Iran Shutters the Internet, Tor Brings it Back
According to Google its search engine, YouTube and other services have been shutdown in Iran since the 10th of February 2012. A number of other sites have also been affected. But Tor is stepping in to help out Iranian nationals by granting access to basic internet functionality.
The shot shows the error message Iranian users experience when accessing common sites like YouTube, Gmail and Google. Translation: “According to computer crime regulations, access to this Web site is denied" (Source: washingtonpost.com)
We all bore witness to the power of the internet in 2011 when major social services on the web such as Facebook and Twitter were used as tools to bring about change by the masses. But rather than use the upheavals elsewhere as an indicator to better themselves, Iran has decided to nip the problem in the bud.
An Internet crackdown in Iran has lead to common sites such as Google and YouTube being inaccessible since 10th of February 2012. Whenever users try to access particular sites the following error message is displayed (translated): “According to computer crime regulations, access to this web site is denied". The shuttering of the internet still continues at the time of writing this article.
Iran has been developing its own network system to work as a nationwide intranet of sorts and also to serve as an alternative to the internet. The current shutdown of the web might be another step towards that goal. However the exact reason for the move has yet to be pinpointed.
Metrics from Tor Project show the number of Tor users logging in from Iran in the past few days, which fell down to zero but are back up now. (Source: metrics.torproject.org)
As always the internet finds a way to sidestep censorship and Tor (short for 'the onion router') has stepped in to lend a helping hand. Tor, which offers anonymity to web surfers, rolled out new measures to help Iranians get around the blockades.
Source: Washington Post, Tor Project and Bloomberg via Arstechnica
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