How schools block game servers?
By: Maitree Hirunteeyakul
Tags: Schools, Life Hacking, Computer Science, Networking, VPN

I believe in 21s century when every high-schoolers have a smart-phone in their pocket as a 33rd part of human organ, almost every schools are providing free wifi for “Academic Purpose”.

Photo by Paul Hanaoka on Unsplash

The top worries priority of school on network system is the student gaming behaviour. Many adult that I talk to in my school about why they block the game servers always give me the explanation about if student addited to game their grade will drop.

In reality it f*c*ing not true : Look at me I’m not addicted to any game duh but I still have low-score while the real genius are playing game on cellular mode all night and got AAA on Math.

Are they doing on purpose? — My principle told and confirm it on their purpose to block games. They pretty sure it will help student school grade.

In order to overcome the trouble we need to understand trouble.

How school network block internet?

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Most school networks have a “Proxy Server” act like a middle man between your devices and server you are visiting. The Proxy Server was meant to kept your devices ip hidden and safe for Malware to directly enter your devices.

A Proxy Server can be modified to block query from black-list ip that network administration set. So It can install some software like Pi-Hole on there server to filter what they allows and block what they don’t allows.

It is simply just install Pi-Hole to the Server and use their Pi-Hole as a DNS-server. Then whenever you try to reach the game server the DNS will not give the Server address back to client.

Block-list

Where they found the Block-list for game server. Actually they don’t even have to collect the list on their own. For example this block-list from the link.

You can see It’s all in there : Stream server, Discord, Valve, Blizzard. All averrable in one tiny .txt file.

How to pass the Block-list ?

So simple just use VPN. When you connect to the VPN services all the things that router will be receives is an encrypted qurey. Nearly mean the school server site + router will know noting about you. When you use VPN the only thing the local network know is what is you VPN IP address.

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My school blocks VPN

There actuary have 2 type of blocking VPN.

They blocked some (famous) VPN

Let’s think about it what it gonna happens if the school already have the block-list for VPN servers too. So that means you need to say bye to those VPNs and keep looking for the new one.

Using your own OpenVPN can break this rule because you own a server on your own. Possibility that your server address will be in the block-list is somewhere around 0 unless the school found your irregular traffic among your school mate. — I made a guide to simply made one here.

Even if the school block hundreds of VPN server from the list but my school mate always find the new haven’t blocked VPN every single times.

They blocked the port to connect any VPN

This method not very unpopular in schools because not all the VPN is using for the bad purpose. Many research paper must have to request via the VPN only. If they block the port for VPN it might effect about studying more than gaming

If your school blocked all the VPN with this technique, please just say bye to your thought and use you cellular instead.