Internet blackouts, website restrictions, and throttling remain prevalent tactics employed by governments to control access to information and suppress dissent. According to the digital rights watchdog Access Now, governments and other actors instituted internet shutdowns at least 187 times in 2022, affecting millions of people worldwide.

While internet restrictions have been common in authoritarian regimes, they are becoming increasingly prevalent in democratic countries like India and Indonesia.

If you find yourself in areas prone to internet shutdowns and censorship or simply want to protect your online activities, here are 5 tools and strategies you can employ to bypass internet restrictions and stay connected.

1. Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN)

A virtual private network, or VPN, helps you bypass geo-restrictions and access blocked content. A VPN encrypts your internet connection and routes your traffic through a secure server in another country. This way, websites and online services cannot know that you’re accessing the web from a restricted region.

For instance, if you’re in the United States and connect to a VPN server in Canada, it will make it look like you’re accessing the internet from Canada. This means that websites and other online services that are restricted in the United States will see your traffic originating from Canada and hence grant you access to their content.

When choosing a VPN service, it’s important to select a provider with strong security protocols and reliable encryption. Additionally, consider the number of server locations and make sure the VPN provider does not log your data. We have compiled all the important VPN features in our guide on how to choose a VPN.

If you aren’t sure which VPN to choose, I highly recommend NordVPN. It offers 5,500+ servers in 60 countries and reliably bypasses geo-restrictions. NordVPN operates under a strict no-logs policy, which is independently audited and verified more than once. It also offers AES 256-bit encryption, which is the same level of encryption used by the NSA to protect confidential information.

Fortunately, NordVPN lets you try all its features completely risk-free with a no-questions-asked money-back guarantee. If you aren’t satisfied with the service, you’ve up to 30 days to claim a refund.

Using a VPN is simple. You only need to subscribe to a service, install the right app for your device, and you are good to go. Here’s a step-by-step process.

1. Subscribe to a VPN service. I recommend NordVPN for its strong security protocols and excellent unblocking capabilities. 2. Download and install the VPN on your device. 2. Connect to a server of your choice.

That’s it! You can now access websites and services that are restricted by authorities or the ISP in your country.

2. Use a Proxy Server

A proxy server is another tool that you can use to access restricted sites and services online. It acts as an intermediary between your device and the websites you want to visit.

When you connect to a proxy, your internet traffic is redirected through the proxy server, much like a VPN server. This makes it appear as though you’re accessing the internet from a different location, allowing you to bypass any restrictions.

However, proxy servers do not encrypt your traffic, so they aren’t as secure as VPNs. There are many free proxy servers available online, but it’s important to exercise caution when using them as some of them can potentially expose your data to third parties and hackers.

Some popular proxies include HMA, Hidester, and KProxy. I recommend using HMA as it lets you customize your security settings and connect to servers in 6 different locations. I tested the US servers and had no issues accessing content.

DNS servers are like phone books for the internet. When you want to visit a website, your computer needs to know the website’s IP address, which is a unique set of numbers that identifies that website.

But instead of making you remember all those numbers, your computer asks a DNS server to translate the website’s domain name (like www.google.com) into its IP address (216.58.214.4). You can enter this number into your browser address bar and it will direct you to the same page as www.google.com.

However, sometimes the government or other organizations can censor or restrict access to certain websites by blocking their IP addresses. In these cases, using a different DNS server can help you access the blocked websites by bypassing the restrictions put in place. This is known as using a Smart DNS service. 

A Smart DNS works by intercepting your DNS requests and redirecting them through a different server located in a different country where the website is not blocked. This allows you to access the website without the government or other organizations knowing that you are doing so.

4. Use Anti-Censorship Tools

Anti-censorship tools like the Tor browser or Psiphon can help you circumvent internet blocks and access the internet without restrictions. These tools use a network of servers and relays to anonymize your connection and make it difficult for authorities to track your online activity or block access to websites or services.

However, be aware that using these tools may carry its own risks. The Tor browser, for instance, will significantly slow down your internet connection due to the extra layers of encryption. Therefore, I don’t recommend Tor for normal browsing or streaming and prefer VPN over it.

5. Use Satellite Internet

If all else fails, you can use satellite internet to stay connected during an internet shutdown. Unlike traditional landline internet service that depends on terrestrial infrastructure, satellite internet relies on a network of satellites in space to provide internet access.

Satellite internet cannot be blocked or manipulated by governments and/or service providers the way traditional internet is regulated. That’s why it is a good option if you want to bypass traditional internet restrictions.

It’s pertinent to mention that satellite internet may not be available in all areas and may cost more than traditional internet services. Some popular satellite internet providers include HughesNet, Viasat, and Starlink.

Protect Your Right to Internet Access

Given how fundamental the internet is in our lives, access to it shouldn’t be blocked, manipulated, or fettered in any way. If you find yourself in areas with internet restrictions, these are some of the tools and strategies that you can adopt to bypass censorship.

Whether you choose to use a VPN, a proxy server, Smart DNS, or anti-censorship tools, it’s important to do your research and select a solution that meets your specific needs. 

The simplest and most effective solution is using a VPN. I highly recommend NordVPN for its strong security protocols, large server network, and fast connection speeds. It has a proven track record of providing reliable and secure access to websites and services during government shutdowns and other types of internet censorship. You can test NordVPN completely risk-free using the 30-day money-back guarantee.