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Tell HN: Russia has started blocking OpenVPN/WireGuard connections

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Re: Tell HN: Russia has started blocking OpenVPN/WireGuard connections

#131

Post by jvanderbot »

15457345234 wrote: post #84
hotpotamus wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is what I was wondering. I don’t understand these VPNs too deeply (though I do occasionally administer an OpenVPN setup), but I was under the impression that they’re sending encrypted packets over UDP on arbitrary ports. That seems quite tough to analyze and block.

> That seems quite tough to analyze and block. Why analyze when you can whitelist?

Ok fair. The approach might be block everything except https/tcp.

In which case what we need is https side channel VPNs.

Re: Tell HN: Russia has started blocking OpenVPN/WireGuard connections

#132

Post by mmastrac »

cf1241290841 wrote: post #123
throwbas wrote: post #15

I have the fortune to reside in Russia-controlled Donbas. Over here they have been blocking all WireGuard connections for a long time. OpenVPN seems to be blocked selectively depending on the host. The government and commerce must need it more than WireGuard. It isn't consistent. Different ISPs block different hosts and protocols at different times. I assume we are a kind of test and staging environment for censorshi…

Thank you so much for posting this. If anyone else has any educated guesses about the mechanism, please do share!

My guess is that it's cat and mouse with various providers and upgrades and research are inconsistent.

Re: Tell HN: Russia has started blocking OpenVPN/WireGuard connections

#134

Post by citrin_ru »

Agoreddah wrote: post #77
srackey wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

There were many dictators with high popularity rates. Remember Romanian leader Ceaușescu? Yet, popularity didn't save him. On the other hand, there're still people in Romania who consider him the greatest president of all time :) It's very common and normal, to have a small popularity numbers for the politicians in the democracy. People have a variety of opinions, moods, or sympathies because they are diverse and hav…

Was it popular? While a dictator is in power most people show they support for self preservation and once the dictator is dead / in exile there no skin in the game.

Re: Tell HN: Russia has started blocking OpenVPN/WireGuard connections

#135

Post by SpaghettiCthulu »

pinochet2021 wrote: post #26
tipsysquid wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

requiring an email in order to download a privacy tool isnt a great start for anonymity. why should I trust this tool?

Technically you are buying VPN services by giving your credit card :D use a dummy email -- if you feel so unsafe. At least Squarex is free right now so no credit card needed

You can pay for VPNs with crytocurrency instead

Re: Tell HN: Russia has started blocking OpenVPN/WireGuard connections

#136

Post by libertine »

WhatsTheBigIdea wrote: post #130
libertine wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You do realize Putin has a significantly higher approval rating among Russians than Biden, Trump, or Congress has among Americans, yes? I'm not going to waste time arguing about fantasy. If you want to have a discussion grounded in reality, I'm up for it. With that said, that statement you made you have in no way shape or form to support it - not about Biden, Trump or Congress, but about Putin. You have no idea how…

"Independent Polling" of people living under a repressive regime appears to be 100% impossible to me. Yet the idea that such a thing exists seems widespread? Can anyone here explain how independent polling under a repressive regime can be accomplished? Please educate me/us!

> "Independent Polling" of people living under a repressive regime appears to be 100% impossible to me.

In Russia, it seems to be promoted a culture of ratting those who are against the government, which is also very common in these regimes - and that has a very deep scarring in societies that go over it.

I'm from Portugal and to this day there's still a cultural undertone of not ratting anyone to authorities, even if it is something that's hurting you or everyone, all because of the disgust and hate towards those who ratted people to the government police.

During our dictatorships, there were also the same theatrical displays of polling, voting, having opposing candidates approved by the state, etc. Salazar was always the man of course.

It's impressive that Russia still hasn't had its societal reform away from dictatorships in the XXI century. Sadly we're now paying the consequences of it, but it might be closer than we think!

Re: Tell HN: Russia has started blocking OpenVPN/WireGuard connections

#137

Post by d3vmax »

srackey wrote: post #65
libertine wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stay strong, hopefully, Russia will collapse and you'll be free - I may be naive but I still think there are enough Russians who can see this tragedy as the doing of a man who wants to continue to live the life of a king, and it's probably his only way of survival after so many murdering and prosecution.

[flagged]

[flagged]

Re: Tell HN: Russia has started blocking OpenVPN/WireGuard connections

#138

Post by computerfriend »

jvanderbot wrote: post #60
throwbas wrote: post #15

I have the fortune to reside in Russia-controlled Donbas. Over here they have been blocking all WireGuard connections for a long time. OpenVPN seems to be blocked selectively depending on the host. The government and commerce must need it more than WireGuard. It isn't consistent. Different ISPs block different hosts and protocols at different times. I assume we are a kind of test and staging environment for censorshi…

How, technically, can they block wire guard? It can operate as pure UDP on any port. Are we referring to wireguard vendors like tailscale here?

This is the first (that I know of) public conversation about this and goes into detail about the various problems with obfuscating WireGuard.

https://lists.zx2c4.com/pipermail/wireguard/2016-July/000184...

Re: Tell HN: Russia has started blocking OpenVPN/WireGuard connections

#140

Post by Georgelemental »

libertine wrote: post #54
dang wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[stub for offtopicness]

Stay strong, hopefully, Russia will collapse and you'll be free - I may be naive but I still think there are enough Russians who can see this tragedy as the doing of a man who wants to continue to live the life of a king, and it's probably his only way of survival after so many murdering and prosecution.

I'm not sure a collapse of Russia would be good for GP. Living under an oppressive regime is not fun, but Putin's Russia isn't that bad as dictatorships go, and anarchy/societal collapse aren't fun either.
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