Note: the following methods do not guarantee your privacy and identification over the Internet.
You can use these methods to not only access Facebook but also other firewalled websites in Vietnam.
Utilize the “lite” versions of Facebook
Simply access Facebook through http://lite.facebook.com or http://m.facebook.com or http://touch.facebook.com
iGoogle
First go to www.igoogle.com. Then sign up using your normal email and password from an existing Google account such as Gmail, Youtube, or Google Calendar (create a new account if necessary).
Once you signed into www.igoogle.com, Click on “Add stuff” (top right)
Once “Add it now” has been clicked, you have added a small Facebook gadget into your own iGoogle homepage.
When you return to iGoogle home page, you will see the “Connect with Facebook” link.
Alternate DNS server
You can use an alternate DNS server to access websites that have been removed from the Vietnam’s government DNS servers.
Go to “Control panel”
Once the alternate DNS server has been entered, your Internet browser will utilize this new DNS server. You will then be able to access Facebook.
Proxies
There are many proxies that you can use to bypass Vietnam’s government firewall. Just use Google to search and find a large number of them. This webpage for instance lists many free proxies: http://www.checker.freeproxy.ru/checker/last_checked_proxies.php.
After entering the proxy setting, all communication from your internet browser will be routed through this proxy (rather than using the government’s proxy). You will observe a slower Internet speed using proxies, but that is normal. Sometimes some proxies don’t work. Simply try different ones until you find a working one.
Changing your host file
Facebook’s current IPs are:
You can set up your computer to automatically go to these IP entries as followed:
After restarting your internet browser, you should be able to go directly to Facebook.
Using TOR or Ultrasurf
Download the free circumvention software TOR from: http://www.torproject.org/easy-download.html.en
Once you download the software, you should see a folder named “Tor browser”. In this folder, click on the application “Start Tor browser”. The program will automatically connect to the TOR nework (and you will see the sign of an onion at the bottom right corner of the screen).
After that your browser will automatically open.
Ultrasurf is another similar circumvention software.
Download “Ultrasurf” for free at www.ultrareach.com. Once you start the program, an icon in form of a lock will appear at the bottom right corner of the screen indicating that you have successfully connected to the Ultrasurf proxy network, enabling you to connect to blocked websites.
Summary of how to access Facebook in Vietnam
Using the “lite” versions of Facebook
The easiest method to access Facebook in Vietnam is to use other Facebook website addresses. Simply access http://lite.facebook.com or http://m.facebook.com or http://touch.facebook.com
These are “lite” versions of Facebook that users can use to access Facebook.
However, since these are “lite” versions, some Facebook functionalities cannot be used, so you are somewhat limited to:
iGoogle
Through iGoogle (www.igoogle.com) users can access Facebook through a small Facebook gadget.
Alternate DNS server
The Vietnamese government has blocked Facebook by eliminating the Facebook IP entries from their DNS server. DNS servers store a list of all Internet addresses that you can access. Once they have removed Facebook from this list, your computer will not be able to find the IP addresses of Facebook.
To go around this obstacle, a different DNS server can be used. There are many free DNS servers. Google has made a free one available at 8.8.8.8.
Proxies
Proxies are servers on the internet that you can use to route your web requests through. Instead of going through the government of Vietnam’s network, you basically ask a third-party computer to get the information for you. When Facebook is inaccessible in Vietnam, simply set up your browser to use a proxy.
There are a lot of free proxies. Just Google for some. The following page lists a set of free proxies:
http://www.checker.freeproxy.ru/checker/last_checked_proxies.php.
Changing your host file
As mentioned above, the Vietnamese government has blocked Facebook by eliminating its IP entry in Vietnamese DNS server.
However, if you know Facebook’s IP addresses, you can instruct your computer to go directly there.
Facebook’s IP entries are:
69.63.181.11 facebook.com 69.63.181.11 www.facebook.com 69.63.180.174 login.facebook.com 69.63.178.24 register.facebook.com 69.63.180.15 apps.facebook.com
Using TOR or Ultrasurf
Finally, you can use the firewall circumvention software TOR to access Facebook (or any other blocked web page). This software will use multiple servers outside Vietnam as a proxies.
This free software can be downloaded at http://www.torproject.org/easy-download.html.en
Since all Internet traffic will then be routed through different servers outside of Vietnam, you will experience reduced Internet speeds. Alternatively, you can also use Ultrasurf which is freely available at www.ultrareach.com.
Conclusion
There are many techniques and software that enable you to access blocked websites in Vietnam.
The above mentioned methods are only a small portion of what is available. Please let us know which methods are effective (or ineffective) and whether we should include other methods in this guide. To know more about the situation of Facebook being blocked in Vietnam, please visit our hub at http://bringfacebookback.wordpress.com/
Thank you for your attention and happy surfing!