As you may well have experienced today, Wikipedia has blacked out its English language content in protest of a proposed change in US online copyright laws (see below for Wikipedia's statement.) However, there is a very simple tricks that will allow you to bypass the blackout. Here's how you do it.
There is a very simple way that will allow you to bypass the Wikipedia blackout
When you load the Wikipedia page that you want to read, you'll notice that you can see the non-blacked out content for roughly one second, before Wikipedia's 'blacking out' page takes over. It appears that Wikipedia has just added a splash page to automatically load over all of its pages.
See also: Wikipedia black-out: Five alternatives to the online encyclopaedia
Method 1
Submitted by PCAdvisor.co.uk reader Bobbyjack.
Step one: Search for the Wikipedia page you want to view
Step two: Wait for the page and the blackout to load fully.
Step three: Add '?banner=none' to the end of the existing URL and press enter.
Method 2
Step one: Use a search engine to find the Wikipedia page you want to read.
Step two: Once you have have clicked on the page you want to see, you need to click the 'Stop loading this page' button in the address bar of your web browser before the Wikipedia flash page loads. You may need to hit refresh a few times to get used to the timing. (See right)
Note: You will have a one or two second window to stop the page loading before the black out flash page takes over the site. So it's just a matter of timing when you stop the page loading.
Alternatively you can Google to search for the Wikipedia page you want to read.
Method 3
Step one: Perform a Google search for the Wikipedia page you want to view, allow the page load as normal and wait for the blackout to takeover.
Step two: Copy and paste the URL back into a Google search and hover your mouse over the relevant result, then click on the '>>' symbol.
Step three: You will then see a cached preview image of the Wikipedia page you have searched for. You'll also find the word 'Cached' at the top of the preview image, click on this and it will take you to a non-blacked out Wikipedia page - however, the page will most probably be one day out of date.
Method 4
Step one: Download the official Wikipedia app for your smartphone or tablet. The black out has not effected mobile devices.
Before you bypass the black out, you might like read Wikipedia's statement on why it's "blacking out" its content for 24 hours, to see whether you agree or disagree with its stance.
Wikipedia's brief statement: "For over a decade, we have spent millions of hours building the largest encyclopedia in human history. Right now, the U.S. Congress is considering legislation that could fatally damage the free and open Internet. For 24 hours, to raise awareness, we are blacking out Wikipedia."
- For more information see Wikipedia to shut down for 24 hours
- BBC to charge for iPlayer use
- See more PC Advisor How Tos
Comments
Logan D. said: or you can disable javascript in your browser Wikipedia says to do that
Matt Egan said: Hi Matthew I dont think it is The purpose as I see it is to raise awareness of the issue and show how strongly Internet publishers feel The fact that we are talking about it suggests that the move has been entirely successful
Mathew Blair said: Isnt this kind of defeating the purpose of what they are doing this fori for one agree with themthis bill if passed will unfrindge on personal choice and freedoms
wikiexpert said: from the wikipedia page on the blackout- Is it still possible to access Wikipedia in any wayYes During the blackout Wikipedia is accessible on mobile devices and smart phones You can also view Wikipedia normally by simply disabling JavaScript in your browser If using Explorer open the Tools menu select Internet Options to open the Internet Options dialog boxClick the Security tabClick the Internet symbol a globeClick the Custom Level button to open the Security Settings dialog boxIn the Settings list scroll down to ScriptingUnder Active Scripting click the radio button to the left of Enable so that a coloured dot appears in it Click Disable if you want to disable JavaScriptTo disable javascript in Firefox click on toolsgtoptionsgtcontent and uncheck enable javascript
Matt Hawkins said: You can do something You can use americancensorshiporg to petition the US State Department This is the department that points the finger at other countries when they censor the internet
Matt Hawkins said: Why would turning off Java make any differenceTurning off JavaScript would probably make more sense
Matt Egan said: No worries Love the passion
why? said: OK You made a fair point BTW sorry about the swearingearlieron It was stupid of me
Matt Egan said: Thanks for coming back and posting Thats the gutsy thing to do You make a fair point and I hope the coverage we have all over the site shows how seriously we take SOPA On a personal note I sympathise with the aims of SOPA but hate with a passion the powers it would place into government hands It would be abused make no mistake However I dont think this story damages the protest The Wikipedia protest is about gaining exposure and showing how strongly people feel Mission accomplished Id say If people find out what SOPA is all about simply because Wikipedia is down but then choose to access the site anyway who loses Were talking about it now after all
why? said: By The Way I am in UK and I am british born but please remember SOPA will affect some of our favourite sites No I not talking about pirated stuff or porn I mean sites like sharenator and icanhavecheeseburger
why? said: Hi sorry for the swearing and this time I will not swearThe aim of the blackout in Wikipedi is to get people attention of SOPA If you showing the bypass process then people will just forget about how SOPA could damage free speech on internetAs for imaginarynumber grammer lessonsI was joking about cancelling my subscription No way I would cancel because PC Advisor is the best pc mag for me Also I dont need grammer lesson because let face it people are lazy typing proper grammer in the comment sections
imaginarynumber said: i was going to suggest that any monies saved by cancelling his subscription could be diverted to grammer lessons till I remembered that I had to un-install google toolbar and now have no IE spell checker
Matt Egan said: Ive asked the deleted poster to post again but without all the swearing His viewpoint deserves to be heard even if I dont agree
Bernhard said: Easiest way for those that have Adblock Plus installed in FirefoxGo to any wikipedia page hit the Adblock button to get a list of blockable items or ctrlshiftV then select the element httpenwikipediaorgwindeand block it either with the context menu or ENTER
imaginarynumber said: In reply to the deleted poster called why-Forgive me forjumping to assumptions but your style of writing would suggest that you are American if so unless you are based in the UK I doubt that you are a paying subscriberThe aim of the wikipedia blackout was to raise awareness of how dumb American politicians are Articles such as this are raising the profile of SOPA
Anon said: just turn off java
papshow said: youre a beautiful man thank you for saving my essay
Bobbyjack said: Full details of how to circumvent the blackout from the Wikimedia foundation themselves are available herehttpsmetawikimediaorgwik
Miro said: I just added an exception to ban javascript on wikipedia works like a charm and there are no functionality problems
Anon said: Stop buying american goods in the supermarket and stop paying american taxes