How to access blocked websites?

In some jurisdictions governement has ordered ISP-s (internet service providers) to ban users to access certain websites due to different reasons, f.e. in China even Facebook and Youtube were banned since spring 2013. Among other reasons in some countries also online gaming sites are included in the banned websites list, internet site blocking is based on principle of IP addresses users are using to connected to internet. There are still easy and legal ways to access blocked websites, easiest is to use Google provided public DNS.

Under following sections you can find explanation how to set up Google DNS for Mac OS X and Windows operational systems. There is no negative or side effects of using Google DNS, your internet usage is not monitored by google anyhow etc!

Alternatively you might want to use one of many VPN tunnel service providers, what usually is a low cost (few euros/dollars per month) service, which gives your computer permanent chosen foreign country IP address.

Example:

Changing DNS server settings on Microsoft Windows 7

(Mac users click HERE)

(All iOS devices – iPad, iPhone, iPod users click HERE)

1. Go the Control Panel.

2. Click Network and Internet, then Network and Sharing Center, and click Change adapter settings.

3. Select the connection for which you want to configure Google Public DNS. For example:

o To change the settings for an Ethernet connection, right-click Local Area Connection, and click Properties.
o To change the settings for a wireless connection, right-click Wireless Network Connection, and click Properties.
If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

4. Select the Networking tab. Under This connection uses the following items, select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) or Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) and then click Properties.

5. Click Advanced and select the DNS tab. If there are any DNS server IP addresses listed there, write them down for future reference, and remove them from this window.
6. Click OK.
7. Select Use the following DNS server addresses. If there are any IP addresses listed in the Preferred DNS server or Alternate DNS server, write them down for future reference.
8. Replace those addresses with the IP addresses of the Google DNS servers: o For IPv4: 8.8.8.8 and/or 8.8.4.4. o For IPv6: 2001:4860:4860::8888 and/or 2001:4860:4860::8844

9. Restart the connection you selected in step 3.
10. Repeat the procedure for additional network connections you want to change.

How to Setup Google DNS on Windows XP and Vista and Windows 7:

Example:

Changing DNS server settings on Mac OS 10.5

1. From the Apple menu, click System Preferences, then click Network.
2. If the lock icon in the lower left-hand corner of the window is locked, click the icon to make changes, and when prompted to authenticate, enter your password.
3. Select the connection for which you want to configure Google Public DNS. For example:

o To change the settings for an Ethernet connection, select Built-In Ethernet, and click Advanced.
o To change the settings for a wireless connection, select Airport, and click Advanced.

4. Select the DNS tab.
5. Click + to replace any listed addresses with, or add, the Google IP addresses at the top of the list:

o For IPv4: 8.8.8.8 and/or 8.8.4.4.
o For IPv6: 2001:4860:4860::8888 and/or 2001:4860:4860::8844

6. Click Apply and OK.
7. Repeat the procedure for additional network connections you want to change.

Example:

Change Your DNS Settings on iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad

Want to enable OpenDNS or Google DNS on your iOS device? Most default ISP DNS servers are quite slow, so you can both speed up your connection and help make it safer by switching to OpenDNS or Google DNS. Unfortunately, you can’t change DNS settings on cellular internet connections in iOS, but you can change your WiFi DNS settings to help speed up your connection. But whenever you’re on your using WiFi at your college, home, work, library, Starbucks, or anywhere else, here’s how you can switch to using the DNS server you want.

Note: This works the same on all iOS devices, so the screenshots below show it in both iPad and iPod Touch settings screens.

First, enable WiFi on your device and connect to the WiFi network you want to use. Then, tap the blue arrow button on the right side of the network name to tweak its settings.

Now, select the DNS field, select the DNS that’s already listed, then enter the DNS settings you want. Separate different DNS addresses with commas. You’ll need to know the IP addresses of the DNS resolution system you want to use. There are several common ones, including OpenDNS, Google DNS, and a couple lesser known ones such as Norton DNS or Comodo Secure DNS. I’d personally recommend using Google DNS, but you can give the others a try and choose the one that works best for you.

Here’s the addresses you should use for Google DNS:
Primary IP: 8.8.8.8
Secondary IP: 8.8.4.4

Once you’ve added the settings, you’ll be ready to browse the internet using your new DNS service without any extra changes. Enjoy!

Do note that you have to set your DNS settings on each network, so do note that you’ll need to change this the next time you connect to a new network. The good thing is, your device will remember your recently used networks, so you shouldn’t have to change the settings once you’ve got them set for your favorite networks. To make it easier, you could save a note in your favorite note app with the DNS settings you prefer so you can copy and past them to new networks easily.