Glossary · Circumvention

IP blocking

Also calledip blockip-based block

Definition

IP blocking drops packets destined for specific IP addresses at the network firewall level — bypasses DNS entirely.

Explanation

In depth

When a firewall implements IP blocking, changing your DNS server does not help — even if you resolve the destination hostname correctly, the packets get dropped in transit. IP blocking is more heavyweight to maintain than DNS filtering because IPs change (especially for CDN-fronted sites), so lists need constant updates. National-level filters use IP blocking against known VPN endpoints and social platform edge IPs. Enterprise firewalls IP-block category providers wholesale. Defeating IP blocking requires either a proxy at a different IP (which the blocker has not yet added to the list) or an obfuscated tunnel that hides the destination IP entirely.

Related terms

DNS filteringDNS filtering blocks websites by making the DNS resolver return a fake response — the cheapest and most common first-line censorship tool.DPI (Deep Packet Inspection)Deep packet inspection reads not just packet headers but payload contents to identify and filter specific protocols, applications, or destinations.ProxyA proxy is a server that acts on your behalf — it makes network requests for you and hands the responses back to your device.IP addressAn IP address is a numeric identifier assigned to each device on a network — how packets know where to go.

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