Programers and Hackers Unite.Follow

Get a PDA and surf wirelessly :)

It's always possible to bypass a firewall, when you are on the inside of it (not necessarily "easy", but always possible). Um. The real problem is that presumably whomever set up that firewall, and set it up to block various web sites (or more probably only allows certain web sites), did so for a reason.

You could bypass it, but why? If it's the policy of your company that you can't access those sites from work, then doing it anyway could get you terminated. Company's spend millions of dollars each year dealing with viruses downloaded by people who are browsing the web each day instead of working. If they chose to fight that by blocking sites, that's their choice, and your responsibility to adhere to that choice. I personally don't believe they protect themselves in any real way by blocking sites, but that's just me. Um. But if it gives them a good excuse to clamp down on people slacking at work, then that's their choice.


Um. All that aside, the most common way to bypass a firewall like that is to set up a proxy server outside the firewall (like your home computer). Set up the proxy to work on a port that will pass through the firewall. Then configure your work browser to connect on that port with that host as proxy. Um... Of course, the admins of your site will probably not appreciate it if you're clogging up other ports so you can surf the web, but that's a different issue...

There's a whole range of different ways that the firewall could be configured to stop that though, and other ways you can work around them. Unless you know a bit about firewalls though, I'd really advise against bothering. You're more likely to just ***** up your computer and **** off the people you work for then anything else.

Thanks for all the great comments guys. I do realize that the firewall is there for a reason, but I have been up at this job for a while accessing this site and posting as I have time.

Then all of a sudden last week I can't even connect to the site anymore. It is classified as a game site and the firewall has stopped me from being able to do anything with it. I have made a lot of friends here that all post during work and I hate that because of some blanket firewall I can no longer communicate with them.

That is what I miss and wish to be able to have again. As far as disipline goes, if someone else sets up the proxy or an admin (Read: "A communications buddy") would bypass it for me then the worst that would happen is a denial of any involvement in bypassing a firewall and a possible slap on the hand.


And just because I feel the need to say it; "Fight the power!"

Dread Lord... that chick in your avatar is uber hot o.0