Guides on web proxies and VPNs, product notes, and the small engineering choices behind opening a blocked page in ten seconds.
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New York City and Los Angeles just added AI tools to their institutional blocklists, joining a growing list of enterprises, libraries, and government networks. Here is what the block does at the DNS layer, and why the blocklist race is already lost.
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Reuters reports Russia is escalating a 'great crackdown' on VPNs. The reason each ban lands: modern DPI fingerprints VPN protocols in the first handshake packet. Here is what actually gets caught, and what still slips through.
Wisp carries many TCP and UDP connections over a single WebSocket, using a 5-byte header. Here is how the protocol works, packet by packet, and why moving TLS into the browser changes what a web proxy can reach.
Every 'best web proxy' list is a page of ads for the same five sites. Here is what actually works today — tested on real networks, ranked by real performance, with the honest downsides for each.
TikTok fails to load abroad, on hotel WiFi, or in a country with active restrictions? Here is what is actually blocking it, which method opens it fastest, and the honest trade-offs for each.
A free proxy server is a proxy you can use without paying. Here is what that phrase actually covers, the three types you will meet online, and the honest tradeoffs each one asks of you.
A smart proxy — sometimes called a rotating proxy — cycles your requests through a pool of IP addresses so they look like unrelated visitors. Here is what that means, when it matters, and when a plain proxy is enough.
Behind every proxied page load is a three-hop request: your browser, the proxy server, and the destination site. Here is exactly what happens on each hop, what each layer sees, and why the extra jump costs less than most people think.
Both a web proxy and a VPN can open a blocked YouTube video. Here is which one is faster to try, which is easier to install, what quality each delivers, and where the differences actually matter.
Chromebooks are locked to Chrome OS, restrict installs, and often run on managed networks. A web proxy is the tool designed for that constraint. Here is how it works on Chrome OS, what to expect, and where the honest limits are.
A curated list of free web proxies worth trying in 2026, with honest notes on speed, ads, session limits, and privacy — plus five questions to ask before you paste a URL into any of them.
A VPN kill switch blocks all internet traffic the moment the VPN tunnel drops. Here is what that means in practice, how the two common types differ, and when you actually need one.
A VPN tunnel is an encrypted pipe between your device and a remote server. Here is what that actually means, how it works, and what a tunnel does — and does not — hide from your ISP.
A plain-language map of who sees what, at each hop. Your local network, the proxy, the destination site, and what each one can — and cannot — see about the other two.
The word proxy means a stand-in — a person or system that acts on someone else's behalf. Here is how the everyday meaning maps to the web, in plain language.
A VPN is an app that routes every request from your device through a remote server. Here is what that means, when it helps, and when a simpler tool is enough.
A reverse proxy sits in front of your website. It handles TLS, caches responses, and picks which internal server serves each request. Here is what that means and when to add one.
A proxy routes one browser tab. A VPN routes every app on your device. Everything else is nuance. Here is when to pick each — with a plain-language comparison table.
A proxy server is a computer that fetches web pages on your behalf. Here is what that means, how a web proxy differs from a corporate one, and when each is the right tool.
A DNS block is not a firewall rule. Here is how managed-network web filters really work — DNS, IP, and deep packet inspection — in plain language, and where each one fails.
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