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Created page with "= Overview = If you're being randomly redirected to sites like ours, www.norwich.edu, opensourcematters.org, www.paramiko.org, but also thousands of other sites[1], it means..."
= Overview =

If you're being randomly redirected to sites like ours, www.norwich.edu, opensourcematters.org, www.paramiko.org, but also thousands of other sites[1], it means your a victim of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Firewall Great Firewall of China] (GWF).

Starting in January 2015, the Great Firewall was slightly modified and began to use DNS spoofing on a mass scale - for any "censored" DNS names like www.youtube.com or www.facebook.com, GWF sends fake DNS replies aimed at seemingly random IP addresses outside of China[2]. This results in massive disruptions for internet users in China and massive overload of random webservers outside of China.


= Quick help for affected users =

== What can I do to prevent the Great Firewall of China spoof my DNS requests ==

The only way is to use a reliable DNS server located outside of China (for example, OpenDNS or Google Public DNS) *and* a reliable VPN provider. Please note that GFW can easily intercept DNS queries and fake the replies - this is why using a VPN is so important.


== I'm using VPN, but my internet experience is still erratic ==

It's a common mistake to use a VPN service but send DNS queries locally.
If you use a VPN connection, you should make sure your DNS queries are sent to a reliable DNS server - this excludes any public DNS located in China.


== I'm outside of China, but I'm still randomly redirected ==

* your device (computer, laptop, mobile phone, tablet...) may be infected with malware
* your device may have DNS servers changed to Chinese ones
* your local router may be hacked / have DNS servers changed to Chinese ones

// If you didn't retrieve this file on purpose, it means your DNS is poisoned!
// If you're connecting from China, please use OpenDNS or Google public DNS servers (and verify the queries are not intercepted on the way)!
// Even if you're connecting using VPN, your DNS queries may be sent to local (poisoned) DNS server!
// If you're not connecting from China, it means your device is probably infected with malicious software!


[1] Full list available to interested parties.

[2] List of affected IP addresses changes approximately once a month and consists of thousands of IP addresses with different weights assigned. Full list for every day from past months available to interested parties.