Are all VPNs now disabled in China

[sthubbar 14]

StrongVPN client has suddenly stopped working. Also unable to reach StrongVPN.com, Witopia.com and ExpressVPN.com.

Is anyone's VPN still working?

[gato 919]

FG still works.

http://rapidshare.com/#!download|8dt|450706990|fg708x.rar|1640

FG 7.08

[sthubbar 14]

Gato,

Thanks for sharing.

Here is my new experience.

- Downloaded Gato's Freegate Dynaweb

- Tried to go to www.freegate.com and got "Connection Reset message"

- Did an address bar search for "freegate" and got "Connection Reset"

- Tried to go to Google directly (which is the address bar search provider" and got "Connection reset"

- Was able to go to www.bing.com

- Did a Bing search for "freegate dynamweb" got "Connection Reset"

- Tried to go back to www.bing.com and got "Connection Reset"

- Went to www.Baidu.com and was able

- Did "Freegate Dynaweb" search on Baidu with no problems

- Tried to go back to www.google.com and now was able to

- Did another search for "freegate dynaweb" and got "Connection Reset"

- Tried to go back to www.google.com and got "Connection Reset"

This strongly indicates to me that the GFW is increasing it's filtering. I sure hope this is temporary just during whatever big government meeting they're having right now.

[David in Shanghai 0]

ExpressVPN is down, but only last 2 days so I don't think it has anything to do with the political meetings going on in Beijing for last 10 days. I cannot access ExpressVPN website either.

[sthubbar 14]

BTW,

Here is a recent article about the new blocks.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/16/china-tightens-grip-on-vpn-access-amid-pro-democracy-protests-g/

[sthubbar 14]

Using Gato's Freegate I was able to access StrongVPN.com and chat with tech support. They provided a new config and it seems to be working now.

Thanks, Gato.

[gato 919]

Using FG's full name may cause this site to be blocked. Please change your references above to FG.

The error messages you got indicate that your browser was not accessing the net through FG. Which browser were you using? By default, opening FG would launch Internet Explorer with the proxy settings already configured for FG. If you need to use Firefox with FG, you might need to add it as a program with access to FG using the "add program" function of FG.

See the attached screen shot for an example.

[Brian US 247]

I feel I'm completely inept at using these VPN's. I'm still trying to get FG setup and it looks like I have the same settings as you gato. I'm running 7.07 expert and the little activity graph is going up and down for the server. Yet, I can't access FB or youtube.

Edit: Automatic upgrade to 7.08, but still no luck.

[AcuDoc 0]

How is Tor working in China with the blocks? That's been my most reliable go-to for travel to restricted countries. I haven't tried it in the PRC yet, though.

[gato 919]

Brian, can you get it to work with Internet Explorer?

[aristotle1990 99]

Here is a recent article about the new blocks.

http://www.engadget....acy-protests-g/

I think this may have been posted elsewhere on this forum, but check out this interesting (and disturbing) podcast on the recent upgrades China's made to the GFW.

[roddy 5,429]

And a summary for those of us who aren't big on Internet audio would be nice.

[gato 919]

Listening to the podcast right now. It's mostly about blocking in general. He does talk a little about recent problems, such as problems with encrypted connections, including HTTPS connections to banks outside of China. I haven't experienced a general problem with HTTPS myself, but the GFW has indeed been making life difficult for Gmail users lately. For some reason, entering the numeric IP address for the various gmail servers allow one to bypass the blocking. Maybe what's being done is a form of DNS poisoning; otherwise, I think using the IP address shouldn't work.

Here are the addresses you can add to your HOSTS file to regain Gmail connectivity (on Windows, HOSTS file is at c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts):

66.249.89.91 mail.google.com

74.125.79.109 pop.gmail.com

74.125.79.109 smtp.gmail.com

66.249.89.91 encrypted.google.com

66.249.89.91 www.google.com

66.249.89.46 www.google.com.hk

72.14.203.91 docs.google.com

72.14.203.93 encrypted-tbn0.google.com

72.14.203.93 encrypted-tbn1.google.com

72.14.203.93 encrypted-tbn2.google.com

72.14.203.93 encrypted-tbn3.google.com

[aristotle1990 99]

And a summary for those of us who aren't big on Internet audio would be nice.

Key points:

• The GFW is gaining the ability to recognize what type of content is being used, throttle stuff it doesn't like (e.g., VPNs), and block specific things within web applications (e.g., a document in Google Docs).
• VPNs are not as immune from blocking as many Westerners assume them to be. Yes, big businesses do rely on VPNs, which is why the government can never block encrypted connections outright, but the GFW seems to be increasingly able to tell what the purpose of a given secure connection is and whether it should be blocked/throttled or not. Large companies can get their own private lines, but individual Internet users' VPN connections may no longer be safe from blocking or throttling.
• Most Chinese don't care about the GFW or even realize it exists, because the Internet in China, thanks to corruption, is itself pretty spotty -- it's hard for people to tell what is being blocked and what is simply not loading due to Internet blackouts. The Chinese Internet is rich enough that people don't care about Facebook, Youtube, etc. being blocked.

[wedge 41]

StrongVPN connects with no problem for me in Beijing. Youtube and Facebook don't work though, even through the VPN.

[gato 919]

but the GFW seems to be increasingly able to tell what the purpose of a given secure connection is and whether it should be blocked/throttled or not.

I suspect that the GFW is just blocking VPN via their IP address. My VPN still works, but I don't want to publicize the company right now because it could be blocked. Just use FG for now. Or find a VPN provide that offers free trials or a money back guarantee.

http://cryptome.org/0003/gwf-father.htm

The father of the Great Firewall of Chin"I have six VPNs on my home computer. But I only try them to test which side wins: the GFW or the VPN."

- Fang Binxing (方滨兴), president of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications and the grand architect of the GFW, in a comment to the Global Times about his use of the VPN.

http://hi.baidu.com/windlike/blog/item/e370472372d797479922ed6e.html

The father of Great Firewall of China (GFW) has signed up to six virtual private networks (VPNs) that he uses to access some of the websites he had originally helped block.

GFW之父方滨兴自称注册了6个vpn，用来访问那些被他原本已屏蔽掉的网站。

"I have six VPNs on my home computer," says Fang Binxing, 50, president of the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications. "But I only try them to test which side wins: the GFW or the VPN.

“我家里的电脑中有6个vpn”，北京邮电大学校长方说，“但是这些vpn我只用来检测那个更厉害：是GFW还是VPN。”

"I'm not interested in reading messy information like some of that anti-government stuff."

[kongli 52]

Witopia has been having trouble too. I am going to email them today. A friend of mine emailed them and said they had him reinstall it and that the people there are aware of the problem.

I suppose doing the routine updates might help too....

[yersi 42]

.

[gato 919]

You can try downloading FG at the link I posted above. FG does work.

I think the blocking is targeted by IP address. Witopia and StrongVPN, among others, probably the 6 the father of GFW tried, have all been targeted. Other providers are still working. But we probably should keep them at a low profile right now.

[trevelyan 30]

We've got success with this free China VPN although it can be slow at times. If things don't go back to normal after the twin Congresses I'm not sure what we'll do long-term. Probably have to setup our own.

[edited the link to go direct to the actual service. R.]