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New ShellSock hacks VSNL's blockage

Reportedly, ShellSock Version 1.50 'works around' the hurdle placed by the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited, the country's sole commercial Internet access provider, to block the use of the software.

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'The new release is designed to work around VSNL's blockage along with some new features. And its creators claim that it works just fine,' says a report in trade publication Express Computers.

Says Xtend's Web site. 'Internet shell users, especially the students of our country, do you dream of using Netscape, Explorer, mIRC, Pirch. Then ShellSock is for you. Get the most out of the Web for free.'

On October 1997, VSNL had changed the configuration of its Internet nodes to block the use of ShellSock. The move was sparked by a growing use of the earlier version of the software, ShellSock Version 1.02.

Over 25,000 shell account users had downloaded the previous version from Xtend's Web site.

VSNL, which considers the shell account to be a 'text-only' service, claimed the use of the software was leading to deterioration in the quality of the services delivered to its other 'paying' clients.

ShellSock's defenders, on the other hand, claimed that VSNL, the monopoly Internet service provider in India, has unilaterally proceeded with its India-wide attempt to cripple ShellSock - a perfectly legal and ingenious software.

However, the general perception is that it is only a matter of time before VSNL block the use of the new version too.

Earlier: Protest against VSNL's banning of ShellSock

- Compiled from the Indian media

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