Adios Astrill?

One of the most popular VPN applications around the world, Astrill, has malfunctioned.

Astrill was created in 2009, due to people complaining about censorship. VPN, an abbreviation for “virtual private network,” allows individuals to access censored websites in China. Used by millions of people around the world, it also provides a network from various different countries.

VPN is important for students who study abroad in China because it gives them access to blocked sites, such as Google and Youtube, which come in handy for researching or studying. However, since Astrill and other VPN apps aren’t working, students are struggling to get school work done.

“It is very frustrating not having access to something I had access to all the time, but it is not Astrill’s fault,” said Chloe I. a junior who had to research for her biology objective notes. I encountered multiple examples of students not being able to use resources from the internet.

The reason for Astrill’s malfunction is due to an increase in the censorship for the Hong Kong protests, which have been going on for quite a while. More information can be found in Carmen C.’s article, A Fight for Freedom: Hong Kong Protest.

It has been announced by Astrill that they will try to fix this problem as soon as possible. “I want Astrill back so I can send streaks on Snapchat without having to ask others for help,” said Junior Paoping Y.

There has been an update that on September 23, Astrill had updated their app and it is running properly again, bringing calmness to students around China, having access to Google, Youtube, and other websites again.