How to get a VPN working if it's blocked?

Anton P. | May 25, 2020

These days, knowing how to get a VPN working in the light of various restrictions is a necessity. A wide range of institutions, companies, and even countries are not so welcoming to Virtual Private Networks. They find ways to restrict private connections and fight against the industry due to their inability to control and monitor netizens. Therefore, how to get a VPN up and running if a particular entity blocks it?

How to get a VPN working in a restricted country?

Government-imposed internet restrictions are all about the culture and norms of specific countries. Currently, there are over 30 countries that impose restrictions on internet freedom. They censor the content within their borders, filtering out websites and services they feel are objectionable. Therefore, netizens turn to VPNs to regain the freedom and openness of the internet.

However, the governments found ways to make VPNs unavailable to their citizens. Common tactics for preventing VPN use include blocking access to VPN websites, IP addresses, servers, ports, or using a Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) technology. While the DPI is one of the most technically advanced forms of how to get a VPN blocked, the other methods are relatively less complicated.

For instance, given a large number of VPN providers out there, and the difficulty of keeping track of ever-changing IP addresses, entities settle for banning only the more popular VPN services. Hence, users of smaller and less well-known VPNs can often slip under the radar. Furthermore, even if governments block some IPs of a particular VPN, switching to different servers might work as well. VPN services can regularly recycle their IP addresses, so it is worth knowing whether your selected service performs this action.

There are solutions for how to get a VPN step over the DPI blockade as well. Some VPNs implement the so-called obfuscation techniques that hide VPN traffic and make it look like a regular unencrypted internet connection. Yet, not every provider needs this technique since governments’ might block only the well-known VPN services.

How to get a VPN working on a restricted network?

Schools and universities can ban some websites or apps, including VPNs, that might interfere with students’ education. Hotels can also learn how to get a VPN blocked. For instance, they might reinforce bandwidth control or encourage you to pay for additional hotel services.

One of the easiest solutions for how to get a VPN working on a restricted network is to use a mobile connection. It does mean that you have to use your private cellular data, but it allows you to surf the internet freely. Ironically, you can save some money by choosing to do this. If you use a free service, such as Atlas VPN, you get an unlimited bandwidth at zero cost, so you don’t have to pay for the VPN provider.

However, if you have no choice but to use the public network, fear not. In most cases, your VPN should bypass network controls in the same way it circumvents countries’ restrictions.

How to get a VPN working on geo-restricted services?

The most popular streaming services, such as Amazon Prime, Hulu, or BBC iPlayer, are only available in specific regions. Some services, like Netflix, offer content according to users’ whereabouts. The good news is that a VPN can spoof your location, giving you access to geo-blocked content. However, major streaming platforms also implement detection mechanisms on how to get a VPN blocked. Luckily, these techniques are not always effective.

Even though VPNs implement streaming technologies into their software seamlessly, it’s all about picking the right server. That’s why Atlas VPN offers a wide range of Premium streaming-optimized servers. With 4K-capable streaming experience and ultra-fast connection speeds, you can access all content regardless of your actual location.

Anton P.

Anton P.

Former chef and the head of Atlas VPN blog team. He's an experienced cybersecurity expert with a background of technical content writing.

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