Surfing the Internet without any restriction

        Surfing the Internet without any restriction

Internet has offered a plethora of opportunities for us to get access to a vast content on the web, connect with friends on a single click, apply for a job, plan a holiday trip, book tickets and much more. We are lucky to be born in this digital era, where most of the work can be done online, thus saving a huge amount of time that would be otherwise wasted while standing in long queues.  From booking a cab ride to booking a hotel, from paying the electricity bill to online transactions, all this can be done sitting in the comfort of our homes. Internet is a digital library where we can get any information on any subject and this is really a boon to mankind.

Unfortunately, censorship in India still holds its roots where we are devoid access to stuff that may be inappropriate on moral, political, or religious grounds. Many of the film makers have complained about the authoritarian style of the censor board, which is very strict on giving approval to the movies made on a controversial subject. Same is the case with Internet.

Why is there a need of Internet Censorship?

Often in our lives, we face restrictions on surfing the Internet. Many colleges, companies or organisations block stuff for their own benefits. Some of the reasons for this blockage could be listed here:

•  Moral grounds- The government may block websites which it considers inappropriate (especially for children). The issues due to which a website is banned may include hate speech, privacy or any content that may spread communal riots.
•  Economic grounds- Many countries block certain websites and tools for their own selfish interest. Skype, a world famous tool for video calling has been banned in some of the Middle East countries since its free service offers a disadvantage to government owned telecom providers.
• Bandwidth issues- Some of the organisations may block such sites which consume more bandwidth than usual, like video streaming, online gaming sites.

Restriction on Internet is completely insane!

These are only a few of the numerous reasons why you may be getting an ‘Access Denied’ message every time you visit a particular website. Anyways, in my opinion, blocking the content on the Internet is not a solution since it gives rise to another activity- charging money from the user in the name of providing access to the content that he/she wishes to see, but has been blocked. I can narrate my personal experience in this regard. When I was browsing on a torrent website, I found an ad like this- ‘Hide your IP address by purchasing our VPN’. A Virtual Private Network (or VPN) is a type of network connection that allows users to browse the web securely and anonymously. And believe me, the cost of using their VPN services was around 16$. It is also insane to block a website on moral grounds since every individual has the right to decide for himself/herself what is right and what is wrong from his/her own perspective. One thing that is considered inappropriate by one individual may be completely normal for some other person. So every person should be given the freedom to choose if the content is OK for him/her, and this has to be done individually.

Tricks to bypass all restrictions on the Internet

Enough of arguments now, let us learn a few tips and get to know some of the tools for viewing blocked content on the Internet. Sounds interesting? And yes, there is nothing illegal and breaking of laws involved here.

      1.)    Webpages through Email-

The blocked website can be accessed through an email sent to a predefined email address. The two most commonly used websites for this purpose are-

              i.            www.www4mail.org- Send an email to ‘www4mail@wm.ictp.trieste.it’, providing the URL of the website you wish to access, in the body of the email.

            ii.            www.web2mail.com- Send an email to ‘www@web2mail.com’ requesting the web page you want to access.

You will get an email with the webpage (in the attachment) that you have requested.

      2.)    Connect to the Mobile version of the website-

Another way to view a website if it has been blocked is to connect to the mobile version of that website. Sometimes, an organisation or a company that has blocked access to a particular website does not care to put restrictions on the mobile version of the same site. In that case, you can always connect to the mobile version of that site. For e.g., if you want to connect to YouTube, open the browser and type the URL as-

http://m.youtube.com

Similarly to connect to the mobile version of Facebook, type the URL as-

http://m.facebook.com

      3.)    Psiphon-

Psiphon is another such software that will enrich your browsing experience. I have used this tool and I am sure you will love this software once you have used it. It allows users to bypass all firewall protection, filtering devices and blockage mechanisms. Another surprising feature of Psiphon is that it will not consume your net pack. Just connect your device to a modem or Wi-Fi connection and enjoy unlimited surfing. The only limitation with Psiphon is its slow speed, which can be quite irritating if you are watching HD videos.

     4.)    Unblocking Torrents-

Downloading torrent files involves P2P (Peer to Peer) sharing where you download files from a host computer to your computer over a network. P2P sharing consumes a lot of bandwidth hence torrent sites are mostly blocked by network administrators. Even if they are not blocked, you are not able to download files due to their firewall restrictions. There is a website called www.torrent2exe.com through which you can directly download torrent files on your computer. It simply changes the extension of torrent file from .torrent to .exe. It appears to the system administrator that you are downloading an executable file. Once the .exe file is downloaded, execute it and it automatically starts downloading the torrent.

  

 5.)    Browser add-ons & extensions-

Each browser provides add-ons or extensions which simply add to your browsing experience. These extensions are used to connect to a proxy server and allow you to surf anonymously on the Internet. Simply open Google Chrome and type the URL-

http://chrome.google.com/extensions

Search for a keyword ‘proxy’ and it will display various extensions which can be used to direct you to proxy servers.

These are a few techniques which can be used to access blocked content on the Internet. So next time you surf the web, don’t worry about any restrictions or blockage because you have these wonderful tools for your rescue. If you have any more techniques, please share it with us in the comment section below.

Happy surfing!

GST- Its long term impact on the Indian Economy

      GST- Its long term impact on the Indian Economy

Finally after a lot of discussions and struggles, a single tax named GST has been implemented in India from 1^st July 2017. To state in simple terms: In GST module, same tax will be imposed on a particular product all over the country, irrespective of the state in which it is manufactured. Till now, there have been seventeen different types of taxes which prevailed in India which included VAT, excise duty, service tax, etc. But now with the advent of GST, people will get rid of these individual taxes and a single fixed tax will be imposed, which has been predefined by the Government. The GST model is divided into four categories-

5% GST, 12% GST, 18% GST & 28% GST

For e.g., cosmetics are included in 28% GST category which implies that 28% tax will be imposed on cosmetic items.

Whenever a new policy is introduced, we get a mixed reaction from the society. There is a hope as well as suspicion regarding how it will affect our day-to-day lives. There has been a mixed reaction in case of demonetisation. People faced problems but there was a hope that it will bring back the black money that has been accumulated in different forms, over years. The real impact is a different story altogether. The analogy is made because the same story is repeated here again when GST is going to be implemented. There has been suspicion among the people, especially traders and merchants regarding the effect of GST.

Clearly there will be a mixed effect of GST on our daily life and it is difficult to predict at this stage whether it will be useful to the economy or not. But some of the possible advantages & disadvantages can be listed here.

Advantages-

Talking about the advantages, first of all, we are getting rid of different taxes which imposed a burden on our wallets, as well as economy. In the present scenario, one tax is imposed on the other. Say for example, the manufacturing cost of an item is Rs.100. In the next stage, an excise duty of 12.5% is imposed. So the manufacturing cost becomes Rs.112.50. Next when VAT of 14.5% is imposed, it is calculated on Rs.112.50, and not on the original price, which increases the manufacturing cost. But now in GST model, tax will be imposed on the original manufacturing cost at each stage.

It is to be noted here that the basic amenities like most of the food items, health and education services have been kept free from the scope of GST. This is a big relief for the poor section of the society as well as middle class.

In the present scenario, if an item is manufactured in one state and sold in a different state, there are two levels of taxes that have to be paid by the company or firm manufacturing the product. For e.g., if an item is manufactured in Maharashtra, the Maharashtra government will claim a tax on the manufacturing of this item. The same item when transported to another state (say Gujarat), the Gujarat government will again raise tax on the transportation of this item. The advent of GST will solve all these problems as the company will have to pay a single tax.

According to a report of “National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER)”, there will be an estimated rise of 0.9%- 1.7% in the GDP of the India with the implementation of GST.

Disadvantages-

In spite of various advantages that GST has to offer, it is not as sweet as it is proposed by the Government. In the agricultural sector although there is no GST on basic agricultural products such as grains, fruits and vegetables but the cost of agricultural machines will rise due to high tax imposed. Similarly, the price of seeds, fertilisers and pesticides will go up which will somehow affect the farmers, directly or indirectly.

Another main problem is that petroleum products are kept out of scope of GST. It means the State government can raise tax on petrol and diesel according to their wish. This will affect the export of products on a global level. Due to high taxes imposed on any product coming out of a factory, the manufacturing cost increases significantly. The traders can’t sell these products in the global market at a lower price and this has a disastrous impact on the economy of the country.

The service tax has been increased to 18% which was previously 15%. Service tax is the tax that is raised on various services like telecom, insurance, hotel services etc. Now this service tax falls in the category of 18% (in the form of GST). These services include two-third of our economy. It means the tax on two-third sector of our economy has been increased from 15% to 18%.

Conclusion-

With GST already in use, it is the responsibility of each one of us to ensure that it is properly implemented. The tax-payers should honestly fill the details of tax paid, online; so that transparency is maintained. The government must issue guidelines in this regard so that there is no confusion among the people. Transparency is the key without which any reform would not be successful in the long run and so is the case with GST.

Radiations from smartphones –What effect it can have on our health?

Radiations from smartphones –What effect it can have on our health?

Smartphones have become an essential part of our lives. With the rapid growth in technology, today we depend on our smartphones for countless purposes, ranging from booking a seat in train or bus or calling a cab to your house to shopping your favourite accessories online, all this at a single click. There are so many advantages and no one can deny that. But there is a darker side to it- do we consider the long term effects of using smartphones in our daily lives? Well, we may be too busy to think about it, given that we have too many arguments in favour of using smartphones or tablets.

The effect of radiations from smartphones is a subject of concern and discussion due to the enormous increase in mobile phone usage throughout the world. Before addressing our prime question i.e. to what extent can smartphone radiations affect our health, let’s take a quick look at the types of electromagnetic radiations. The electromagnetic radiations can be of two types- ionizing and non-ionizing radiations. The non-ionizing radiations do not have sufficient energy to break the small chemical bonds or remove the tightly bound electrons from the atoms. The type of non-ionizing radiations includes visible light, sound waves or microwaves. On the other hand, ionizing radiations possess enough energy to remove the electrons from atoms and they can be a serious threat to human health, in case of long exposure to such radiations. These include radiations such as X-rays, gamma rays or ultraviolet light. Now the point is in which category the radiations from smartphones can be placed.

Well, it is a matter of relief that smartphone radiations fall in the category of non-ionising radiations. They have very low frequency and high wavelength. The following facts can be stated in this regard-

• ·  Wi-Fi connections operate between five main frequency ranges: 2.4GHz, 3.6GHz, 4.9GHz,       5GHz and 5.9GHz.
• ·   Bluetooth operates on the 2.4 GHz band.
•   Cellular connectivity in smartphones operate on a multitude of frequencies, anywhere from 700MHz to 2.7GHz

So it can be safely concluded that smartphone radiations do not have such harmful effects as caused by X-rays or ultraviolet light. But prolonged exposure of our body to smartphones causes tissue heating since the smartphone gets heated up. Although a large amount of radiations is absorbed by the skin, so there is a negligible rise in our own body temperature. It should be noted here that mobile phones should never be used when the battery is below the critical level, since the radiations are three to four times higher than in the normal case.

But wait, the issue is not yet solved. Though it is clearly proved that there are no short term effects yet there is no idea about the effects of these radiations in the long run. Since the mobile phones have been in use only for less than two decades, there is no evidence that can establish the relation between radiations emitted from these devices and our health. No one can tell what will be the condition after 40-50 years, when the kids of this ‘smart generation’ addicted to the use of smartphones, will become grandparents.

Another major cause of concern is whether there is any association between smart phone usage and cancer/tumour. Again there is no evidence to prove if there is any relation, since many types of cancer can’t be detected until many years after the interaction that may lead to it.

In May 2011, the International Agency for Research and Cancer (IARC), the cancer research group of the World Health Organisation (WHO), declared cell phones to be a Group 2B ‘possible carcinogen’, meaning a ‘possible cancer causing agent’.

The World Health Organisation categorises cell phone radiation emissions as ‘possible human carcinogens’.

Now since there is no clear evidence to show whether such radiations are harmful to our body (and if they are, are they harmful to the extent that we should get alarmed), we can choose between two alternatives. One is to shut our mind to all this logic given by different organisations concerned with human health and believe the effects are negligible. The other option (that will appeal to those who are health conscious) is to play safe and minimise the use of smartphones. Well, it sounds too tough and quite impossible, isn’t it?

So here is another alternative to it- ‘smart way’ of using smartphones. A few things must be kept in mind and we can continue to use our mobiles and cell phones without any worries, like using a well shielded headset or earphones for calling, instead of directly holding it close to your ears. It is advisable to use smartphones in areas of better reception i.e. stronger the signal, lesser you have to worry about its consequences. Just get to an open space, if you get a weak signal inside your room. Another precaution that is worth mentioning here is never to sleep with the smartphone under your pillow. So it’s better to follow these steps until we are assured that the smartphones pose no serious threat to human health.

Koffee with Karan(Season 5) Review

Koffee With Karan (Season 5) Review

Hello everyone! I would like to start my blog journey with the review of my favourite show- Koffee With Karan. Recently the fifth season of this spicy show has been wrapped up and it was full of gossips, shocking revelations and candid confessions as always. I am not talking about TRPs but as a viewer, I have thoroughly enjoyed each and every episode of it. Total 18 episodes have been aired this season. In this blog, I would like to mention some of the episodes which gained TRPs and some gossips which made headlines, both for good and bad reasons.

This season of KWK started with Shahrukh Khan and Alia Bhatt coming together on the couch for the first time in the history of KWK. Shahrukh’s appearance ended all the rumours regarding rift between KJo and King Khan, which started because Shahrukh was not a part of the previous season. The conversation started off casually and Alia seemed quite intimidated by the presence of Shahrukh. She was a bit more serious and concerned about what she spoke. There was a new segment introduced in this episode in which both the guests had to enact a situation in a particular way. Then there was the much anticipated rapid fire round in which Shahrukh proved his wit and sense of humour, thus easily winning the Koffee hamper.(We still wonder what’s inside this hamper) This was followed by the Koffee quiz in which Alia had a chance to redeem herself, after she had become the center of jokes in the previous season due to lack of her general knowledge. She even correctly answered some of the G.K. questions to win this round and the episode came to an end on this note.

Another episode that is worth mentioning is the episode with the gorgeous couple of B-town; Akshay Kumar and his wife Twinkle Khanna. Akshay Kumar who seems quite energetic and sometimes verbally agressive in his tone was very calm and quiet as he did not have much to speak in the entire episode. The limelight of the show was stolen by Twinkle Khanna who revealed many funny incidents about their life. One such incident was that how she insisted on matching the hereditary characteristics of their families(instead of Kundli matching) before marriage, so that any potential threat of a disease could be easily detected. Akshay Kumar surprised his wife by singing a beautiful song for her. The amazing chemistry and their love for each other was easily visible which even made Karan envy them a little bit. He even confessed on the show that he had a crush on Twinkle in his childhood days.

The show had some more episodes featuring Arjun Kapoor & Varun Dhawan, Ranbir Kapoor & Ranveer Singh (the two of them shared the same frame together for the first time), Aditya Roy Kapur & Parineeti Chopra. The 100^th episode of KWK was made special by Khan brothers- Salman, Sohail and Arbaaz Khan. This show was full of laughter, some funny incidents from their life and honest confessions. Arbaaz made fun of his own divorce which clearly indicated that he has moved on in his life. Salman explained why he has not married still and how his equation with his brothers has become stronger in the course of their life. This episode was a treat to the fans from the Khan trio.

The next episode had Mr. Perfectionist Aamir Khan, who graced the couch with the ‘Dangal girls’- Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra. Both the young actresses looked pretty confident on their debut and their affection and love towards each other, as well as with Aamir made them look more like a family than mere professionals. The girls discussed their struggles in Bollywood before they got this dream project, to share screen with Aamir khan. Aamir revealed how he could not get sleep before his film release, to which KJo seemed a bit surprised as it was the best film of 2016 according to him. We got to see the emotional side of Aamir when Fatima revealed how Aamir broke into tears upon seeing the trailer of dangal for the first time, on youtube. However there was so much to learn from Aamir Khan about his determination, passion for work and how he has pushed his own limits in this film to play the role of a wrestler. This episode was a treat to all his fans.

This season also witnessed some fresh pairing which included recently-turned-mom Kareena Kapoor with fashionista Sonam Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra who is in news these days for her Hollywood projects, director and choreographer Farah Khan with her dear friend and star tennis player Sania Mirza, Varun and Alia who made their second appearance in this season. But the pair which drew maximum attention was the super dashing Shahid Kapoor with his gorgeous wife Mira Rajput. It was their first appearance together on national television so obviously it was the talk of the town. Mira came across as a confident woman after this show who does not shy away from public attention. There was some sweet banter between husband and wife during the show which even made KJo admire their love and affection towards each other. The couple disclosed some of their personal secrets and even discussed about their personal life without any hesitation. Well, it was one of my favourite episodes this season.

Now let me take you to the most highlighted and controversial episode of this season. Well you don’t need any guess- it was the ‘queen’ of Bollywood Kangana Ranaut along with the ‘Nawab’ of Bollywood Saif Ali Khan. Kangana as usual was straight in her words and spoke her mind. Her comment on nepotism in Bollywood led to a new controversy in B-Town, with many celebrities giving their opinion on this issue in past few days.  Kjo asked Kangana what role he would play if a biopic was made on her life to which she responded that he will play a snooty Bollywood mafia who is intolerant to the outsiders, and a flag bearer of nepotism. Both Karan and Saif were in a state of shock and surprise after her statement.

Now there is nothing much to say about nepotism since a lot has been spoken about it now and then. But if you ask me my opinion, I personally think that Kangana’s statement was a bit out of context and irrelevant. It is obvious that Karan or other directors have their own contacts in the industry which they use for casting in their films. Now suppose you are in a particular zone and you have five people inside this zone. When you need people for your work, you will obviously consult these people instead of going out of this zone. The same thing can be said in this context also. And it is worth mentioning here that it was Kjo who had personally groomed Siddharth Malhotra (he did not belong to the film fraternity) and launched him in his film ’Student Of The Year’. So no one can say that he is completely biased towards the star kids. However, this statement by Kangana gave the episode its content. (and TRPs of course)

The last episode of this season was my personal favourite and it was none other than the comedy king Kapil Sharma, who made his debut on KWK. This episode was indeed amazing and fun to watch, thanks to Kapil’s sense of humour. He talked about his struggle before coming to the industry, his goals in future, his poor english (which he himself makes fun of) and also about his controversial tweet which had led to a storm. But it was a little bit disappointing for the viewers who were expecting some juicy gossips and bold statements from Kapil’s side. He was a bit nervous and concerned about his comments and chose to stay mum on some of the questions. It seemed that he was not totally aware about the format of the show and the protruding questions asked by Karan. When KJo asked Kapil what he does for sex, he was taken aback and could not give an immediate reply. He took time to compose himself and asked jokingly if it is Koffee With Karan or Koffee with something else. He also did not give a clear answer on his relationship status by saying he has many girlfriends. When KJo asked him to specify, Kapil said he has many friends who are girls. (Well, that was a bit cheesy man!) This episode brought an end to this fabulous season which has witnessed some of the amazing guests and we are eagerly looking forward to the next season.