How to Avoid Hotel Firewalls and Online Restrictions

Isn’t it frustrating to try and gain access to websites from your hotel room or anywhere else, only to find out that such access is restricted? Well, it is not that rare for hotels and other places with public access to apply restrictions online through the use of firewalls.

A firewall is a type of software that narrows down Internet traffic and there are several firewalls that can be put into effect, when it comes to public Internet connections. With the use of such restrictions, hotel owners and other businesses try to eliminate the risk of getting affected by suspicious malware. Of course, limiting traffic is the sole method that works towards keeping all the people satisfied during web surfing. Imagine all the hotel guests using the maximum bandwidth of an Internet connection and try to picture how slow such a connection would be.

On the bright side, there are several ways for you to overcome the firewalls placed by hotels as a traveler. If you comply with the suggestions analyzed below, you will make the most out of staying in hotels or enjoying your web surfing at work or at school. Such pieces of advice can be crucial for the optimization of your user experience and therefore you should under any way neglect them!

Although firewalls can be really helpful in avoidance of online threats and unauthorized access online, this does not mean that they cannot be overcome with the adequate support. Let’s have a closer look at what we can do to avoid hotel firewalls and online restrictions effectively, shall we?

Make Use of Proxy to Surf

One of the major methods used for overcoming the hotel firewalls and restrictions is certainly that of using a proxy for surfing the web. The same can be applied not only to hotels, but also to every single restriction you confront with on the Internet. There are numerous different ways, in order for you to benefit from the use of proxies. They are equally handy and thus you should keep an eye on any of these ways:

  • Use Well Known and Reliable Proxies: Among the best known proxies available within your reach, you can use hidemyass.com or anonymouse.org. Of course, these proxies are the first ones to be blocked; still, they are worth a shot!
  • Do Your Online Research: Easy though it might seem at first glance, this is a great way for you to ensure that you are given the proper and most up-to-date information regarding free proxies. Use the exact same keywords that pop into your mind, meaning “free proxies online” and the results will amaze you!
  • Join a Mailing List: This is a cool method, in order to be sent over brand new free proxies on a daily basis. For instance, you can join the mailing list of Circumventer.
  • Install Firefox for Manually Changing Settings: The correct path includes the following: Tools -> Options -> Connection Settings. Then, change the proxy settings.

Having that in mind, you will be able to gain access to sites that would otherwise be out of reach for you due to firewalls. Whether you are a traveler at a hotel or you just want to have unlimited and abundant access to every site of your preference, proxies can work their magic!

Use Wired Connection When Possible

Another solution towards avoiding hotel firewalls and online restrictions is definitely the preference of wired connections. Luckily enough, there are quite many hotels providing Ethernet connection for their guests. Of course, it is not as popular as Wi-Fi. However, it has been proven to work a lot more efficiently and minimize (if not eliminate) the problems with bandwidth and connectivity.

Benefit from the Use of VPNs

In case no proxy works for you, the ultimate solution for overcoming the boundaries of online connectivity that a lot of hotels and other places apply is called VPN. Standing short for Virtual Private Network, you can profit from using a different IP address and masking yourself. In this way, you make use of the VPN for appearing as if you are trying to connect from a different place, a different town or even a different country! This not only allows you to surf the web anonymously and without limitations, but also helps you get all the data of your fully encrypted. Win-win deal for you!

Disable Any “Fishy” Running Services

This is pretty simple, in your effort to avoid firewalls and online restrictions at hotels and anywhere else. From your Task Manager, you inspect the services that are running and, once you spot something suspicious, you disable it. In this method, you can rest assured that nothing prevents you from accessing restricted sites or getting the bandwidth that you have been searching for. Apparently, such actions are of exceptional value for preventing cybercrime in its very core! So, feel free to visit your Task Manager and identify what runs on your computer. If you do, chances are that you will have the opportunity to fix what goes wrong!

Use Cut and Past As Much As You Can

Though this might sound strange at first, in reality cutting and pasting information from your own computer when you are offline can be a real time and money saver online! In other words, if you wish to write and send an e-mail, you should not first connect to the web and then go ahead with writing down everything you want. This will most likely skyrocket the cost of your Internet connection at hotels and ships, as well as many other places other than your home or office. Instead, use the copy and paste method and save money, time and effort on the Internet. The work speed is going to be remarkably faster, as well!

From all the details that have been highlighted above in regards to avoiding online firewalls and restrictions at hotels, cruise ships, working environments and schools, you can see that there is a solution to what you have been considering to be a problem. Make sure that you understand how proxies and VPN accounts work. On top of that, beware of the dangers that can deteriorate your overall user experience when surfing the web from your hotel room or the lounge, a cafeteria or your educational institution. Once you have gathered all the information required, you will get the opportunity to deal with your problem in the most effective manner possible!

Ali Qamar Ali Qamar is a seasoned blogger and loves keeping a keen eye on the future of tech. He is a geek. He is a privacy enthusiast and advocate. He is crazy (and competent) about internet security, digital finance, and technology. Ali is the founder of PrivacySavvy and an aspiring entrepreneur.

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