How Users In Egypt Are Bypassing Internet Shutdown

As the protest in Egypt against the government is going on the Egypt’s government has blocked the access of people to internet.

Now the internet access has been dismantled in Egypt, people are disconnected from social networks like Facebook and Twitter. This way Egyptian authorities try to stop the digital protest through social networks.

Where there is block, there is (almost) always a workaround. Egyptian Internet users are bypassing the block through proxy servers, vpn services and third-party applications like Hootsuite and TweetDeck.

Users that are already register with Hootsuite are able to access Twitter and Facebook without problems. New users that need to register wouldn’t be able to do it as a new account requires to visit Twitter.com first. Instead, iPhone users don’t need a web authentication, so new Hootsuite users are accessing the social network sites through their mobile application.

Proxy servers seem to be the most common way to bypass the blocks. Facebook users were sharing several proxy sites to access the site.

Free hide ip tools like Hotspot Shield, Expat Shield or Tor are also being used. Users can browse the web anonymously after downloading and installing the software.

VPN services is another method being used which masks the country from where the original connection is being made.

[Via USNewsSource]

Update: Associated Press is reporting that  Egypt’s Internet is suffering major outages. A major Internet provider in the country is saying no Internet traffic is going in or out of the country.