Monday 27 November 2006

Can ISPs block outbound connections?

I'm subscribed to a DSL line at my home, and the provider is the biggest one in Spain, Telefonica. The issue I'm having with them is that they block some of my outbound connections and I am not sure if it is something for good or for bad. In fact, I have detected some URLs that I cannot connect to and I need to use a (no)anonymous proxy available in the Internet in order to connect to that URL. It seems that they are only blocking both HTTP and HTTPS connections, but it is something they shouldn't.

Most of those URLs are either malicious URLs or fraud related URLs, but what happens if I want to access those URLs? It could be helpful that they block those URLS, but at least, they could let the user to choose if they want to be "protected" by the ISP or not. I'm supposed to have a not filtered service, am I?

I could even understand that they filter those nasty DNS entries that could lead to a malicious site (I could end up using other DNS server), but please, do not filter my outbound connections.

1 comment:

Josete said...

Hi Johnny,

Firstable congratulations about your new sec-tech blog!

Have you read you Term Of Service contract? mmmm... nobody does. Have you tried to call Telefonica and request to clear those filters? Yeah we know the way they works :(

I think that you are alone in this crusade. Isn`t it?

Too much questions in one comment.

See you.