Not many people actually know what web based proxies are – and to tell you the truth, until recently, I couldn't tell you what one was either. However, with recent updates to the way The Great Firewall censors our Internet activity here, web based proxies in China have become extremely important to unblocking sites.
The key is the "web based" part. It's just what it sounds like. You unblock sites in China by first connecting to a web site with a secure browser. There is nothing installed on your computer, and this website can be accessed from anywhere that can browse the Internet. Your Mac or PC, your work or school computer, and most importantly, your phone or tablet computer.
Web based proxies in China make use of this private connection, and you'll notice that the blocked URL you type into the secure browser will always be preceded by the https://.png)
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