— Access desired content outside of work/school hours using your own device and non-managed internet connection (e.g., mobile data or home Wi-Fi).
In your firewall policy, change SSL Inspection to No Inspection (not recommended for production) or Certificate Inspection for specific, known-safe traffic. Alternative Solutions (Non-Administrative)
Switching to public DNS servers (like Google 8.8.8.8 or Cloudflare 1.1.1.1) can bypass rudimentary web filters. However, an IPS operates at the network and transport layers. Even if your computer resolves the blocked website's IP address through a public DNS, the actual data packets must still pass through the FortiGate firewall, where the IPS will inspect and block the connection. 2. Using Web Proxies — Access desired content outside of work/school hours
If you are being blocked by a network you do not control (like at work or school), these are the most common methods to bypass restrictions:
The simplest way to bypass a network-level filter is to leave the network. Switching to mobile data or using your phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot bypasses the Fortinet hardware entirely. However, an IPS operates at the network and transport layers
means that a Fortinet security appliance on your network has flagged your network traffic. This typically happens because the system's Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) or Web Filter detected an activity, signature, or URL category that matches a predefined security block rule.
Customize the protocol decoders if your organization uses proprietary software that naturally deviates from standard networking protocols. Risks of Unauthorized Bypass Attempts Using Web Proxies If you are being blocked
If you are an end-user facing an "Access Blocked" message on a corporate or school network, the correct course of action is to contact your local IT helpdesk or security operations center (SOC) to request a legitimate site review or policy exception.
I can provide specific configuration steps or diagnostic commands based on your role. Share public link
This is hit-or-miss against modern FortiGuard. Enterprise signatures often normalize encoding before matching.