VPNs offer great advantages for internet users, including the fact that they encrypt your online data, keeping it secure from eavesdroppers and fraudsters. While encryption is crucial in order to keep your data protected, there are some cases in which it may become an inconvenience. For instance, websites like Hulu are set to block IPs that are likely to be used by VPNs. The good news is that it is possible to bypass the VPN connection for specific websites, using static IP routing, This solution will enable you to access most of these websites without any hassle. Keep in mind that when it comes to websites that use multiple IP addresses, it can be challenging to bypass VPN using IP routing. However, this option should work well for websites that are less complex. Here is what you need to do in order to bypass the VPN connection when needed.
Manual Method for OS X
Let’s start with the steps that you can follow on OS X.
1. Open Terminal then go to Applications, followed by Utilities and Terminal.
2. You will need to type “netstat-r” to see routing tables and find out the gateway IP address.
3. In order to find the IP address of the website that you wish to access, type “ping ipaddress.com”.
4. To add a routing rule, type “sude-route -nv add (enter destination IP followed by space and the gateway IP)”.
Manual method for Windows
In many ways, the manual method for Windows is similar to the one used for OS X .
1. The first step is to run cmd.exe following the below for each Windows version:
In Windows XP, go to Start, then Run and type “Command”.
Windows Vista/ 7 users can go to Start, then select All Programs, followed by Accessories and then right click Command Prompt and select “Run as Administrator”.
Windows 8: In Start Screen or Metro mode, click on Apps, then type “cmd” in the search box and press Enter. Once the cmd icon appears, right click on it and the right click on Advanced, at the bottom right. Choose “Run as Administrator”.
For Windows 8.1, right click on Start and then Command Prompt (Admin).
2. Look up your gateway IP address. This would generally be the IP address of your router. Type “route print” when prompted to enter a command and then press Enter. You can look for your gateway IP under “Active Routes: Network Destination / Gateway.
3. Look for the IP address of the website you want to bypass. Go to the URL while your VPN is enabled. Your VPN server’s IP address and location should be displayed. Then, you can type “Ping ipaddress.com” when prompted or go to https://www.site24x7.com/find-ip-address-of-web-site.html or any similar website where you can find out a site’s IP.
4. Type “route add” followed by the website and gateway IPs. It should look like “route add (website IP) (gateway IP)”. If the page is refreshed and you go to ipaddress.com again, you would see your actual IP address.
Windows UNrouting Tool
HideMyAss is one of the most popular providers in the VPN industry and it offers a tool that allows you to get the same results as the steps above, but without requiring a commando prompt. However, establishing your gateway IP address will still be needed, so you will have to follow steps 1 and 2 or the guide.
You can download the HMA UNrouting Utility from http://hmastuff.com/HMA_UNrouting_Utility.zip
You should run this tool as an administrator by right clicking the desktop icon and then choosing “Run as administrator”. The UNrouting solution is designed as a simple graphic interface that allows you to bypass VPN. It is not limited to HideMyAss and would work with any VPN connection.
Other Platforms
Static routes can also be configured on different Linux distributions such as Debian/ Ubuntu. You would need to open configuration file/etc/network/interfaces and define static routing. You can establish your own rules if you have the necessary technical knowledge.
Android devices would need to be rooted before static routing rules can be set up. Once the device is rooted, it will be possible to use any terminal emulator to configure static routes. To get root privileges, type “su” and to show current routing rules, type “ip route”.
