Are you looking forward to bypassing IP blocking systems of websites? There are a good number of ways to get that done. This article will show you the best methods to evade IP blocks.
The Internet, as we have it today, is nowhere near free – it has a good number of restrictions. Some websites will require you to create a free account with them; others require you to have a subscription. Aside from these two, one other major type of restriction you are bound to face on the Internet is an IP block.
IP blocking is one of the techniques used by websites to prevent certain users from using their services. While the technique is not fool proof, and using it alone might not be very effective, it can actually block your access to a website and prevent you from accessing certain content on the Internet.
However, one thing with all Internet-based restrictions is that they can be bypassed. There are a good number of methods you can use to bypass IP blocks. These techniques would be discussed in this article. Before that, let take a look at what IP blocking is in detail. We’ll also discuss how it works and why websites block IP addresses.
What is IP Block?
IP address block is a technique used by web servers to reject requests coming from certain IP addresses. It is a configuration implemented by network services so that requests from hosts with certain IP addresses are rejected.
On the Internet, an IP block is incorporated into the anti-spam systems of websites to help prevent requests coming from some devices from being attended to. A device’s IP address is its identity on the Internet, and it is included in every web request originating from it.
Using the IP address included in requests originating from a device, a website can track and block such devices from accessing its content. In some instances, websites do not block a specific IP address but a full IP range to block requests coming from the same networks and subnets. The effectiveness of an IP blocking system depends largely on the type of IP addresses it is dealing with. IP blocking systems are most effective when dealing with static IPs. For dynamically assigned IPs, as in the case with mobile IP addresses, IP blocking is largely ineffective.
This is because the same device that has been blocked will get a new IP assigned to it by its Internet Service Provider (ISP) if its IP is not static but dynamically assigned. This will allow it to access the website while preventing new user access. For this reason, the IP block placed on specific IPs as a punishment is usually temporal.
How IP Blocking Works
IP block is one of the most basic anti-spam techniques and incorporating it into a website anti-spam system is very easy. It has a very simple working mechanism that can be replicated quickly. While how different websites enforce IP block can have slight differences depending on the tool, they use for it, the working mechanism remains fairly the same.
For an IP block to work, a website must keep the record of IP addresses associated with the web requests they receive. With IP tracking, a website will then have a middleware configured that will block requests coming from certain IP addresses or IP ranges. The middleware keeps a list of blacklisted IP addresses. When websites using IP block gets a web request, they check if the IP address bundled with the request is in the IP blacklist. If it is, the request will be denied.
IP blocking systems are usually not standalone systems. They are a part of a group of an anti-spam system that will work together to make sure only the intended audiences of a website are able to access its content. Some of the other systems include URL-based blocking, deep packet-based blocking, and DNS-based blocking, among others.
IP blocking system can be set up to work automatically if a defined abuse pattern has been identified by configuring IP ban rules. For example, some websites block requests coming from certain locations and networks associated with spam, fraud, and other abusive behaviors. However, the automatic system alone is not used. Most IP blocking systems have the capability to manually add an IP address to their blacklist.
Why Websites Use IP Blocking Systems
There are a good number of reasons why website administrators set up IP blocking systems on websites they manage. The major reasons are discussed below.
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Preventing the Use of Automation Bots
Most websites, including the popular ones, frown against automated access. Bots in the form of scrapers, crawlers, and other specific task bots can overwhelm a web server because of the too many requests they send in a minute. For low powered websites, these could even crash their server.
To combat this, websites set up request limits and track IPs in other to block any IP that exceeds the limit. Aside from automation bots meant for Internet marketing tasks, a coordinated brute force attack can be prevented in part, through IP blocking.
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Restrict Access for Geolocation Reasons
Some websites provide services to users in specific locations and, as such, deem it necessary to block requests coming from other locations. Take, for instance, some websites in the United Kingdom that are only available to Internet users in the United Kingdom. If you try visiting from other locations, you will be denied access. The BBC iPlayer service is a very common example – it is open to users with the UK and inaccessible to the same users outside of the UK.
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Preventing Spam and Fraud
Websites identify IP addresses, IP ranges, or even subnets that are frequently being used by fraudsters, scammers, and spammers and block any request coming from them. Take, for instance, there are some proxy network services that many websites have their IP ranges blocked by default as their network has been identified to be invaded by fraudulent persons and spammers. There is no anti-spam or anti-fraud system online that do not track and block IP addresses.
How to Bypass IP Blocks
IP blocks are very common. If you have been hammered by an IP block or ban, you do not need to worry about it as there are techniques to bypass these blocks. Some of the most popular techniques are discussed below.
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Use a proxy server
Proxies can help you circumvent IP blocks and access content you are not authorized to access. Proxies do not change the IP address assigned to your computer. Instead, they spoof your real IP address by changing the IP address bundled in your web request headers.
Proxies act as intermediary servers between client computers and websites. When using a proxy server, your web requests do not go to websites directly, they go through the server, and the request header is modified – with the IP changed before rerouting it to the intended website.
With the above method of operation, your real IP address is hidden from the websites that blocked your IP address, and they can only see that of the proxy servers. Proxies are perfect for use when you need to make use of automation bots such as web scrapers, crawlers, and purchase bots. They are perfect for Internet marketing tasks that require you to rotate IP addresses.
This is because when using proxies, you can rotate IP as you wish.
For static proxies such as the ones provided by MyPrivateProxy, IP rotation is up to you.
However, some providers such as Smartproxy sale rotating proxies that take care of rotating IP addresses for you.
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Use a VPN Service
A VPN service works like a proxy server. It does not change the IP address assigned to your device but spoof it by replacing your device IP addressed bundled with your request with a new one. Unlike a proxy server, a VPN server does much more than spoof your IP address to deceive an IP blocking tool. It also encrypts your Internet traffic to prevent you from censorship and eavesdroppers. You can use a VPN to access the Internet from any location you want.
For you to make use of a VPN service, you need to have its software installed on your device, unlike in the case of a proxy server. VPN services are mostly used for privacy concerns. You can use VPN services to circumvent geolocation restrictions and IP blocks. They are not good for use together with automation bots. They are slightly slower when compared to proxies because of the encryption process involved. If you need to circumvent IP blocks for personal usage, VPN services are the best.
Some of the best VPN services in the market include NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and SurfShark.
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Use the Tor Network
The Onion Router, popularly known as Tor, is an anonymous network you can use to spoof your IP address and bypass IP address blocks. Unlike the above techniques that require you to pay for a subscription fee, using the Tor network is completely free.
All that’s required from you is for you to install the Tor browser on your device. It is through the browser or its Firefox extension that you can access the network. When using Tor, your Internet traffic is routed through numerous relay nodes (servers) to conceal your real IP address, identity, and location.
Tor is open-source. Also, you can volunteer your device to be used as a relay node. However, many people do not like using Tor because of their slow connection speed. Tor is extremely slow. A good number of people also do not want to use the network because of bad neighborhood – Tor is a den for fraudsters, scammers, spammers, and many other marketers into illegal businesses such as drugs and weapons.
The last method to bypass IP address blocks is to change your IP address. Looking at the 3 methods above, you will see that your real IP address assigned to you is being masked – meaning, it is not changed. By changing your IP address, you will not have to worry about accidentally revealing it again.
There are a good number of ways to change your IP address. the two methods include changing your network adapter or requesting a change of IP address from your Internet Service Provider (ISP). In some situations, you will not even have to worry about changing your IP address yourself if your ISP dynamically assigns IP addresses to its customers – this is common among Mobile Network Operators.
Read more, 10 Best 4G Proxies & Mobile Proxies Providers
Conclusion
IP block, if not taken care of, can come between you and the content you need to access on the Internet. It is one of the major tools websites use to prevent unwanted users from accessing their content.
Fortunately, the technique is not as effective as they think, as spoofing or changing your IP address will help you to bypass the block. The methods discussed above are the popular methods of changing and spoofing one’s IP address.