


onion versions of blocked sites like the BBC and Twitter.
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Migliano had some other insights for people attempting to access free information in conflict zones. “Tor is certainly useful in that you can use it to access the new. Does it have customer support and rely on ad-supported services?.What data abuse protection is in place? Does the company delete server logs in real time?.Does it have a privacy policy that explains its logging and data retention policies?.Always check for information about a company - is it bona fide? Does it have real addresses, phone numbers and people?.This is of consequence, given that VPN services route your traffic via their servers, which may give them insight into what you do. VPN experts advise against installing or relying on unknown services as security may not be so tight in some. In 2019, Top10VPN warned that some VPN services might actually be owned by companies that can’t be trusted, lack data protection, or have serious privacy flaws. (Top10VPN will be monitoring VPN access in Russia in the future.) That’s bad, but this is a cat-and-mouse game, and even in highly repressive nations some VPN services still operate. As it does so, some VPN services will simply cease to operate. The services may in the future change or be constrained by government action. Migliano warns that Russia is likely to be working to block VPN services, possibly at the network level. Psiphon is often recommended, but “Is not optimized for privacy, which is an issue when it's illegal to use a VPN to access blocked content in Russia,” Migliano said. Top10VPN has published a useful list of safe VPN services for Russia. At present, that list includes Windscribe (free version available limited to 10GB/month) along with Astrill VPN, Private VPN, Surfshark and VPNArea.Īll five of these services were apparently able to bypass Russian web filters during tests, and offer high encryption and private logging policies, the company said. However, not all of them work well on iOS devices and some popular services, including ExpressVPN, are banned in Russia. “It’s clear that the Kremlin wishes to control the narrative of its invasion and prevent the Russian people from accessing news reports from Ukrainian sources,” Migliano said. For Russians, the problem is that some VPN services are officially banned. Many such sites (including the BBC) now offer up mirrors via Tor, while the BBC has published a recommendation to use VPN services.

One of the most significant is its centralized single register of banned URLs, domains, and IP addresses the country also uses deep packet inspection, which may undermine some VPN services.Īs has been widely reported, blocked sites include BBC News, Deutsche Welle, and Voice of America.
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Russia censors internet access within its borders through a series of laws and mechanisms.
