Internet Blocks, the Great Firewall and VPNs

[TCcookie]

So... anyone know any reasonable ways to vault the Great Firewall in the other direction? I miss Google and Sina Music here in Hong Kong.

[sleepy eyes]

Newfound trouble here. I thought it was only inside campus, but I've just tried the wi-fi in some cafes outside and it's the same. Foreign websites are loading slower than usual, gmail taking ages to load and fg is all but useless. As soon as it all started, fg updated to 7.17 but to no avail, it works for less than a minute and then nothing. I've tried the ip adresses they give out over gtalk but they don't help either.

I'm wondering if anyone else is experiencing this?

I hope fg updates again soon, private vpns never work for me inside campus. :/

[gato]

Foreign websites are loading slower than usual, gmail taking ages to load and fg is all but useless. As soon as it all started, fg updated to 7.17 but to no avail, it works for less than a minute and then nothing. I've tried the ip adresses they give out over gtalk but they don't help either.

Yeah, it's gotten gradually worse since the beginning of the year, when the revolutions in the Middle East started. I gave up on using FG about a month ago when i lost internet access and had to reboot the router right after I tried to use FG. Not certain if it was because of FG, but probably was because the loss of internet service happened immediately after FG was launched. It's true that gmail is blocked more than 50% of the time on the browser. If you access it through a standalone email client such as on a mobile phone, it still works, though slow.

Now I mostly access sites outside of China by using so-called "SSH Tunnelling" (you can google it for more details). It's fairly easy to do, but does requires a bit more computer experience. If you know what telnet and SSH are, then you should know enough to use it.

The VPN I use still works, but I had to change to using the "IKE" method to access it instead of using OpenVPN. If you are using a VPN service and having trouble connecting, see if your provider is set up for IKE.

[liuzhou]

Fg is having problems as described. I've consulted friends in various parts of China and all are reporting the same as described. I think the problem is at their end and hopefully they will fix it soon. Or it may be part of the noticeable slowdown in Internet service since Wednesday noon (also reported China-wide). Fg has always had problems finding and maintaining connections when things get too slow. Sadly, just before Fg bit the dust, it was being superfast.

I did have a bit of a rant about the slowdown on Thursday.

It's true that gmail is blocked more than 50% of the time on the browser.

I have had zero problems with Gmail.

[liuzhou]

It has taken a week, but they've got fg working again.

[fanglu]

I recently started using Cloak (http://www.getcloak.com) on my iPhone. Seems to be working quite well so far. They have a free account which allows 2 hours use per month, after that you have to pay.

(null)

[Benignant]

I'm paying every month for vpn it's really fast and easy. I'm using strongvpn.com ! they have tons of servers around the world and you can change it anytime ;) very nice! it's using Openvpn software.

[yialanliu]

I just had to do a system reinstall.

Can someone send me the link via pm of post here for the newest version of free gate? Couldn't find it.

[GaHanna]

Same here.

I am planning on buying a VPN soon. One for my apartment using wi-fi on a laptop. Help and suggestions on which one to buy for the IT-less would be helpful.

[hiten]

I just had to do a system reinstall.

Can someone send me the link via pm of post here for the newest version of free gate? Couldn't find it.

Here you are, I've just uploaded it on MediaFire & 4shared

http://www.mediafire...u5cqb5bj87x3k7o

http://www.4shared.com/zip/gqfizIjv/fg726x.html

[liuzhou]

Openly linking to a download of this software might not be the best idea you ever had. Which is why the request was made for it to be sent by "pm" (private message).

Mediafire is blocked in China anyway so that is no help to anyone. And the chances of it remaining on 4shared for much longer are slim.

Are you trying to get this site blocked, too?

[hiten]

Yeah, just realized that those two websites are currently blocked in China.

Any idea where I can upload the file? Is there any file hosting website that can be accessed in China?

[imron]

PM the person asking for it, and send it to them via email.

[yaokong]

can someone pm me about free ways to reach youtube and facebook? what I know is some proxies, but they are usually terribly slow, if they work at all... I currently have no income, so 10 dollars a month is no option. thanks a lot!

[radioman]

If you are a Google Docs user, it seems that there is currently no restriction on accessing Google Docs in China. I confirmed this with a few other online acquaintances around China, and it seems the results are the same - no need for a VPN.

This is certainly a deviation from the past, maybe just temporary, but I hope not. I use Google Docs all the time for spreadsheet and documents work and when not going through a VPN, its much faster.

[liuzhou]

Since yesterday evening, I have been unable to reach almost any non-Chinese site without using a VPN. Sites which are normally OK. Access is still fine on my Android phone through Unicom. It's not just me. Anyone care to hazard a guess as to what is going on?

[gato]

Probably a Liuzhou-specific problem. Things are normal here in Shanghai, e.g., NYTimes and BBC are still accessible without a proxy.

[liuzhou]

Not Liuzhou specific. See here.

[yialanliu]

Might be limited to certain areas. In 2009, Xinjiang was blacked out completely but the rest of China was fine. Xinjiang couldn't even make international phone calls and even local websites such as bank of china was blocked for a period of time so it could be a targeted blackout.

[liuzhou]

While they are certainly perfectly capable of targeted regional blocks, there is usually an obvious reason why they have done it (although not necessarily one I would agree with). The Xinjiang case and previous similar blocks in Tibet were for specific reasons.

If that is what is happening today, which I doubt, it would appear to be a rather scattergun targeting for no obvious reason. I tend to think it is a temporary technical fault. If they really wanted to block everything, they wouldn't leave cell phones free to access everything.

This is not the first time this has happened by any means, although it has lasted a bit longer than usual.

In fact, the sites are not blocked. They are just downloading incredibly slowly and most browsers won't wait, instead timing out and giving a "can't be found" message. I managed to use Opera to download my own website. It only took 29 minutes to open the home page. With VPN, 3 seconds.