BENGALURU: Even though the ban on porn sites has deterred a few from accessing such sites, it has had little effect on the tech-savvy, who have found ways to bypass the ban.
In messages circulated on private groups, the tech-savvy have resorted to Virtual Private Networks and other methods to watch porn online.
Meanwhile, personnel with the Cyber Crime Unit of Bengaluru police said specific directions regarding the porn ban are yet to be issued.
Users are by-passing servers in India, which has blocked more than 800 porn sites, by making use of Virtual Private Networks (VPN) or proxy servers.
According to one user, who did not want to be quoted, some VPNs allow 200 MB of data to be browsed using their service, enough to watch a few porn clips or a short movie. However, to use VPN service seamlessly, the user should subscribe to the premium service of the VPN, and this would cost some money.
While applications such as Tunnel Bear provide VPN access allowing users to connect to servers from other countries on desktop, VPN Master and others allow assess to restricted sites on android phones.
Proxy Sites Also Allow Users to Bypass the Ban
Remarking that the list of banned porn sites is not big, the user said irrespective of the censors, users will find ways to access material they want on the internet.
“Torrent sites and several little known social networking sites too have enough pornographic material,” the user added.
When contacted, Hemanth Nimbalkar, Deputy Inspector General of Police (CID and Cyber Crime), said no specific directions have been issued to Cyber Crime units regarding the porn ban.
“As per government directions, we will take action. The Cyber Crime unit, as of now, only deals with violations to Information Technology Act,” he said.
Cyber security expert Vijayashankar Naavi said even though VPNs and proxy servers are not banned in the country, watching porn online would make the user susceptible to virus and trojan attacks.