Russia blocks certain Google services in efforts to block Telegram

• Popular enrcrypted messaging app Telegram is banned in Russia.
• In an effort to block citizens’ access to Telegram, Russia blocks Google services as well.
• This forces Google’s hand to either stand against Russia or convince Telegram to submit to the ban.

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With Russia officially declaring a ban of popular encrypted messaging app Telegram, the Russian regulator Roskomnadzor (RKN) is struggling to enforce that ban. Now, it looks like Google is caught in the crossfire, as certain Google services like Search, Gmail, and some push notifications for Android apps, are not working for Russian citizens.

“We are aware of reports that some users in Russia are unable to access some Google products, and are investigating those reports,” Google said in an email statement to TechCrunch. This is the first time that Google has acknowledged something related to the Telegram situation.

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It could very well be that RKN blocking access to Google is a ploy to get Google to step in and reprimand Telegram. Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of Telegram, has refused to comply with the Russian ban; at press time for this article, Telegram is still available in Russia. If Google’s services are blocked, it may force Google to take action on behalf of Russia to get Telegram to acquiesce to the ban.

If that is the case (and that’s a big “if”), it means Russia doesn’t know how to block Telegram on its own and needs Google to police its network.

However, the more likely situation is that Russia is flying blind and blocking everything it comes across that could be related to Telegram. According to Ilya Andreev, the COO and co-founder of Vee Security, RKN is “embarrassingly bad at blocking Telegram, so most people keep using it without any intermediaries.” Vee Security is currently providing a proxy for Telegram for Russians to use to bypass the ban.

Russia is trying desperately to block access to Telegram, but it simply doesn’t know how.

To bypass IP address blocking enforced by Russia, Telegram “hops” from one IP address to another once an IP address it’s using is blocked. This results in RKN blocking multiple IP addresses all at once at a rapid pace, as it struggles to keep up with Telegram. It could be that Russia inadvertently blocked a set of Google IP addresses and now has to decide what to do next.

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Telegram to be banned in Russia, but VPN will bypass ban (Update)

Update (04/17/18 at 11:56 A.M.): Following Russia’s decision to ban Telegram, it looks like the country is also cracking down on third-party platforms offering the app.

The team behind APKMirror took to Twitter to reveal that …

The Russian government has broad powers over its citizens and the internet, so it can block any amount of IP addresses it likes. However, with eyes on Russia and its status when it comes to human rights – not to mention the World Cup right around the corner – from a PR standpoint, blocking access to Google services is not doing the country any favors. After all, if people from all over the world show up for the World Cup and can’t check their Gmail, that will look bad for Russia, not Google (or Telegram, for that matter).

Google now has to choose: side with Russia and get its services back on, or stand firm with Telegram.

So far, Telegram’s cloud partners and other affiliated businesses have stood firm against the ban, continuing to support the app in Russia. But if Google steps in and starts calling the shots, that could change very quickly.

Google’s hard stance on China keeps virtually all Google business out of the country for similar reasons as Telegram’s fight against Russia. With that in mind, it seems unlikely that the Big G would side with the Russian government over the Telegram ban. However, anything could happen from here on out.

NEXT: Russia wants Telegram removed from Google Play Store

Source: Android Zone

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Following US woes, Huawei gets green light for 5G stations in Europe

• Huawei 5G base stations have received certification in Europe, paving the way for commercial launches.
• The company previously confirmed that its first 5G phone will launch in Q3 2019.
• The news also comes as the U.S. cracks down on ZTE, and a few months after U.S. carriers dropped Huawei.

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Despite the P20 and P20 Pro, Huawei’s ambitions have taken a knock in 2018, as U.S. networks recently shunned the Chinese manufacturer. The company enjoys big business in Europe though, so it’s no surprise to hear that Huawei 5G base stations have received the green light there.

According to Xinhua News (and spotted by TechNode), Huawei is the first company to receive a “CE type examination certificate” for 5G base stations from the German TÜV SÜD authority. The Chinese publication notes that the testing and certification process took roughly two months to complete.

The certification marks a key stepping stone towards commercial 5G network launches, joining a raft of other Huawei/5G news in recent weeks.

Huawei 5G plans take shape

Last week, the company announced that its first 5G phone was coming in Q3 2019. It’s believed that this could be the Mate 30, given Huawei’s tendency to launch a Mate phone in the second half of the year. The company also used the Huawei Matebook X Pro event at MWC 2018 to tout its 5G consumer premises equipment, marking yet another link in the company’s 5G chain.

The firm’s milestones might not come as a surprise when you hear that it’s spent $600 million on 5G research since 2009. Back then, LTE wasn’t even a real-world thing.

It’s clear that Europe is more open to Huawei’s network business, following certification of the firm’s 5G base stations.

The latest news also illustrates a marked difference between Huawei’s operations in Europe and the U.S. Europe is one of the company’s most important markets, with Counterpoint Research saying that the company ships more phones in Italy and Spain than Apple.

The renewed push into Europe is a no-brainer for the company. The United States is off-limits following a debacle earlier this year that saw carriers drop the Huawei Mate 10, reportedly due to pressure from the U.S. government. So the decision to plough resources into the EMEA markets, in addition to the wider Asian region, is really the only one.

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They aren’t the only Chinese brand feeling the pressure from the U.S. though, as ZTE faces a seven year supply ban for selling telecoms equipment to Iran. It’s believed that ZTE could lose its crucial supply of Qualcomm Snapdragon processors as well as Android-associated licenses if the ban passes.

Much like Huawei, ZTE’s expansion ambitions are reliant on a license to Google Mobile Services, being the popular suite of Google apps and APIs that power Android devices outside China. But unlike Huawei and its homegrown chips, ZTE uses Snapdragon processors to power millions of its smartphones. In other words, Huawei is in a much better situation right now than its fellow Chinese brand.

Source: Android Zone

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How to Create Your Company Org Chart in WordPress

Do you want to display a beautiful organizational chart on your WordPress site? Org charts are helpful in showing the company hierarchy and introducing users to the team running the business. In this article, we will show you how to create a company org chart in WordPress.

What is an Organizational Chart and Why is it Important?

An organizational chart present a company’s hierarchical structure based on job title and responsibilities, from top management to the executives.

It helps improve your brand’s reputation by showing the human side of your business. At the same time, it also allows users to find who they should contact for various business opportunities, feedback, and suggestions.

That being said, let’s take a look at how to easily create and manage a company organization chart in WordPress.

Creating an Organization Chart in WordPress

First thing you need to do is install and activate the Easy Org Chart plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you need to visit Easy Org Chart » Add New from your WordPress admin area to create a new org chart.

First, you need to provide a title for your chart. After that, your need to scroll down to the Build your Org Chart section to start adding team members.

In the first column, you will need to add details of your team members like their name, job title, profile picture, and contact information.

Next, you need to click on Add a person button to add another team member. Go ahead and repeat the process to add all team members that you want to show in your org chart.

You can drag and drop team members to the right or left in the WordPress admin area. You will also need to define the upper hierarchy and row number for each team member according to your company’s hierarchical structure.

After adding team members, you need to scroll down to advanced styling section. From here, you can configure how the chart should appear. You can choose the container size, corners, background color, box template, field styling, and more.

Once you are done with styling, click on the Publish button to save your changes.

To display your org chart on your website, you need to visit the Easy Org Chart page in WordPress admin to copy the shortcode.

You can now paste this shortcode in any WordPress post, page, or sidebar widget to display your organization chart.

It would be a good idea to add a contact form below your org chart in WordPress. We recommend using WPForms because it’s the best contact form plugin in the market. They also allow users to select recipients in WordPress contact form.

We hope this article helped you learn how to create a company org chart in WordPress. You may also want to see our guide on how to create a WordPress intranet for your organization while keeping it private and secure.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Create Your Company Org Chart in WordPress appeared first on WPBeginner.

Source: Wordpres

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