by
198
Update: Egypt’s Internet is suffering major outages, the Associated Press is reporting. A major Internet provider in the country is saying no Internet traffic is going in or out of the country.
—
Protests in Egypt are expected to intensify with opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei’s return to Cairo, and reports of Twitter and Facebook being blocked inside the country by Egyptian authorities continue to surface through the social networks themselves, and according to HerdictWeb. Users are also reporting that SMS – short message service – is being blocked as well.
Though it does appear that both Twitter and Facebook are still being blocked, many users are bypassing the blocks through proxy servers and third-party apps. Here is how they’re doing it.
Mobile & Third-Party Apps
Social mobile applications like Blackberry for Twitter or UberTwitter are still working for users in the country. Also, users are employing third-party apps like TweetDeck and HootSuite to update their Twitter and Facebook accounts.
HootSuite Chief Technology Officer Simon Stanlake said that though prior users are able to access Twitter and Facebook from their site, new users wouldn’t be able to authenticate new accounts because it requires hitting Twitter.com. He said their iPhone application doesn’t require a web authentication, so new HootSuite users are accessing the site through their mobile app.
Proxy Sites
Accessing blocked sites through proxy servers seems to be the most common way that users are bypassing the blocks. Twitter PR acknowledged that though their traffic has diminished from Egypt, users were tapping into proxies and apps to tweet. Facebook users in Egypt were sharing different proxy sites that users can access, such as Proxy-Service.de, which enables access to blocked sites. The only disadvantage is that you have to put up with a bar at the top with display ads, which is how they make money to support the service.
Software
Many are also using free proxy software like Hotspot Shield or Tor. Each requires downloading software to your computer and then clicking “connect” before getting started, but is enabling users to browse the web anonymously. The video above about how to install Tor has been making its way around the blogosphere.
VPN
Many users in Egypt are also using a virtual private network (VPN) to not only access blocked sites, but make the censors believe they’re trying to access the sites from another country. Some of these services even give you the choice of what country you’d like to mask your connection with, including the U.S. The beauty is that you can use it with smartphones as well. Though some users are accessing it through professional providers like USAIP, others are sharing free VPN access. Users of course should be aware of the risks and be cautious as the authorities continue to clamp down.
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, mtrommer
![Moms Are Biggest Brand Boosters on Facebook [INFOGRAPHIC]](http://6.mshcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/125,pregnant-computer-600.jpg)
2 
3 ![With Nexus 7, Google Finally Gets Android Tablets Right [REVIEW]](http://8.mshcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/125,Google-nexus7-600.jpg)
4 
5 ![Interactive Furniture Responds to Touch [PICS]](http://6.mshcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/125,Nunoerin.jpg)
You just became my favorite! Thanks for keeping this story going.
If they are trying to let the world know what is going on over there, through third-party apps, why OUT them!!
I think the point is the quickness of the dissemination of information happens too quickly for a government to even stop. so if theres a thousand people tweeting new proxy sites day and nite then the 19 guys doing the shutting down wont be able to keep up? I dunno
There are far too many options. This isn’t outing them, more than anything it is providing them with a resource.
It is horrible that Egyptian government blocks free access to the internet. Many of my friends visited Egypt for a holiday and they were very excited about that country.
For proxy i perfer http://www.freeproxyserver.net , for software hm…. last time i use http://www.hide-the-ip.com
Tunisia Has Finished Today the Old System With all its members and today we began a new air hope that Egyptian will do the same!!! And don’t forget that Tunisian Used Facebook and Twitter to Organize every think and everything and that how we “Tunisian” bitted the Dictator.
Outing them so we can be entertained sucks.. why not just tell us they’re doing it? Why make it more difficult and dangerous for them by sharing details? Sorry but you sank my heart by posting this story
@Michael Kerr
I don’t think Mashable is outing them so much as arming them with some useful information. Consider that some of what was mentioned: using a VPN, which is, well, virtually untraceable and help maintain anonymity. Egyptian protesters can be helped by that knowledge, not harmed. It *may* be a risk to share the DIY info, but it’s far more helpful I think.
Taking a second look over the article, I did not see where Mashable actually gave away anyone’s identity. Tweets and re-Tweets are more or less “public” for anyone (or gov’t) willing to look hard enough. I think Mashable was just giving a larger platform for some of the Tweets, trying to help with freedom of Tweet(s). Your concern for their well being, though, is commendable.
Thanks for respond, Odin. You’re on the money. We’re not trying to out anyone, we’re simply here to cover what’s going on and provide a resource.
I think people need to be wary for what they wish, because the regime that arises after the toppling of Mubarak could be 100,000 times worse, much as when the overthrow of the Shah resulted not in democracy, which was probably the original intention, but mullahcracy, after Khomeini was finished with his hijack job. And that elephant in the room today, much like in 1979, is the Muslim Brotherhood.
A clear indication of the cult like following that social media has, a need to belong. Great stuff. You cannot stop anyone doing what they love, no matter what.
The Internet is blocked in Egypt
Internet Blackout
We’ll have more on this soon.
just right now Egyptian regime disables all Internet services&SMS mobile services This is truly horrible, Not even Iran shut down the entire Internet completely during the protests..!!!!
Is there still access via mobile?
Egypt is Info Isolated now, the Egyptian Government cut the internet and blocked the SMS services
We are translating whatever feeds we are getting from Arabic to English. Follow us on twitter.com/jan25live and http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jan-25-Live/147254048666099?v=wall
Way to blow their cover!
That’s great! Let’s just destroy the means by which the oppressed Egyptians are fighting their regime by letting the dictators see how they’re organizing their demonstrations and protests! Let’s try to think a little more deeply about the consequences that we have when we post informatics like this, eh?
We’re hearing that it’s now an Internet Black Hole over on Global Voices (we’re a global network of bloggers in local places). GV Author Jillian York just posted an update: http://globalvoicesonline.org/2011/01/28/egypt-an-internet-blackhole/
http://deadspace2hacks.blogspot.com
The government here in the U.S. will resort to this and has. I had my business phone calls blocked for looking into corruption and so many terrifying things have happened to me over the years. http://www.saveacab.blogspot.com
Unbelievable what’s happening over there. So important to spread as much information as possible.
Last night a friend and I stayed up all night to make this video to get the word out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M-Xz9fIPx8
Yeah, this is becoming an increasing problem whereby hundreds of thousands of people can’t access sites such as facebook, myspace, twitter etc. And yes thank goodness for virtual private networks that send false IP’s which enable you to access blocked sites in those countries.
The IP address sent to the site is from a server based in that country, which naturally has access (US,UK, etc, etc). You then connect to that server from a blocked country (Egypt) and gain instant access! I use http://www.ivpn.net and so far (after 2 months) they’re really good.
The IP address sent to the site is from a server based in that country, which naturally has access (US,UK, etc, etc). You then connect to that server from a blocked country (Egypt) and gain instant access! I use http://www.ivpn.net and so far (after 2 months) they’re really good.
Sorry my first part of my comment: Yeah, this is becoming an increasing problem whereby hundreds of thousands of people can’t access sites such as facebook, myspace, twitter etc. And yes thank goodness for virtual private networks that send false IP’s which enable you to access blocked sites in those countries.
…. continues below
Pardon me for sounding cranky, but this reads like an ad for proxy server companies and not an legit article. Proxy servers don’t do you any good if the entire internet is down.
ALL KNOWN WAYS 2 STAY ONLINE #Egypt &howto make gasmask&treat teargas injuries: http://wp.me/p16sn9-2QP #jan25 #bloggers Please RB & RT!!!
ALL #CAIRO #EGYPT RESIDENTS HAVING NOOR INET ACCESS REMOVE PASS FROM ROUTER AND GIVE ACCESS TO PROTESTERS SO THEY CAN WIFIMODE #Egypt #jan25
Very cool tips! This could apply for school
http://www.guidegoodshq.com
Here’s a free Squid based proxy (very high quality and fast) to get around facebook, youtube and twitter blocked networks: Set your proxy to host: “api.marketapi.com” and http port to “3128″.
Here’s a free Squid based proxy (very high quality and fast) to get around facebook, youtube and twitter blocked networks: Set your proxy to host: “api.marketapi.com” and http port to “3128″.
I prefer web proxies. I like http://proxite.eu for Europe server and http://proxite.us for US server. They all work with 110Gbit network. They are really fast. Thanks.
We are a new service provider, very different from ones which are covered above, but we also provide similar way of circumventing censorship and access restrictions. Give it a try while we have a free trial: http://www.DesktopRoar.com/ I hope you like it. Let us know.
Fantastic to see how these protests cannot be silenced
The easiest way is to use web proxy. Here are few free and new proxies :
http://aproxyserver.net
http://4proxy.us
http://usproxyserver.net
http://schoolproxy.us
Hope it was useful
We’ll have updates on the Internet outage shortly.