ExpressVPN down in China - What to use now?

[Matty]

Anyone had recent success with installing and using Tor inside China?

Tor I believe is built for anonymity, not so much privacy of data. Therefore it has never (that I know of) been effective against the GFW.

[imron]

Tor I believe is built for anonymity, not so much privacy of data.

How do you think it achieves anonymity?

It used to work fine to get around the GFW, but the last time I tried it was several years ago. Once I set up my SSH proxy I never bothered with it again.

[liuzhou]

Tor .. ... has never (that I know of) been effective against the GFW.

Wrong. I used it for years to get round the GFW.

Haven't tried it for a long time, either.

[Matty]

How do you think it achieves anonymity?

It used to work fine to get around the GFW, but the last time I tried it was several years ago. Once I set up my SSH proxy I never bothered with it again.

The way I read - years ago I must admit - was that it was something like a proxy chain where the data was source IP was protected, but the data itself was not.

Interestingly I just got some emails from ExpressVPN:

Dear ------- --------,

We just refunded your payment to ExpressVPN.

If your payment was made via paypal, the funds should be back in your paypal account now. To transfer them back into your bank account, you should log into paypal now and order the transfer there.

If your payment was made with credit-card, the refund should appear on your credit-card statement within 5 business days.

Please feel free to write to us if you have any questions.

Best Regards,

- The ExpressVPN Team

I'd really like to know why? Any ideas?

[imron]

The way I read - years ago I must admit - was that it was something like a proxy chain where the data was source IP was protected, but the data itself was not.

It also encrypts the data (and always has done), however it's only encrypted while on the tor network, and not from the Tor exit node to the target server. So, as long as you're connecting to Tor nodes outside of China, there shouldn't be a problem using it to get around the GFW.