14 DAY TRIAL // Turkey has restricted access to Twitter after the country’s prime minister pledged to eradicate the social network.
The official story says that Twitter ignored several court orders from Turkish judges asking the removal of several links. The country’s issues with Twitter go back a long time, however, so chances are the issue is much deeper than this.
In the meantime, it’s important for the 12 million Turkish Twitter users to gain back access to the service. This can be done in several ways.
Tweet via SMS
The simplest way to get around the restrictions are the ones that Twitter itself announced following the revelation that the Turkish authorities had restricted access to the network.
Basically, users can send their tweets using SMS to 2444 for Vodafone users and 2555 for Turkcell ones, alongside the word “START.” The problem with this method is that it only handles ongoing tweets, which does come in handy if you want to make sure the world knows what’s happening.
Turkish users: you can send Tweets using SMS. Avea and Vodafone text START to 2444. Turkcell text START to 2555.
— Policy (@policy) March 20, 2014
Use a VPN
Another solution is to use a VPN. The Virtual Private Network enables a computer to send and receive data across networks as if it were directly connected to the private network. Most commonly, these make your computer appear to be connected to a completely different network, such as from another country, and thus enable you to gain access to a site restricted in your area.
While such solutions usually require paying for the service, there are plenty of free versions out there, although people should be cautious when using the latter ones, since they can contain malicious software.
One easy way to find an app that actually works is to pick a browser VPN tool, such as Hola Better Internet for Chrome or Anonymox for Firefox. These enable users to change IP addresses and to visit blocked or censored websites. Other tools are available as well.
Change your DNS
Another option is to change your DNS. Many of the Turkish Twitter users that are currently accessing their accounts freely have said that this is the way they have managed to bypass the blockage.
Of course, this is one of the most difficult solutions since it requires a bit more knowledge of computers and networks to do so. Google DNS is one reliable alternative to doing everything on your own. Instructions on Google’s website are quite easy to follow – “configure your network settings to use the IP address 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 as your DNS servers.”
Other options can be found by accessing Google’s further instructions.