What are and how applications work to bypass censorship in Venezuela

There are different applications that allow us to avoid the censorship that is reported in Venezuela. Here we will badyze two: intra, which allows access to blocked web pages in this country; and firechat, a messaging service that uses Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, which allows users to be connected even when the data network is down.

Jigsaw, the technology incubator of Google, introduced, last October, Intra, an application to avoid DNS manipulation attacks, widely used by regimes censoring the free flow of information.

According to a report from the Organization Observatory open network interference The Venezuelan government, among others, has used DNS manipulation to prevent access to certain sites. In Venezuela, for example, Infobae was censored more than four years ago.

The naming of IP addresses is the most well-known function of DNS protocols or domain name systems. This means that, to enter a website, the user types the name of the site in question and not the sequence of numbers identifying this page.

In case of DNS manipulation, the connections receive an incorrect address and the user is redirected to another site: that is to say, he can not access the searched page. This is a way to implement web censorship and spread malware.

Intra encrypts DNS queries and protects the user from these types of blocking. In this way, manipulation and subsequent redirection to other sites are prevented.

The application uses Google's own default trusted DNS server, but you can choose other options. In the configuration menu, you can route navigation requests via Cloudflare, which also hosts your own secure public access DNS server, or opt for another reliable server.

Intra can be used anywhere in the world, but as it is based on Google tools, in countries where this service is inaccessible, the system may not work properly, as shown on the official website of the application.

Once the conditions are accepted, the application is downloaded and you will see a very simple interface to use, from which you can enable or disable the service at any time.

Those who have Android 9.0 do not need to download Intra: just activate the private DNS settings from the configuration menu. Go to Settings> Network and Internet> Advanced> Private DNS.. If that does not work, then Intra should be installed.

Users who use a reliable VPN service and allow them to bypbad deadlocks on the web should not install Intra. On the other hand, both services can not be used simultaneously.

FireChat is an application to send messages instantly, which is available (for free) for iOS and Android. It works by means of bluetooth or wifi. This means that users can stay connected even when the mobile network is not working.

When mobiles are within 70 meters, they connect directly. Just open the bluetooth and wifi, even if this service does not work. If there are more than two phones, a larger network is created.

You can send public messages (which are visible to everyone) or private messages via this network. These are encrypted so that only the recipient can see the content.

In this connection network, each mobile operates as a node through which messages are sent without interruption from one device to another. When an Internet connection or mobile network is available, FireChat uses it to reach remote recipients.

With FireChat, you can create your own communication network. On the site of the application explains that in a city, at least 5% of the inhabitants must use the service to work successfully.

Multi-hop and storage technology as well as transfer extends the network when multiple people use FireChat. In short: the more people use it, the more the network is strengthened.

1. Public and private messages can be sent

2. Create live discussion forums to discuss a topic with a group of people.

3. Write hashtags in any message to automatically create a new chat room.

By clicking on the hashtag (#) symbol, you can see the directory of available chat rooms.