Tag: filter
Bypassing websense using proxy
by Frederick Tybalt on Mar.27, 2012, under Internet
In many of the corporate and government institutions usage of internet is restricted using content filtering software’s like websense. Websense is commonly used software for content filtering and monitoring the internet activity so as to restrict the employees visiting the internet sites while at work. Websense is designed to block the site content in several categories like adult content, entertainment, drugs, games, sports, peer-to-peer sharing, gambling, instant messaging, emails, health, illegal, job search, religion, travel, violence, weapons, advertisements, freeware, software download, pay to surf, malicious website and many more. The software also tracks individual internet usage for the purpose of collecting and reporting on any browsing deviating from the standards set by the library, government or other employer, and its reports can be data drilled by risk class, category, URL, application, user, workstation, dates, and more
The concept behind Websense is simple, whenever an employee attempts to visit a specific webpage; a request is generated and then passes through a firewall. Websense looks at this request and it allows or disallows the request depending on if the requested URL is in the Websense database. In transparent mode, Websense counts on the fact that the firewall will forward the whole request in a single time. If the whole request is not transferred at one time, Websense will allow the packet to pass, as the packet doesn’t look like a HTTP request. If you want to bypass Websense and browse any page, you can use several techniques to bypass Websense’s filtering and authentication process.
Bypassing Websense using a Web Proxy
One method used to bypass Websense is to use a web-based proxy site. With a web proxy, Websense sees you browse to the web proxy and not to the web site you are actually browsing to. You can browse to the web based proxy site, and then the web proxy browses to the web site you actually wanted to visit. The reason that these web proxies are able to bypass Websense is the ‘S’ in the HTTP address (https://) stands for secure connection and Websense does not block such secured connections. This is probably the simplest way to get around the Websense program as it takes little time and no one will wonder what you are up to. To find a current web proxy, visit proxy page.
Creating your own Web proxy
The constraint with the above practice is that the web based proxy site could be blocked under the category “proxy” in websense because these are commonly used proxy site. The alternate approach is that you can build your own proxy site if can afford for a web hosting. PHP Web proxy is an open source tool that can be deployed in your website and enable your website for web proxy access. Here the constraint is that you website could be blocked in any of the other categories mentioned above. For this you could make your website as HTTPS enable using RAPIDSSL or any of the cheap or free SSL certificates.
Bypassing Websense using HTTP Tunneling
You can also bypass Websense by using HTTP Tunneling. HTTP Tunneling programs work well to bypass Websense. Most programs also come with options, which help you to destroy the history of your Internet and Widows activity. What this means is that you can ensure comfort and security of your online activities and can spoof your web browser information. One can download HTTP Tunneling software programs from the Internet for free or inexpensively. HTTP Tunnel software consists of client-server HTTP Tunneling applications that integrate with existing application software, permitting them to be used in conditions of restricted network connectivity including firewall networks, networks behind proxy servers, and NATs.