Thailand scraps unpopular Internet 'Great Firewall' plan

[EJK]

LOL

They realised the people are not as dumb as they thought they were.

This is a no brainier they will have everyone against them on this.

If they did the cyber kings would destroy there IT structure and it's not worth that

There's easier ways of total control I supp

[GAZZPA]

Yet another from the school of ready ,fire, aim by the political masters here.

Please oh please.... I am but a simple man but wouldn't it be better to research, review, seek counsel, explore all aspects, evaluate pro's cons and then announce intent rather than come out of the gate with a grand falutin announcement, get everyone up in arms and then say " Oh on reflection we aint going to do it now"....

Any public servant within the ministries could have told you that this announced plan was not going to be efficient or get support from numerous industry groups..... continual situations like this can be avoided and will prevent the government from looking like the most important Ministry is the Ministry of Backflips....

On the other hand to be balanced I did think the recent housing stimulus package announced made good sense and Im all in favour of seeing more policies and structure being added to help the wider populace.......

I like the governments call to increase " happiness".. now if the actions can match the words it would be great.....perhaps a good yardstick for any potential policy being evaluated is " to whom does this add happiness and why".... more submarines and an internet gateway arguably adds " happiness" to a precious few......more affordable housing, better education, clamp down on corruption and more transparent legal system will add buckets of happiness to many ......

Hello Monty1412, you are clearly someone with a sensible and logical mind but please remember you are asking a "Thai" Junta to pause and think before they act.

One thing I have learnt working here is evaluation and preparation are not something that happens very often.

I think we have to have a level of acceptance that this current Government is going to continue to drop stink bombs in the middle of everything and it will up to the people to protest to get it removed.

Still, its a sunny day, I am smiling and quite happy without any Government policies to make me so, I'm sure you are the same..

[Vlaanderen]

I'm no computer expert so i would like to ask those who know the subject if it would be possible for the govt to go ahead with this idea, in some form or other, in secret without it being spotted ?

I'm an expert.

And no, the govt can not go ahead with it in secret.

The ISP's, internet service providers like TOT, True, ... have tools for check how your datapackets travel to the destination. They will notice it if all the packets pass a single gateway. It's easy for them to check if the packets follow the route they are telled to do.

Even when the govt can to place a hidden "gateway" in the route, the hidden gateway always need some procestime for inspect the packets, and this always will give a delay. The ISP's can detect this "hidden" delay and can discover the hidden gateway.

And if they do a bad implementation you can check yourself.

1) in windows, open the commandprompt (cmd)

2) do a ping to the website you wish to check : ping www.thaivisa.com

3) you will have a reply, and you see the ip adres : for thaivisa is that 175.41.131.133

4) use the command "tracert" for check the route to this address : tracert 175.41.131.133

5) you see all the gateways your packets pass for connect to thaivisa.

for me now :

192.168.0.1 (my homenetwork where this pc is connected to)

192.168.1.1 (my homenetwork backbone)

118.175.176.1 (my fiber connection to TOT)

172.17.34.81

172.17.33.30

203.113.24.221

203.114.118.341 = TOTISP.net

203.190.251.141 = kkm core TOTIIG.net

180.180.249.82 = knl core TOTIIG.net

129.250.7.21

116.51.17.46 = amazon

203.83.223.2

203.83.223.23

175.41.128.233 = ap-southeast-1.compute.amazonaws.com

175.41.131.133 = ap-southeast-1.compute.amazonaws.com

But always keep in mind the Govt can try to put a hidden gateway, but they delay in your packets will make the hidden gateway not so hidden. You can compare it with the security system for check if a VPN tunnel is breached. The security system from a VPN is also based on a "hidden" delay in the middle from the road.

[aslimversgwm]

I'm no computer expert so i would like to ask those who know the subject if it would be possible for the govt to go ahead with this idea, in some form or other, in secret without it being spotted ?

I'm an expert.

And no, the govt can not go ahead with it in secret.

The ISP's, internet service providers like TOT, True, ... have tools for check how your datapackets travel to the destination. They will notice it if all the packets pass a single gateway. It's easy for them to check if the packets follow the route they are telled to do.

Even when the govt can to place a hidden "gateway" in the route, the hidden gateway always need some procestime for inspect the packets, and this always will give a delay. The ISP's can detect this "hidden" delay and can discover the hidden gateway.

And if they do a bad implementation you can check yourself.

1) in windows, open the commandprompt (cmd)

2) do a ping to the website you wish to check : ping www.thaivisa.com

3) you will have a reply, and you see the ip adres : for thaivisa is that 175.41.131.133

4) use the command "tracert" for check the route to this address : tracert 175.41.131.133

5) you see all the gateways your packets pass for connect to thaivisa.

for me now :

192.168.0.1 (my homenetwork where this pc is connected to)

192.168.1.1 (my homenetwork backbone)

118.175.176.1 (my fiber connection to TOT)

172.17.34.81

172.17.33.30

203.113.24.221

203.114.118.341 = TOTISP.net

203.190.251.141 = kkm core TOTIIG.net

180.180.249.82 = knl core TOTIIG.net

129.250.7.21

116.51.17.46 = amazon

203.83.223.2

203.83.223.23

175.41.128.233 = ap-southeast-1.compute.amazonaws.com

175.41.131.133 = ap-southeast-1.compute.amazonaws.com

But always keep in mind the Govt can try to put a hidden gateway, but they delay in your packets will make the hidden gateway not so hidden. You can compare it with the security system for check if a VPN tunnel is breached. The security system from a VPN is also based on a "hidden" delay in the middle from the road.

Wow! Someone on here who actually knows his stuff! Cheers,David

[Jimbo53]

I think the reason it has been scrapped is because it was causing havoc with the internet speeds in Government offices!!!

Like myself,lately ya number of people I have spoken to have been complaining of their Internet going slow recently,even although it is sometimes reading over 11mbps on the speedtest,whereas previously there was no problem.

I think they have realised it was going to be another Clusterf@*k,and scrapped it. T.I.T.

[Lupatria]

Is this the same government that is always so sensitive when it comes to "the country's image and reputation"?

[Chao Lao Beach]

haha and i just read about that new thing they bought from Italy, to spy on cellphones....

Do you have a link for this thing ?

[realenglish1]

From the beginning I did not think this as a good idea

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

"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.

I certainly can believe they won't TALK about it anymore. But I'm a fair bit less believing that they won't actually try to implement something like this, or some comparable approach, moving forward.

Just like the government shelved the plans for the Navy to buy the costly, useless submarines, but then a few months later, presto, the Navy is moving ahead with plans to buy their submarines.

What they say, and what they do here, are far too often entirely disconnected.

[smedly]

maybe if they researched and obtained professional advice before sticking their foot in it they could have avoided this mess they nearly created, how about not making stupid announcements like this in the future until you actually know what you're talking about

[toybits]

My internet line has been rather slow for more than a week now. I wonder if it is already being done? Yes, they said they are not but honestly, I have a difficult time believing them. Oh! the AA guys just walked in...

[Just1Voice]

maybe if they researched and obtained professional advice before sticking their foot in it they could have avoided this mess they nearly created, how about not making stupid announcements like this in the future until you actually know what you're talking about

researched and obtained professional advice

Come on, Smedley, it's Thailand we're talking about.

[Lupatria]

Just in case the TAT needs a little help…

[Basil B]

Scraped for now...

They stopped the freedom of the press, they stopped public meetings, this government sees the internet as it's Nemesis...

Next week another way to stop free speech on the Internet.

[emilymat]

Lets hope that this puts an end to this matter, although this Government with its draconian self appointed powers can't be trusted. I would like Prayuth to come out himself and categorically state that the idea has been totally abandoned.

Quite so. There's a lot of difference between 'halted' (OP quote) and 'abandoned'. I halt my car at the traffic lights, then resume.

[Srikcir]

There may be some Cabinet conflicts exposed with this annoucement.

I suspect that if newcomer Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak for the Economy (8/2015) is the spokesman for announcing the Junta's abandonment of the Great Firewall plan, that he would have opposed the idea from the beginning for economic reasons. Somkid is only one of two (Legal Affairs Wissanu Krea-ngam) DPM's out of six who is NOT a military officer.

Otherwise, it would have been probably Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan for Public Security (8/2014) who would be announcing going forward with the single Gateway idea.

[gudtymchuk]

"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.

​Translation: We damn well are going to do it and we are not going to tell you we did it so don't ask.....

[TKDfella]

Well, it would be step in the right direction if the s.i.g is scrapped but I wonder about motives. I also read today that it has been revealed that the Russian test to block the country from the internet has failed. I just wonder if the Thai gov was watching those experiments.

[sambum]

I'm no computer expert so i would like to ask those who know the subject if it would be possible for the govt to go ahead with this idea, in some form or other, in secret without it being spotted ?

I'm an expert.

And no, the govt can not go ahead with it in secret.

The ISP's, internet service providers like TOT, True, ... have tools for check how your datapackets travel to the destination. They will notice it if all the packets pass a single gateway. It's easy for them to check if the packets follow the route they are telled to do.

Even when the govt can to place a hidden "gateway" in the route, the hidden gateway always need some procestime for inspect the packets, and this always will give a delay. The ISP's can detect this "hidden" delay and can discover the hidden gateway.

And if they do a bad implementation you can check yourself.

1) in windows, open the commandprompt (cmd)

2) do a ping to the website you wish to check : ping www.thaivisa.com

3) you will have a reply, and you see the ip adres : for thaivisa is that 175.41.131.133

4) use the command "tracert" for check the route to this address : tracert 175.41.131.133

5) you see all the gateways your packets pass for connect to thaivisa.

for me now :

192.168.0.1 (my homenetwork where this pc is connected to)

192.168.1.1 (my homenetwork backbone)

118.175.176.1 (my fiber connection to TOT)

172.17.34.81

172.17.33.30

203.113.24.221

203.114.118.341 = TOTISP.net

203.190.251.141 = kkm core TOTIIG.net

180.180.249.82 = knl core TOTIIG.net

129.250.7.21

116.51.17.46 = amazon

203.83.223.2

203.83.223.23

175.41.128.233 = ap-southeast-1.compute.amazonaws.com

175.41.131.133 = ap-southeast-1.compute.amazonaws.com

But always keep in mind the Govt can try to put a hidden gateway, but they delay in your packets will make the hidden gateway not so hidden. You can compare it with the security system for check if a VPN tunnel is breached. The security system from a VPN is also based on a "hidden" delay in the middle from the road.

Phew! I got lost after "tracert" !

[sambum]

maybe if they researched and obtained professional advice before sticking their foot in it they could have avoided this mess they nearly created, how about not making stupid announcements like this in the future until you actually know what you're talking about

Never going to happen - it's in their mindset. For instance, how many times have you heard from the police recently that they have the suspect(s) in custody only to have another headline the next day to say that there is yet another suspect that they are looking for? (Koh Tao suspects excepted!)

[EnglishJohn]

Logic wins and the people were heard, maybe this new government ain't so bad as it's portrayed. Good on yer Junta, lets have faster internet and fibre optic speed. Happiness is now returning, time to play cookie run, hooray!!!

Um they were planning it in secret and were caught out causing the outcry. If they weren't caught out god knows what would of happened.

You sycophants are a laugh sometimes.

What would be funny if it wasn't so sad is how people like you shout 'dictator' on one breath then do a shameless 'about face' when they bow to public opinion. It makes any opinions you have worthless.

Thailand makes the word 'hypocrite' seem somehow insufficient to describe a large section of it's society.

They scrapped the idea just like I said they would right from the start. What a shame the dirty cronies did not do the same with the amnesty bill instead of ramming it through in that disgraceful manner. I bet you didn't say a dicky bird about that.

Edited October 16, 2015 by EnglishJohn

[IAMHERE]

Didn't 'they' scrap the plan to buy 3 submarines also? I bet a free One Gateway System will come with the 3 subs.

[freedom4life]

A nice victory over these draconians...we keep them accountable as a collective..they can do nothing to us. Now let's keep the rest of their draconian ideas in dead water e.g. ASEAN, registered SIMs etc...

Edited October 16, 2015 by freedom4life

[Doc46]

So they say they are scrapping the Great Firewall plan,,,,,What about what is Already in place for years?,,,,Many Sites that are blocked by Government,,, Or are they forgetting that,,Great firewall plan may not come but what they have now will be more restrictive.

[monty1412]

Yet another from the school of ready ,fire, aim by the political masters here.

Please oh please.... I am but a simple man but wouldn't it be better to research, review, seek counsel, explore all aspects, evaluate pro's cons and then announce intent rather than come out of the gate with a grand falutin announcement, get everyone up in arms and then say " Oh on reflection we aint going to do it now"....

Any public servant within the ministries could have told you that this announced plan was not going to be efficient or get support from numerous industry groups..... continual situations like this can be avoided and will prevent the government from looking like the most important Ministry is the Ministry of Backflips....

On the other hand to be balanced I did think the recent housing stimulus package announced made good sense and Im all in favour of seeing more policies and structure being added to help the wider populace.......

I like the governments call to increase " happiness".. now if the actions can match the words it would be great.....perhaps a good yardstick for any potential policy being evaluated is " to whom does this add happiness and why".... more submarines and an internet gateway arguably adds " happiness" to a precious few......more affordable housing, better education, clamp down on corruption and more transparent legal system will add buckets of happiness to many ......

Hello Monty1412, you are clearly someone with a sensible and logical mind but please remember you are asking a "Thai" Junta to pause and think before they act.

One thing I have learnt working here is evaluation and preparation are not something that happens very often.

I think we have to have a level of acceptance that this current Government is going to continue to drop stink bombs in the middle of everything and it will up to the people to protest to get it removed.

Still, its a sunny day, I am smiling and quite happy without any Government policies to make me so, I'm sure you are the same..

Gazzpa, no arguments with what you have written, unfortunately very correct... its just a shame they cant at least take advice on these issues before they get on the loudhailer and announce it as a great leap forward...... keep smiling at life.... it does smile back

[Shaunduhpostman]

We'll see what happens. What these guys say doesn't have much meaning at this point. But it doesn't sound like the single gateway idea was feasible from the get go.

I'm sure they will continue to work to develop some other way to get tighter control over the internet and that they could get much help from the Chinese towards those ends if they aren't already. And that we won't know what hit us for awhile if they do it correctly. Seems pretty daft that they come out announcing what they will do.

[a99az]

Lets hope that this puts an end to this matter, although this Government with its draconian self appointed powers can't be trusted. I would like Prayuth to come out himself and categorically state that the idea has been totally abandoned.

Can't be trusted would agree with that. But can we call it a government? Definition of government: "the group of people with the authority to govern a country or state; a particular ministry in office." So who gave this government authority? Just asking.

OK just found this: "A government can be classified into many types--democracy, republic, monarchy, aristocracy, and dictatorship are just a few." Now which on would you call it?

Edited October 16, 2015 by a99az

[lvr181]

A small glimmer of hope for intelligent thinking in the future perhaps?

Or just another confused message from Government officials?

But some doubts still remain!

[baboon]

So if indeed it has been scrapped and that is the end of it, why is my internet still utter cack?

[Cake Monster]

" The Great Internet Firewall Plan " will be put aside !

Believe what you want.