10 July 2007
Dubai: Computer users complain that the banned website Orkut.com is still easily accessible.
The controversial site was blocked last week by Etisalat on the orders of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority.
The ban was imposed after Gulf News highlighted the concerns of some readers that the site contained explicit material and could be used to find sexual partners.
Following the ban, internet surfers have contacted Gulf News to complain that there are still ways to access the site.
One computer user said: "There is no point in banning Orkut.com as people are still accessing the site."
Some business users do not use the Etisalat proxy that blocks sites that contravene the religious, cultural, political and moral values of the UAE, and therefore have open internet access through their own dedicated lines.
Gulf News could access the site through a link but will not print the link as the access to the website is banned.
For those users who do go through the Etisalat proxy, there are several methods of getting round the block imposed by Etisalat, an IT professional said.
Some of these methods could be used by people with only a basic knowledge of computers, he added.
"A kid could do it. It's only a few steps and it takes two minutes. There are quite a number of people who know how to get round the block. One person tells his friend and in a matter of weeks half the country knows how to do it," he said.
However, another regular internet user said that many ways of getting around the Etisalat blocks had been discovered and dealt with.
"It's quite hard [to get around the blocks] for someone who doesn't have a good background with the internet," he said.
"There are plenty of ways to get around it, but not really for the average user. They would find it nearly impossible."
No one at Etisalat was available to give an official comment yesterday afternoon, but a staff member at the company's customer helpline said the site was still officially banned.
By Daniel Bardsley
Gulf News 2007. All rights reserved.
