Schools that monitor the Internet by blocking potentially-harmful sites can be sidestepped with relative ease by the tech-savvy child. These are the most frequent tools and methods kids use to bypass the controls schools set up to keep them safe:
1. Use A Proxy Server
While using a proxy server may sound complicated, it’s as simple as typing “proxy” into a search engine (like Google), clicking on one of the free links to a proxy server available and then entering in the URL of the site you want to visit. Essentially what this does is allow the student to utilize another Internet server (besides the one available via the school computer) to access the web. Since the student is no longer using the school server to access the web, the student now has a certain amount of anonymity and access to previously blocked sites.
2. Create A Proxy Server
This is basically the same as using a proxy, but instead of using a proxy server that has already been set up, the child is creating their own. This can be accomplished even if the school has had the foresight to block many of the known proxy servers because this creates an entirely new one to use.
3. Use Alternate WIFI Sources Or Cellular Data
Another relatively simple way around school Internet restrictions is to use another wifi source or cellular data to access the Internet. The school blocks can only be used if the child is using the school wifi, so by not joining the wifi, students have access to whatever is permitted on the wifi they choose.
4. Get The Admin Password
While it might seem likes students could never gain access to the admin password for a computer, many students find the admin password written on a sticky note on a teacher’s desk. Others are good guessers, particularly if admins aren’t too complicated (“admin1234”) or known sports fans (“rolltide” or “wareagle”).
Dabney Bragg
