Many schools, companies and organizations these days use Internet filtering software to block certain websites from access. However, for every one of these blocking tools, there is a work around for savvy users that want to see the content. It's not that difficult to bypass MySpace filters and other similar filters meant to limit or prohibit access to YouTube, MySpace and other sites.



(Indeed, even in countries where Internet access is severely restricted, there is always a way around the blockages...unless the country completely shuts down Internet access...but this requires far more skills than the casual user possesses.)

If your network is filtering or blocking the site you want to access (and there have been a number of sites over the years that have been blocked inappropriately), the first thing to try is to use what is called a circumvention site, such as StupidCensorship.com. These website use anonymizers to get around firewalls and Internet filters.

These work around sites work by providing users with an innocent website that is not blocked by the filtering software...it then gets the website that you truly want to visit.

Now, you might have to log on at home (assuming you are not blocked there) and then take the URL to work or school get around the blocking software used on your network. After all, blocking software knows that people will try to bypass it, so does what it can to keep you from searching for those bypasses.

If the Internet filtering software is on your computer, rather than on a network, and you are not able to get to a proxy server, it's easy to boot from a blocking-override software CD and override the blocking software. This would assume that you have the software on CD. If you can install software on your computer, then Tor is the software of choice.

If the computer is a public PC (like at school or the library) and has filtering software on it, you may not be able to boot this block overriding software from the CD as it may be locked down.

A good practice is to bring along with you a list of anonymous IP addresses where you can circumvent the filtering software and view the sites you want. Finding a list of anonymizer URLs is simply a matter of googling to find forums where the posters want to share the information you are looking for...and there is no shortage of people wanting to help others work around blocking software!