Are you trying to access YouTube from work and you don’t have access or it doesn’t load any videos? Normally, companies use various filters to prevent their workers from accessing certain Internet pages.
This is usually done to prevent access to websites that in principle are not considered productive or related to our work environment. A good example is video platforms, news websites and sports results, movies, etc. And of course, also YouTube .
In today’s guide, we will therefore see how we can bypass that restriction to watch YouTube videos from work without problems. Before we begin, we must bear in mind that companies can use various methods (proxy filtering, firewalls, modification of the PC’s “hosts” file, etc.) to prevent access to certain pages . If we see that any of these methods does not work, let’s try the next one.
How to watch YouTube videos from work
Of course, depending on the strength of the filtering and the type of Internet access control applied by each company, it is possible that they will neutralize all our attempts to watch videos on YouTube. In any case, some may serve us perfectly, so do not give up on your efforts. Luck!
1# Connect to YouTube through Proxysite
Proxysite is a page that uses servers located in various parts of the planet to access YouTube. When we connect to Proxysite, we only have to select the server -we can leave the one that appears by default-, confirm that we have loaded the YouTube URL in the search engine and click on the “GO” button.
In this way, we can enter our favorite video platform without restrictions. And not only that, since we can also access content with regional blocking thanks to the different servers that Proxysite makes available to us. One of the simplest and most practical ways to circumvent blocks by loading YouTube from another page .
This website is very popular, which means that many times the server is saturated and does not allow the videos to be loaded. To solve it, it is best to try another server (I usually use the “US9” and “US10” servers, which are usually not very saturated).
If you have problems you can also try other web proxies, such as HideMyAss, 4everproxy , Hide.Me or Sneakme . You can find more information about the characteristics and differences between these proxy services on the Proxysite website in the post « The best proxy servers to browse anonymously ».
2# Use the Google translator to see the videos without restriction
A good trick to be able to watch YouTube videos is to use the Google translator as an unblocking tool . In the text to be translated, we simply enter the URL of the YouTube video that we want to see and click on “ Translate ”.
If we look closely we will see that the translation is nothing more than the same address, but with a link that can be clicked. Click on the link and you will see how the video will automatically load within the translator, skipping the block.
That is, instead of playing the video on youtube.com, it will be shown on translate.google.com. Perfect to avoid systems that restrict access by domain.
Of course, keep in mind that it is recommended that the target language in the translator be Spanish, to avoid problems when loading the corresponding YouTube page.
3# Create a Wi-Fi access point with your mobile
If our work network blocks us from YouTube videos, an easy method to “dodge” this restriction is to connect to another network. If you have a guest Wi-Fi in your office and your PC has a wireless connection, take advantage and connect to that network. Guest Wi-Fi probably won’t have such strong restrictions and will allow you to access YouTube. Of course, it may be necessary to contact the company’s IT staff so that they provide you with a username and password to access the Wi-Fi.
Another similar method is to create your own Wi-Fi network or hotspot with your mobile phone and connect to it with your work PC. On Android you can create a Wi-Fi network by following these steps:
- Enter the Android “Settings” general menu.
- Go to ” Network and Internet“.
- Click on ” Internet Sharing“.
- Activate the tab « Use Internet Sharing«.
- Finally, click on « Access point password» to set a password for the new network you just created.
Now that you have created the Wi-Fi network, simply connect to it from your work PC. Company network content restriction policies may still apply. In this case, you will have to disconnect the ethernet cable from the computer’s network socket, or log out of the PC and log in with a local user account.
If you have trouble sharing Wi-Fi with your mobile phone, take a look at the tutorial « How to create a Wi-Fi hotspot on Android ».
4# Access anonymously with the TOR browser
The TOR browser is one of the safest ways to browse the Internet. If we access YouTube through TOR, we prevent our service provider from “reading” (and consequently blocking access) the pages we visit, our credentials and our history.
We can install the official TOR browser, the TOR Browser, totally free from the developer’s own website .
Note: This method may cause us more problems, since in many companies users do not have permission to install applications on their PC. If this is our case, let’s try the following “trick”.
5# Use a VPN application
Another easy way to bypass work restrictions to watch YouTube videos is to use an application that allows us to establish a VPN connection to hide our IP address . If in your company or office you do not have blocked the installation of applications, you can try a lot of VPN applications for PC such as TunnelBear or Windscribe. You can find a list of the best free VPNs in the post « The 9 best free VPN services » that I published just a few months ago here on the blog.
If we prefer to be a little more discreet, we can install a browser like Opera (download on its official website HERE ), which has a free integrated VPN service. We can use it as a browser to use during our working hours, and when we have free time, click on the “VPN” icon that we will see in the address bar itself. A small menu will automatically be displayed where we can activate private browsing and also choose our virtual location (Asia, Europe or America).
Opera also has a version for Android. If you prefer to use the VPN to watch videos with your mobile, you can see more details on how to configure it in THIS POST .
6# The Ultrasurf application
Ultrasurf is a PC application (free with embedded ads) that was once created to give users in China more freedom when browsing the Internet. The program uses proxies to mask our IP and browsing data , allowing us to visit websites with restricted access.
Some antivirus detect it as a malicious application. False positive or not, Ultrasurf is a tool that has been used for many years to overcome all barriers against Internet censorship. If we can use any other tool, much better, but if not, it is another option to consider.
Note: In recent times there has been heavy use of Ultrasurf in the Middle East, which is saturating the servers of this application. As the developers warn, although they are working to expand and offer a stable service, we may notice slowdowns or cuts at times of high activity.
7# Check the hosts file
Windows uses a file called “ hosts ” located in the path C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc to manage the association of a domain to an IP address . It is not very common, but it may be that for whatever reason we have configured a redirection in this file that is blocking access to YouTube.
We can open and modify the file with a notepad, if we see any suspicious lines in this file that may be affecting our access to the Internet. We just have to delete the line with the IP and the URL and the redirection will be cancelled.
Of course, keep in mind that if our boss finds out that we are modifying this delicate file, we could get a good fight. In addition, many companies tend to automatically update the hosts file when we log in to the work network, annulling any changes previously made.
Video blocked in my region? In such case we need a proxy
Finally, if we want to watch a video with regional blocking, regardless of whether we have YouTube blocked or not at work, we will need a proxy or a VPN connection.
In this way we modify our IP to assign it another from a country in which region blocking is not enabled.
To achieve this goal we can use the Proxfree website or the aforementioned Proxysite and SneakMe. We load the search engine, enter the URL, select the location of the server (France, United Kingdom, Holland, Germany, Canada or the USA) and load the page.
We can also bypass YouTube’s regional restriction by using VPN applications such as the aforementioned TunnelBear, Zenmate or similar. Personally, one of my favorites is Windscribe , it offers 50GB free per month and offers a wide variety of servers in different countries around the world. All this with a good speed of Internet connection.
Proxies in the form of a browser plugin
Another way to use proxies to access YouTube is to use free browser extensions or plugins. In this area we have a few alternatives, but the one that seems to work best today is Hotspot Shield . You can find it in the extension search engine of your browser (Chrome/Firefox) or download it from its official website .
There are also other plugins, such as Hola or ProxMate. However, these extensions do not seem to be legit. In the case of Hola, for example, it was discovered that it was using our bandwidth to create bots and sell its services to third parties. Proxmate doesn’t seem to be popular with the public either. If we can avoid them, all the better.
Brief final reflection
Finally, let us bear in mind that this type of Internet access control is carried out to a large extent for reasons of security and integrity of the information that is handled in the company’s network. If we see that we need to consult pages that we have blocked on our work equipment, it is best to talk to the IT department so that they enable access for us.
I have been working as a computer scientist for various companies for several years, and I can assure you that the most “innocent” and harmless activities in principle are the ones that ultimately open the door to infections and malware that can sometimes lead to encryption of critical files and loss data irretrievably.
Let’s think that with these tricks to bypass the company’s locks we are not only opening a door to our office computer, but to all the computers that are on the network within the domain (which can sometimes be hundreds or thousands of PCs). ).