Selection: 7 Chrome extensions to bypass blocking

Published 07/04/2018 · Comments: · Reading time: 3 min

By a decision of the Moscow City Court dated January 25, 2016, the well-known BitTorrent tracker RuTracker.org received a lifelong block in the Russian Federation.

While Russian Internet providers humbly blocked access to resources for their clients, the number of search queries a la “how to access a root tracker” and “access to a root tracker” grew exponentially.

• RuTracker: bypassing blocking How to access RuTracker through a browser extension
• Access using VPN
• Bypass blocking using Tor

Apparently, the majority of experienced tracker users found a way out of this situation, because after the lifetime blocking of the RuTracker.org website came into effect, the number of active visitors and the total number of distributions increased.

RusVPN

A free tool (there are also paid plans) that gives users the opportunity to connect to more than 338 servers on five continents. This application is faster than many other similar products and is popular - the extension for Chrome has more than 200 thousand installations, the average rating is 4.5 stars.

Among the important technical features: work in the background, support for any type of Internet connection, simple one-click connection, clear interface, support for Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS, Linux.

The essence of the problem

Some sites are blocked for violating the law. For example, the Rutreker website, which has a lot of free useful material. It is considered pirated. The copyright holders won the case, and Rutreker was blocked by Roskomnadzor. Providers are now required to issue a special ban page instead of this site. Exactly what it looks like depends on the provider. For example, the Beeline operator displays the following screen:

Screen instead of website

At the same time, it’s no secret to anyone how to get to sites blocked by Roskomnadzor. It's very simple. You can install a browser extension or enable a special mode.

ininja

A recently released free VPN and proxy service that is gaining popularity.
According to the Chrome extension store, it now has more than 30 thousand users and an average rating of four stars. I've been using it for the last couple of weeks too, so I included it as number one on the list. The speed is noticeable among the advantages - the included extension does not slow down browsing much (you can find some data on what speed you should expect in the project blog), several servers are available in Europe and the USA, which makes it possible to access almost any blocked site .

Okay, so how to unlock the root tracker?

We gain access to RuTracker using browsers

Let's look at several options at this point. The first method is to install a new browser for you (or a browser extension).

TOR and Rutracker

This method is recommended by the Ruterker administration itself. Moreover, the site contains entire volumes of instructions on how to use Thor not only to be on a torrent, but also to download data! But we still need to get to this point, so first of all, install the browser itself. You can download it from the link. The speed, to be honest, will not be very good, but you can use it in the absence of alternatives.

RuTracker and browser extensions

If you do not want to use another browser, then use the option to install add-ons to yours. Let's look at the example of Google Chrome:

1. Go to the extension store.
2. Enter the name of your favorite add-on, for example, Whoer vpn.

1. Install the extension in your browser. With Whoer VPN you can use the VPN browser extension for free and without registration. But if you need maximum speed and servers around the world, it’s worth purchasing an inexpensive subscription to a VPN service.

Please note that the Whoer.net VPN service has a VPN extension for Opera, a proxy for Yandex, and an anonymizer for Mozilla Firefox. You can change your IP in any browser without any problems.

ZenMate VPN

A popular tool with millions of users. The developers position their extension as a means of ensuring information security, and not just a proxy - the service allows the user to avoid being tracked by Internet marketers, website analytics systems and other tools for tracking online behavior. There is also a paid version of the service (from $7.99/month), with the purchase of which you can count on higher speeds, 24/7 support and the ability to select servers in more locations.

How to access roottracker without blocking

As it turned out, Rutreker was blocked for life in Russia. Access is limited by court decision and in this case even an appeal will be pointless. And it doesn’t matter at all where the server is located, Rutracker was closed specifically for providers, and therefore you can access the torrent directly, bypassing the blocking. Now we’ll look at some options and follow the instructions.

In fact, unlocking Rutreker for personal use will not be difficult. For example, this can be done using an anonymizer, as in the case if you are blocked from VKontakte. And also, if you want, use a proxy server. There are great programs for this, like Onion Tor.

Tunnel Bear VPN

According to Google statistics, fewer people use this service than the previous two, but it has the best ratings - the average score is five stars.
This is not a VPN in the full sense of the word; rather, it can be called a proxy service that uses encryption. And when working with the browser extension, and not the desktop version, only browser traffic is encrypted. The project pays great attention to security - in the summer of 2022, the company announced that it had passed an independent information security audit from Cure53 and eliminated the errors found in the Chrome extension.

The free version of TunnelBear has traffic limits - a maximum of 500 megabytes per month, then you will need a paid subscription, the price of which starts at $4.99 if paid for at once for a year.

RuTracker: bypassing blocking

There are several ways to gain access to RuTracker. We will look at each of them, but the choice is still yours!

We remind you that as of November 1, 2022, a law prohibiting bypassing blocking through VPNs and anonymizers came into force. Please note that VPNs (including browser extensions) that allow you to access RuTracker today may not work tomorrow!

How to access RuTracker via a browser extension

To change your IP address (for example, to the IP of another country), it is convenient to use a special browser extension.
The advantage of this method is the fact that the user can enable “substitution” only when needed. Below are links to install such extensions for the most popular browsers:

• Google Chrome: Browsec VPN / Hola VPN / “Access to RuTracker” extension / RuTracker Add-on;
• Mozilla Firefox: Browsec VPN / Hola VPN Proxy / “Access to RuTracker” extension / RuTracker Add-on;
• Opera: “Access to Router” extension / Hola Better Internet / Browsec;
• Yandex Browser is powered by Chromium, so owners of this browser can download any extension for Google Chrome from the list above.

By the way, we have already discussed the topic of choosing an extension in the text about registering with Spotify.

Access using VPN

The principle of operation of full-fledged VPN clients is similar to the principle of operation of browser extensions, but:

• The VPN client must be installed on a PC;
• The VPN client "protects" all traffic, not just browser traffic.

Using hide.me to bypass blocking.

Bypass blocking using Tor

The Tor browser, unlike regular browsers, uses a number of transit servers to connect to the desired website. So, before loading the rutracker.org page, the browser can go through several countries (for example, Belarus - Holland - USA - Australia) and only after that get to the tracker servers.

To use this method, you first need to install it.

Hola VPN

A free VPN service with no traffic or data rate limits, offering a choice of virtual locations in 15 different countries. Hola acts as a peer-to-peer service: the computers of system participants are used as routers for data transmission. A scandal was associated with this when the creators of Hola VPN were accused of selling traffic and having vulnerabilities in their software - the project team did not initially report such a scheme of work.

Special modes for Yandex browser and Opera browser

VPN mode in Opera

New (since September 2016) Opera browsers come with a built-in VPN. To bypass site blocking, you need to enable VPN mode in Opera. For this

1. Open Opera settings (Ctrl+F12)
2. Go to the Security tab
3. Enable the VPN checkbox.
4. You can now access blocked sites.

Turbo mode of Yandex browser

1. In the Yandex browser, click the icon in the upper right corner.
2. Turn on the "Turbo" checkbox.

Anonymizers

Anonymizer is a service that helps you hide your IP address. They work on the same principle as proxy servers or web proxies. Some anonymizers offer several IP options from different countries to choose from, others lack such functionality.

It is not always possible to use such resources to bypass RKN blocking. For example, one popular Russian anonymizer directly writes that login is impossible because the site is on the list of prohibited sites. No problem, we’ll use another one - cameleo.xyz.

Enter the website address in the window that opens and click Go. That's it, before us is the main page of Rutreker. You can use it as usual.

The pros and cons of anonymizers are similar to the pros and cons of proxy servers.

Advantages

• availability;
• efficiency;
• no need to download and install.

Flaws

• not always good speed and stability.

How to install the “access to root tracker” extension in the I-browser?

Open the link with the extension - click install:

Can be opened in a separate window!

How to install the 'access to root tracker' extension in I-browser?

In a new window you will see the question “Install the extension?”:

How to install the 'access to root tracker' extension in I-browser?

If the “access to root tracker” is installed, you will see a notification about this:

How to install the 'access to root tracker' extension in I-browser?

After completing the steps, go to https://rutracker.org/forum/index.php

Site mirrors

In terms of connection speed and reliability, this method is among the leaders. When you go to a mirror site, you access the same resource, only with a different address. This does not involve any proxy servers or other intermediate nodes that could cause a slowdown in connection speed.

This very convenient method is not without its drawbacks. Since the address of the mirror is known to you, then RKN can also find it out. Therefore, such mirrors are periodically blocked.

Advantages

• no need to download anything;
• high access speed;
• full functionality.

Flaws

• The current (not blocked) address is not always available or known;
• new mirrors are quickly blocked.

We use Tor Browser to access the torrent.

One of the options to get to “rutracker” is the “Tor” browser.

Official browser page:

https://www.torproject.org

Install under your Axis... if you don’t understand English, in the right corner there is a choice of languages...

Can be opened in a separate window!

We use Tor Browser to access the torrent.

Next, open the website https://rutracker.org as in a regular browser.

If the antivirus swears at “Tor Browser”, then I can’t say anything here... I have Dr.web - it categorically does not allow this browser to start... unlike Kaspersky.

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Tor Browser

This browser is able to protect you from Internet censorship, as well as traffic analysis by all sorts of intelligence agencies. This utility is a Firefox browser that has a built-in encryption feature.

On the subject: What is the Tor browser

Now download Tor and this Vidalia Standalone utility and unpack them somewhere, but so that they are in one place. Now we perform the following steps:

• Run Vidalia.exe.
• In the settings you need to specify the path to Tor.exe.
• Next, select “Start Vidalia when my system starts.”
• Save and launch Tor.
• Now you need to uncheck the “Show this window at startup” checkbox.

Now you can use the popular torrent tracker.

In addition, you can simply use the Tor browser to access the resource. Therefore, the manipulation described above is optional.

Tor is a fast and easy way to get to RuTracker.org from any device

The Tor browser is specially designed to provide complete anonymity on the Internet. The algorithm uses a network of nodes that redirect traffic and hide the user's real location. When you turn on the browser, a connection to the proxy server immediately occurs. Many different intermediate servers are involved.

The browser provides a high degree of anonymity and a reliable connection to any blocked resources. It is also well suited for working with RuTracker. On the download page you can download different versions: for Windows, Linux, macOS or mobile devices.

Sometimes the connection to the required resource is not established. Possible reason: a Russian proxy was selected. You will need to restart the browser or select a new chain in the settings. After this everything will work.

Advantages

• high anonymity;
• Full-featured access to any website.

Flaws

• low speed (depending on the selected proxies and connection chains);
• the need to install a browser and then enter a login and password for each session.