9 Ways How You Can Bypass A School Firewall

In the era of technology, almost every school or workplace has adopted a firewall. This ensures that students or instructors do not visit harmful sites, preventing them from possible phishing attacks or other forms of cyber threats.

Generally, institutions block inappropriate sites that do not comply with their Acceptable Use Policies. However, some schools and colleges can do this to ensure that their students do not play games or surf the internet (for entertainment) so they remain focused on their studies.

Indeed, there can be times when you absolutely need to visit these sites for personal reasons. Well, you’d be surprised to know that bypassing a firewall is possible, but we only recommend doing this at your own risk.

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Is It Safe to Bypass Firewalls?

Your school may adopt a hardware (physical device) or software (computer application) firewall for privacy, cyber safety, or efficiency. These security systems monitor the network traffic and analyze them based on the protocols.

Basically, it checks whether the site you’re trying to access is authorized and blocks those data packets that do not meet the security rules. However, the security level differs based on your institution’s firewall type (packet filtering, circuit level, etc.).

Usually, schools do not have the time and budget to focus solely on cybersecurity. Thus, the firewalls they use may have vulnerabilities, and one can easily get through them using suitable methodologies.

However, if you’re using such techniques to access sensitive or restricted content, the school may fine you or even take legal action. Nonetheless, bypassing can be considered safe if you have no unethical intentions and you’re doing it from your own device for personal use.

How to Bypass a School Firewall?

First and foremost, you should be aware that schools and offices set up firewalls to prevent sensitive information from malware or hackers. Thus, they do not intend to harm your privacy in any way and only mean to preserve it from cyber threats.

Hence, if you have valid reasons for accessing the blocked sites, taking permission from the administration is always recommended. Since configuring the firewall settings just for a single person may seem inapplicable, they might allow you to bypass it legally.

Before moving forward, try disabling the firewall on your computer. For example, in a Windows-based PC, you can turn off the Windows Defender Firewall from Control Panel. Likewise, you can launch Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) and disable any third-party firewall process.

If the above methods didn’t help, let’s jump right into the nine different ways to get through a firewall at your school, college, or workplace.

Use VPN

A virtual Private Network (VPN) establishes a secure connection and ensures protection when you’re on a public network. Basically, it disguises your online identity (IP address) and encrypts network traffic preventing you from various online threats.

Once you’ve enabled VPN on your device, your location is invisible to everyone. This means that even your school’s firewall won’t be able to monitor the network traffic. Hence, you can easily access any site you want without any fuss.

Most users prefer third-party VPN applications like ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, NordVPN, etc. Well, some of these programs require premium service, while others are available for free. To use them, all you have to do is install them on the PC and select an appropriate server location.

Likewise, specific web browsers (e.g., Opera) provide an in-built VPN application with a no-logging policy. However, you need to install VPN extensions or plugins on other browsers (like Google Chrome and Firefox). Moreover, if you’re trying to bypass the firewall using your smartphone, you can easily install a reliable VPN service from Play Store or App Store.

Instead of opting for a third-party application, you can also use built-in VPN settings on your mobile phone or Windows-based PC.

On Windows

The in-built Windows VPN is quite famous for its P2P filesharing and streaming. Follow the simple guide below on how you can set up a VPN on Windows 11:

Press Windows + I to open Settings on your PC, and move to Network & internet > VPN.
Click on the Add VPN button in VPN Connections.
Once the dialogue box pops up, set VPN Provider to Windows (built-in).
Next, input any name under the Connection name.
Then, enter the IP address of the destination VPN server you’re trying to connect to. Well, you can refer to the internet for free server names or addresses.
Expand the VPN type drop-down and select the one you like. Else, you can set it to the default option (Automatic).
You can set a username or password, but this is optional. Once done, press the Save option.
Now, you’ll see the connection you’ve just created. Simply press the Connect button.
Then, you’ll need to enter your Windows Security (Microsoft Account) username and password.
Finally, hit enter and wait until the VPN connection is established.

On Android

Well, the built-in Android VPN adopts PPTP, L2TP and IPSec protocols for secure connections. Here’s how you can add a VPN profile on your device:

First of all, open the Settings app and move to the Connections section.
Here, select More connection settings.
Then, press VPN.
Now, tap the kebab menu and select Add VPN Profile.
Next, input your desired name and select the type.
Then, find an appropriate server’s IP address and paste it under the Server address.
Tap the Save button, and you’ll see the VPN profile you just created.
Now, select the profile and enter your credentials. Wait for several seconds until you’re connected to the destination server.

On iOS

As in an Android device, setting up a VPN profile is relatively easy on iOS devices. Here’s how you can do just that:

Launch Settings and switch to the General tab.
Scroll down and tap the VPN & Device Management option.
Next, select VPN.
Now, press the Add VPN Configuration option.
In the new window, choose the type of VPN you will use to bypass a school’s firewall.
Then, add the description, find an appropriate server (IP address), and also input the Remote ID.
Under Authentication, choose your username and password.
Next, set the Proxy to Auto.

Otherwise, you can also set it to Manual and use the correct server and port.
Tap the Done button from the top-right corner.
Once the configuration is saved, toggle on the Status option, and you should be connected to the VPN server.

Use Proxy Server

If your school has disabled VPN servers, another way to bypass the firewall is to connect to a proxy server. Basically, this acts as an intermediary between your school’s PC and the web server you’re trying to access.

Generally, when accessing a blocked site, the firewall recognizes the URL and prevents users from accessing its content. However, with the integration of a proxy server, it will understand that the user is simply accessing the proxy server’s URL, not the URL of the blocked site.

For example, if you’re trying to use Netflix (suppose it’s blocked by your school), you’ll first send the URL request to the proxy server. Now, the proxy server loads the necessary content, and you’ll be able to access Netflix. However, the firewall understands that you have been accessing the content of the proxy URL all the time.

Well, there are free proxy servers available on the web, but using them could expose you to malware, and there’s a probability that they may monitor your network traffic. Thus, we recommend opting for premium services that bypass geo-restrictions and provide faster speeds.

In this section, you will learn the step-by-step guide on setting up proxy servers on your PC and smartphone.