Are you trying to bypass website blocks but cannot figure out where to get proxies, or the proxies you use do not work? Let’s look at this topic step by step.
Bypassing blocks is a complex subject because you first need to understand who is blocking your access and why.
- Is the website itself blocking users from specific countries?
- Or is the government blocking access so that you cannot visit restricted websites?
Even if you already know who is blocking your access, the situation may still be complicated. Different websites use different detection systems to identify users, and different governments use different technologies to analyze traffic and determine which website you are trying to visit, even when you use a proxy or a VPN. Because of this, a proxy or a VPN may help bypass geo-blocking or censorship in some situations, but in other situations they may not work or may stop working over time.
Which proxy should you choose?
If the website is blocking your access, then a proxy can often solve the problem. Server proxies are usually chosen for this task because they are more stable. ISP proxies (proxies from home internet providers) also work well, but they are usually more expensive than server proxies.
To bypass website-level blocks, users usually choose proxies billed per IP. These tasks do not require high bandwidth, but they often involve high data usage, so paying per traffic does not make sense. You can choose a suitable provider in our proxy provider ranking, where the filters make selection easier.
If the government is blocking access, the situation becomes more difficult. Proxies do not provide encryption, and therefore the government can detect your traffic. Also, your outgoing traffic is inspected by your home internet provider, so simply changing your IP address will not solve the issue.
Because of this, proxies usually do not work when access is blocked by the government. In this case, a VPN is the better option. In countries with strong censorship, not all VPN services will work, because governments use advanced technologies to detect and block VPN traffic.
What to do if the government blocks access?
In this situation, you need VPN services that can bypass strong censorship, or you need to run your own VPN server with advanced encryption protocols.
-
VPN services. At the moment, two VPN services are known to work under strong censorship: Amnezia and ProtonVPN. However, this situation may change because governments continue to improve their censorship technologies.
-
Self-hosted VPN. Running your own VPN server is a complex task with many details. Many communities recommend VLESS and AmneziaWG for bypassing censorship, and these protocols are often used when setting up a personal server. AmneziaWG is developed by Amnezia, and it is the protocol used in their own VPN service. We do not yet have a detailed guide on this topic, but we will share it as soon as it becomes available.
Conclusion
To use proxies for bypassing geo-blocking, you first need to determine who is blocking your IP. If it is a website or online service, then proxies may work, and ISP proxies billed per IP are usually the best option.
If the government is blocking access, then proxies may not work at all (depending on the level of censorship in your country). In these situations, you need a VPN that can bypass censorship, such as ProtonVPN, or you need to run a VPN on your own server.
