Editing Internet filter (section)

==Bypassing filters==
{{Main article|Internet censorship circumvention}}

Content filtering in general can "be bypassed entirely by tech-savvy individuals." Blocking content on a device "[will not]…guarantee that users won't eventually be able to find a way around the filter."<ref name="techsoup">{{cite web|url=http://www.cityvision.edu/wiki/understanding-content-filtering-faq-nonprofits|title=Understanding Content Filtering: An FAQ for Nonprofits|last=Satterfield|first=Brian|date=4 June 2007|website=[[TechSoup]].org|access-date=24 June 2013}}</ref> Content providers may change [[URL|URLs]] or [[IP address|IP addresses]] to circumvent filtering. Individuals with technical expertise may use a different method by employing multiple domains or URLs that direct to a shared IP address where restricted content is present. This strategy doesn't circumvent [[Packet filtering|IP packet filtering]], however can evade [[DNS spoofing|DNS poisoning]] and [[Proxy server|web proxies]]. Additionally, perpetrators may use mirrored websites that avoid filters.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Varadharajan |first=Vijay |date=July 2010 |title=Internet filtering - Issues and challenges |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/msp.2010.131 |journal=IEEE Security & Privacy |volume=8 |issue=4 |pages=62–65 |doi=10.1109/msp.2010.131 |issn=1540-7993}}</ref>

Some software may be bypassed successfully by using alternative protocols such as [[File Transfer Protocol|FTP]] or [[telnet]] or [[HTTPS]], conducting searches in a different language, using a [[proxy server]] or a circumventor such as [[Psiphon]]. Also cached web pages returned by Google or other searches could bypass some controls as well. Web syndication services may provide alternate paths for content. Some of the more poorly designed programs can be shut down by killing their processes: for example, in [[Microsoft Windows]] through the Windows [[Task Manager]], or in [[Mac OS X]] using Force Quit or [[Activity Monitor (macOS)|Activity Monitor]]. Numerous workarounds and counters to workarounds from content-control software creators exist. [[Google]] services are often blocked by filters, but these may most often be bypassed by using ''https://'' in place of ''http://'' since content filtering software is not able to interpret content under secure connections (in this case SSL).{{Update inline|date=January 2023|reason=SSL is an outdated protocol, and most content control filters block websites using TLS protocols.}}

An encrypted [[VPN]] can be used as means of bypassing content control software, especially if the content control software is installed on an Internet gateway or firewall. Other ways to bypass a content control filter include translation sites and [[IP tunnel|establishing a remote connection]] with an uncensored device.<ref name="comdodome">{{cite web|url=https://cdome.comodo.com/bypass-avoid-internet-filters.php|title=Is It Possible To Easily Avoid Internet Filters?|date=4 June 2007|website=[[Comodo Cybersecurity]]|access-date=2 October 2018}}</ref>