HowTo: Bypass Blocked Websites

Lifehacker provides a helpful guide for Facebook addicts everywhere. How does one get around an employer's website blocker? The trick is to set up a local web server running from home, from which you can use a proxy to access any site you please.

For those who are tech-deficient (myself included), here's a brief breakdown of Lifehacker's quick crash course on proxy servers:

1. Your workplace blocks Facebook, WonderHowTo, Lifehacker or any other fun site you wish to access.
2. Most web filters block sites based on the URL, so if, for example, WonderHowTo is blocked, the filter would recognize the URL https://www.wonderhowto.com/ and auto-block the connection.
3. Lastly, as Lifehacker says, "a proxy acts as a go-between for your browser and the website you want to access, and as far as the web filter can tell, the proxy-employing user isn't visiting the blocked site—she's visiting whatever the URL is for the proxy. And since we're setting PHProxy on your home computer, chances are slim that the web filter will block your home IP address."

Warnings

• Before you click through for the full HowTo, beware, Lifehacker does issue a friendly warning:

"Even if you're using a proxy, your employer can still see everything you're doing on the internet (and your computer), whether they're watching the data as it comes to your computer or they're literally watching your screen.

Some employers actually forbid the use of proxies in their employee agreements, so if you get caught, you could face some very serious consequences (like, you know, getting fired), so use at your own risk."

Tips

• Bonus! Hongkiat posts a list of of 90+ proxy websites you can use to access blocked websites.