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I've been unable to log into Facebook in China without a VPN since 2009. That's right, I was in China BEFORE Facebook was blocked. You might think that it was better back then, but that's not completely true. It is true that before 2009 foreigners and Chinese were both able to log into Facebook in China without a problem, but there were a lot of other blocked sites that are not unblocked. Wikipedia, for one, use to be completely inaccessible a few years ago, but now, except for the pages concerning China, you can access it from behind The Great Firewall without a problem.
There are a couple more sites that have been unblocked recently, including Myspace and LinkedIn, but the big one that everyone's looking at – Facebook – is still blocked.
If you don't know what a VPN is, here's the basics.
It encrypts your information and changes your IP address. This has the double effect of making you invisible to users on the same Internet connection, your ISP (in this case China), and the website you're trying to browse (like Facebook). Not only does it make you invisible online, it also protects your information from anyone who happens to be smart enough to find you.
The exact details aren't really that important, and the main point is that it works.
All you've got to do is install the VPN on your laptop or desktop, sign in, and your whole laptop will appear to be in another country because of your new IP address. With your new IP address, you'll be able to bypass Chinese Internet censorship and log into your Facebook account in China. There's no "tricks" or "hacks" or modifications that you have to make to your computer.
It works on Mac, Windows, and Linux, and you need to install SSL/OpenVPN.
This is the VPN I use to log into Facebook in China. After testing a couple other places, 12VPN is still my favorite.
Why?
- It's easy to install (I can do it in two minutes – including the download)
- It's cheap - $6.5 USD per month (some places charge $20)
- It's simple to navigate their site
- Their support team is fast and helpful
For the time being, they're not blocked. If you find this link isn't working, send me an email and I'll see if I can get you one that works. Many VPN services are getting blocked in China these days.
Notice however I didn't say that you can get a VPN for your phone. While smart phones can connect to the Internet, and you can install a VPN on them, it doesn't work in China. A laptop will use SSL/OpenVPN which works great in China, but an iPhone or Android Phone needs PPTP or L2TP which is useless in China.
So to log into Facebook in China on your iPhone or Android, you need a web based proxy.
Proxies aren't as secure as VPNs, but they work pretty much in the same way. Minus the extra layers of encryption, they still change your IP address by rerouting it to a server outside of China. All you've got to do is type the URL into the secure proxy browser, and it'll take you to any blocked site. With a web based proxy you don't have to install anything, so you can use it on any computer or phone, and access the secure browser on more than one device.
I use Securitales on my iPhone
- No installation
- Free Trial
- 30 day money back guarantee
- $6 per month (for one year sign up) or $8 per month (for two month sign up)
So far, Securitales hasn't had any issues with getting blocked, but if you find that the link isn't working here, send me an email and I've got another service I can give you a link to. But for now, stick with Securitales.
