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Ask HN: How Belarus can keep connected despite internet blackout?

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Re: Ask HN: How Belarus can keep connected despite internet blackout?

#51

Post by ClumsyPilot »

fersarr wrote: post #48
Jaruzel wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah good point. My bad.

Just curious, is there a way governments could somehow block access to those satellites or force the companies behind them to deny access for people of their country?

See above - two-way satellite equipment is illegal in belarus. There will be no legal way to buy an access point, and owning it risks you jail time. So most people wont have one.

Maybe some lone dude in the remote are can smuggle it in and keep it hidden, but if we are talking about mass movements, that terminal won't be mich use

Re: Ask HN: How Belarus can keep connected despite internet blackout?

#53

Post by throwaway89201 »

I'm surprised Scuttlebutt [1][2] hasn't gotten a mention.

It allows you to create your own social media feed with messages, responses and media completely offline. You then gossip that feed to anyone you want, for example via the local (WiFi) network or even by USB stick. Long range communication is done by car or by train.

There are servers (pubs) that can be used for more real-time communication. Or to make the information available on the internet after it has been sneaked out of Belarus. The main pubs have a dedicated, friendly and active community. [3]

[1] https://scuttlebutt.nz

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xjphvcd8Sw

[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbzGpKffQuM

Re: Ask HN: How Belarus can keep connected despite internet blackout?

#54

Post by urza »

gnarea wrote: post #40
oconnore wrote: post #23

All of these censorship resistant communication projects tend to assume that the network needs to be low latency, always connected, etc. It’s far easier to build a robust network if you relax that assumption, and cheap hard drives + e2e encryption mean you ought to be able to route a large volume of private p2p messaging / email in addition to any curated content that’s distributed more widely. https://boingboing.net…

Agreed 100%. That's precisely how Relaynet works (hence the name): https://relaynet.network/

I read the whole page and didn't find any information how it is supposed to actually work. The page compares Relaynet with Starlink and Ballons, but then it doesn't say how Relaynet work.

Re: Ask HN: How Belarus can keep connected despite internet blackout?

#55

Post by barbegal »

iansowinski wrote: post #47
barbegal wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are there any documents describing the actual user experiences of using Bridgefy or Briar in a real life scenario. They seem like cool tools using interesting technology but I am not convinced that they work well in practice and it is difficult to find much information about where they have been used successfully.

Not a document but Hong Kong protesters use it https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-49565587

This article only states that the app had been downloaded more during the protests. Reviews in the app store suggest it doesn't work reliably.

Re: Ask HN: How Belarus can keep connected despite internet blackout?

#56

Post by aasasd »

oconnore wrote: post #23

All of these censorship resistant communication projects tend to assume that the network needs to be low latency, always connected, etc. It’s far easier to build a robust network if you relax that assumption, and cheap hard drives + e2e encryption mean you ought to be able to route a large volume of private p2p messaging / email in addition to any curated content that’s distributed more widely. https://boingboing.net…

Fidonet comes to mind, though it worked over the landline phone network.

Re: Ask HN: How Belarus can keep connected despite internet blackout?

#57

Post by brabel »

keraf wrote: post #31

I used to work for a Belarusian company (outside of Belarus). From what my ex-colleagues told me, they have very little contact with the people in Minsk. There's the occasional email or connected people on MS Teams. Not sure if that's caused by people protesting or internet shutdown/filtering for offices as well. I also asked some Belarusian friends how they keep getting information from there. They said they have in…

I have contacts in Belarus. They were completely offline for 3 days since Sunday. Only today (12-Aug-2020 08:00 UTC approx) it seems the situation got back to normal and I've heard from them.

People are just terrified now and all they want is peace. They know that continuing protests is likely to result in a bloodbath and are understandably afraid of that.

Re: Ask HN: How Belarus can keep connected despite internet blackout?

#58

Post by easton »

Jaruzel wrote: post #26

The penny has just dropped with me. This scenario is exactly where Starlink[1] can shine (no pun intended). Find a way to get uplink routers into the locked down country and it would be impossible for totalitarian governments to block internet access completely. -- [1] https://www.starlink.com/

SpaceX specifically said that this system isn’t designed to be a way to get unrestricted internet access in censorship-ridden states. Outside of the US, terminals will be sold by resellers that comply with local laws (for example, in China traffic will be routed through the GFW).

Sure you could smuggle a American terminal in, but SpaceX won’t help you.

Re: Ask HN: How Belarus can keep connected despite internet blackout?

#59

Post by thewinnie »

brabel wrote: post #57
keraf wrote: post #31

I used to work for a Belarusian company (outside of Belarus). From what my ex-colleagues told me, they have very little contact with the people in Minsk. There's the occasional email or connected people on MS Teams. Not sure if that's caused by people protesting or internet shutdown/filtering for offices as well. I also asked some Belarusian friends how they keep getting information from there. They said they have in…

I have contacts in Belarus. They were completely offline for 3 days since Sunday. Only today (12-Aug-2020 08:00 UTC approx) it seems the situation got back to normal and I've heard from them. People are just terrified now and all they want is peace. They know that continuing protests is likely to result in a bloodbath and are understandably afraid of that.

I would disagree with your last statement.

I have a lot of friends from Belarus, and at least from IT sector, they are really eager to continue protests simply cause they are scarred what can happen if current government will stay

Re: Ask HN: How Belarus can keep connected despite internet blackout?

#60

Post by eitland »

throwaway89201 wrote: post #53

I'm surprised Scuttlebutt [1][2] hasn't gotten a mention. It allows you to create your own social media feed with messages, responses and media completely offline. You then gossip that feed to anyone you want, for example via the local (WiFi) network or even by USB stick. Long range communication is done by car or by train. There are servers (pubs) that can be used for more real-time communication. Or to make the inf…

One really dangerous thing about it is that once you send something it just won't disappear.

What happens on the Internet stays on the Internet and all that, but no reason to write everything in stone - especially in times and places where governments thinks it is a good idea to cut Internet.

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