After a long, tiring day of racking their brains and burying their noses in their textbooks, students eagerly look forward to giving their minds rest and spending their break time blowing off some steam and playing online games with their buddies. However, most schools restrict online gaming and have blocked games and other content to prevent students from getting distracted by gaming and not putting effort and focus on their academics. There are various reasons why schools choose to block games on their computer.
In this guide, we’ll unpack why games are blocked on school computers, what steps you can take to unblock games and play them with your friends, and how a VPN (Virtual Private Network) is one of the perfect tools to unblock games. We’ll also discuss what factors to consider when choosing a VPN provider that meets your specific needs and preferences. So, with that out of the way, let’s begin.
Why Are Games Blocked On School Computers?
There are many reasons why school administration chooses to block games on computers to prevent students from accessing them. Here are the most common ones:
1) Preventing Distraction
Most students love to play games, as they keep them entertained and engaged. However, it can also prove to be a big distraction from academics. The immersive experience that gaming offers prevents students from completely focusing on classes, lectures, and assignments. It can also prevent students from getting good grades and excelling academically if their time and attention are diverted towards games.
2) Academic Performance
To add to the previous point, gaming during school hours directly impacts students’ academic performance. Schools block games to encourage a productive learning environment where students focus more on their studies. Their grades are also important when they’re looking to get admission into good universities and colleges, and having distractions can take them one step back from achieving their academic goals.
3) School Computers Have Limited Resources
Playing online games on school computers is generally not a good idea since school computers need more processing power, memory, and other hardware resources. Games consume many resources, leading to slow computer performance and system crashes. Schools want to ensure that these limited resources are available solely for academic purposes and educational software and tools.
4) Filtering Inappropriate Content
Most video games are created for mature audiences and may contain explicit language, violence, gore, and other inappropriate content. The school administration is responsible for ensuring they create a safe environment for students where positive learning is encouraged. Blocking games ensures that students are not exposed to content that is not age-appropriate for them.
5) Leads To Slow Internet Connection
Online games consume a lot of internet bandwidth. It leads to a slower internet connection for other educational activities like research or gaining access to educational websites and content to help with studies and assignments. To ensure that the internet is available for educational purposes, they may block access to the internet so that the games do not take a lot of bandwidth and disrupt the student’s studies and research.
6) Concerns Regarding Security
Online games pose security concerns. Downloading and installing different games from the internet can introduce security risks. The games you install on the computer could contain malware, viruses, and malicious software that can cause damage to the school’s computer systems, steal sensitive information, and disrupt network operations. By blocking these games, the school administration can prevent these potential security threats from occurring.
How Can I Unblock Games On The School WiFi Connection?
You’ll find students indulged in various popular games like Roblox, Apex Legends, Minecraft, League of Legends, etc. So how can they try to unblock roblox on a school computer and all the other popular online games? We’ll give you a rundown of the most effective steps to unblock games on your school computer, so without further ado, let’s get into it:
1) Use A VPN
A VPN (Virtual Private Network) masks your IP address and encrypts your internet traffic. It routes your traffic through a secure tunnel, ensuring no third parties or malicious actors can decipher or intercept your data. It prevents your ISP from tracking your online activities, offering you a safe online experience. A VPN makes it difficult for your school network administrator will not be able to monitor your online activities. They cannot detect you playing Roblox or Minecraft on the school computer.
2) Use A Proxy Server
A proxy server is an intermediary between your computer and the websites you want to visit. You can access websites on the internet without being connected to them. Your device connects to the proxy server instead of being connected to the website; the server connects to the destination website and transmits the requested information back to your computer. This process enables you to access websites that the school’s network administration blocks. Some proxy servers offer security features like firewalls and intrusion detection systems to protect the network against cyberattacks.
3) Use The Tor Browser
The Tor Browser was created to keep users anonymous and their online activities hidden. Tor can help you avoid getting blocked from accessing different online games. A significant drawback of the Tor browser is that it is slow and unresponsive. But if gaming speed isn’t a dealbreaker for you, go for it.
Factors To Consider When Choosing A VPN Provider
We have established that a VPN is the most effective way to unblock games on your school computer. A reliable VPN provider can enhance your gaming experience by improving speed and reducing lags. Here are some of the main factors you need to consider when looking for a good VPN provider:
1) A VPN provider should offer various servers from different regions and locations. The more server locations you have, the easier it is to bypass censorship and geolocation restrictions. Some online games are also restricted depending on the location.
2) Even if the VPN unblocks the games on the school computer, slow speed would hinder your gaming experience. School WiFi networks are slow and have low bandwidth. Fast VPNs have unlimited bandwidth, offering a lag-free gaming experience.
3) Apart from blocking games, VPNs should also be able to unblock regionally restricted streaming services like Hulu, Disney+, Max, etc. They should also be able to unblock social media platforms like Twitter (now known as X) or Facebook and Instagram.
4) Online gaming also carries security risks. As we previously mentioned, you could install or download an online game that brings malware that could steal your data or be a victim of doxxing. An excellent VPN provider protects your sensitive and confidential data by encrypting it.
A reliable VPN provider should also have 256-bit encryption, Kill Switch, and DNS Leak Protection on top of having a strict No Logs Policy, which means that the VPN provider cannot track your online activities or which websites you’re visiting when you’re using the VPN.
5) If you’re using the school WiFi, the school can quickly check what you’re doing online. VPNs encrypt your internet traffic, making it difficult for third parties such as ISPs or school network administrators to keep tabs on your online activities and whether you’re playing online games.
6) A VPN provider should also offer a user-friendly experience, making it easy for the not-so-tech-savvy person to navigate and find their way around its features and functionality. A beginner-friendly experience is vital; reliable VPN providers should also provide 24/7 customer support.
Wrapping Up
Students want to be able to relax and unwind during school hours by playing online games that they enjoy and love. But schools block access to games to prevent students from detracting from their academics. Students can get around to unblocking games from school computers in several ways, with a VPN being the most effective way. This guide offers additional tips besides VPN to bypass blocks and play games while in school.