Tricks to get through proxy / firewall / corporate filter

MagicDavid · 19 Mar 2014, 09:33 AM

Hi all

There used to be a way to get access to Fastmail from behind a corporate web filter. If you had your own domain set up (which I do) you could map your domain to the fastmail web interface and force it to use an insecure (non HTTP) connection - in that way you wouldn't get redirected to fastmail's HTTPS.

Obviously this was a security issue, so I used an SMS one time password any time I had to do this.

Then there was a way that you could map your domain to the HTTPS fastmail server, and then simply ignore the certificate error.

Recently, I've noticed all the cheats I used to use have stopped working, and now I'm completely unable to access Fastmail from work. They subscribe to a web filter that simply blocks the domains of all known web mail providers.

Can someone tell me if they are aware of any ways to get the domain mapping working again so I can get access to my email once again?

Many thanks

David

BritTim · 19 Mar 2014, 12:29 PM

Have you tried mapping your domain to insecure.fastmail.fm?

janusz · 20 Mar 2014, 03:37 PM

VPN should do the trick.

MagicDavid · 20 Mar 2014, 08:54 PM

Hi both

Thanks for your replies. Alas our IT department won't even let us access Google Docs, so a VPN would not be possible.

However, I thought I'd tried CNAME-ing a domain to insecure, but I've just tried it again, and it worked! So many thanks for that advice! I will see if I can get it to work somehow with SSL and ignore the certificate warning also.

Thanks both - very helpful.

David

FredOnline · 20 Mar 2014, 09:15 PM

Our IT dept blocks, like . . . everything.

That's why everyone has their own smartphone - out of site, but close to hand.

MagicDavid · 24 Mar 2014, 10:17 PM

It's really annoying isn't it!

Mapping to the SSL (ssl.fastmail.fm) showing a certificate error, as I'd expect, but then frustraitingly redirects to https://ssl.fastmail.fm which of course immediately gets blocked by our firewall. It used to be that it would stay on your own custom domain but with a warning that the fastmail SSL certificate didn't match your domain name.

Ah well. I'll have to stick to insecure and SMS one time passwords for the moment unless Fastmail can put this back to the way it was before?

Thanks all for your input.

David

19 Mar 2014, 09:33 AM	#1
MagicDavid Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: England, UK Posts: 164	Tricks to get through proxy / firewall / corporate filter Hi all There used to be a way to get access to Fastmail from behind a corporate web filter. If you had your own domain set up (which I do) you could map your domain to the fastmail web interface and force it to use an insecure (non HTTP) connection - in that way you wouldn't get redirected to fastmail's HTTPS. Obviously this was a security issue, so I used an SMS one time password any time I had to do this. Then there was a way that you could map your domain to the HTTPS fastmail server, and then simply ignore the certificate error. Recently, I've noticed all the cheats I used to use have stopped working, and now I'm completely unable to access Fastmail from work. They subscribe to a web filter that simply blocks the domains of all known web mail providers. Can someone tell me if they are aware of any ways to get the domain mapping working again so I can get access to my email once again? Many thanks David

19 Mar 2014, 12:29 PM	#2
BritTim The "e" in e-mail Join Date: May 2003 Location: mostly in Thailand Posts: 3,095	Have you tried mapping your domain to insecure.fastmail.fm?

20 Mar 2014, 03:37 PM	#3
janusz The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: EU Posts: 4,945	VPN should do the trick.

20 Mar 2014, 08:54 PM	#4
MagicDavid Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: England, UK Posts: 164	Hi both Thanks for your replies. Alas our IT department won't even let us access Google Docs, so a VPN would not be possible. However, I thought I'd tried CNAME-ing a domain to insecure, but I've just tried it again, and it worked! So many thanks for that advice! I will see if I can get it to work somehow with SSL and ignore the certificate warning also. Thanks both - very helpful. David

20 Mar 2014, 09:15 PM	#5
FredOnline The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Manchester UK Posts: 2,616	Our IT dept blocks, like . . . everything. That's why everyone has their own smartphone - out of site, but close to hand.

24 Mar 2014, 10:17 PM	#6
MagicDavid Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: England, UK Posts: 164	It's really annoying isn't it! Mapping to the SSL (ssl.fastmail.fm) showing a certificate error, as I'd expect, but then frustraitingly redirects to https://ssl.fastmail.fm which of course immediately gets blocked by our firewall. It used to be that it would stay on your own custom domain but with a warning that the fastmail SSL certificate didn't match your domain name. Ah well. I'll have to stick to insecure and SMS one time passwords for the moment unless Fastmail can put this back to the way it was before? Thanks all for your input. David