My old way of checking the news in Belarus got me a visit from state security

I used to read independent sites like Nasha Niva and Belsat every morning, but after the 2020 protests, they were blocked. Now I only use a specific VPN server in Vilnius and check a Telegram channel run by journalists in exile. The change happened when a friend was fined 1,500 rubles for sharing a blocked article. Has anyone else found a safe way to get real news from there now?

3 comments

3 Comments

phoenix_wright43mo ago

Heard some folks use burner phones for that now.

taylor.jordan3mo ago

But what about the phone's IMEI number? I mean, even if you buy a burner with cash, that unique ID gets logged when you first connect to a network. Couldn't that still link everything back to you eventually?

briancampbell1mo ago

Taylor Jordan's got a point but there's ways around it. Grab a used phone off Craigslist or a flea market, wipe it clean, then swap the IMEI with a cheap Chinese tool. Does that break some rules? Sure but it works. Keep the phone off when you're near your usual spots or home wifi, only turn it on in random public places. Pair that with a prepaid card bought with cash and it's basically a ghost phone. The key is never using it in the same place twice if you can help it.