How to Get on MySpace at School

Many educational facilities, such as schools and colleges, limit the types of websites students can access from the Internet, and often MySpace is one of those websites. Educators tend to have mixed views on the value of social networking, so in order to keep students from wasting their school time on sites such as MySpace, they often block it. Although some students will argue that there is an educational benefit to having access to social networking websites, many educators still prefer students not get distracted by their presence in the classroom. Despite the fact that most schools block this site from being accessed, there are a few tricks that can be learned for how to get on MySpace at school.

Depending on the level of security of your school's firewall, there are several processes by which you can get around restrictions prohibiting you from logging into your MySpace account from school. This how to page will provide you with all of the possible options on how to get around this inconvenience.

Most of the steps for getting onto Myspace when it's blocked are fairly simple and take little time. Although some require you to locate an IP address or use a proxy site, you do not have to be tech-savvy to complete the process. Everything here is outlined in a clear and concise way so that you can easily get around your school's security blocks. In fact, you may not even have to go beyond steps one or two. However, if these first methods don't work, you may have to go on to the additional methods described below. Before you start any of these steps, you should first make sure that Myspace is actually blocked at your school. If you can get onto the website without having to go through these steps, then you've just saved yourself some time. If Myspace is in fact firewalled by your school, then you can move on to step one.

Some firewalls only block out sites that they consider non-secure. If the administrator who manages your school's network is more concerned about protecting the computers from viruses and hackers than it is with keeping you off of social networking sites, then you may be able to get into Myspace by simply typing an extra letter into your URL. You can try getting around this simple block by adding an "s" to the website address, like this: https://www.myspace.com. Myspace.com is typically typed in with a simple http, and the extra "s" at the end will sometimes make the firewall believe that the site you are visiting is secure and will, in turn, allow you access.http://www.instructables.com/id/Get_on_myspace_at_school_1/

An https URL prefix just means that the website in question is secure. A computer's security must be fairly weak in order for this trick to work, but it's a good starting point, and by far the easiest way of visiting sites such as Myspace at school or work. If this trick isn't successful, however, you are not out of luck. There are many other tactics for getting around blocked sites, most of which work a good amount of the time. Continue onto step two if the secure site trick has failed for you.

• You may be able to access MySpace by finding and directly typing the website's IP address into your browser. Do not copy and paste the address, but instead, make sure you physically type it in, and then hit enter. To find the IP address for MySpace, either Google search "IP address finder" or go to one of the many free online sites, some of which include:

1. WhatIsMyIPAddress.comhttp://www.whatismyipaddress.com/
2. HostIP.comhttp://www.hostip.com/
3. GeoBytes.comhttp://www.geobytes.com/
4. SelfSEO.comhttp://www.selfseo.com/find_ip_address_of_a_website.php

• Once you are on one of these websites, you will be given the option to find an IP address. In the space provided, type in "Myspace.com" (without the quotes) and submit. You will then be given the address, which should look something like this: 256.168.48.115. Physically type in whatever IP address comes up into your browser's address bar, and this should take you to the Myspace home page. Then you can sign in and do whatever else you like on the site. Whether you are on a Mac or a PC, you should be able to access a direct IP from Google.http://www.instructables.com/id/Get_on_myspace_at_school_1/step3/IP-address/

• A proxy will allow you to access social networking sites, by bypassing the firewall without compromising the network security. There are dozens of proxy sites, so if you use this option, you will want to change proxies frequently or you will wind up getting blocked. Finding proxies is easy. Spend some time before you head to school looking up proxies and write them down to take with you. Here are a few to get you started, but remember, you don't want to rely on using the same proxies repeatedly, as these too will eventually wind up blocked by your school's Internet security.

1. BlockFilter.comhttp://www.blockfilter.com/
2. UnblockMyspace.ushttp://unblockmyspace.us/
3. Proxify.comhttps://proxify.com/
4. Fsurf.comhttp://www.fsurf.com/

There is the danger, of course, that by using a proxy, your school will detect this and you may get into some trouble. If the above methods haven't worked in getting you onto Myspace at school, then your school's security is clearly strong. Make sure to use this step with discretion and moderation.http://www.instructables.com/id/Get_on_myspace_at_school_1/step5/Proxying/

• Through tunneling sites, you can often enter into a website via the back door. The only downside of using a tunneling site, is that often school firewalls will already have these sites blocked. The site Freeproxies.org links to a number of tunneling sites that you may want to try, on the off chance that they haven't already been blocked.http://www.freeproxies.orgOne such tunneling site is Ktunnel.com.http://www.ktunnel.com This site, along with those similar to it, is updated regularly on the database, so look for newer tunneling websites, and avoid using the same ones repeatedly or the school will catch on and it too will wind up blocked from the network.http://www.instructables.com/id/Get_on_myspace_at_school_1/step4/Tunneling/

• Another way to access Myspace.com is through command prompt. From the start menu, go to your accessories and click on Command Prompt. This will open a new window. Once this window is open, do the following:

1. Type in PingMyspace.com
2. Hit "Enter"
3. You will get a host of IP addresses.
4. Right click on "Mark"
5. Copy and paste an IP into your Google browser
6. Enter your name and password into the MySpace prompt.

• While most school network administrators will lock this option so you can't change it, some may be more lax, allowing you to get around the browser's limitations with a quick reconfiguration of the settings. If you are using Firefox, you can configure a browser to connect directly to a proxy by changing the settings:

1. Go to Tools
2. Choose Options
3. Click on the Advanced tab
4. Choose Network
5. Go to connections and you should be able to reconfigure your settings

• Sometimes you will also come up against a security measure that does not allow cookies, and sites like MySpace require the use of cookies to stay logged in. Reconfiguration can also give you the option of resetting the security and cookies so you won't be continually denied or logged out.