Ah, September! Here in Canada, a chill has entered the air; the whisper of autumn swirls around and it’s getting time to dig out your jackets from deep in your closet. Also, pumpkin spice lattes are back!
For many, September also means it’s back to school time. Settling into your dorm room or new apartment, picking up your textbooks, finding your classes, drinking 8 pints of cheap draft beer at the student pub yet somehow still barely feeling hungover the next day…can you tell I miss my college days?
School’s in Session
But as you settle into campus life once again, suddenly, you remember: I CAN’T ACCESS ANYTHING ON THIS STUPID CAMPUS NETWORK! Ah yes, for with student life comes campus internet, and with campus internet comes firewalls and blocks.
Are you excited to get your massively multiplayer gaming on with the release of World of Warcraft’s Wrath of the Lich King Classic this September? Sorry, blocked.
Do you want to download some of your most comforting shows and movies to help dull the pain of endless studying? Sorry, blocked.
Ah, you’re writing your term paper on the social impact of Reddit, TikTok, and Youtube and need desperately to access the sites for research. Seriously, it’s for research. Sorry, BLOCKED.
Oh, you thought college was for free and open dialogue and debate? In the classroom, sure, but the internet? Oh no, that’s on lock down, baby.
Well fret not, students, for Windscribe has you covered. Now, pay attention, you’ll be graded at the end!
Lesson 1 - Stay Secure
Windscribe is a VPN that encrypts your browsing activity for security and privacy while online. Whether at school or not, you should pretty much always be using a VPN, especially if you are connecting to shared/public wifi networks, such as your school’s wifi. Connecting to a VPN will keep your personal information safe, even if the security on your school’s network is not up to standard.
Lesson 2 - Keep Your Internet Use Private
Look, I don’t want to alarm you and say that your school is spying on you, but, if you are connected to your school’s wifi, it’s a definite possibility that they monitor your traffic and activity. Connecting to Windscribe will encrypt your traffic, so your school will not be able to see it and your browsing history.
Lesson 3 - Bypass Network Restrictions
Your school, for a whole whack of reasons (saving bandwidth, low-key censorship, etc.), may be blocking certain websites and activity. This means that gaming, downloading, and even some websites and search terms may be inaccessible on your school’s network. With Windscribe, you can bypass these restrictions. Open internet is back in session!
Lesson 4 - Time to Windscribe
You can download Windscribe for all of your devices, including PC,Mac, iPhone, and Android devices - we even offer a browser extension. Windscribe is free to use, and if you confirm your email you get an additional 10 GB of bandwidth per month and access to server locations in 11 countries. You can also get 5GB of extra data for free just by tweeting. Simply log in to our website, visit this page, and follow the instructions for the tweet!
If you decide you want unlimited data and access to more server locations, we have a sweet deal for you - you can get 1 whole year of Windscribe Pro for $39!
Once you’ve created your account, simply download the app, log in, and connect! Your data is now encrypted and you can browse privately, safely, and freely.
We’ve also got some nice little tutorials to help get you started:
How to Install Windscribe on your Desktop or Laptop
How to Install Windscribe on your Mobile device
How to Install Windscribe on your Browser
Question Time
Okay, you there, in the back, what’s your question? - “I’ve downloaded the app and can’t connect.” Alright, I was expecting this.
I already mentioned in Lesson 3 that your school network may be locked down,limiting what you can access - this also means your school may be actively blocking VPN connections as well.
If this happens to you, you may be able to bypass the block by adjusting your connection protocol and port. In the Windscribe app, go to Preferences>Connection>Connection Mode> Manual and try each of the protocols and ports to see if any combination helps. You have to reconnect to Windscribe when you change the protocol/port in order to activate it.
If you are still having trouble, just reach out to our support team - they’ll be more than happy to assist you in getting things working as they should: https://windscribe.com/support/ticket
Next question? “VPNs are completely banned at my school, and even downloading/connecting to one will result in serious repercussions and harsh punishment.” Well, luckily we have another option that might do the trick instead. Control D, our smart DNS service, is another great option for bypassing network blocks. While a smart DNS service and a VPN do function differently, if you are trying to bypass your school’s restrictive network and can’t use a VPN, Control D is the way to go - we'll be releasing a Back to School article for Control D soon that will cover the benefits, so watch this space!
Put Windscribe on your Back-to-School Supply List
You go to school to learn. Get that degree. Write that thesis. Do those experiments. Go to that party…and then that after party, and then that day party, and then, oh shit, is it Monday again?
But when you aren’t learning (and partying), you should be able to relax and vibe out online exactly how you want to. You should also be able to rest easy knowing your online data is secure and private. Windscribe has got you covered - and not only that, just like we mentioned before, we’ve got a special offer exclusively for students (and if you aren’t a student just pretend and use it anyway, just don't tell anyone I told you to): $39 for a whole year of Windscribe Pro! (for a limited time). You can save $30 and spend it on 1/100th of a statistics textbook! Yay deals!
