How can I get around online censorship?

Use images and codewords to get around keywords blocked on Chinese websites

Thousands of keywords are blocked on Baidu, Sina Weibo etc. You can make life much more difficult for the censors by posting images of blocked keywords as well as finding other ways of describing the same thing. [To do: examples].

Use HTTPS to circumvent keywords blocked on foreign websites

If you use https://www.google.com.hk instead of http://www.google.com.hk, the Great Firewall does not know what you search for. As a result, the connection is not reset when you enter one of the hundreds of blocked keywords. Similarly, if you use https://zh.wikipedia.org instead of http://zh.wikipedia.org you can view all pages included the blocked ones. Even better, you can use the HTTPS Everywhere browser plugin to automatically use HTTPS for many major websites.

Use encrypted DNS to prevent DNS poisoning

Avoid DNS poisoning by using an encrypted DNS lookup service such as DNSCrypt.

Don't use Tom Skype

Skype's Chinese partner Tom offers a separate service which looks similar to Skype but follows Chinese regulations. This means that all communications using Tom Skype are monitored. The real Skype is not blocked in China. See: Are you sure that's Skype you're using? How to avoid TOM in China.

Tunnel all traffic to get around IP blocking

To access websites that are completely blocked including their IP addresses, you have to tunnel all traffic through a third-party server.

Free alternatives

Psiphon 3 is an award winning circumvention system that uses a combination of secure communication and obfuscation technologies (VPN, SSH, and HTTP Proxy). Click here to download or send an email to get@psiphon3.com.

VPN Gate gives away free VPN accounts. http://www.vpngate.net/en/

Tor. [To do: how to use in China]

Freegate. [To do: add more info; how to download]

Paid alternatives

Check out this list of major VPN providers.

If you get stuck: fanqiang@greatfire.org

If you need to view a blocked website, and don't have any other way of doing so, simply send an email to fanqiang@greatfire.org. Add the URL of the website you want to view as the email subject. Shortly thereafter, you will receive an updated PDF version of the website in your email.