How to watch YouTube from work - The Happy Android

Are you trying access YouTube from work and you don't have access or don't upload any video? Normally, companies tend to apply various filters to prevent their workers from accessing certain Internet pages.

This is usually done to prevent access to websites that in principle are not considered productive or related to our work environment. A good example is video platforms, sports news and results websites, movies, etc. And of course also Youtube.

In today's guide we will see, then, how can we get around that restriction to watch YouTube videos from work No problem. Before starting, we must bear in mind that companies can use various methods (proxy filtering, firewalls, modifying the PC's "hosts" file, etc.) to prevent access to certain pages. If we see that any of these methods does not work, let's try the next one.

How to watch YouTube videos from work

Of course, depending on the strength of the filtering and the type of Internet access control applied by each company, it is possible that they neutralize all our attempts to watch videos on YouTube. In any case, one of them may serve us perfectly, so don't give up on your efforts. Luck!

1 # Connect to YouTube using Proxysite

Proxysite It is a page that uses servers located in various parts of the world to access YouTube. When we connect to Proxysite, we only have to select the server -we can leave the one that appears by default-, confirm that we have the YouTube URL loaded in the search engine and click on the «GO» button.

In this way, we can enter our favorite video platform without restrictions. And not only that, since we can also access content with regional blocking thanks to the different servers that Proxysite makes available to us. One of the simplest and most practical ways to bypass locks loading YouTube from another page.

This website is very popular, which means that many times the server is saturated and does not allow uploading the videos. To solve this, it is best to try another server (I usually use the "US9" and "US10" servers, which are usually not very saturated).

If you have problems you can also try other web proxies, such as HideMyAss, 4everproxy or Hide.Me. You can find more information about the characteristics and differences between these proxy services on the Proxysite website in the post «The best proxy servers to browse anonymously«.

2 # Use Google Translate to see the videos without restriction

A good trick to be able to watch YouTube videos use google translate as an unlock tool. In the text to be translated we simply enter the URL of the YouTube video that we want to see and click on “Translate”. It will automatically load the video into the translator, bypassing the URL restriction.

It is recommended that the target language is Spanish, to avoid problems when loading the corresponding YouTube page.

3 # Access anonymously with the TOR browser

The TOR browser is one of the safest ways to browse the Internet. If we access YouTube through TOR We prevent our service provider from "reading" (and consequently blocking access) the pages we visit, our credentials and our history.

We can install the official TOR browser, the TOR Browser, totally free from the developer's own website.

Note: this method may give us more problems, since in many companies users do not have permission to install applications on their PC. If this is our case, let's try the following "trick".

4 # Make use of the Yotids search engine

The web of Yotids is a search engine that makes "indirect searches" (indirect browsing). Instead of connecting to a server directly, Yotids searches for the resource and uploads it to its own server, thus hiding our IP.

In this way, from work it will appear that we have accessed Yotids, but not YouTube -something similar to what we do with Proxysite-. If in our company, library or public center we do not have access to Yotids blocked, we can visit YouTube from its website without any problem.

UPDATED: It seems that this website has closed. I have been looking for alternatives and the one that has worked best for me has been SneakMe, a website that practically fulfills the same function.

5 # Use a VPN app

Another easy way to bypass work restrictions to watch YouTube videos is to use an application that allows us establish a VPN connection to hide our IP address. If your company or office is not blocked from installing applications, you can try a lot of VPN applications for PC such as TunnelBear.

If we prefer to be a little more discreet we can install a browser like Opera (download on its official websiteHERE), which has a free built-in VPN service. We can use it as a browser to use during our working hours, and when we have a free time, click on the "VPN" icon that we will see within the address bar itself. Automatically a small menu will be displayed where we can activate private browsing and also choose our virtual location (Asia, Europe or America).

6 # The Ultrasurf app

Ultrasurf is a PC application (free with embedded ads) that was once created to give users in China more freedom when browsing the Internet. The program uses proxies to mask our IP and browsing data, allowing you to visit websites with restricted access.

Some antivirus detect it as a malicious application. False positive or not, Ultrasurf is a tool that has been used for many years to overcome all barriers against censorship on the Internet. If we can use any other tool, much better, but if not, it is another option to consider.

Note: In recent times there has been an intensive use of Ultrasurf in the Middle East, which is saturating the servers of this application. As the developers warn, although they are working to expand and offer a stable service, we may notice slowdowns or cuts in times of high activity.

7 # Check the hosts file

Windows uses a file called "hosts”Located on the route C: \ Windows \ System32 \ drivers \ etc for manage the association of a domain to an IP address. It is not very common, but it may be that for whatever reason we have some redirection configured in this file that is blocking access to YouTube.

We can open and modify the file with a notepad, if we see any suspicious lines in this file that may be affecting our Internet output. Of course, bear in mind that if our boss finds out that we are modifying this delicate file, he can get a good fight.

Video blocked in my region? In such case we need a proxy

Finally, if we want to watch a video with regional blocking, regardless of whether or not we have YouTube capped at work, we will need a proxy or a VPN connection.

In this way we modify our IP to assign another one from a country in which region blocking is not enabled.

To achieve this goal we can use the Proxfree website or the previously mentioned Proxysite and Yotids. We load the search engine, enter the URL, select the server location (France, United Kingdom, Holland, Germany, Canada or USA) and load the page.

We can also bypass YouTube's regional restriction by using VPN applications like the one mentioned. TunnelBear, Zenmate or similar. Personally, one of my favorites is Windscribe, offers 50GB free per month and offers a great variety of servers in different countries of the world.

Proxies in the form of a browser plugin

Another way to use proxies to access YouTube is to use free browser extensions or plugins. In this area we have a few alternatives, but the one that seems to work best today is Hotspot Shield. You can find it in the extensions search engine of your browser (Chrome / Firefox) or download it from its official website.

There are also other plugins, such as Hello or ProxMate.However, these extensions do not seem to be trusted. In the case of Hola, for example, it was discovered that it was using our bandwidth to create bots and sell its services to third parties. Proxmate also does not seem to have the approval of the public. If we can avoid them, all the better.

Short final reflection

To finish, let us bear in mind that this type of Internet access controls is largely carried out by security and integrity reasons of the information that is handled in the company's network. If we see that we need to consult pages that we have blocked in our work team, it is best to speak with the IT department so that they enable access.

I have spent several years working as a computer scientist for various companies, and I can assure you that the initially most "innocent" and harmless activities are those that ultimately open the door to infections and malware that can sometimes lead to encryption of critical files and loss data irretrievably.

Let's think that with these tricks to bypass company locks we are not only opening a door to our office computer, but to all the computers that are on the network within the domain (which in some cases can be hundreds or thousands of PCs ).