Getting Access to Facebook and other Blocked Pages When Traveling

The Great Firewall of China is widely heard of, creating frustration among travelers who want to share their holiday memories or just get in touch with those back home. The pages and programs that are blocked include Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Gmail, Blogger and so on, and it is not only in China that these pages are blocked, so it can be smart preparing for this before you leave home by using one of the three options listed below:The best thing to do before you go would be to set up a VPN server from back home. The simple reason is that the pages where you can do this are usually also blocked in these countries. With the biggest VPN service providers like StrongVPN is is a simple thing and should also work well, but I forgot to do this before leaving and had to use the two other alternatives.

Using a proxy server like www.proxy-center.com is the absolutely easiest alternative but it is slow and usually only works for a short time at a time. The service lets you type in a webaddress and then an external server redirects you to the page you want to visit. This would be the best alternative if all you need is a quick check like for email and social media pages.

If you are surfing from a tablet or smartphone, it is possible to download an app that will set up a VPN server for you. I tried several ones while being in China, but VPN Express was the only free (trial that will work for just a few days) one I got to work. I have heard that there are a few other good alternatives out there like ibVPN and Faceless VPN but these seem like they have to be launched before going into China. Are you willing to pay a little for it, it is also possible to buy apps that will let you get through these firewalls without any restrictions so that you can surf these pages as long as you want. Just as if you were sitting in your favorite couch back at home.