January 2018 - ooni-talk - lists.torproject.org

OONI Community Meeting: Tuesday 30th January 2018
by Maria Xynou 29 Jan '18

29 Jan '18

Hello, The OONI team warmly welcomes you to join us next week for our monthly community meeting. Where: https://slack.openobservatory.org/ (OONI Slack channel) When: Tuesday, 30th January 2018 at 14:00 UTC (for 1 hour) We'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions on how we can improve our tools and research methodologies. Please add topics that you would like to discuss as part of the meeting in this pad: https://pad.riseup.net/p/ooni-community-meeting If you're not able to join us, please feel encouraged to join us on Slack or IRC any other day! Looking forward to connecting with you soon! All the best, ~ The OONI team. -- Maria Xynou Research and Partnerships Coordinator Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI) https://ooni.torproject.org/ PGP Key Fingerprint: 2DC8 AFB6 CA11 B552 1081 FBDE 2131 B3BE 70CA 417E

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New tests included in OONI Probe mobile apps
by Maria Xynou 16 Jan '18

16 Jan '18

Hello Oonitarians, The latest release of the OONI Probe mobile apps includes 3 new tests: 1. WhatsApp test: https://ooni.torproject.org/nettest/whatsapp/ 2. Facebook Messenger test: https://ooni.torproject.org/nettest/facebook-messenger/ 3. Telegram test: https://ooni.torproject.org/nettest/telegram/ These tests are designed to measure the blocking of WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Telegram. They were already included in the desktop versions of OONI Probe (Linux and macOS), but now they have also been integrated in the mobile versions as well (Android and iOS). This means that you can easily run these tests with the tap of a button (literally) via the OONI Probe mobile apps! WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger are frequently blocked in many countries around the world, while Telegram was recently blocked in Iran. By running these tests, you can collect network measurement data showing which ISPs block these apps, how, when, and where. If you're an Android user, consider enabling the "Run tests automatically" option in the settings for automatic daily testing. You can install the OONI Probe mobile apps via the following links: * Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.openobservatory.ooniprobe * iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id1199566366 Happy to address any questions. Cheers, Maria. -- Maria Xynou Research and Partnerships Coordinator Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI) https://ooni.torproject.org/ PGP Key Fingerprint: 2DC8 AFB6 CA11 B552 1081 FBDE 2131 B3BE 70CA 417E

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OONI in 2018
by Maria Xynou 09 Jan '18

09 Jan '18

Hello friends, Happy new year! Wish you all the very best for 2018 (and all the other years to come). As the end of 2017 approached, we published a blog post summarizing some OONI highlights from 2017: https://ooni.torproject.org/post/ooni-in-2017/ Many of these things wouldn't have been possible without the measurements you collect, the test lists you review, the research reports you contribute to, the feedback you provide, and your tireless community engagement efforts. So on behalf of the OONI team, I would like to warmly THANK YOU all for everything! We have exciting things coming up for 2018 and we hope to collaborate with you on them. These are listed in the aforementioned blog post, and include: 1. *New OONI Probe desktop apps for Windows and macOS:* Our aim is to build desktop apps <https://ooni.torproject.org/post/writing-a-modern-cross-platform-desktop-ap…> that are as easy to install and use as popular software, enabling more communities to engage with censorship measurement research. 2. *Censorship Alert System:* We aim aim to disseminate timely alerts of emergent censorship events around the world through the analysis of OONI data. 3. *Internet Blackout Monitoring methodology:* We’ll be creating a methodology <https://ooni.torproject.org/post/examining-internet-blackouts/> for automatically detecting and examining internet blackouts (i.e. when the internet as a whole is rendered inaccessible), supporting #KeepItOn <https://www.accessnow.org/keepiton/> and other advocacy efforts. 4. *OONI Probe Orchestration System (OPOS):* Dynamically instrumenting <https://github.com/TheTorProject/ooni-spec/blob/master/opos/OONI-Probe-Orch…> the collection of OONI Probe measurements from around the world, particularly in response to emergent censorship events. 5. *Revamped OONI Explorer:* We’ll be revamping OONI Explorer <https://explorer.ooni.torproject.org/world/> to improve upon its design and usability, enable the export of CSV files, and to present the top censorship findings per country based on OONI data (which will automatically be updated on an ongoing basis). 6. *Revamped mobile apps:* We’ll be revamping the OONI Probe mobile apps <https://ooni.torproject.org/install/> to improve upon their design and usability, and to include more tests. 7. *Revamped OONI website:* We’ll also be revamping the OONI website <https://ooni.torproject.org/> to improve upon its design and usability and to include more content pages. 8. *Research reports:* We’re eager to work with you to publish more research reports on internet censorship. We'll be reaching out to you for specific feedback and involvement, but for now, I just wanted to share a brief overview. Feedback is always appreciated, and happy to address any questions you may have. Looking forward to an exciting year! Cheers, Maria. -- Maria Xynou Research and Partnerships Coordinator Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI) https://ooni.torproject.org/ PGP Key Fingerprint: 2DC8 AFB6 CA11 B552 1081 FBDE 2131 B3BE 70CA 417E

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Iran Protests: OONI data confirms censorship events
by Maria Xynou 05 Jan '18

05 Jan '18

Hi, OONI just published a report on the analysis of network measurements collected from (7 networks in) Iran over the last week, confirming the blocking of Telegram, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger. This report is available here: https://ooni.torproject.org/post/2018-iran-protests/ OONI data shows that Iranian ISPs started blocking access to Telegram and Instagram on 31st December 2017 by means of DNS and TCP blocking. Irancell (AS44244) however only started blocking access to these services on 2nd January 2018. Facebook Messenger was already blocked (by means of DNS tampering), independently from the recent protests. We previously reported on the blocking of Facebook Messenger in our last Iran report: https://ooni.torproject.org/post/iran-internet-censorship/ OONI data shows that WhatsApp is accessible in all tested networks in Iran. Tor Metrics show a spike in Tor usage in Iran on 31st December 2017 (most likely in response to the blocking of Telegram and Instagram), but a sudden drop thereafter, indicating an increased blocking of the Tor network. OONI data corroborates Tor Metrics and suggests that Iranian ISPs started throttling access to the Tor network on 31st December. Some ISPs started blocking access to the Tor network on 1st January. But the Tor network appeared to be blocked in all networks (where measurements were collected) in Iran on 2nd January 2018. To circumvent the censorship, we recommend the use of obfs4 bridges (particularly since bridge reachability tests show that they work). We will continue to monitor the situation. If you're interested in reproducing these findings in Iran, you can do so by running OONI Probe: https://ooni.torproject.org/install/ All network measurement data is made publicly available: https://ooni.torproject.org/data/ All the best, Maria. -- Maria Xynou Research and Partnerships Coordinator Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI) https://ooni.torproject.org/ PGP Key Fingerprint: 2DC8 AFB6 CA11 B552 1081 FBDE 2131 B3BE 70CA 417E

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