A China Tale

How to access Facebook in China

Update – 6/9/10! – All Hail Freegate

After more than a couple months scraping along with proxy sites I’ve managed to get my hands on a professional version of Freegate which performs superbly well in getting you through to Facebook, Twitter, and any other non-adult blocked website from within China. Download the rar file here and hopefully you’ll be surfing Facebook without having to go through loop holes that will leave you with patches of hair missing . If your unfamiliar with Freegate and how to use it take a look at my quick introduction below. Let me know if you have any problems!

Tweeking with Tor

Tor is, for those of you that don’t know: “free software and an open network that helps you defend against a form of network surveillance that threatens personal freedom and privacy, confidential business activities and relationships, and state security known as traffic analysis.” you can read up on it at TorProject.org. Basically it anonymizes (that might not be a word >.>) your connections by bouncing them around a distributed network of relays run by volunteers all around the world. You can download various packing’s of it here – I’m still playing with it and a simple install / connection to the tor network seems to be blocked by China – never fear I’ll update again when I have something concrete to give you about Tor. It is very promising and I’m sure after I’ve jumped through a few loopholes we’ll have another solid option for breaking through the GFWC .

Enter the Great Firewall of China

It’s the kind of problem you usually run into in the office place or in your university when the powers at will are seeking to keep you focused on productive things like… not giggling at Facebook pictures. Well for those of you that are unfamiliar its an everyday occurrence for all netizens residing within the boards of good mother China. The blockage of Facebook began several months back after an incident in western China where after some folk decided to write some not-so-agreeable / controversial things about the uprising. A similar event took you tube off the list almost a year ago – for those of you that have a decent memory (unlike me) it had to do with events in Tibet at the time. If your unfortunate enough to have a site hosted in China that would dare host such controversial content (anything anti-chinese government will do – take your pic) the troops will simply parade your business and shut you down no questions asked. Being unable to extend the same courtesy to sites outside their borders they’re solution is to block domains containing said content – for the sake of their o so childlike citizens. Whatever would they do if they were held responsible for deciding for themselves what to believe and what not to!?

Knocking holes in the GFWC

So I’ve been asked time and time again – “hey Dave! How the heck are you getting on facebook in China!” “Hey Dave can you show me how to get on facebook?” or the less common “Can you help me get on facebook I’ll do anything *wink wink*” Ok so I’ve never actually been asked that way but hey I can dream right?. Basically these are the ways I’ve employed over the past year or so.

Freegate – Currently Being Blocked

I’ll let wikipedia take the lead on this one:
Freegate is software that enables internet users from mainland China, Iran, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey and United Arab Emirates, among others, to view websites blocked by their governments. The program takes advantage of a range of open proxies, which allow users to penetrate firewalls used to block web sites.[1] Developer Dynamic Internet Technology (DIT) estimates Freegate has 200,000[1] users. The maintainer and CEO of DIT is Bill Xia.

You can download freegate (OLD) from my server if you would like to play around with it yourself. Interestingly enough it was funded by the US Government… let’s not dig too far in that direction. Anyway you’ll see that I’ve noted in the previous title that this method is currently blocked. Several months back I noticed Freegate was intermittently allowing me uninhibited access – my fears were confirmed shortly thereafter by fellow users I’d brought into the know about this o so useful bit of software. For now I wouldn’t keep your hopes up for this being a reliable source to get through to the other side of the wall but it may be worth holding onto once the big heads behind this nugget find out a way to outwit the knuckleheads behind the great wall here. Just an FYI for those of you with more… single handed browsing needs – pornographic sites are blocked by Freegate as well – sad faces all around I know

Update: There are a few pseudo-Freegate’s floating around that are now working in China. FreeU10 and u96f I’ve been using FreeU10 for the past week with no problems – I recommend giving it a try!!

Update 1/18/10 – FreeU10 also is no longer working – I’m going to try paying for Black VPN for a little bit and see how that goes. Getting on Facebook in China for free is becoming more of a dream than a reality to me nowadays .

Black VPN – Partially blocked

Black VPN was beta testing for a while and during that period of time they issued free access logins, as far as I know this period has now ended – making it difficult for me to share this method of enabling my fellow web users to access their beloved facebook. VPN stands for Virtual Private Network and is essentially having your computer log onto another computer somewhere in the world – that isn’t blocked by China – and then using that machines IP to go about accessing the world wide web. Black VPN is one of several open VPNS *cough* well not so open anymore since free beta testers are no longer being recruited. Here’s a short list of some other free VPN’s you may want to try using to provide you with the same GFWC cracking options:AlonWeb, PacketiX.NET, UltraVPN, CyberGhost, and the slightly less popular AceVPN.com, JAP VPN, andAnchorFree Hotspot VPN. You can read a bit more about these free vpn services on this blog article I found.

UPDATE 1/18/10: BlackVPN is no longer free however if you would like to tried their paid service (which I recommend) using this code will give you two extra months for free: QCYVZMB. I believe the fee is 5 Euros for one server or 13 if you would like access to all 3.

Four your reference here’s the procedure for signing up for Black VPN.

1. Navigate to Black VPN.com and fill out the form as listed in the first picture below (with your own info of course) the Invite Code in the picture will not work as it was discontinued. Hope you can find a new one and share it here if you do!!
2. You’ll then receive your log in information that I would recommend you copy&paste to a notepad or word file as you like (see 2nd image below – actually the logon listed should work as long as no one else in the world is using it!)
3. Lastly you’ll need to add a new VPN connection to your computer – the instructions are linked conveniently on the blackvpn website

Image 1

Image 2

I marked this method off as partially blocked because the only server offered by black vpn that has been working lately has been the one located in the Netherlands. I wouldn’t mind much but getting Google results in Dutch does tend to turn my smile upside down after several searches. It constantly reminds me of how aggravating IP sensoring location specific auto language selecting sites tend to make me – I think the world is ready for drop down menu’s to select your language of choice on multilingual sites don’t you? Is it so much to ask for that to be standard? Anyway if you do manage to get one of these Free VPN’s set up correctly you should be readily able to access Facebook and Twitter and Youtube and anything else that is getting moderated by China.

UPDATE 1/18/10 – this path for signing up is no longer valid as Black VPN is no longer free – you’ll have to follow their order flow from their homepage in order to obtain a username and password which you’ll get in an adobe document attached to your follow up e-mail after you process payment through paypal. Again if your signing up use this code to get a couple months free: QCYVZMB

Proxy Servers – Mild degree of maintenance – a little more technical

A step up from proxy sites this tends to be a little bit more technical than simply logging onto a proxy site and browsing through their search bar. I use Foxyproxy with Mozilla Firefox when I dabble with this option. This option requires you to surf the web for free proxy servers (Thanks Google) and copy their IP’s and ports to the proxy handler on your computer. That would typically be your browser in most cases. [Internet Explorer >> Tools >> Internet Options >> Connections] in the case of Internet Explorer. [Tools >> Options >> Advanced >> Connections >> Settings] for Mozilla Firefox. If you don’t already know how to configure your connection in your browser I would suggest finding a nerdier person around you to help you out a bit. If your a little more geeky like me I would heartily suggest picking up FoxyProxy and configuring it to your liking with proxies of your choice. The browser add-on lets you select when to use certain proxies for certain sites allowing you to optimize connection speed while also easily being able to access forbidden sites without having to manually switch proxies when you navigate to them. One way or another setting up a Proxy server correctly on your system should grant you access to Facebook in China.

Proxy Sites – High Maintenance but always a faithful if not tiresome last resort

I won’t bore you with going into any great detail about the various options out there for free VPN sites offering you freedom to surf the web. Basically the idea is very similar to VPN servers. You log onto a site and you are thereafter allowed to use that sites IP to surf the web. You can do a simple search on Google to find a sleu of Proxy site options. The biggest problem with these, hence the labeling of high maintenance, is the fact that they are always being blocked so there is a constant stream of new ones produced daily. There is also the considerable risk that your running your data through a medium that may not be trustworthy. Careful when logging into your banking and other personal/sensitive information carrying sites – more often than not your in the clear but when you do get taken advantage of it’s a nightmare. I would even be slightly concerned with accessing Facebook through these – I’ve been hereing of more and more hacking occurrences. It’s 2nd on the internet in terms of traffic as ranked by Alexa so I suppose we should expect as much

That’s all Folks!

Those are the primary channels I’ve used to access Facebook whilst in China. There are more involved ways such as having a remote system in a unmoderated part of the world enabled to accept remote control from your terminal in China. For example having a box in the US that allowed your computer in China to log onto it and use run it remotely. That’s kinda neat the first time you do it but the lag time can become an issue depending on distance and system configurations. More advanced techniques are out there I’m sure but I’m not one to talk about those. Unfortunately like many in my position I’m a jack of all trades – master of none. I’ll look to you geekier folks for guidance beyond these simpler methods

Chinese Corner – Social Media in China

Yep so I’ve been working on developing this event as attendance has been dwindling lately. That, and the fact that it now has potential to net me some money in the long run. I’ve been learning a lot the past several months promoting through various avenues. Little things like… not to take for granted how easily someone can get lost even with clear directions in picture, text, and video format – as well as bigger things like the general relative ineffectiveness of impersonal invitations and mass marketed ad’s.

The more I’ve been using online means to generate traffic and eventually warm bodies to different events in the area the more I’ve felt a connection to the appeals of social media in the Chinese marketplace. As I’ve mentioned before mass marketing, at least initially, for anyone results in far less returns here than it would in western countries. People here need to know your brand name well, gaining a consumers trust is an incredibly challenging task in a world where business law, customs, and infrastructure are based on non-trust.

Using social media you can interact with your target customer’s on a human level. This may not get you sales right away but it will grant you access to people that you can then make further contact with face-to-face. Without making those phone calls and meetings where you meet potential clients, partners, etc. you wouldn’t get anything done through the internet here in China. Not on any reasonable time line anyway. The appeals I’m talking about are even more useful in western countries – however I find their effectiveness particularly attractive in this market where so many other tactics that work well in the west fail miserably.

Seems I’ve drifted off away from the subject of my Chinese corner event but hopefully it will be beneficial for some of you that take the time to read it. If not, you can forgive me right? Hope to see you guys reading this from the Shenzhen area at my event this weekend I promise the wine will be good, the cheese fresh and the fruit sweet and ripe as always. Plus if its not you can always try to convince me to cook something for you instead .

Unleash the Fury

Sorry I just couldn’t resist. Came across this on a forum bouncing around today

Garlic

Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion family Alliaceae. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, and chive. Garlic has been used throughout recorded history for both culinary and medicinal purposes. It has a characteristic pungent, spicy flavor that mellows and sweetens considerably with cooking.[1] A bulb of garlic, the most commonly used part of the plant, is divided into numerous fleshy sections called cloves. Single clove garlic (also called Pearl garlic or Solo garlic) also exists—it originates in the Yunnan province of China. The cloves are used as seed, for consumption (raw or cooked), and for medicinal purposes. The leaves, stems (scape), and flowers (bulbils) on the head (spathe) are also edible and are most often consumed while immature and still tender. The papery, protective layers of “skin” over various parts of the plant and the roots attached to the bulb are the only parts not considered palatable. Thanks Wikipedia!!

O! and another fun fact China produces over 12million tons of garlic a year compared to America’s measly 221,000 tons. China makes about 24 times as much garlic a year compared to it’s closest garlic competitor India. Not bad if you ask me.

Enough of the wikipedia – the reason I’m sharing these gems of information about this lovely edible wonder is because of it’s impact on my life as of late. Aside from the noteworthy advantages it affords me in battles against Asian vampires it also seems to have granted me immunity from many of my skin troubles.

It all started about a month or so ago when I found this nice noodle shop at the bottom of my office building that has a nice bowl of beef noodles for a mere 8rmb + raw garlic cloves in a small cup on the side of the table which I gorge myself on. By the way this is the base unit I now valuate any purchase I make with – by the number of bowls of noodle I can purchase for the amount of RMB being requested for a product or service. Is this book worth 20 bowls of noodles? Is that bike really worth 150 bowls of noodles?? Silly perhaps, but hey it keeps my boat afloat in low times

Anyway ever since I’ve been eating garlic regularly I’ve notice my skin is reluctant to break out. Miraculous! I notice similar results when I consumed lemons several months however lemons aren’t cheap and I got tired of spending post meal times puckered up like a sour patch kid. Vinegar is next on the list of ingredients to include regularly in my diet – methinks my hypothesis about an overgrowth of yeast in my digestive track is beginning to make more sense. I’ll have to look into that again.

Thieves in China

It’s an all too common occurence in China even today – theft. My last victim this past weekend was my electric scooter. I suppose it was my fault for placing it where the parking lot camera was poorly supported by area lighting. My fault for not having purchased a more massive bike lock from outside of the country (to lesson the chance that thieves have a master key for my lock). My fault for not fighting the guards to let me park the bike closer to the camera and perhaps even auditing their security system to ensure proper coverage of the areas I usually park my bike. Definitely my fault.

That was sarcasm for any of yousguys that didn’t catch it. These thoughts might sound rediculous but if you spend enough time here you may begin to see how real-life practical they are. I’ve lost count of the number of people I know who’ve been thieved of something here. Wallets, bikes, cars, cell phones, purses, pens, books, cats, watches, you name it.

So far I’ve had a bike, a passport, and an electric bike stolen in China. I suppose that’s not too bad considering I’ve been here for almost 2 years….

Anyway back to being angry. I spoke with my office buildings staff (the vehicle was taken outside my office building) and managed to get into the surveillance room where I found to my amazement a rather extensive video surveillance system. After quite a bit of fast forwarding and rewinding we managed to deduce that my ebike was stolen between the hours of 5:41 and 6:10. The end time was established via the gate guard outside who reported when he arrived for his shift around 6pm their was no bike there.

Upon this realization I had a choice to make: call the police and inform them of the theft and lie to most of the questions they would ask about what I’m doing in China and where I live and what have you… this would more than likely result in nothing as even if there was a clear picture of whoever it was in the video locating him would be impossible… I know the western realities of investigation don’t apply here.. OR not call the police and possibly pull out my shotgun and run madly through the building lobby blasting every shady looking chineseman in a futile but satisfying effort to reclaim my lost property…. or at least the dignity it went with. I settled for not calling and signing… ammunition is hard to come by.