How to use Skype in Dubai
The national carrier, Etisalat, has blocked Skype, and apparently all VoIP applications, from being used in Dubai. I clearly wasn't happy with this, so searched for a way to circumvent this restriction, to find a way to unblock Skype in Dubai...
After playing unsuccessfully with Tor I found that using a VPN was the way forward and there is a very cheap solution for this. Here's the step by step guide:
- Go to http://ultravpn.lynanda.com/
- Read about who they are if you're interested (their primary aim is apparently to allow people in censored countries to connect to news sources that would otherwise be blocked)
- Click 'Download now', save the file to your computer and then run it to install Ultra VPN
- Go back to the site, and click "Test and Buy" (http://ultravpn.lynanda.com/account.htm)
- In the "Register a new account" section, choose and enter a username and password
- Make sure UltraVPN is started - it's a small icon next to your clock if it is, and in your start menu if not
- Right click the UltraVPN icon and click "Connect"
- Enter your username and password
- After about 10-15 seconds you should be connected via UltraVPN
- Skype should now connect and work perfectly and you will appear to the world as if you are based in France (so some sites might start showing you french options or french adverts)
- After a 3 day trial you will need to pay to continue to use UltraVPN - go back to the site and use the "Recharge you account" option on the "Test and Buy" page. It's $2.90 for a month - which isn't a lot of money to have unlimited free phone calls.
- Enjoy!
posted by Christian @ 4:23 PM
19 comments
19 Comments:
Yay! It worked - many, many, many thanks!
..... and now it doesn't work! Any ideas how to fix the connection (yes, I have paid!) I can't understand the instructions at http://openvpn.net/howto.html#mitm which is apparently the problem. Can't understand how it worked at first, then not now, unless it is being bloacked by Etisalat.....
I'm not sure, since I don't live in Dubai and I'm not there at the moment to test things!
I have a few friends who live there, so I'll ask them and post any new information here.
Any news from your friends? SOOOoooo frustrating that it worked at first and now doesn't. If it still works for your friends then I will have to work my way through all that unintelligible geek stuff!
If it isn't working for them, please can you find out if they have discovered any other way to beat the block?
Cheers!
It works fine...
Just don't forget your username or password. I tried their password retreival service and it doesn't work, even though the message will say password sent etc...
In case you already paid and forgot your username or password, I suggest you format and re-install Windows, or somehow purge that username from your OS. As the site won't let your register a new username.
The service is good enough for Skype and Yahoo! Voice calls, but as they say on their site, service is bare minimum = Low Cost! To be honest I haven't had any issues yet.
It just works!
yes it worked. But now my friend of Dubai says that they ask for refill th account. Can u tell me how to do to have it freely as from pc to pc normally ?
As an alternative you can also use GTS VPN the service there works fine for me!
Yapp that is the way to do it. I use http://www.VpnAccounts.com but another one is http://www.bananavpn.com
I am using Witopia personnalVPN. It works very good !
I found it on the official Skype forum.
http://forum.skype.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=140851&view=findpost&p=631401
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See also Blacklogic VPN to unblock Skype, VoIP and censored contents in Dubai and UAE.
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i think Etisalat got this link.....i m not abl to use now....its not at all onnecting
its so easy to unblock skype
1. Go to http://www.securewebpoint.com
2.Sign up to the VPN Account
either OpenVPN or Encrypted VPN
3. Wait until they contact you
4. Your ready to use Skype
and view unblocked skype
also that company provide 1Gbit connection speed so my speed was not affected unlike other companies I tried.
and also if you read on their website it says this
Money Back Guaranteed
We are so confidence with our service we can guarantee you that by using our service you will be able to browse and use any blocked or prohibited websites including using Skype. If something is not working correctly via our service then we will be happy to provide you with a full refund on your service.
url: http://www.securewebpoint.com
There is a very simple method I found on: http://dubaiinsider.bravehost.com/
It cost me 5 bucks to know how but atleast it is simple, without any installation required and it works! :)
I’m a happy camper now!!! :D
any vpn service can help u unblock Skype in UAE. VPN must be outside UAE of course :)
I'm using thisvpn serviceto unblock skype and any other sites. It works fine and stable. I can suggest this anonymous vpn.
Thanks.
VPN is too expensive and has a monthly subscription fee. There is a very simple method I found on:
http://dubaiinsider.bravehost.com/
Costs a one-time fee of 5 bucks to know how but atleast no additional expense, it is simple, without any installation, or monthly subscription to VPN service required, and it works everywhere not just in the UAE!
P.S. Beware of using your logins through other websites. You never know what activities they are storing!
Please help! Last week I was able to use Skype (thanks to your amazing website), but now each time I sign in using UltraVPN I receive a message which says "Connecting to client has failed". Does anyone know what this means?? Thanks!
There seesm to be a new way to block all voip traffic implemented;
"Network traffic analysis and dataminingOur datamining and statistics team, lead by statisticians Karim Rhaimini and Ivan Chollet, is opening a new window in network traffic analysis. New tools are arising, providing CIOs with the ability to monitor and shape their traffic effectively. The solutions we provide address the issue of furtive P2P application stealing bandwidth and reducing overall security control in corporate environments. The methods used to achieve this are cutting-edge. No conventionnal firewalls or proxies are involved in our solutions. Only statistics and datamining systems, as well as passive measurement infrastructure. This change in paradigm is worth it and paves the road for new traffic shaping possibilities."
With a view to identify Skype’s traffic as it moves through the network, the research group at Lynanda has developed a new solution. It is purely based on statistical data-mining techniques, not on common firewall practices, as expected earlier.
The IT Solution provider claims that it is a two-step process to filter Skype.First; the firewall is exposed to its target environment to learn the particularities of Skype’s traffic. Then, it uses the information collected together with pattern-matching techniques to identify Skype’s related traffic.
The solution designed by Lynanda uses various technologies including neural networks, distributed statistical calculus, and pattern recognition through machine learning. These techniques are quite similar to the techniques implemented in financial statistics to find out regularities and typical patterns in apparently chaotic data like stock quotes.
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