TL;DR
Censorship systems often limit bandwidth to slow down access to blocked content. This guide explains how to identify these limits and use techniques like VPNs, proxies, traffic shaping, and browser extensions to bypass them.
Identifying Bandwidth Limits
- Speed Tests: Run speed tests both with and without attempting to access the censored content. A significant drop in speed when accessing blocked sites suggests bandwidth throttling.
- Use websites like Speedtest.net or Fast.com.
- Repeat the test multiple times at different times of day to get an average reading.
- Traceroute: Use traceroute to identify where the slowdown occurs.
traceroute example.com- Look for unusually high latency (ping times) at a specific hop, which might indicate the censorship point.
- Network Monitoring Tools: Use tools like Wireshark or tcpdump to analyze network traffic.
tcpdump -i eth0 host example.com- Examine packet sizes and timings for anomalies that suggest throttling. This is more advanced.
Bypassing Bandwidth Limits
- Virtual Private Networks (VPNs): VPNs encrypt your internet traffic and route it through a server in another location, masking your IP address and bypassing censorship.
- Choose a reputable VPN provider with servers in multiple countries.
- Install the VPN software on your device and connect to a server.
- Test your connection speed after connecting to the VPN.
- Proxies: Proxies act as intermediaries between your device and the internet, similar to VPNs but generally less secure.
- Find a reliable proxy server (free proxies are often slow and unreliable).
- Configure your browser or operating system to use the proxy server. Browser settings usually have a section for configuring proxy servers.
- Test your connection speed after setting up the proxy.
- Traffic Shaping (Advanced): Some routers allow you to prioritize certain types of traffic.
- Access your router’s configuration page (usually through a web browser).
- Look for Quality of Service (QoS) settings.
- Prioritize the traffic associated with accessing censored content, if possible. This may not always be effective.
- Browser Extensions: Some browser extensions can help bypass censorship and improve connection speed.
- Examples include Psiphon (for circumventing internet censorship) and Hola VPN (use with caution, as it has privacy concerns).
- Install the extension from your browser’s app store.
- Enable the extension and test your connection speed.
- Tor Browser: Tor routes your traffic through a network of relays, providing anonymity and bypassing censorship.
- Download and install the Tor Browser from the Tor Project website.
- Be aware that Tor can be significantly slower than other methods due to its layered encryption.
Additional Tips
- Use Multiple Methods: Combining VPNs, proxies, and browser extensions can improve your chances of bypassing bandwidth limits.
- Change Servers/Proxies Regularly: Censorship systems often block known IP addresses. Switching servers or proxies frequently can help avoid detection.
- Check for DNS Leaks: Ensure that your DNS requests are being routed through the VPN or proxy server to prevent censorship.
- Use websites like DNSLeakTest to check for leaks.