How do I Bypass FortiGuard Web Filtering?

FortiGuard Web Filtering is a service that restricts access to particular websites on a network, whether they have objectionable content, malware or some other issue. You can ask FortiGuard to reclassify a site if you think it's been blocked in error. Generally, if you need to access a site blocked by FortiGuard, you can also ask the IT department wherever you are or access it on an external network. Using a FortiGuard hack or engineering a FortiGuard bypass may work, but it could be risky.

FortiGuard Web Filtering is software to restrict website accessibility on a particular network. It's used by employers, schools, libraries and other organizations to prevent people from accidentally downloading malware or from accessing unwanted content, such as pornography or other explicit material.

You may encounter the software at your school, workplace or in other places where you use the internet.

The service blocks particular sites for various reasons, so you may at times find that a website you want to access for professional or personal reasons is off-limits under FortiGuard rules.

One simple way to bypass FortiGuard Web Filtering is to use another network, without FortiGuard installed, to access the internet. This may be the best solution if you want to get around FortiGuard to access a site for personal reasons at work or school. Use another computer at your home or in a coffee shop or library, or use your smart phone to access the website.

If you do need to access the site for professional reasons or have some other reason you must access it on the network with FortiGuard installed, you can talk to those running the network about finding a way for you to access the site. This might include using a computer with special network rules, using a virtual private network or finding some other solution.

If you think FortiGuard has classified a site a certain way in error, you can ask the company to reclassify the site. You can do this using a form on the site, indicating a more appropriate category for the site than its current FortiGuard category and any comments you may have.

The FortiGuard form does ask for the company where you access the internet through FortiGuard, so you may want to discuss this with your employer if you're doing it at work.

It's sometimes possible to find ways to hack around or otherwise evade web filtering software on a computer.

If you're tempted to find paths to bypass FortiGuard in such a way, you'll likely want to consider the potential professional and legal consequences of doing so. Your employer or whoever else has installed FortiGuard may be concerned about security issues involved with your bypassing of the tool and may not take kindly to someone finding unofficial workarounds.