Obama in China: Long gone, and still headlinin'
Protest in Guangzhou: Why would you burn garbage?
Interview: Coco Zhao, from jazz to M. Butterfly
Barbie Spa: For the cosmopolitan plastic beauty in you
Week Around the Ists
Remember that whole weird internal fight that unfortunately brought down our new favorite VPN? It seems that enough has passed (aka lawsuits have been filed) for Freedur to launch version 2.0 of his product, now available for download on Freedur.net.
But wait, you say, something prompted me to install this program called "Skydur" over my old Freedur. Now when I type Freedur.net into the URL, it directs me to Skydur.com. What's all this business about?
Apparently, Mathews says, it's a change Stackfile made to your internet HOST file which disallows access to the Freedur website. In order for it not to automatically redirect all Freedur.net entries to Skydur.com, you'll have to edit your HOST File (instructions for Windows and Mac)... or just completely uninstall Skydur.
The new Freedur costs $59.99 for the entire year (it seems that they have done away with tiered pricing for now) - but if you enter the coupon code FREEDURLOVE, you'll receive an additional 10% discount up to October 31.
Of course, you could also just stick with Skydur, which still claims that it is "not in anyway affiliated with www.freedur.com which has stolen [its] Freedur brand" and offers a three month for $16.99 option. But as for now, only one of the two is being sued. Oh, and ironically, only one of the two has a site that's actually accessible without your VPN turned on.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
post to facebook
What I'm waiting for is someone to figure out how I can get twitter and facebook over 3G. China Unicom doesn't allow VPN so I'm stuck. I will pay for a solution.
China Unicom allows PPTP and L2TP as provided by 12vpn.com. Many of our customers in China use this daily.
(China Telecom on the other hand is troublesome with PPTP, but L2TP is still solid.)
Been trying to log onto their site, can't get onto it. Any other contacts for them?
If you can't get to www.freedur.com it's probably because your HOST file has been edited by Skydur. Remove Skydur completely from your computer and follow the instructions in the article then you should be good.
I am staying in Shanghai now and just signed up for Freedur's one year subscription based on a recommendation from a friend. So far, it's really fast and all the sites I use are unblocked now.
The speed is probably the nicest feature, it doesn't feel like I'm using a proxy. Also, Pandora is no longer restricted :)
Chris had his Dad file a lawsuit?? That's low...
I would love for this to go to discovery, but I know it will never happen. I doubt they even bothered to try and serve the papers, they have little chance of winning anything and obviously filed only to put that pdf up on the site.
Hmm, it is interesting that the skydur site is blocked, seeing as how its only a month old or so...
And, ironically, on this very page I see an ad for Witopia, which doesn't show up in Shanghaiist's offices and pay for undercover advertising, and only charges 39.99 per year (no, I am not a customer).
Chris does realize that he is advertising the fact that he is doing illegal business in Shanghai, right? That, by his own statements made through this post, he is admitting to running an unregistered, illegal business, and therefore he could be arrested at any time...
According to http://www.freedur.net/press_release.html, Freedur is a legitimate business registered in California, USA. Freedur might be popular in China, just like Witopia, Tor, and etc., but none of these entities are based in China. From the lawsuit PDF link in the post, the defendants are indeed served. Why do you find filing a lawsuit "low?" It sure beats the random juvenile trash-talking over the internet that the Stackfile people have been doing :)
>I doubt they even bothered to try and serve the papers, >they have little chance of winning anything and obviously >filed only to put that pdf up on the site.
lol i love it when people try to sound like law experts. please refrain from commenting on subjects you know nothing about, even on the internet!
I love it when sockpuppets attack, especially really really obvious sockpuppets, and its even better when someone points to a document on a website somewhere as proof of anything at all, especially a complaint, which, uh, is just that, a bunch of as yet unproven allegations.
And I love Outsiders who stir the paste and Insiders who complain as...sockpuppets.
And so the reputation of Freedur dies, slowly, with each punk comment on a website.
So, Chris, if I am so clueless let's see the evidence of service of process, or if you prefer, you could just write 'Stackfile was served with the complaint' into a pdf and put it on your site, that's proof enough I suppose...
Isn't the new "Freedur" the site hijacked by the thieving "Chris Mathews" (AKA Lee), which he then ran off to China to avoid lawsuits and facing justice? And the now legit site is "Skydur"??
Curious which party this website "supports"?
wow that's a lot of name calling from an outsider! did you read the PDF? Freedur is the one demanding justice via the lawsuit, and skydur is the one being sued. you seem to prefer hearsay over court documents.
I enjoy name calling...it makes things more interesting.
And just because one party is suing the other does not mean he's not the thieving POS. Just means he's deflecting attention away from himself and trying to garner sympathy from the masses.
So what does it have to do with justice??
You are just stirring the paste, you. ;-)
Does "stirring the paste" have anything to do with advertising in comment threads?
Advertising...in comment threads??!?
What do you think this post and every other Freedur post (except maybe for the 'internal fight' post) has been?
Blatant advertising. Let me quote the first post on Freedur:
Elaine was just trying to help her readership out, you know, with some good information on reliable vpn services in China. /sarcasm
As the author of the first post on Freedur, I can assure you it was not advertising, blatant or otherwise. We received no compensation whatsoever. The idea for the post honestly went something like this: Me: "Hey Elaine, this new proxy I'm using seems awesome. We should do a post on VPNs." Elaine: "Alright, let's interview the guy." Ta da, a post was born.
Chris Mathews is a thief, plain and simple. I know this site is anonymous and I could be some sock puppet, but I've talked to the guy about strange charges and just gotten nowhere. I've had to talk with my credit card company about him.
For what it's worth, I know you can't register a business under an assumed name, and "Chris Mathews" is not his legal name.
He's a shady character who I assume will wind up in jail for something or another.
Just wondering... What has happened to STACKFILE with the current lawsuit? I am a subscriber & the service "went-down" last Monday suddenly & is still out. I cannot seem to contact any support for STACKFILE. Does anyone know what is going on there and.. is the service coming back? (at least in the short term)