So, imagine this: after Facebook CEO; Mark Zuckerberg’s disappointing senate hearing last week, the US decides to ban Facebook. Well, something very comparable has occurred in Russia on Monday as the country’s internet censorship agency, Roskomnadzor, ordered ISPs to block access to the popular messaging application, Telegram.
This order follows a ban issued by a Moscow court on Friday April 13th 2018 on Telegram messenger, due to app’s developers’ repeated refusal to give up encryption keys to the authorities that would let them gain access to messages being sent through it.
First launched in 2013, Telegram has gained the trust of 200 million monthly active users due to many reasons. Most importantly, it is more privacy focused than WhatsApp. Although both applications use end-to-end encryption, Telegram, unlike WhatsApp, does not share users’ data with Facebook. Telegram can be accessed via desktop browsers as well as smartphones and it’s available in 14 languages.
In Russia, in particular, there are many channels which deliver current events, analysis and dirt on politicians and officials anonymously.
Process of Blocking
Many local ISPs commenced blocking Telegram by blocking more than 15 million IPs used by the messaging service which resulted in taking down many of the world’s top used websites and internet services such as Amazon, Google, Viber, Twitch and Spotify as well as major malfunctions in online banking and retail services across the country.
In parallel procedures, Russia’s telecommunications regulator has urged top app stores; iTunes and Google Play to take down Telegram, requested that APK Mirror also quit serving Telegram (which would be the primary alternate for Android users, in case Google caves and removes Telegram from its app store), and even demanded VPN providers to halt Telegram messages.
Using VPN to Unblock Telegram in Russia
“Despite the ban, we haven’t seen a significant drop in user engagement so far, since Russians tend to bypass the ban with VPNs and proxies,” Pavel Durov, the app’s founder and CEO wrote on Telegram. “We also have been relying on third-party cloud services to remain partly available for our users there.”
But as mentioned above and as we discussed before, VPNs have been facing restrictions in Russia. So, is it guaranteed for VPN users to be able to unblock Telegram in Russia? It seems that what is needed here is a VPN provider that implements some unorthodox technologies to maintain its users’ privacy in countries like Russia.
b.VPN’s SMOKE Tunnel
SMOKE tunnel was primarily developed by b.VPN as an anti-detection technology in order to avoid the Great Firewall of China which is known for its fierce DPI (Deep Packet Inspection) allowing it to identify VPN connection and disrupt it.
For the past two years, b.VPN has become one of the most stable, top used VPN providers by netizens in China. Read more on the subject here
https://www.bvpn.technology/en/smoketunnel/
And one of SMOKE tunnel’s major advantages is that it is embedded in b.VPN’s OpenVPN clients for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS meaning that it can be used to unblock Telegram on any device.
Getting a b.VPN account will allow you up to 6 simultaneous connections, unlimited access to express speed servers in over 30 geographic locations and unlimited bandwidth.
Free full featured trial is available as well as money back guarantee. Wide variety of payment methods are accepted such as credit cards, PayPal, Webmoney, Mint and Bitcoin.
24/ 7 technical support is reachable via live chat widget on the website and the website is translated into many languages; Russian included.
To sum up
We are very aware of the war against internet freedom not only in Russia but in many other countries. Telegram is not the first and certainly won’t be the last and using VPN is becoming more vital than ever.
One thought on “Russia Bans Telegram and Accidently Takes Down Other Websites”
ViperSocks – fast, secure and the best VPN Residential service for Google Chrome. Strong encryption, access to blocked content and complete anonymity.
Our application – The Best VPN Residential Solutions App for MacOS, Android, Windows, iOS and your Internet security.
ViperSocks – uses the best encryption of your connection through our secure proxy servers all over the world. Owing to the extension for Google Chrome, you can easily ensure full anonymity for yourself, hide your history of search queries, and get unlimited access to blocked resources.
The extension for the ViperSocks browser has a simple and intuitive interface that will allow you to get in seconds:
– Full access to all Internet resources and sites
Discover a visit to Facebook, VKontakte, Youtube, Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, BBC iPlayer, Reddit, LinkedIn, Pandora, Amazon, eBay, Craigslist, Oodle, GumTree, Locanto, online theaters and many other resources with one click of your mouse. Choose one of the many servers around the world and unlock access to resources bypassing censorship, geographical restrictions in any place convenient for you.
– Complete security and privacy
Completely hide your traffic from your Internet provider. By changing your IP address, you ensure the confidentiality of your data on the Internet (including all logins, passwords, bank card data, personal photos, browsing history and much more). ViperSocks is your barrier to work safely through public Internet at work, school and other public places.
– Access to regional content
Our VPN Residential uses regional servers that allow you to be located anywhere in the world (including the US, France, Eritrea, North Korea, China, Japan, Africa, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Vietnam, Iran, Myanmar, Cuba, the Netherlands, the UK and many others). By selecting one of these servers, you are in the chosen country, and you get full access to resources all over the world.
– Browse adult content
Get full anonymity and security while using sites for adults. ViperSocks provides full anonymity while browsing similar sites. No one can know that you have visited such sites.
– Bypassing price discrimination on the Internet
By changing your IP address, you can save a lot on buying games on Steam, renting cars, paying software and much more.
– Fingerprint protection
Avoid any fingerprint WebRTC, WebGL, Canvas, DNS, GeoLocation leaks and obtain Fake browser name, Fake browser language, Block Adobe Flash, Block Google Analytics, Block banners and ads, Block social buttons, Block request referer for a good privacy.
Why should you choose ViperSocks?
ViperSocks is the best VPN Residential service for Google Chrome, which provides reliability and security to the Internet to a huge number of users from all over the world. Using modern technologies and reliable methods of encryption, anyone can get unlimited access to any resource. We provide high speed of connection, complete confidentiality of your data and round-the-clock support for all our users.