In today's digital era, overcoming network restrictions and accessing blocked websites is becoming a common need. Many people use tools such as VPNs, proxies, or other software to "circumvent walls" (also known as "science of circumvention" or "circumvention") in order to maintain privacy and security during browsing. However, a question that many people still ask is whether "circumvention" behavior can be detected? Do these tools really protect you from surveillance and inspection?
This article will help you better understand the methods of detecting wall circumvention and tools that can help you protect your privacy.
A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is the most popular tool used to bypass network restrictions, allowing users to stay anonymous while browsing and accessing blocked websites. However, VPNs have some characteristics that are easy to detect.
VPN protocols such as PPTP, L2TP, OpenVPN, IPsec, or IKEv2 all have clear identification signs that network monitoring systems can use to detect. Although VPN connections encrypt data traffic, when using these common protocols, internet service providers (ISPs) and authorities can easily detect VPN traffic through their protocol characteristics and characteristic behavior patterns.
Besides, some VPN servers can be blacklisted, making it easy for users who connect to these servers to be monitored. Although VPNs weren't developed with circumvention in mind, because of their high security and encryption, it's still used by many people to bypass firewalls. However, with the development of detection technology today, the use of VPNs has become easy to detect, and that's why many people are looking for new methods of circumventing walls.
One of the major vulnerabilities in circumvention software is the use of DNS (Domain Name System). When a bypass software works, it must first perform DNS resolution to determine the address of the proxy server. However, if this process is not properly protected, it can easily be monitored.
Even if a user's traffic is encrypted over HTTPS, DNS requests are usually clear and can be tracked. This means that, if the network monitoring system has a blacklist of blocked common domains, it can be easily detected when a user tries to access blocked websites through DNS. The DNS requests will then reveal the websites that the user is trying to visit, even though other data has been encrypted.
Some monitoring systems can create a "blacklist" of blocked domains, and when they detect a user trying to access these domains, they will easily identify the behavior of breaking the wall.
When using more advanced bypass techniques such as Shadowsocks or V2Ray, users can encrypt their network traffic to make the surfing behavior look like regular HTTPS connections. This makes it more difficult to detect via protocols or domains. However, even though the data has been encrypted, surveillance systems can still use data traffic analysis to detect unusual behaviors.
One of the ways to detect wall-circumvention behavior is to analyze data traffic characteristics. These characteristics include information such as packet size, connection frequency, transmission speed, and changes in handshake between servers and users. These characteristics can be an indication that a connection is being encrypted or that a bypass tool is being used.
Today, machine learning (AI) technologies and network behavior analysis are used to identify abnormal behavior patterns. Network monitoring systems can "learn" from data and detect small signs that humans can't notice. They can analyze data packets and find anomalies in network traffic, thereby detecting users trying to bypass network barriers.
Another method of detection is the installation of monitoring software directly on the user's terminals (computers, phones). When these monitoring software are installed on the device, it becomes easier than ever to detect wall circumvention.
Monitoring software can monitor users' online activities, detect bypass applications such as VPNs or proxies, and even monitor changes in network settings. If the terminal is installed with monitoring software, the system can scan and detect signs of using firewall bypass tools.
While live surveillance can be an effective method for detecting circumvention behavior, it also runs into a major privacy and security issue. This can violate the user's freedom, and users need to be very careful when using their devices in an environment that can be monitored.
In order to effectively detect "firewall circumvention", companies and organizations providing monitoring services do not rely on a single method but often combine many complex techniques. Modern surveillance systems are capable of using a wide range of tools, including network traffic analysis, DNS request tracking, and machine learning algorithms, to detect firewall bypass.
The combination of these methods not only enhances detection but also minimizes the rate of errors in the monitoring process. Today's surveillance systems not only focus on easily identifiable signs such as IP addresses or VPN protocols, but also focus on analyzing other factors in detail to detect "circumvention" behavior.
While bypassing firewalls can help users access blocked websites or protect their privacy, users need to be well aware of the potential risks. Unsafe or unreliable wall circumvention tools can make you vulnerable to detection and tracking.
Here are some of the most reputable and popular firewall bypass software that users can refer to:
Advantage: Fast speed, strong security with AES-256 bit encryption, support multiple platforms such as Windows, Mac, Android, iOS.
Shortcoming: The price is higher than some other software.
Advantage: Vast server network, high security, strong resistance to network monitoring methods, support for security protocols such as OpenVPN and IKEv2.
Shortcoming: The user interface can be a bit complicated for newbies.
Advantage: Affordable price, unlimited number of connected devices, strong security.
Shortcoming: Speeds may be slow on some servers.
Advantage:Easy to use, good security, multiple servers across the globe.
Shortcoming: There is no separate DNS option yet.
Advantage: Chameleon technology helps bypass powerful, high-security firewall systems.
Shortcoming: The price is relatively high.
