Topic
TLS 1.3
TLS Fingerprinting Explained: From Handshakes in TLS 1.2/1.3 to JA3, JA4, HTTP/2 Analysis and uTLS Evasion
Other
Building Prizrak: How a Developer Created a Federated Messenger That Masks All Traffic as Legitimate HTTPS
Privacy & Surveillance
From UDP Probe to Working Tunnel: Analyzing Hysteria2 Behavior via QUIC, HTTP/3 and Client Events
Vulnerabilities & ExploitsWhy Legitimate Russian Websites Fail to Load With or Without VPN: TSPU RKN Blocking and MinTsifry Certificates Explained
Russian internet users are experiencing widespread access issues to legitimate domestic websites both when using VPNs and when connecting directly. The problems stem from TSPU devices installed by all ISPs under Roskomnadzor requirements and the transition to national MinTsifry certificates that foreign browsers do not trust. Three distinct error scenarios are documented: ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT when accessing Russian-IP sites over VPN, ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID on major bank sites without VPN, and partial page loading failures caused by TSPU fingerprinting. Solutions for ordinary users include split-tunneling VPN clients, installing MinTsifry root certificates, or switching to Yandex Browser and Chromium-Gost. Website owners are advised to disable TLS 1.3, enable HTTP/2 support, and consider changing server IP addresses if SSH connections are also blocked. The article explicitly excludes any discussion of circumvention methods for prohibited content and focuses only on legal Russian resources as of August 2026.
One Request, Five Observers: What Websites, Providers, DNS and VPNs Learn When Loading a Page
The article breaks down exactly what each participant in a typical web request can observe when a user visits a page over HTTPS. It examines the roles of the browser, DNS resolver, ISP, VPN service and the destination site itself, showing that each sees different pieces of metadata or content. HTTPS protects the page body and parameters from network observers, while Encrypted Client Hello and secure DNS further limit visibility of domain names. VPNs replace the user's home IP address with the VPN exit node but introduce a new trusted party that sees all traffic metadata. Browser fingerprinting, cookies and account logins often allow sites to re-identify users even after an IP change. The piece stresses that privacy tools must be chosen according to the specific threat model rather than relying on any single mechanism.