Internet access has been restricted in Iran for weeks. But even from thousands of kilometers away, a bridge to a free Internet can be created with your own computer. But there is a downside.
Violence against demonstrators, imprisonment and rigorous Internet blocking are once again the Iranian government’s response to the ongoing protests. A service makes it possible to help, even from thousands of kilometers away. With just a few clicks and the willingness to share your own bandwidth.
Iran has been suppressing online services such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal and Facebook Messenger since September 21. Access to the anonymizing Tor network is also largely suppressed. The aim is to prevent the protesters from networking and organizing online.
Tesla boss Elon Musk promised help and wanted to unlock the Starlink satellite for Iran. This is said to have happened, but the infrastructure on the ground does not seem to be adequate. Ground stations are too far away, there are not enough antennas and a special permit is required for import. The catch is that the Iranian government decides that. But there is a way to help quickly and easily.
With Snowflake, blocking-affected people in Iran and other parts of the world can access the Internet without censorship. There are two ways to do this.
Install browser extension
The Snowflake extension can be installed in Firefox, Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge (to follow in a few days) via the settings. The principle is simple: your own computer works as a proxy and becomes a door opener or (to stay with the figurative language) a bridge to a free Internet in the Tor network. The computer establishes an unobtrusive WebRTC connection to the Snowflake user’s computer, from where it accesses the Tor network.
The extension has no impact on the computing power and does not push itself to the fore when using the browser. Once installed, it is automatically active. To motivate the user, the snowflake is displayed in purple at the top. If you click on it, you will see how many users you have paved the way for.
The more users use this option, the more dynamically the service operates. The pool of access options available is in constant flux, with new entrants constantly. It is therefore hardly possible for these proxy IPs to be blocked.
Just as a new tab
If you don’t want to install an extension, you have an alternative: Open a new tab in your browser and activate Snowflake there. For this to work, this browser must remain open all the time.
In both cases, the data traffic of another user runs via the browser and of course also uses bandwidth. So those people who do not have unlimited data volume should think twice about using it, as it could cause additional costs.
How the anti-censorship solution works
The Tor network is a collection of servers that encrypt and route traffic between themselves to anonymize a user’s real location.
This network has several types of servers. There are Tor guard servers that serve as entry points into the Tor network. There are Tor relays that route traffic within the network and help anonymize the user’s location. And then there are Tor exit servers, through which Tor traffic reconnects to the regular internet.
By their very nature, Tor Guard server IP addresses are public and listed on the Tor website, allowing Tor clients (usually the Tor browser) to read the list and connect to the Tor network through a secure server .
