Can VPNs Actually Bypass the Firewall? Explore Everything

There is a hot debate among techies about whether a free or paid VPN can bypass the firewall. Some believe government or organizational firewalls can restrict you from browsing particular platforms. However, only some claim you can approach the banned sites using VPNs within seconds. 

So, this article is going to discuss this topic in detail. However, before answering this matter, we will share what VPNs and firewalls are.

What is a Firewall?

Firewalls are typically used to track approaching and departing traffic over the internet. Then, firewalls decide what is permitted or what they have to block. A firewall follows specific rules to define datasets. Businesses and governments can also leverage firewalls to choke traffic from a particular country, site, app, or port.

If we talk about the uses of firewalls, it is not only governments that use this approach to ban a few social media platforms. Indeed, several enterprises install on-premises firewalls to keep their employees away from specific social apps or sites during working hours. In addition, firewalls can also protect users from cyberattacks. 

The popular firewall types are proxy firewalls, stateless packet-filtering firewalls, and stateful firewalls. 

What is a VPN?

Virtual Private Network or VPN generates an encrypted channel to keep your internet flow private. Yes, VPNs are reliable for crafting safe connections between your internet and browsing device. Third parties like system admins, governments, companies, and internet providers can’t access your activity when you use a VPN.

They may need thousands of years to decipher this data. Moreover, your IP addresses are masked when you employ a VPN service, so it is hard to discover your location. However, it is crucial to pick a trusted provider hereof.

Can a VPN Bypass a Firewall?

This is a commonly asked question, and our answer is ‘yes.’ Indeed, a VPN service can smoothly bypass a firewall. Withal, their usage could vary from situation to situation. Likewise, if your school or company uses a low to medium-level firewall system, you can bypass it using free extensions in the breeze. 

While if an enterprise depends on a powerful firewall system, it can create trouble for you. In such cases, only premium and top-rated VPNs work. So, whether it is a free VPN or a paid one, it can burke a firewall.

Things to Do if Firewall Restricts A VPN?

This is another bitter reality that firewalls can ban VPNs with social and streaming sites. A firewall usually blocks a desired port that a VPN service provider uses to confer functionalities. If you are facing the same issue, you can follow these suggestions:

Shift the Data

You should switch to mobile data if you consume public wi-fi or a company’s internet service. In this way, you can quickly detour this restriction and approach the VPN to unmask desired sites for free.

Modify Ports & Protocols 

VPNs grant several protocols and ports to create a strong network. Withal, if a firewall blocks these protocols, you should switch from one option to another. Some popular ports are 80 (HTTP), TCP 1723, and TCP 443. 

By the same token, transferring from one protocol to another is possible. SoftEther VPN, IKEv2, IPsec, L2TP, OpenVPN, and SSTP are prominent protocols. Technology experts advise choosing the less employed protocol to unban the sites in restricted areas.

SSH Tunneling 

A method that transits inconsistent networking data over an encoded Secure Shell Protocol link refers to SSH tunneling. VPN companies typically utilize this approach to bypass censorship through firewalls. All in all, SSH tunneling is another of the finest techniques for dealing with a firewall.

Shadowsocks 

The Shadowsocks approach is commonly used in China. Indeed, this robust open-source protocol has the ability to bypass the firewall installed by the Chinese government. In this regard, shadowsocks outwits the ban by encoding data packs between internet users and servers.  

Obfuscation Techniques

Our last recommendation about bypassing a firewall if your VPN is also blocked is obfuscation techniques. These techniques are also about encryption and compression. It displays your browsing data very normalized, making it challenging for firewalls to track you. 

Hopefully, this detailed guide will assist our readers in understanding the myths about VPNs and firewalls. Now, you can use a VPN with more confidence, mainly when it comes to deceiving a firewall.