Access restrictions on websites are increasingly common. Whether caused by geo-blocking, network firewalls, IP bans, DNS filtering, or content controls, blocked websites affect everyday users, businesses, journalists, researchers, and developers alike.
This comprehensive guide explains how to circumvent blocked websites, covering all major methods, how they work, when to use them, and their limitations. It also clarifies which approaches scale for professional and automation use cases.
Important context: This guide focuses on accessing publicly available content and understanding network-level restrictions. Users are responsible for complying with local laws, organizational policies, and terms of service.
Before choosing a solution, it’s important to understand why a site is blocked.
Common reasons include:
Different block types require different circumvention methods.
In rare cases, a site may appear blocked due to:
Closing incognito or private browsing windows resets local session data.
However, incognito mode does not bypass real blocks such as IP bans, geo-restrictions, or firewalls.
DNS-based blocking is common on:
Switching to public DNS resolvers can bypass simple DNS filtering.
Popular alternatives include:
Limitations:
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) encrypts traffic and routes it through a remote server.
VPNs are best suited for individual browsing, not professional data access.
Web proxies allow users to access a site through a browser-based intermediary.
Web proxies are not reliable long-term solutions.
Proxies are the most effective and scalable way to circumvent blocked websites.
A proxy routes your requests through a different IP address, allowing access when your original IP is blocked or restricted.
For most professional use cases, datacenter proxies provide the best balance of cost, performance, and scale.
With datacenter proxies, you can:
This makes them ideal for:
ProxiesThatWork specializes exclusively in bulk datacenter proxies, optimized for high-volume access and automation.
Even with proxies, static IP usage can lead to blocking.
IP rotation distributes requests across multiple IPs, reducing detection.
Rotation can be:
Bulk proxy pools make rotation straightforward and cost-efficient.
Related reading:
Some websites block based on fingerprinting rather than IP alone.
Fingerprinting may analyze:
Fingerprint management is often paired with proxies for advanced access scenarios.
Tor routes traffic through multiple volunteer nodes.
Tor is best suited for anonymity-focused use cases, not data access or business workflows.
| Method | Bypasses IP Blocks | Scales | Suitable for Automation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incognito Mode | No | No | No |
| DNS Change | Limited | No | No |
| VPN | Sometimes | No | No |
| Web Proxy | Sometimes | No | No |
| Tor | Yes | No | No |
| Datacenter Proxies | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Circumventing blocks should always be done responsibly:
Professional proxy use focuses on reliable access, not misuse.
If you are dealing with occasional browsing restrictions, simple methods like DNS changes or VPNs may work.
If you need consistent, scalable access to blocked websites—especially for research, automation, or business intelligence—proxies are the most reliable solution.
ProxiesThatWork provides affordable, high-performance bulk datacenter proxies designed specifically for bypassing IP-based restrictions at scale, without the instability of consumer VPNs or free proxy tools.
Used correctly, proxies enable responsible, efficient access to the open web.
Jesse Lewis is a researcher and content contributor for ProxiesThatWork, covering compliance trends, data governance, and the evolving relationship between AI and proxy technologies. He focuses on helping businesses stay compliant while deploying efficient, scalable data-collection pipelines.