In this post, we will discuss ‘bypassing website blocks’ in the following sections:
- Frequent reasons why people experience IP blocks
- Four ways to troubleshoot IP bans
- Why do some believe proxies to be the most effective tool?
Frequent reasons why people experience IP blocks
A person or company’s IP address may be blocked from a website or platform’s server with a message like “Your IP has been banned” for a number of reasons, such as:
- Spamming for commercial use, such as mass messaging or advertising a product or service without first receiving platform consent
- Post links on forums, social media sites, and platforms that divert traffic to another domain
- Performing web data collection from a target website. This is called a ‘rate limitation’. Different sites will block a requesting IP at a different rate. For example, ‘50 requests per minute’, which is above average and identified as abnormal behavior.
- Trying to access a website from a geolocation or device type that is blocked. For example, a Chinese IP may be trying to access an American eCommerce website, or a desktop/Residential IP is trying to access an application only open to mobile devices.
Four ways to troubleshoot IP bans
Here are four ways to help you easily bypass some of the internet’s most common IP bans:
#1: Switch out your Media Access Control (MAC) address
MACs are individual network addresses assigned to a network interface controller and are used in the context of communications inside a network segment. Many platforms may choose to block your MAC address in addition to your IP address, which is why it is important to take care of this and make sure that this is not what is preventing your IP from operating normally.
A step-by-step guide to changing your computer’s MAC address
Step one: Head on over and click on your computer’s ‘Settings’
Step two: Hit ‘Network & Internet’
Step three: Go into the ‘Change adapter options’
Step four: Right-click your internet adapter and hit ‘properties’
Step five: Select ‘Client for Microsoft Networks’, and then hit ‘Configure’.
Step six: Head to the ‘Advanced tab -> Then hit ‘Network Address’
Step seven: Go to browserling, create a new MAC address and then copy and paste it into the ‘Value’ box. Now hit ‘Ok’, and wait a few seconds.
#2: Change your IP address using a VPN
One of the most logical things to do when the IP address that you are operating with has been banned is to opt for a VPN. Bright VPN, is one of the best free premium VPNs currently available on the market.
VPNs are useful in that they change your IP address so that your activity is not restricted. It not only changes your IP address, but it can also help you change your perceived location as well as the Internet Service Provider (ISP) that you are currently using.
Good VPN services do not track/store browsing history logs, traffic destinations, data content, or DNS queries. They should also employ IKEv2 (Internet Key Exchange version 2) connection encryption technology, which is a VPN encryption protocol that handles all request-and-response actions.
A step-by-step guide to installing Bright’s free VPN
Step one: Download the VPN
Step two: Install it on your device
Step three: Change your IP address to a location of your choice and a randomized number combination
Step four: Navigate to your target website, and circumvent the previously enforced IP ban
#3: Clear your computer’s cache & ‘digital residue’
When attempting to access a platform or application that you have been blocked from, very often there are files on your computer pertaining to that program that need to first be removed.
Be sure to do this by searching your entire computer for the name of the program in question or by manually combing through the following computer folders:
- C:/programfiles
- C:/programfiles (x86)
- C:/%programdata%
A step-by-step guide on removing digital leftovers
Step one: Hit the Windows key + R and then type in the word ‘Regedit’
Step two: A window will open with different locations on your computer – copy and paste these into the search bar
Step three: Delete anything related to the application or program whose ban you are attempting to circumvent
#4: Uninstall the program or browser
Depending on what you are trying to access, go ahead and uninstall the application, program, or browser that you are using if your target is a web page.
A step-by-step guide on uninstalling a browser/program
Step one: Head over to the ‘Control Panel’, and choose ‘Programs’
Step two: Now click ‘Programs & Features’
Step three: Right-click the program in question and hit ‘Uninstall’
Why do some believe proxies to be the most effective tool?
The above-mentioned techniques can be effective for simple IP bans, especially for individuals looking to gain access to specific sites. But if you are a company dealing with data collection on a much larger scale, you may want to consider professional proxy services.
Many target sites will use complex architectures or preempt high traffic crawling by employing human behavior checking techniques. Buying a proxy can be an extremely effective way of solving CAPTCHAs and unlocking sites.
Bright Data offers proxy solutions that are more effective for the following reasons:
- Our proxy networks work with tools that use automatic IP address rotation, meaning that success rates are very high. By using tools such as the ‘Proxy Manager’ you will rarely get blocked by a target site, and if you do, a fresh IP address will be swapped in.
- Our Residential Proxy Network gives you access to IP addresses in every geolocation in the world. So if your company needs to check competitor pricing on an American eCommerce website from China, you can use a real user’s IP address located in New York, for example.
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