Internet access problems

[lfputman3]

Ok, I'm sure it's been answered a few times on here, but I have to ask.

I am having some issues the last couple days with my connections, no big thing that I cannot post to fb or any of those other social sites, not that concerned with that. Problem is, I'm suddenly having issues connecting to my email servers and cannot bring up my bank homepage at all. A little worrysome for me, money guy not able to see his money and all.

The email problem comes in that I am trying to keep in touch with the folks as dad is having surgery this week and well, if you've followed my other posts, you know it's a huge concern. Also I don't have the exact time and date and we (yes, we) want to keep a heads up on that issue. She really wants to meet dad and we both think her little girl is gonna be the big chink in my dad's armor. He only has grandsons, so the prospect of a granddaughter to spoil is well, yeah, he's a sucker.

So the question, what or where can I go to proxy out?, or am I stuck not being able to access these items?

Thank you all
Lloyd

[Paul Todd]

This is one of the inconveniences of being in China I'm afraid. There are a few free proxies out there but there not very reliable and do not always give you complete  access anyway.  The only surefire way is to pay for a proxy. I know Willy does this and  Mikael  Shim is pretty clued into all the tech stuff too, so I would pm them for the best info on this. Sounds like your trip is going well and I hope it continues that way 

[lfputman3]

Thanks Paul, I will pm them tomorrow. As it stands now I've run all of my security scans, found a couple bugs labeled generic, but they were a little high on the threat assessment to be regular old generic. Now if I try to access damn near anything but here, my browser closes. Just a bit frustrating, but I did do a dumb-dumb and open a google page. After I opened I thought, "I should not have just done that" and a little while later the problem started.

I'll get it figured out and be back in business soon enough.

Lloyd

[Pineau]

i used several VPN providers and they all get blocked from time to time. Especialy recently. But I have found that the smaller outfits are better. If they have a big name and reputation they are prime targets for the being blocked when the gov decides to crack down. there are a lot out there but I decided to stick with a smaller outfit. PM me and I will give you their name.

[lfputman3]

well, I decided not to worry, called home and talked to the folks about the financial items, they confirmed everything is still there for me, no strange charges. So I'm gonna tuff it out and just have my system scrubbed when I get home.

In the meantime, me and her little girl will just play MS Mahjong together, kid thinks it's awesome, even if it's not real mahjong. Hongyun laughed when she realized it's just a memory game in the states.

Lloyd

[Mikael_Shim]

Astrill has an excellent VPN service thats pretty much point and click install and works on Iphone, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux. Its not free, costs a few $ / month but worth every penny if you stay in China for a long time and wants all your regular internet services and sites to be accessible.

Another problem is that most chinese internet connections in private homes, like provided by the landlord etc and mostly operated by China Mobile have tremendously low bandwidth outside of china. The only "fast" and reliable type of internet you can get in your home in China as far as i know is a dedicated ADSL line from China Unicom, most of my chinese colleagues at work here confirms this as well. Depending where you live etc, its available from 1mbps up to 8mbps and they are quite reliable in all flavors. You usually have to prepay for 6 or 12 months though.

[lfputman3]

Thanks for the tip, I will make a note of both the VPN and the ADSL for future trips. I'll check with her and see what her home connection is as well. I know it is fast enough for video chat-most days-not sure what she has though.