Beat restrictions with just your router
Configuring DNS services or VPN services on your router has a major advantage — it instantly covers all your devices. Any device that connects to you router will have the benefit of using your router’s configuration, and that may include devices that normally might not be easy or even possible to configure.
However, proxy services are not practical on a router, and while there are a handful of exotic security routers that support Tor, it’s generally not available either.
CHANGING YOUR ROUTER’S DNS
Let’s talk about the magic of the dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP). This is the system that allows your router to assign local IP addresses to devices that connect to them. When a device on your network with autoconfiguration/DHCP switched on connects to your router, you router says, “Here’s your IP address, here’s your gateway address and here’s your DNS server address.”
Now, normally, the DNS server address your router provides will be the same one provided to it by your ISP when you connect, or it will provide its own IP address and relay DNS requests onto your ISP’s DNS server. But this doesn’t have to be the case. You can change your router’s DNS so that the DNS server address it hands out to your devices is one you specify.
Now this is useful for both configuring the router to hand out unfiltered public DNS server address like Google’s DNS, or for Smart DNS services like Getflix. Unfortunately, the exact way of doing this varies from router to router. Generally, you’re looking for the DHCP settings or DNS settings: On most ASUS routers, click on ‘LAN > DHCP Server’ and look for the DNS server field. On D-Link, click on ‘Setup > Manual Internet Connection Setup’ and change only the DNS server fields under ‘Dynamic IP’. On DrayTek, you’ll find it under ‘LAN > General Setup’, under the section on DHCP Server Setup. On Linksys routers, they’re usually found under ‘Connectivity > Local Network’, under the DHCP server field. On Netgear, click on ‘Basic Settings’ on the left, then ‘Use these DNS servers’. On TP-Link, click on DHCP in the left-hand panel, then on ‘DHCP Settings’. In the DNS fields, enter the numbers “8.8.8.8” (primary) and “8.8.4.4” (secondary) if you’re going to be using Google’s DNS servers. If you’re using a smart DNS service, enter the numbers provided by your smart DNS service provider. Then save the settings.
Now when a device connects to the network, it will be assigned those DNS server addresses, bypassing your ISP’s DNS. Note that you may have to disconnect and reconnect devices to update them.
USING A VPN
It’s also possible to set up a router so that all traffic from your network is routed over a VPN. That means even your smart devices like television sets can use the VPN service to bypass geoblocks.
This is not for the faint of heart, however, and you need a special kind of router to do it. Your router must support VPN services. Most ASUS routers do, as do most DrayTeks. But the majority of other consumer routers do not. On many such routers, however, you can install a third-party firmware like DD-WRT ( If you want to install this, visit the website and see if your router model is supported, and then follow the installation instructions for that router model very carefully.
Unfortunately, there’s no universal guide we can provide for setting up a VPN on a router, as every VPN service provider has different configurations. Your best bet is to visit the website of your VPN service provider and look for the guide for setting it up on your router. Most of the major providers have guides for DD-WRT and Tomato, and maybe ASUS.
Even then, you do have limitations. It’s not easy to switch between VPN locations, for example — you have to manually log into your router and change the VPN server address. On the other hand, it does allow devices that normally couldn’t use the VPN to use it.
These days, your phone has just as many ways to dodge geoblocks and site censorship as your PC does. Here’s how to quickly get it done.
CHANGING THE DNS
Whether it’s to use Google’s DNS or a smart DNS service, to change the DNS in Android requires that you set a static IP for your device (see the sidebar ‘setting static IPs’).
Fortunately, Android is kind enough to pre-fill the field for you based on your existing details, so it tends to be quite easy. Just follow these steps. Tap on Settings and go to Wi-fi. Perform a long press on the name of the network you’re currently connected to (settings are per-network, so if you connect to a different network, you’ll have to do this again). Tap on ‘Modify network config’, and check the box to Show advanced options. Scroll down. Under IP settings you’ll see (most likely) that the setting is DHCP. Tap on DHCP and change it to Static. Android should populate the fields with the numbers it received from DHCP, and you can leave these be (if the fields are empty, check the sidebar on Setting static IPs). The only thing to change is the DNS entries. Again, 8.8.8.8 if you want Google’s DNS, or the DNS numbers supplied by your smart DNS provider. Tap save. Android should now use the DNS server you specified whenever it connects to that particular network.
USING A VPN
Android has a built-in VPN client which you can manually set up if you’re so inclined (it’s under ‘Wireless & networks > More networks’), but generally it’s far, far easier to download the Android client supplied by your VPN provider — nearly all of them have one. The client will interface with Android’s VPN system and configure it for you, as well as let you switch locations dynamically without having to change server settings.
Just head to Google Play and perform a search on your VPN provider’s name to find the app. Download and run it, enter your username and password and you should be all VPN’d up. You can actually see what VPNs you have set up and are connected to by heading to ‘Settings > Wireless & networks > More networks’.
USING TOR
If you want to use Tor to run a content blockade on Android, then there are two relevant apps — Orbot and Orfox — both available on Google Play.
Orfox is a complete browser using the Tor protocol, very much like the Tor Browser on the desktop. It’s the easiest way to Tor-it-up on Android; just download and use it like you would a normal browser. It does the heavy lifting in the background.
Orbot is more complicated, but it actually lets you use Tor for applications other than the web browser. You can also use Tor with your regular web browser, such as Chrome.
To use Orbot, download and install it. Run it, then swipe in from the left to see the options and current settings.
If you want to use it with apps other than your browser, tap on ‘Apps VPN Mode’ to activate it. It will show you a list of apps; you can tap on individual ones or select all in the bottom left.
On the main options page, you also have a location toggle. This lets you set an exit node location, so that all your traffic will appear to be from that country.
The final thing to do to set up Orbot is to change your proxy settings, which is something you have to do if you want your browser to use Tor (which presumably you do) with maximum efficiency.
We’ve detailed the steps for setting up a proxy in Android below. Follow those steps. But when it comes to enter the proxy address and port number, enter “localhost” and “8118”, respectively. Orbot creates a proxy server on the Android device itself, and this points to it. Once you done that, any browser you use will use Tor to route data.
USING A PROXY
Using a web-based proxy in Android is exactly like using it on a PC. Just visit the website, and give it the URL that you want to see.
For SOCKS/HTTP proxies, Android has built-in support. If you have such a service that you want to connect to, follow these steps: Tap on Settings and go to Wi-Fi. Perform a long press on the name of the network you’re currently connected to. Tap on ‘Modify network config’. Check the box to ‘Show advanced options’. Scroll down. Find the field where it says Proxy and tap on ‘None’ to change it to Manual. Enter the proxy host name and port. If it has a password (for paid proxy services), tap on Authenticate server and enter the username and password. Finally, tap Save. Once you’ve done that your web browser (and probably only your web browser) will use the proxy you’ve entered. For other apps to use the proxy, you typically have to go into that particular app’s settings and find the proxy settings.
EVERY DEVICE IN YOUR HOME SHOULD NOW BE ABLE TO DODGE GEOBLOCKS, AVOID SITE CENSORSHIP AND GENERALLY ACCESS ALL THAT THE INTERNET HAS TO OFFER. ENJOY!