Accessing Internet in Iran & Other Restricted Countries: NordVPN Offers Alternative Domains

January 4, 2018. Protests in Iran have been going on for about a week now, and the authorities have restricted social media, the main tool of circulating anti-government information.

Iran has blocked Telegram, and Internet has been cut off in several cities where protests have taken place as Iran’s interior minister announced that social networks are “causing violence and fear.”

Telegram was the most popular communications app in Iran with over 40 million users. Twitter and Facebook have already been banned in Iran since 2009.

Iran is just one example of government cutting off social media and Internet around the world in an attempt to silence freedom of speech and anti-government messages.

Living in countries where Internet access is blocked or restricted has made local people very resourceful – they use “unlocked” phones where they can install illegal apps or Google App Engine that conceals a user’s Google activity.

NordVPN, a VPN service provider, has designed domains that are meant to function in the countries where the web is restricted. For example, nordme.org domain is used for the Middle Eastern countries. So even if VPN is blocked, and the official NordVPN website is not accessible in these countries, by visiting a dedicated domain, local users will be able to access the website, configure a VPN and, once connected – to reach all blocked websites and apps, including Telegram, Facebook or Twitter.

“We stand for the freedom of speech, and are determined to help people access the unrestricted Internet in all the countries where it gets shut down, like Iran,” said Marty P. Kamden, CMO of NordVPN. “That’s why we had to devise an alternative way to provide people with access to our service. We see that this method is really working – currently, for example, we have a big jump in users from Iran. In addition, we provide free emergency VPN for 5 days – or more if needed.”

To access the free emergency VPN, visit NordVPN’s emergency page.