- VE Sin Filtro reported that Microsoft Teams, a subdomain of the software company, also has restrictions | Main photo: VE sin Filtro
On Friday, August 9, the non-governmental organization (NGO) VE sin Filtro reported that the state telecommunications company CANTV blocked access to essential Microsoft services, such as Teams and Outlook.
“Today we detected an HTTPS block on CANTV, a state-owned company and largest ISP in Venezuela, against Microsoft·com that impacts various services,” the NGO warned through its account on X (formerly Twitter).
The NGO explained that this blocking is carried out at the HTTPS protocol level, which prevents users from establishing connections with Microsoft servers.
What is an ISP?
An ISP (Internet Service Provider) is a company that provides you with access to the Internet.
Various users have reported through X that they have problems viewing the Microsoft home page as well as the Azure page, its digital cloud service.
Other web blocks in Venezuela
Another of the most recent blockages occurred on August 8, 2024, when VE without Filter reported from approximately 3:00 pm that day the application of Signal messaging service was blocked in Venezuela.
The NGO explained that the platform is restricted by most Internet providers in Venezuela.
“On some ISPs the app appears to be working normally, but on other providers Signal usage is being affected by the block,” reads the post made by the VE sin Filtro account on X (formerly Twitter).
That same day Nicolás Maduro ordered to remove from circulation social network X, for a period of 10 days. This is in order for the technology company to present “requirements” to the Venezuelan authorities.
In a political act, Maduro signed the proposal to suspend X, drawn up by the National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel), with the aim of “enforcing the laws.”
“X should get out of Venezuela for 10 days, so that they can present their documents and establish the definitive administrative measure, but enough is enough, enough of trying to sow violence, hatred, of trying to attack Venezuela from abroad,” said the president, who has accused Musk of being part of a “cyber coup d’état” against him.
For its part, VE without Filter denounced on August 2 that the website of the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal was blocked in Venezuela after making public a letter from opposition leader María Corina Machado in which she expressed fear for her physical integrity.
The NGO explained that the US platform is blocked by the operators CANTV, Movistar, Digitel, Inter and NetUno.
In addition, the domain of the Comando Con Venezuela website, which is used to review voting records, has also been subject to restrictions since July 30 on several Internet servers in the country.
“The website resultadospresidencialesvenezuela2024.com has been blocked on almost all Internet providers in Venezuela just hours after its launch,” the organization wrote on its social media account X.
They use VPN to evade the blockade
Various social media users have begun using virtual private networks (VPNs) to view restricted pages in Venezuela.
Here are some of the VPNs recommended by experts:
Free VPNs: Hotspot Shield Free VPN, Windscribe, ProtonVPN Free, PrivadoVPN, Speedify, Hide.me y TunnelBear.
VPN Payments: NordVPN, Surfshark, Atlas VPN, BitDefender VPN, CyberGhost VPN, ExpressVPN y IPVanish.
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2024-08-10 14:22:53
