VPN on a cruise ship
So I’m not sure if this is the right sub but anyway here so go. I’m currently working on a cruise ship and they have blocked basically everything except WhatsApp/ telegram. YouTube/Netflix app just continuously loads and when going to desktop site I get stopped by the Fortinet wall which is obviously the problem. My previous ship I used a VPN and now my VPN won’t connect
I’m using the paid version of Surfshark and I’ve tried all the different protocols and most locations. Any advice? I’m onboard for 6 months and I need entertainment!
I also tried using my PS5 to watch YouTube but no avail.
If this is the wrong sub I’m so sorry and if you could please direct me to the right one?? Thank you in advance 
Thank you to everyone for the suggestions!!
The firewall even blocked websites categorised as “Proxy Avoidance” so I couldn’t try all your ideas BUT there was success!!
In the end it’s some random free VPN from the app Store (SecVPN) that somehow works 
You guys are awesome
You could try formally requesting access to Netflix etc if company policy allows it, or texting the IT person specifically and ask them to do you a solid.
Other than that, check if you can navigate to a cloud hosting domain, for example you can have a cheap instance of windows running on the cloud and if you can access that through VNC, you can access anything.
Streaming quality will suffer this way of course, but if your onboard internet is fast enough (which it usually isn’t), it’s better than nothing.
Best chance you’ll get is to use a standard-use open port.
I worked in a company who were anal about their ‘free wifi’ use.
Almost everything was blocked, so I installed a vpnserver at home, and let it connect on port 443.
This worked flawless, and also Windscribe and AIRVPN let me use port 443 ( in in my case also 53 DNS ) as a option.
As a previous shipboard IT officer i can tell that vpn is blocked on cruise ships. I dont know which company you’re working for, but in my former company vpn was blocked for security compliance reasons (to prevent access to porn, guns, drugs, alcohol and gambling websites).
If Google translate isn’t blocked, you can run the website through Google translate to bypass.
If their internet connection is your only option, you’re likely screwed. Sorry.
I had the same thing at my school fortinet blocked basiclaly evrrything what worked was shadowsocks mullvad can use it if you activate the option or a shady chinese vpn called freegate it might be a virus idk or some free vpns that use shadowsocks are available like hoxx
VPNs don’t seem to work for me, but a HTTP injector does.
I am using this one currently, but I am still trying to find out how trustworthy it is:
If anyone knows an open source one, let me know
Hey, riseupvpn is a free open source alternative, you have different configurations, try it and see if it works for you.
You could using a VPN provider that allows you to use port 443 (tcp) (same as SSL on regular webbrowsing).
You could also buy a cheap VPS and set everything up yourself. If you can use UDP (instead of TCP) I would recommend Wireguard over OpenVPN. Googling Docker + Wireguard should help you out.
Since they allow YouTube and some sites. Injecting traffic through the sites should be a go. Use HTTP Injector, although the configuration might take a while and some trial and error
Maybe you could get starlink? Doesn’t it work when mobile now? Since Ukraine deployment? Not an expert…
You can try to use a VPN that has a feature called obfuscation, this will attempt to hide VPN traffic as regular HTTPS traffic
You can also look into using a proxy instead of a VPN, I would recommend a socks proxy if you go that route
$199 and that’s not on it yet…
Has anyone had any success with this related to sharing a hotspot? I want to buy a single device plan and share it with my girlfriend. On Android 14, I can connect to wifi, then create a hotspot using that Wi-Fi connection and bridge them. I have NordVPN and Private Internet Access. I also downloaded a few other free VPNs.
Mostly wondering if obfuscation servers will prevent their firewalls from noticing a hot spot or additional devices.
OP if Tor works then all you need is to get a VPN that uses Obfuscated servers, cause maybe packets containing OpenVPN & L2TP headers are blocked
