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What is Flipper and why is it Zero. Understanding the Tamagotchi for geeks from a newbie's perspective

Level of difficultyEasy
Reading time5 min
Reach and readers1.5K

Not so long ago, about a year ago, I finally received my long-awaited package. Flipper Zero. For those who don't know, Flipper Zero is a small device that allows you to engage in all sorts of fun activities in life. The fun starts with the Sub-1 GHz antenna and continues with micro-scripts for PC. If you're interested, please read on.

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ByeDPI for Android, SpoofDPI for Mac and Linux – fixing YouTube and sites not working in Russia on Android, Linux, and Mac

Level of difficultyEasy
Reading time2 min
Reach and readers2.4K

Yesterday I wrote about the graphical shell Launcher for GoodbyeDPI, which allows you to intuitively use the GoodbyeDPI solution from ValdikSS to solve the problem of YouTube throttling and the unavailability of a number of sites in Russia. Everything was fine, but these were solutions only for Windows. In the comments, the main questions were about what to do with Android, Linux, and Mac, and why not in the source code. Alas, the repressions of the RKN (Roskomnadzor) force the Habr administration to censor articles, I am forbidden from making changes to yesterday's article, and the link itself is only available outside of Russia, so I am explaining about Android, Linux, and Mac here, with links to the source code.

So, for Android there are a lot of projects, I liked Release ByeDPI 1.0.0 · dovecoteescapee/ByeDPIAndroid · GitHub. For Mac and Linux I would install https://github.com/xvzc/SpoofDPI/releases. All in source code.

ByeDPI for Android is an application that runs a local VPN service to bypass DPI (Deep Packet Inspection) and censorship. A SOCKS5 proxy ByeDPI is launched locally on your device and all traffic is redirected through it.

Bypassing blocks on Android/Mac/Linux

Bypassing blocks on OpenWRT using v2rayA (xray-core) and GeoIP, Geosite Re:filter, Antifilter databases

Level of difficultyEasy
Reading time6 min
Reach and readers1.9K

In this guide, we will install the v2rayA package on OpenWRT using the stable 23.05.0. A router with at least 128 MB of RAM (256 is preferable) and more than 16 MB of storage is recommended (the installation takes about 30 MB of storage)

v2rayA is a simple-to-use and powerful client focused on Linux. Despite its name, the current version uses xray-core, although it's also possible to use v2ray-core. It has a web interface for managing settings and importing configurations and subscriptions. It supports everything that xray-core supports:

Shadowsocks (incl. 2022), ShadowsocksR, Trojan, Vless (including XTLS-Reality, XHTTP), Vmess, Juicity, Tuic

The guide will include:

1. Installation from the repository

2. Configuring v2rayA and bypassing blocks using Re:filter, Antifilter GeoIP, Geosite

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Wireshark — A Detailed Guide to Getting Started

Level of difficultyMedium
Reading time8 min
Reach and readers1.1K

Wireshark is a widely used tool for capturing and analyzing network traffic, actively used for both educational purposes and for troubleshooting computer or network issues. Wireshark works with almost all OSI model protocols, has a user-friendly interface, and a convenient data filtering system. In addition, the program is cross-platform and supports the following operating systems: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD.

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(VLESS) VPN client for Windows

Level of difficultyEasy
Reading time3 min
Reach and readers2.8K

Recently, I needed to run a VLESS subscription on Windows, make it work with my work VPN, and deal with all the associated 'joys.' I tried v2rayN, Nekoray, and Hiddify—and quickly realized I wanted to write my own client.
And so, singbox-launcher was born:
👉 https://github.com/Leadaxe/singbox-launcher

Below are a few details about why and what came of it.

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Bypassing YouTube throttling on Android TV without a VPN

Level of difficultyMedium
Reading time3 min
Reach and readers487

Hello everyone, today we'll talk about Android TV. Bypassing the throttling on a TV seemed to be the most problematic and difficult for me. Since I have several TVs at home deprived of YouTube, and even more are waiting to be set up for friends and acquaintances, I decided to collect all the bypass methods I could find.

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Using Xray as a VPN

Level of difficultyEasy
Reading time5 min
Reach and readers1.2K

Since I'm a fan of self-hosting, I have a home infrastructure:

Orange Pi - a media server;

Synology - a file dump;

Neptune 4 - a 3D printer with a web interface and a camera feed. And I'd like to have secure access to it externally via my phone and PC, while also having internet access outside the RF. I used to use OpenVPN for these needs, but it's no longer reliable. So I started studying the documentation for an excellent tool from our Chinese comrades - Xray!

What you'll need:

A server with an external IP for the infrastructure. In my case, it's an Orange Pi, hereinafter - Bridge

The server you want to access - Server

A server outside the RF for internet access. Hereinafter - Proxy

A client of your choice. Hereinafter - Client

Client and server on Linux - Xray-core, which can be installed via the official Xray installation script

Client for Android - v2rayNG

More clients can be found in the Xray-core repository

Let's take the VLESS-TCP-XTLS-Vision-REALITY configuration file as a base and start reading the Xray documentation

Routing is done on the client. For example, if the client accesses the xray.com domain, we route the traffic to the Bridge, and for all other connections - to the Proxy. Then the Bridge routes the traffic to the Server if the client accessed server.xray.com.
It looks like this:

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"Clumsy Hands" or a New Level of DPI? An Analysis of the Weekend's XRay and VLESS Blocks

Level of difficultyMedium
Reading time5 min
Reach and readers916

This weekend was all about 'Connection Reset.' While news channels vaguely reported that 'users are complaining about outages,' we were in chats and on test servers trying to understand the physics of the process.

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A brief overview of XHTTP for VLESS: what, why, and how

Level of difficultyMedium
Reading time6 min
Reach and readers2.1K

We were asked to talk about the protocol technology XHTTP in the context of XRay, VLESS, and others. You asked for it, so here it is!

First, a bit of history. The classic use of VLESS and similar proxy protocols (including with XTLS-Reality) involves the client connecting directly to a proxy server running on some VPS. However, in many countries (including Russia), entire subnets of popular hosting providers have started to be blocked (or throttled), and in other countries, censors have begun to monitor connections to 'single' addresses with high traffic volumes. Therefore, for a long time, ideas of connecting to proxy servers through CDNs (Content Delivery Networks) have been considered and tested. Most often, the websocket transport was used for this, but this option has two major drawbacks: it has one characteristic feature (I won't specify it here to not make the RKN's job easier), and secondly, the number of CDNs that support websocket proxying is not that large, and it would be desirable to be able to proxy through those that do not.

Therefore, first in the well-known Tor project for bridges, the meek transport was invented, which allowed data to be transmitted using numerous HTTP request-response pairs, thus allowing connections to bridges (proxies) through any CDN. A little later, the same transport was implemented in the briefly resurrected V2Ray. But meek has two very significant drawbacks that stem from its operating principle: the speed is very low (in fact, we have half-duplex transmission and huge overhead from constant requests-responses), and due to the huge number of GET/POST requests every second, free CDNs can quickly kick us out, and paid ones can present a hefty bill.

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Best free VPNs for PC and smartphone 2025 (that work)

Level of difficultyEasy
Reading time6 min
Reach and readers571


Free VPNs.

In recent years, internet traffic filtering using TSPU has intensified in the Russian Federation. Hundreds of websites and internet services have been blacklisted and blocked. They can only be accessed via a VPN. However, the most popular VPNs have also been blocked.

The restrictions can be bypassed through a channel on your own foreign server by buying the cheapest hosting there for a couple of dollars or a ready-made VPS with a VPN installed (such ads can be found on Avito). If you don't have your own server, the only option is to use third-party VPN services that are not yet blocked. The best free VPNs among those that have survived are listed below.

Note. Habr will likely block this article for users from the Russian Federation in compliance with Roskomnadzor's ban on information about circumventing blocks, so it's best to save it immediately after publication or subscribe for updates on Telegram.
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4 ways to fix goodbyeDPI, how to restore access to YouTube

Level of difficultyMedium
Reading time3 min
Reach and readers480

Lately, there has been a flood of comments that goodbyedpi is not working again, so I decided to make instructions for you on 4 working ways to restore goodbyedpi's functionality. It works differently for everyone, so test them out to see which one suits you. Write in the comments what helped you, maybe some of your own values!

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Reality in Whitelists

Level of difficultyMedium
Reading time8 min
Reach and readers461

In a changing network infrastructure, mobile internet users face questions: what resources remain available, and what does this look like on a technical level? This material is the result of a practical study using standard network analysis tools.

No speculation—only measurements, numbers, and technical facts.

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Installing and Configuring Hysteria

Level of difficultyEasy
Reading time10 min
Reach and readers2.5K

This year, like many Habr visitors, I read with great interest the articles by the respected MiraclePtr, learned to apply his ideas and recommendations, and got practical experience with protocols, clients, and graphical panels. For many protocols, there are detailed installation and configuration instructions available to even the most inexperienced users who are just starting to explore the world of Linux.

I finally got around to the protocol briefly described in the article "Modern Anti-Censorship Technologies: V2Ray, XRay, XTLS, Hysteria, Cloak, and Everything Else" — the Hysteria protocol, which has already reached its second version. And I couldn't find a comprehensive Russian-language guide for it, which prompted me to gather all the information in one place once I figured out the main issues of installing and configuring the server and clients for using this protocol to bypass blocking.

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How to get YouTube and Discord working: the most effective methods, from Zapret to setting up your own VPN server

Reading time4 min
Reach and readers688

Well, there have been quite a few articles on these topics, but I want to share the tools and experience that, in my practice, have proven to be very convenient and of high quality. There will be both individual methods for specific applications and universal ones that will help solve problems all at once.

VPN server

Well, let's probably start with the simplest and most universal method that will help you with everything: setting up your own VPN server on protocols like shadowsocks, openvpn, vless, vmess, trojan. The main advantage is that with a good client, the ping will be minimal. Many use Outline, which is very laggy, or v2rayN, which works much better. Speaking of other cool and high-quality clients, you can try Hiddify. If you know of any better ones, you can write about them in the comments. The essence is simple: you can buy a server and install everything yourself; there are plenty of guides,here'sone I personally used, everything is intuitive and without any problems. It solves absolutely all blocks for YouTube, Telegram, Discord, X (Twitter), and ChatGPT.

2. Next, let's move on to a method that helps with Discord and YouTube.

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The VLESS Protocol: How It Bypasses Censorship in Russia and Why It Works

Level of difficultyMedium
Reading time8 min
Reach and readers3.3K

In 2025, internet censorship in Russia, China, and Iran has reached an unprecedented level. Traditional VPN protocols like OpenVPN and even WireGuard are detected and blocked by Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) systems in seconds. Enter VLESS — a lightweight protocol that is becoming the last working solution for bypassing modern censorship.

This article explains how VLESS works on a technical level, why it is so effective at evading detection, and shares real-world experience of building a VPN service in Russia's hostile environment.

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How to create and configure your own VPN

Level of difficultyEasy
Reading time6 min
Reach and readers686

A VPN is a technology for a secure connection to a remote computer or network, and for most users, it's simply a safe way to use the internet in public Wi-Fi zones.

In this article, we will look at four ways to create your own VPN. Let's start with the simplest option, which is manageable even for novice PC users.

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WhatsApp Not Working: November 28th Block, How to Fix It?

Level of difficultyMedium
Reading time5 min
Reach and readers499

For many, November 28, 2025, began with complaints about WhatsApp. Some users are unable to send or receive text messages and media files, and when attempting a voice or video call, the client hangs indefinitely on the 'Connecting' status before dropping the call.

Telecom operators (MegaFon, Beeline) are reporting normal network operations. And technically, they aren't lying: connectivity exists, and Meta's IP addresses are (mostly) accessible. The problem lies deeper—at the level of L7 filtering by TSPU.

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Installing and Configuring a VPN with VLESS and Reality

Level of difficultyEasy
Reading time4 min
Reach and readers5.4K

In this article, we will look at 3 ways to set up a VPN connection with VLESS and Reality.

VLESS is a modern, privacy-oriented data transfer protocol, often called VLESS VPN, although strictly speaking, we will be discussing the installation of a proxy with the VLESS protocol based on an XRay server with Reality.

Let's start with the simplest and most universal option, which requires no technical knowledge.

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Xray on Keenetic / Xkeen

Level of difficultyEasy
Reading time8 min
Reach and readers4.5K

A utility for supporting Xray on Keenetic routers — Xkeen.
All the code is written in pure shell and is open source on GitHub.

Builds Xray for your Keenetic on Entware.
GeoIP and GeoSite from AntiFilter, AntiZapret, and v2fly are available.

Automatically updates Xray, GeoIP, and GeoSite at a specified time.

Learn more about Xkeen