Govt orders great firewall of Thailand

[Colabamumbai]

Public protests are increasing in Thailand it is only a matter of time before Ocha is gone, whatever it takes.

[Jim walker]

Thailand soon to be a second North Korea with a great soldier leader and backed by China as a true democratic communist country lead by a wonderful sweet dictator we have seen all this sort of thing before just the start of the slippery slope of total control.

[soalbundy]

Thailand soon to be a second North Korea with a great soldier leader and backed by China as a true democratic communist country lead by a wonderful sweet dictator we have seen all this sort of thing before just the start of the slippery slope of total control.

That's over the top, you can't control Thais,even Thai dogs aren't obedient. The police can't even get bike riders to wear crash helmets.

[Larry001]

China, North Korea, Thailand

China is moving towards democracy in this area. Which leaves Thailand and Nth Korea. Another nail in the coffin of Thai democracy

[edwarda909]

This whole subject just makes my blood boil. I have been a big critic of the US governments intrusion into the rights of citizens, residents and visitors. American passports have a chip impeded that can be used to track people; The CIA/NSA has the ability to turn on a person's cell phone and find out where they are and see what is in the room with them; and key words spoken on the phone trigger alerts at the NSA which then monitors the phone call and it is recorded. Does Thailand really want to follow this model of intrusion? Why are governments so afraid of what people are saying? One thing the US has that is priceless is the American Constitution which in part states that a person has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This is the model all Nations should be using, including Thailand and the US needs to start following .

Nothing like a healthy dose of paranoia. I have your haldol ready for you

[MaxLee]

This whole subject just makes my blood boil. I have been a big critic of the US governments intrusion into the rights of citizens, residents and visitors. American passports have a chip impeded that can be used to track people; The CIA/NSA has the ability to turn on a person's cell phone and find out where they are and see what is in the room with them; and key words spoken on the phone trigger alerts at the NSA which then monitors the phone call and it is recorded. Does Thailand really want to follow this model of intrusion? Why are governments so afraid of what people are saying? One thing the US has that is priceless is the American Constitution which in part states that a person has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This is the model all Nations should be using, including Thailand and the US needs to start following .

Nothing like a healthy dose of paranoia. I have your haldol ready for you

Me, me, me too,.... I need some, too, but the poor kids i Thailand will soon need more than that, if they get deprived off their dail-E-activities....

[soalbundy]

The idea has already been rescinded after they spoke with big business

[elgordo38]

The idea has already been rescinded after they spoke with big business

Its the same the world over when big business cracks the whip they pay attention.

[hawker9000]

The idea has already been rescinded after they spoke with big business

I hope you're right, but I'm not so sure. Not with their Chinese buddies whispering in their ear that it's doable and should be done.

[phycokiller]

Public protests are increasing in Thailand it is only a matter of time before Ocha is gone, whatever it takes.

recently came to my attention that they are certainly increasing outside of Thailand where Thais have freedom of speech and its pretty clear what they want..

Edited October 1, 2015 by phycokiller

[phycokiller]

If, as he says the UK, USA and Singapore use this system why is everyone complaining?

because it isn't true.

really??????? I doubt it. Think of NSA...and try again...

I think I am correct in saying that the UK does NOT have a single Internet gateway, and I am fairly sure the US and Singapore don't either. The reason being that if this one gateway was unavailable the internet in that country would suddenly be domestic sites only and no one internationally would be able to read that country's websites. This would be a disaster for business. In fact it would be a disaster for the internet as a whole because it was designed by ARPA to be bomb-proof with many such gateways so if you take one out the internet just re-routes traffic.

When it comes to surveillance, well maybe that is happening at those gateways, who knows, but again, as far as I know, the US and the UK do not censor the sites its citizens can visit beyond obvious things like child porn and this is done by the ISPs not a national "firewall". They certainly don't currently ban encryption and VPNs, and anyone in those governments that suggests if would be quickly shot down as happened in the UK recently.

In short, it's not true (or an extremely bad translation).

very difficult for governments to ban encryption or tor, because they all use it themselves, as they should, and the public should be educated to do so as well

[sawadee1947]

If, as he says the UK, USA and Singapore use this system why is everyone complaining?

because it isn't true.

really??????? I doubt it. Think of NSA...and try again...

I think I am correct in saying that the UK does NOT have a single Internet gateway, and I am fairly sure the US and Singapore don't either. The reason being that if this one gateway was unavailable the internet in that country would suddenly be domestic sites only and no one internationally would be able to read that country's websites. This would be a disaster for business. In fact it would be a disaster for the internet as a whole because it was designed by ARPA to be bomb-proof with many such gateways so if you take one out the internet just re-routes traffic.

When it comes to surveillance, well maybe that is happening at those gateways, who knows, but again, as far as I know, the US and the UK do not censor the sites its citizens can visit beyond obvious things like child porn and this is done by the ISPs not a national "firewall". They certainly don't currently ban encryption and VPNs, and anyone in those governments that suggests if would be quickly shot down as happened in the UK recently.

In short, it's not true (or an extremely bad translation).

as far as I know there are Gateways in US and UK

[Bench499d]

If, as he says the UK, USA and Singapore use this system why is everyone complaining?

because it isn't true.

really??????? I doubt it. Think of NSA...and try again...

I think I am correct in saying that the UK does NOT have a single Internet gateway, and I am fairly sure the US and Singapore don't either. The reason being that if this one gateway was unavailable the internet in that country would suddenly be domestic sites only and no one internationally would be able to read that country's websites. This would be a disaster for business. In fact it would be a disaster for the internet as a whole because it was designed by ARPA to be bomb-proof with many such gateways so if you take one out the internet just re-routes traffic.

When it comes to surveillance, well maybe that is happening at those gateways, who knows, but again, as far as I know, the US and the UK do not censor the sites its citizens can visit beyond obvious things like child porn and this is done by the ISPs not a national "firewall". They certainly don't currently ban encryption and VPNs, and anyone in those governments that suggests if would be quickly shot down as happened in the UK recently.

In short, it's not true (or an extremely bad translation).

as far as I know there are Gateways in US and UK

Yes, gateways, plural. Not one.

[hawker9000]

The use of a gateway for simple blocking purposes is bad enough. Using them to monitor & record everything is, IMO, more insidious.

The NSA Data Center in Utah.

Edited October 1, 2015 by hawker9000

[Tywais]

Thailand scraps unpopular Internet 'Great Firewall' plan

BANGKOK - Thailand's military government has scrapped a plan to create a single Internet gateway, a deputy prime minister said on Thursday, putting paid to a system aimed at allowing authorities to monitor content.

The plan to consolidate Thailand's 10 Internet gateways into one central government-controlled point had been one of the government's least popular ideas since it came to power following a bloodless coup last year.
Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, a former finance minister, said the plan had been halted.

"We will not talk about this any more. If we say we won't do it, we won't do it," Somkid said during an a economic forum in Bangkok.

Read more here - Reuters

[elgordo38]

Seems I heard the same story regarding the purchase of submarines. One big shot said there were just to many other priority items to deal with that the sub purchase was on hold. The next week it was a done deal plain and simple. They always seem to pull an end run on items that they deem near and dear to their heart. Still trying to figure out where it is on these Thanksgiving birds.

[baboon]

"Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, a former finance minister, said the plan had been halted.

"We will not talk about this any more. If we say we won't do it, we won't do it," Somkid said during an a economic forum in Bangkok."

If the English appertaining to this article is correct, he said no such thing about the plan being halted.

[hawker9000]

Thailand scraps unpopular Internet 'Great Firewall' plan

BANGKOK - Thailand's military government has scrapped a plan to create a single Internet gateway, a deputy prime minister said on Thursday, putting paid to a system aimed at allowing authorities to monitor content.

The plan to consolidate Thailand's 10 Internet gateways into one central government-controlled point had been one of the government's least popular ideas since it came to power following a bloodless coup last year.

Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, a former finance minister, said the plan had been halted.

"We will not talk about this any more. If we say we won't do it, we won't do it," Somkid said during an a economic forum in Bangkok.

Read more here - Reuters

Uh huh. Sure, we believe you. Yeah. Got it.

[b4n9]

a little test with my tot connection, proof that they are throttling it. yesterday, i configured a vpn connection using udp port 1195, also i set it to use another port (actually the only port that works is tcp 443), but all without success, then i set it again to use tcp only tcp 443 (all back to normal). i did it 5x just to have sure.

http://ultraimg.com/image/I6Ym

(the image is related to test using udp port 1195, the hostname is where the vpn is located, the same mrt test was made using tcp 443 and no throttling at all, no blocks, nothing, working fine.)

Thailand will sink in shame, this guys are amazing to shit around.

[ddavidovsky]

a little test with my tot connection, proof that they are throttling it. yesterday, i configured a vpn connection using udp port 1195, also i set it to use another port (actually the only port that works is tcp 443), but all without success, then i set it again to use tcp only tcp 443 (all back to normal). i did it 5x just to have sure.

http://ultraimg.com/image/I6Ym

(the image is related to test using udp port 1195, the hostname is where the vpn is located, the same mrt test was made using tcp 443 and no throttling at all, no blocks, nothing, working fine.)

Thailand will sink in shame, this guys are amazing to shit around.

It's been like that for a while with me. Ordinary websites like the BBC or ThaiVisa won't open at all sometimes, but when I switch on a VPN they load instantly. Unfortunately, after a while they stop loading and I have to set the VPN to another country or switch off the VPN to get them to load - again temporarily. This is surely a gateway issue (can someone who knows about these things confirm?). I'm using True. It seems like the system is also now able to block VPNs, though it takes a while for it to detect them...

With or without a VPN, the internet is currently almost unusable.

[b4n9]

a little test with my tot connection, proof that they are throttling it. yesterday, i configured a vpn connection using udp port 1195, also i set it to use another port (actually the only port that works is tcp 443), but all without success, then i set it again to use tcp only tcp 443 (all back to normal). i did it 5x just to have sure.

http://ultraimg.com/image/I6Ym

(the image is related to test using udp port 1195, the hostname is where the vpn is located, the same mrt test was made using tcp 443 and no throttling at all, no blocks, nothing, working fine.)

Thailand will sink in shame, this guys are amazing to shit around.

It's been like that for a while with me. Ordinary websites like the BBC or ThaiVisa won't open at all sometimes, but when I switch on a VPN they load instantly. Unfortunately, after a while they stop loading and I have to set the VPN to another country or switch off the VPN to get them to load - again temporarily. This is surely a gateway issue (can someone who knows about these things confirm?). I'm using True. It seems like the system is also now able to block VPNs, though it takes a while for it to detect them...

With or without a VPN, the internet is currently almost unusable.

as i stated in my post i'm able to surf the internet now, and i'm connected to my personal vpn, using tcp 443, udp using any port was denied or it was too slow (maybe filtering router by mac address?), impossible to download data from websites. in my humble opinion, since they detected the user is connected via vpn (it is possible via DPI), then the system will route your connection to another `lane` much slower than the usual `lane`. another way to censor the connection is filtering by ip address, mac address or both, again once they detect your using a vpn, it is possible to filter and apply new speeds rules (ISP do it to those that are in debt and show a warm warning in your screen, but in this specific case they do because they are mtfcks).

@ddavidovsky are you using True fiber or the crap 3/4G? Are you sure your connection is through tcp (443)? If your vpn service do no offer it, then change the service is advised.

[soalbundy]

I use TOT, never have any problems, i find the connections to be quite fast

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

a little test with my tot connection, proof that they are throttling it. yesterday, i configured a vpn connection using udp port 1195, also i set it to use another port (actually the only port that works is tcp 443), but all without success, then i set it again to use tcp only tcp 443 (all back to normal). i did it 5x just to have sure.

http://ultraimg.com/image/I6Ym

(the image is related to test using udp port 1195, the hostname is where the vpn is located, the same mrt test was made using tcp 443 and no throttling at all, no blocks, nothing, working fine.)

I've had True cable internet for years. And for years, long before the single internet gateway talk began, True's service always ran FASTER with my using a VPN with a U.S. server vs using True alone. International downloads usually 4-5 times faster -- True alone 2 Mbps, VPN 8-10 Mbps. Nothing new about that, in my experience.

I did a set of speedtests recently using all the different Open VPN ports I have available, and UDP 443 worked, but it wasn't the fastest. A couple ports were. I'm not sure on this, but I believe the ports that are available may vary depending on what VPN provider you have.

[hawker9000]

I've noticed I've had to switch to a different VPN protocol. The VPN type I regularly used in the past won't even connect now. A different type which rarely worked before now works just fine.

I've usually been able to access TV just about equally well with or without VPN. 'Have never been able to access my stateside email except via VPN.

[hawker9000]

Duplicate post

Edited October 30, 2015 by hawker9000

[Joe Brennan]

Seems they have learnt well from the Chinese. This action is so retrograde and done in such a sneaky manner, all one can ask is why?

Maybe they're scared the Chinese or the Americans will try to snatch their trade or economic secrets... ?

I don't think they need worry. Zimbabwe maybe, or Angola.

[Joe Brennan]

I bet Mark Z is kicking himself for just opening a big new Facebook business unit in Thailand.

somehow I dont think facebook will be blocked, if theres one thing that will get people back out on the streets thats it

That and Line. The Thais would be completely lost and aimless without their Fatebook and Lye.