Isn’t it ironic that VPN connections are being restricted? After all, a VPN is the tool that allows you to circumvent numerous online limitations, and the fact that your ISP (internet service provider), government, or even a website can ban it may leave you with a bad taste in your mouth.
Fortunately, VPN providers have devised numerous methods for circumventing VPN bans, rendering VPN connections almost invisible. TechNinja PRO has done deep analysis to teach everything you need to know about VPN blocking and how to fix it.
What Exactly Is a VPN Blocker?
VPN blocking refers to measures that impede the usage of VPN tunnels for communication with other persons, machines, or websites. A VPN encrypts data sent between two parties and assigns users a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address. This ensures consumers’ privacy and security.
However, for reasons explained further below, governments and organizations may wish to prohibit the use of VPNs. As a result, some users are attempting to find ways to unblock VPN connections in order to enjoy safe, private connections.
Why Are VPNs Blocked?
1. Censorship by the Government
When governments do not want its population to be able to access specific websites, these sites are blocked. With a VPN, your IP address appears to be outside the nation, making your access appear legitimate. Some governments prohibit VPNs in order to counteract this.
Copyright In some cases, someone will copy a movie and submit it to a service that allows users to download content, such as a torrent. People who download or upload the content may use a VPN to conceal their identity, therefore copyright holders may try to ban VPNs to prevent illegal distribution.
2. Location Restrictions for Streaming
If you’ve ever travelled to Mexico and tried to use Netflix, you’ll notice that the movies accessible there differ from those available in the United States. As a result, users frequently utilize VPNs to obtain a US IP address. When Netflix detects a U.S. IP address, it displays the same content as if you were physically in the United States.
Learn to change your VPN location and gain access to restricted content easily.
3. Restrictions at School and Work
When businesses or school officials do not want workers or students to access specific websites while at work or school, they prohibit the use of VPNs on the company’s or school’s network.
How to Get Around VPN Restrictions?
Even in the realm of VPNs, Newton’s third rule, which states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite response, holds true. There are several strategies for kicking censorship in the shins and getting around VPN banning. Let’s take a closer look at a few of them.
1. Changing to a different server or VPN
It goes without saying that the simplest approach to get your VPN up and running is to just try another server (and get fortunate!). Typically, a VPN company has hundreds of different servers (sometimes with numerous in the same location), so attempting to rejoin may be all you need to get around the VPN barrier.
It’s especially easy with services like ExpressVPN, which cycles their IP addresses on a regular basis. If the server location isn’t that crucial to you, you can try connecting to another country.
If you can’t seem to find a server that works, you might as well abandon your existing VPN and try a new one. The best part is that you can do it for free because most major-brand VPNs provide a 30-day money-back guarantee, allowing you to try out service after service until you find one that unblocks everything you need.
2. Altering the tunnelling protocol, encryption, or port number
This is another simple method for getting around VPN restrictions. Your VPN may be restricted solely when utilizing a specific tunnelling protocol for a variety of reasons. You can resolve this by selecting a different one in the VPN application’s Settings menu. It can be especially beneficial to use new and less popular VPN protocols that have not yet been prohibited by your network or in your country.
You may be able to circumvent VPN filtering by employing a different encryption technique. Fortunately, several VPNs allow you to manually select your preferred form of encryption.
You might also try picking a different port utilized by a tunnelling protocol. For example, just because OpenVPN‘s default ports are 1194 and 443, it doesn’t mean that this protocol can’t utilize wholly different ports – you just have to specify them manually.
Sometimes you can do this directly on the app, but you may need to do it manually because not all programs have such selection options built directly.
3. Using masked servers
Connecting to an obfuscated server (or employing a “stealth mode” or “stealth protocol”) is sometimes the only option to get around a VPN block. This is especially important for users who live in countries where ISPs use Deep Packet Inspection to detect VPN traffic, such as China.
Such servers are useful since they frequently connect over ports that aren’t generally blocked by email providers, websites, and other critical services.
To use obfuscated servers, you must first select a VPN that provides them. TechNinja PRO can recommend Express VPN, Surfshark, PureVPN, and NordVPN as a few of the firms that have consistently demonstrated their ability to circumvent VPN blocks thanks to this technology.
Once you’ve downloaded and installed your preferred VPN, connecting to an obfuscated server is simple – for example, if you use NordVPN, simply turn on the “Obfuscated Servers” toggle.
You might also experiment with an obfuscated tunnelling protocol. Cyprian, for example, provides the Chameleon protocol, which is supposed to circumvent different limitations imposed by nations such as China and Russia. These characteristics are frequently interchangeable.
4. Obtaining a dedicated or static IP address
If your VPN is being blocked due to IP range restrictions, acquiring a dedicated IP address may alleviate the problem. That’s because you’ll be the only one utilising it, which means it’ll be treated with less suspicion.
Many VPN services allow you to purchase a static IP address (often for a couple of dollars per month), which is well worth the money when you consider its utility.
5. Making the switch to mobile data
Believe it or not, enabling mobile data on your phone might instantly assist you in bypassing VPN bans if VPN connections are prohibited by your school or workplace’s network.
Sure, you won’t be able to utilise free wifi, but you will be able to use the VPN of your choosing. If you don’t have an unlimited data allotment, just keep an eye on your mobile data limit.
6. Changing the DNS configuration
You may be unable to connect to VPN servers owing to restrictions imposed by your ISP. Fortunately, changing your DNS settings has a good probability of resolving the issue. Consider Cloudflare (1.1.1.1, 1.0.0.1), Google (8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4), and OpenDNS, which are some of the most prominent DNS services (208.67.222.222, 208.67.220.220).
Instead of utilising a VPN, you might try adjusting your DNS settings (assuming a website you want to access is blocked at the DNS level). However, keep in mind that this solution is not the same as a VPN. Your traffic will not be encrypted; instead, you will just unblock websites that your ISP has blocked.
7. Configuring a manual VPN connection
When your VPN is restricted, establishing a manual VPN connection may be your best option. You can try manually configuring a VPN connection on your device (for example, on Windows 10) using built-in VPN capabilities or software like OpenVPN Connect or strongSwan.
Setting up your own VPN server is another option, but it may be a time-consuming, difficult, and costly task. On the plus side, it nearly guarantees that websites will not be able to detect your use of a VPN (especially if you use your own hardware and network to set it up).
Other Methods for Unblocking Content: VPN Blocks
If you don’t have time to go through all of our proposed VPN unblocking procedures, you’ll appreciate the following options that will allow you to access banned websites.
1. SOCKS5 proxy server (Shadowsocks)
Proxies, while considerably more limited than VPNs, are one of the more dependable solutions to unblock the pages you require. Just keep in mind that the level of protection will not be the same as it would be with a VPN. It’s also possible that you won’t be able to unblock everything you require; for example, a proxy could not allow you to see geo-blocked Netflix content.
Keep in mind that a SOCKS5 proxy is often preferable to an HTTP proxy. It is significantly more adaptable in terms of traffic sorts (HTTP is only for web traffic, whereas SOCKS5 can also be used on your torrent app, for example).
Note: Shadowsocks is very potent, and it may be able to get you through China's Great Firewall. The nicest part is that some VPN companies allow you to use a proxy without requiring manual settings.
2. Tor as a Browser
Tor will not unblock your VPN, but it can be a viable option. It is an open-source browser that preserves your anonymity by masking your true IP address and encrypting your data. It is based on a network of volunteer servers.
However, while Tor will unblock a significant number of websites, it is extremely slow. Furthermore, you cannot select the country via which you want to connect.
3. SmartDNS
Many VPN companies, including NordVPN, Surfshark, PureVPN and ExpressVPN, offer SmartDNS (or a DNS proxy) as a feature. It allows you to access streaming services such as Netflix and HBO on devices that do not support VPN connections. Smart TVs and game consoles are examples of this.
How can you tell whether a website has detected VPN use?
A website may block your VPN for a variety of reasons, preventing you from viewing its content. When connected to a VPN server, you’ll find yourself unable to access streaming giants like Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, and DAZN due to geographical restrictions.
When a site disables your VPN, you’ll get an error message claiming that you appear to be attempting to circumvent Geo-restrictions.
Fortunately, disabling your VPN will restore normalcy, as Netflix and other streaming platforms will not ban your account for attempting to trick them into showing geo-blocked movie libraries.
However, things might become a little more tricky at times. For example, if VPN usage is detected, online casinos and even some online wallets may terminate your account entirely, so you must be extremely cautious and always read the Terms of Service of a particular platform.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that there are numerous methods for blocking VPN traffic, don’t be discouraged from acquiring a VPN if you don’t already have one.
Using high-quality services, like NordVPN, will reduce the likelihood of being blacklisted in the first place. Even if you get the dreaded proxy error while watching Netflix, you can try one of our suggested methods for bypassing VPN blocks to get things back on track.
FAQs
It is conditional. ISPs can see what IP address you're using, but they may not realize it's for a VPN server. Even if they do, they won't be able to see your browser history while you're connected to a VPN server.
It is determined by the location. Despite the fact that VPNs are completely legal in most countries, certain nations rigorously monitor VPN usage or have even outlawed VPNs entirely. VPNs, for example, are illegal in Belarus and North Korea, and strictly regulated in China, Russia, and other countries.
If using a VPN is permitted in your jurisdiction, it is also legal to circumvent VPN blocks. Sure, it may be against the Terms of Service of some platforms (such as Netflix), but you will usually suffer no penalty for doing so. However, it varies by service; for example, most online casinos will terminate your account if you use a VPN.
Depending on the type of barrier you meet, you have a variety of options. The simplest solution is to try another server or to switch to a different VPN service entirely.
Yes, your VPN can be blocked by a firewall. Fortunately, using obfuscated servers, it is also possible to circumvent this block. Most firewalls, however, do not block VPNs by default; instead, a firewall will typically block VPN connections only if they are configured to do so.