How to bypass internet censorship

About This Course

Across the world, the internet connects us to each other and to what sometimes seems like an unlimited amount of information. In some countries such as Iran, however, the internet is censored by the State. This means that internet filtering systems regulate what can be seen or published online.

This course is for you if...

You are living in a country that blocks your internet access
There are threats to your online security
You don’t want anyone to read the messages you send to and receive from others

About Totem

Totem is an online platform that offers interactive courses to learn how to increase digital security and privacy. The optimal user experience is currently on your desktop computer. The aim is to support journalists, human rights defenders and activists use privacy tools and tactics more effectively in their work. Not a journalist? Don’t worry these courses should work for everyone.

Start today and learn how to protect yourself online.

What will you learn?

You should walk away from this course understanding:

Why and when you might need to bypass internet censorship

How circumvention tools work

Concepts like tunneling, encryption and VPN

How to choose a secure circumvention tool

Where to find a trustworthy source to download a circumvention tool

How to download and install a circumvention tool

Requirements

In order to do this course, it is first necessary to take Totem’s foundation course, How the Internet Works. That course will introduce you to the key concepts that this course builds on (for example, what HTTP and HTTPS are, what an IP address is, and why these are important when it comes to your online security and privacy).

Last update

This course was updated for the last time in: May 2022

Acknowledgement

Content created with the help of ASL19 as well as several organizations, digital security trainers and online education experts who collaborated during workshops and sprints to co-create this Totem course.