IdeaWell

Project ideas from Hacker News discussions.

Staying ahead of censors in 2025

Original Article

Hacker News Discussion

📝 Discussion Summary (Click to expand)

1. Tools for Bypassing China's Censorship

Users discuss popular proxies like VLESS, Xray-core, Wireguard, and paid CN2 GIA bandwidth to evade rate-limiting and DPI. "Easy the bypass; v2ray vless vmess trojan." (vgk_sys). "Wireguard literally just works (to a VPS)." (acheong08). "https://github.com/XTLS/Xray-core" (wartywhoa23).

2. Tor's Technical Advances Against Russia/Iran Blocks

Tor innovations like Conjure (using unused IP space) and Snowflake break IP enumeration, praised for forcing collateral damage on censors. "Seeing it deployed in the wild is huge... It completely breaks the censor's standard playbook of IP enumeration." (Fiveplus). Focus remains technical, not political.

3. Criticism of Tor Ignoring Western Censorship

Debate rages over Tor omitting UK/EU arrests (~12k in 2023 for online speech), seen as bias due to US funding; defenders cite context like threats vs. hate speech. "Considering the staggering number of arrest for online/offensive communications in England & Wales... we should add Britain to the list of Russia and Iran." (throwfaraway135). "Tor is primarily funded by the US State department, that's why." (RobotToaster). "Hate speech is a problem... I’d much rather get arrested in Britain than Russia or Iran." (earthnail).

🚀 Project Ideas

CN2 GIA "Premium Path" Broker

Summary

  • A specialized marketplace and automated provisioning tool for high-performance hosting specifically routed through China Telecom’s Next Generation Carrier Network (CN2 GIA).
  • In the discussion, users noted that standard bandwidth is oversubscribed, but "hundred dollar per mbps CN2 GIA dedicated bandwidth" remains stable and fast.
  • This service acts as a bridge for expatriates and businesses to easily procure and manage these specific, expensive lines without navigating Chinese-only providers.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Businesses and high-bandwidth individuals in China/Overseas
Core Feature Automated deployment of VPS nodes on verified CN2 GIA routes
Tech Stack Python (fastAPI), Bash, Terraform, Looking Glass (MTR tools)
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Revenue-ready: SaaS subscription or markup on bandwidth

Notes

  • HN commenters highlighted the difference between "bad peering" and "dedicated bandwidth": "No as long as you pay CN2 GIA rate... Purchase the hundred dollar per mbps CN2 GIA dedicated bandwidth its no problem."
  • Solves the problem of Western users not knowing which hosting providers actually provide the specific peering needed to bypass domestic "ratelimiting."

Xray-Core "Easy-Onboard" Appliance

Summary

  • A one-click deployment and management dashboard for advanced proxy protocols (VLESS, Reality, Trojan) optimized for the current censorship landscape.
  • Current tools like Xray-core are highly effective but have a steep learning curve for non-technical users or those "strange to this world" of proxy tech.
  • Provides a "Panic Switch" between different fallback methods (WireGuard -> Xray -> Syncthing relay) as suggested by power users.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Privacy-conscious travelers and tech-savvy expats
Core Feature Automated VLESS/Reality setup with SNI masking
Tech Stack Go, Docker, Vue.js, Xray-core
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Hobby (Open Source) or Revenue-ready: Managed VPS fee

Notes

  • Addresses the confusion expressed by users who consider themselves "up to date on most tech" but are baffled by the niche terminology (v2ray, vless, vmess).
  • Directly implements the "best case, worst case" strategy: "WireGuard best case, Xray-core fallback, syncthing worst case."

Syndicate-Sync (Local Relay Proxy)

Summary

  • A tool that leverages the Syncthing relay network to create an accidental "distributed proxy" that is extremely difficult for national firewalls to block entirely.
  • It uses the logic that some provinces or specific relays are less restricted than others, allowing traffic to "hop" domestically before exiting the country.
  • This solves the "total connection block" scenario where standard protocols are identified and dropped.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Users in highly restrictive network environments (Russia, Iran, China)
Core Feature Proxying traffic through Syncthing relay protocols
Tech Stack Go, Syncthing API, SOCKS5 wrapper
Difficulty High
Monetization Hobby

Notes

  • Inspired by user acheong08, who uses a proxy over Syncthing relays to bypass blanket blocks: "With syncthing, there are relays within China that can be used which may be in less restrictive provinces."
  • HN appreciates "mimicry" and "hiding in plain sight" over simple obfuscation; this method mimics standard data synchronization traffic.

Read Later