VPN Advice

[jonathantwu]

Hope this is not a hot button issue for the PRC but here it goes:

 

Wife has subscribed to a VPN service for viewing Chinese-specific programing and for a better selection of US, British sitcoms that are much better than Netflix and others can offer here thanks to Chinese "copy right" regulations.

 

I chose a paid site for better speed and a non-complicating process so I thought. All we need is using a proprietory software to open a portal and with user ID and password to sign into a server in China and viola! It appears to be communicating from an IP located in China now, simple enough!

 

Starting about a few days ago, this simple and stupid solution starts to unravel, Here is one of my many conversations with their 'live chat" tech support:

 

 

Jon 06:29:10 pm For the last 48 hours your Chinese servers have been spotty if available at all. This has been confirmed by your other tech support and other regions (UK, US ) are fine!

McKenzie 06:30:08 pm Please tell me the server address you use ?

Jon 06:31:51 pm cn-re1.pointtoserver.com, cn-hn1.pointtoserver.com, and cn1.pointtoserver.com to name a few

McKenzie 06:32:05 pm and protocols ?

Jon 06:33:08 pm PPTP, L2TP

McKenzie 06:33:19 pm please tell me your OS

Jon 06:33:54 pm its a mac pro Yosemite

McKenzie 06:34:17 pm Please follow http://support.purevpn.com/openvpn-on-mac-tunnel-blick

Jon 06:36:29 pm can you tell me what that is? I only start having this problem the last few days.

McKenzie 06:37:04 pm it is the tutorial for OpenVPN protocol on MAC

Jon 06:38:26 pm and why do i need that now. I have been using your service since July with no issue?

McKenzie 06:39:01 pm since you are unable to connect with PPTP and L2TP and you are not able to access the router to disable the firewall , you can try with openVPN now

Jon 06:40:39 pm How long the open VPN is going to take? Does it put my macbook in danger?
and is it reversible if that does not work?

McKenzie 06:41:51 pm it is user friendly
and more secure than PPTP and L2TP
and you can revert it back as well

 

I was not impressed for two reasons:

 

It was never explained to me why the previous arrangement starts to give me problems after months of trouble-free operation, and

What is an open VPN and is it an endless attempt to patch a hack by the PRC and what it does to the security of my Macbook? What do I got myself into by downloading yet another piece of program to the OS?

 

I am not interested in knowing all the techo stuff to make this work, anyone have any clue what am I dealing with? Thanks in advance.

Edited August 15, 2015 by jonathantwu (see edit history)

[Randy W]

The Great Firewall actually runs in both directions - that is, it also blocks outside access to some of the Chinese web sites. It is an ongoing, always evolving effort by the CCP.

 

OpenVPN is open (free) software used by virtually ALL VPN providers and even has its own standard protocol and dedicated port. All they (the Great Firewall) need to do to block access to your server is to sign up for the service themselves to determine which servers are being used. If you don't wish to download specific software from your provider, they will usually allow a direct connection through your OS.

 

I find that the TCP connections are the best, and most reliable, especially with those providers that offer a variety of servers. Any connection can be spotted, but a TCP connection looks like a regular connection to a normal web page, unless they happen to know that the server you are connected to is a VPN server. I use ExpressVPN. But, yes, it's an ongoing effort on your part to find a connection that will work for you. That is especially true as of this year when they began blocking nearly all access to Google apps, which are used by many Western sites.

 

You don't need a "secure" connection so much as one that simply gets through the Great Firewall. In that respect, a low-tech solution can be better. The "Best for China" solutions are also the easiest to spot and block.

[Randy W]

Now that I've looked at your links, I can't really recommend ExpressVPN over yours (PureVPN - which I'm not sure why, but I don't think I've heard of before). It seems to have plenty of servers and protocols, and has the same feature that I like about ExpressVPN - TCP connections to a LOT of servers. I would try a TCP OpenVPN connection (don't worry about it being "slower" than other types of connections - it's not as noticeable to the Great Firewall), and try various servers until you find one that works for you. Change to a different server whenever you think you might get better performance.

 

Edit: In fact, ExpressVPN doesn't have any servers in China, and so won't work for the reverse Great Firewall.

Edited August 15, 2015 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Greg.D.]

VPN down: China goes after Astrill, other anti-censorship apps in run up to WW2 anniversary parade

SCMP says Uncle is shutting down the VPNs and is also up to other mischief in time for the parade/anniversary next week. Time will tell if it becomes the new normal:

 

A number of services used to get around Chinese internet restrictions have been taken down or disrupted in the run up to a major parade in Beijing next week to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the second world war.

 

Popular virtual private network (VPN) provider Astrill warned users on Wednesday that they may suffer service outages between now and the parade on September 3.

 

VPNs allow users to tunnel their internet traffic through an uncensored server, bypassing the so-called Great Firewall (GFW).

 

"Due to upcoming Beijing's military parade next week, China is cracking down on IPSec VPNs using GFW auto-learning technique," Astrill said in a message to users.

 

One user in the Chinese capital said that the service had been unstable since Tuesday evening. "I tried at least ten times on my iPhone but only got online once," Zhou Jing told the South China Morning Post.

 

"It's very upsetting because I find myself disconnected from the outside world, no Gmail and no Facebook, no information from the world."

Zhou said she was afraid the block would continue past the military parade.

 

The crackdown on VPNs is the latest in a series of moves against anti-censorship apps by Chinese authorities in recent days.

 

On Tuesday, US-based code repository GitHub said it experienced a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack that caused global connectivity problems for several hours.

 

etc.