wtf is zapret-4.0?

Zapret 4.0 is a Windows tool for bypassing internet censorship without using a VPN. The README is written in Russian, and the tool is clearly aimed at Russian users: the services it targets (YouTube, Discord, Telegram) are among those that have been throttled or blocked by Russian internet regulators. The project's tagline translates roughly as "the internet without filters is not a request, it is the norm". Most censorship bypass tools work by routing your traffic through a server in another country. Zapret takes a different approach: it intercepts your outgoing network packets at the Windows kernel level using Windows Filtering Platform (WFP), modifies the first few packets of each connection in a way that confuses deep packet inspection systems, and then sends traffic directly to the destination. The DPI equipment your ISP uses looks for recognizable patterns in connection headers (such as the domain name in a TLS handshake) to decide whether to block the connection. Zapret scrambles or fakes those headers so the equipment sees nothing recognizable and lets the connection through. The techniques involved are fake SNI (substituting a different domain name into the TLS handshake), disorder (deliberately sending packets out of order during connection setup), and fragmentation (splitting packets into smaller pieces that the inspection system cannot reassemble fast enough). Different services get different combinations of these methods. The tool runs on Windows 10 version 1903 and later, and Windows 11. It requires administrator privileges because WFP filters operate at a level that needs them. Memory use is around 50 MB during operation. The executable is called nightcore.exe, and it can run in an automatic mode that selects settings on its own, or in targeted modes for specific services. A config.json file allows manual tuning of the disorder level, fragment size, and other parameters. The README states that Zapret does not intercept the content of your traffic, only the service headers of the first packets. It is compatible with VPNs and can run alongside WireGuard or OpenVPN at the same time.