Are you miffed that you cannot access your favorite websites using your school’s Wi-Fi connection? From YouTube to Snapchat, Spotify to Netflix, Facebook to Twitter, computer game sites, and even Wikipedia, many schools block popular sites that they believe could be distracting to students. A VPN is really your only option if you want to consistently unblock school Wi-Fi and enjoy the internet privately and safely.
Why Schools Block Wi-Fi?
Free Wi-Fi is music to any student’s ears. But, let’s face it – free internet at school isn’t completely free! A lot of the time, you will only be able to access a handful of websites and nothing more. Most sites will be blocked, even those that are actually important for your studies.
Schools might make some websites inaccessible via the institution’s Wi-Fi to prevent abuse. For example, students might spend a lot of time on social media or adult sites, which can be a considerable source of distraction.
Blocking Wi-Fi is also a way for institutions to minimize high-bandwidth activities such as torrenting and streaming, which can overload and slow down the internet connection.
These might all be good reasons but it is obviously very frustrating to be unable to access the websites you want to. In particular, if you live in college, Wi-Fi restrictions can be a huge deal-breaker.
Fortunately, bypassing these firewalls imposed by colleges is quite easy. With a good VPN, you should be on your way to enjoying the internet as you should.
Can You Unblock Wi-Fi Without a VPN?
You might have heard that you could use tools such as free proxies, instead of VPNs, to unblock blocked websites. VPNs and proxies do have a few similarities but they also have some important differences.
For starters, both can hide your real IP address by routing your traffic to a remote server. However, and this is super important, a VPN encrypts your traffic so anyone who is looking cannot see the websites you are visiting or your activities there.
ExpressVPN : the best VPN solution of 2024 >
On the contrary, a proxy does not hide your traffic, leaving you exposed to prying eyes. A VPN is the only way to not only bypass blocks but to also access the internet privately and securely.
Sure, many proxy servers are free but these free services usually sell your data to make money. On the other hand, you can snag a trustable VPN at affordable prices.
If you are looking for a low-cost provider, check out our selection of VPN providers that cost less than 3$ / month.
How a VPN Helps to Unblock Wi-Fi?
If you were wondering whether there is a VPN alternative for unblocking your school internet, now you know the answer is NO. A virtual private network is the only way to get around website blocks imposed by your school’s network administrator.
A VPN helps on several fronts. First, it spoofs your location so your traffic will not appear to be coming from school. Instead, it directs your traffic through its servers located elsewhere other than your institution.
This way, your online activity will not trigger any firewalls, allowing you to access any website you want.
Additionally, a Virtual Private Network such as ExpressVPN encrypts the traffic coming from your computer or phone. As such, the IT people at school would not be able to tell the types of websites you are visiting or what you are doing there.
You will have peace of mind knowing that your online activities are completely private.
The VPN Advantage
Other inferior methods of bypassing Wi-Fi blocks may require complicated, manual setting, which is completely unnecessary.
On the other hand, it’s super easy to install your VPN on your computer or smartphone—just download the app, connect to a server, and start browsing safely and anonymously.
The Best VPNs for School
Now that you know how to use a Virtual Private Network, we’re gonna present to you our favorite providers.
All offer perfect privacy and will manage to unblock your university network.
Here are 3 of the best VPNs for school:
ExpressVPN
Even though it’s not the cheapest provider, it is definitely the top of the top in 2024. You can rely on its super easy-to-use apps for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS to anonymously browse the internet.
Enjoy their 30-day money-back guarantee to test the service risk-free.
NordVPN
Another great choice for people looking for the best VPN for school is NordVPN. This Virtual Private Network service is cheaper than ExpressVPN and also does the job well.
The only weakness is speed. It’s not the fastest provider out there. Yet, if you don’t need super-fast speeds, it will definitely do the job well and you won’t regret your choice.
CyberGhost
Finally, the third provider we can recommend for bypassing the school’s Wi-Fi block is CyberGhost. It’s cheap, easy to use, and comes with a 45-day money-back guarantee.
If you want to make your mind, you can try it right now. You’ll see that it definitely deserves its place among the best VPNs for school.
Quentin is the co-founder of the-bestvpn.com. With several experiences as a System and Network Engineer, he is very knowledgeable when it comes to VPN, cybersecurity and the risks of using the Internet nowadays.
