Circumventing internet censorship

Disclaimer: the Above network and myself can not be held responsible for any legal action taken against your person if you choose to use this information to visit/download data on the internet that might be blocked for viewing/download in your respective country of residence.

So, with all the laws being passed lately both in the USA and EU that are already resulting in various websites being blocked in certain countries, i'd like to present you all with a fast and and easy way to get around these content bans.

I guess we all know about the use of proxy servers but this can be quite tedious.

What not alot of people know though, is that it can be done much easier, quite literally with the click of your mouse.

Step 1: go to www.opera.com...
Step 2: download the Opera browser for your corresponding system. (very stable browser akin to Firefox)
Step 3: Install the software
Step 4: In the bottom left corner of the browser there is a selection menu for various modes the browser has for operation. The button most to the right is to enable "Turbo mode", turn this option on.
Step 5: browse to the site of your choosing, et voila, no more ISP blocks.

How does this work?

Turbo Mode is originally meant for people who have a slow internet connection. What happens is that the browser compresses the data and routes it trough a server hosted by opera itself, which at the same time functions as a DNS. So your ISP can't see what site you are visiting behind the Opera server. How long this will keep working is something i can't tell, but for now, it works.

Enjoy!

But what's Opera's policy on censorship? Can they be made/ordered to block sites?

reply to post by XeroOne


Only if their server is hosted in a country that has an active ban on websites they can be forced to also block it.

I don't know where their current server is hosted but it would be as easy as relocating somewhere else if this would become a problem. (like TPB did some time ago)

Wait - how does this stop internet censorship? It might mask your browsing history but I'm not clear how one would use it to access "censored" sites?

reply to post by Castillo


That depends mostly on what sites your ISP and government are blocking. Basically you redirect requests to a server in another country that doesn't censor whatever you're trying to access.

In other words, if your ISP is preventing you from accessing a site, you can get Opera's server to fetch the web pages for you, and relay them to your browser.

Originally posted by Castillo
Wait - how does this stop internet censorship? It might mask your browsing history but I'm not clear how one would use it to access "censored" sites?

This doesnt STOP censorship, it gives you away to go around it.

The way it works is that your ISP will see you connect to the opera server, and then the opera server routes your connection to the desired site.

ETA: this is also the reason for the disclaimer because you break the law of your country if you willingly use this to bypass censorship

Originally posted by Romekje
How long this will keep working is something i can't tell, but for now, it works.

Well, now that you've spilled the beans, now that they know that we know another use for the turbo option, probably not very long. Thanks.......dude.

To answer someone else's question though, it doesn't stop internet censorship....it circumvents it. Hence the title of the OP. It's a "loophole" that was intended for one purpose yet serves another.

You can't stop the authorities from doing what they do. All you have to do is outwit them, which isn't very hard, then keep your mouth closed ( OP ) so they don't know what you're doing.

reply to post by Taupin Desciple


I've been keeping my mouth shut for 6 versions of the browser already, i thought it was about time i'd share the knowledge

On the other hand, i can't imagine this not being known by many, many more people already.

Just a quick question, sometimes I watch shows from the UK or USA (I'm in Oz) and wan't to check out websites relating to the shows regarding behind the scenes stuff, but most of the time it says something like "This content can not be viewed in your country" etc.

Would using this Opera browser bypass those sites restrictions on my location?? Also, will turning on Turbo mode open my system up to potential security problems?

reply to post by Qumulys


Your computer is actually safer like this since your own IP is masked.

And yes, you should be able to open country-restricted sites aswell, depending on the location of the Opera server (which i dont know, sorry)

If the Opera server is also located in a country that's blocked by that particular website, it won't work either.

reply to post by Qumulys


Yes, but disable Geolocation in your browser first.

reply to post by Romekje


Thanks for the info, and you too XeroOne!

Might give Opera a whirl now knowing this extra info

reply to post by Qumulys


Your welcome

Originally posted by Romekje

Originally posted by Castillo
Wait - how does this stop internet censorship? It might mask your browsing history but I'm not clear how one would use it to access "censored" sites?

This doesnt STOP censorship, it gives you away to go around it.

If the site has been censored - as in the servers have been seized - you can't get around it.

If your ISP won't let you connect to a site that's a different story. "Censorship" seems to portend something more drastic, though, like this:

bits.blogs.nytimes.com...

Originally posted by Castillo

Originally posted by Romekje

Originally posted by Castillo
Wait - how does this stop internet censorship? It might mask your browsing history but I'm not clear how one would use it to access "censored" sites?

This doesnt STOP censorship, it gives you away to go around it.

If the site has been censored - as in the servers have been seized - you can't get around it.

If your ISP won't let you connect to a site that's a different story. "Censorship" seems to portend something more drastic, though, like this:

bits.blogs.nytimes.com...

Seizing of servers isn't censorship.

This is about IP/ISP based internet blocks.

Originally posted by Romekje

Originally posted by Castillo

Originally posted by Romekje

Originally posted by Castillo
Wait - how does this stop internet censorship? It might mask your browsing history but I'm not clear how one would use it to access "censored" sites?

This doesnt STOP censorship, it gives you away to go around it.

If the site has been censored - as in the servers have been seized - you can't get around it.

If your ISP won't let you connect to a site that's a different story. "Censorship" seems to portend something more drastic, though, like this:

bits.blogs.nytimes.com...

Seizing of servers isn't censorship.

This is about IP/ISP based internet blocks.

Yes it is.

An ISP block, as I said, is not "censorship." Censorship means the complete closure of access to a medium or media. An ISP block is situational.

reply to post by Castillo


Get your facts straight really.

A censor isn't the physical removal of servers, that's a ban, and would require a lawsuit in order to be carried out since it goes against freedom of commerce.

A censor can be done without a court case, by forcing ISP's to block access, who then in turn can fight the descision.

If you remove servers, you basically tell the HOST that it's not allowed to to business in your country.

If a censor is put up, it's to block potential customers/users.

Whole different issue.