Privacy

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A place to discuss privacy and freedom in the digital world.

Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.

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Need Help Bypassing Firewall Restrictions at My School (discuss.tchncs.de)

submitted 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Hi everyone,

I'm currently facing some frustrating restrictions with the public Wi-Fi at my school. It's an open Wi-Fi network without a password, but the school has implemented a firewall (Fortinet) that blocks access to certain websites and services, including VPNs like Mullvad and ProtonVPN. This makes it difficult for me to maintain my privacy online, especially since I don't want the school to monitor me excessively.

After uninstalling Mullvad, I tried to download it again, but I found that even a search engine (Startpage) is blocked, which is incredibly frustrating! Here’s what happened:

The Wi-Fi stopped working when I had the VPN enabled.
I disabled the VPN, but still couldn't connect.
I forgot the Wi-Fi network and reset the driver, but still no luck.
I uninstalled the Mullvad, and then the Wi-Fi worked again.
I tried to access Startpage to search for an up-to-date package for Mullvad, but it was blocked.
I used my phone to get the software file and sent it over, but couldn't connect.
I searched for different VPNs using DuckDuckGo, but the whole site was blocked.
I tried searching for Mullvad, but that was blocked too.
I attempted to use Tor with various bridges, but couldn't connect for some unknown reason.
I finally settled for Onionfruit Connect, but it doesn't have a kill switch, which makes me uneasy.

Ironically, websites that could be considered harmful, like adult content, gambling sites and online gaming sites, are still accessible, while privacy-tools are blocked.

I'm looking for advice on how to bypass these firewall restrictions while ensuring my online safety and privacy. Any suggestions or alternative methods would be greatly appreciated! (If any advice is something about Linux, it could be a Problem, since my school enforces Windows 11 only PC's which is really really igngamblingThanks in advance for your help

edit: did some formatting

edit2: It is my device, which I own and bought with my own money. I also have gotten in trouble for connecting to tor and searching for tor, but I stated that I only used it to protect my privacy. Honestly I will do everything to protect my privacy so I don't care if I will get in trouble.

edit 3: Thanks for the suggestions, if I haven't responded yet, that's because I don't know what will happen.

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[–] [email protected] 55 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Here are some good rule of thumbs for work and schools:

do not connect to their networks with your personal devices, ever.
Only use work/ school devices on their own network.
Do not do anything personal on those networks. only do work/school related tasks. This means don't log into any non school/work accounts.
If for some reason they don't have a device for you but require you to use their network, then leave your personal devices at home claiming you don't own one and make them accommodate you.

You cannot expect privacy in these situations, and by going to the extreme lengths to try to get it then you will ironically just paint a bigger target on your back if any network admin cares. In some cases this can cost you your job or get you in trouble with the school.