According to Iranian media reports, citing a statement recently made by an official, governmental censorship in the country has moved a step further, with authorities blocking the use of most "virtual private networks (VPNs)" --- a tool which is used by many Iranians to circumvent an extensive government Internet filter.

VPN software is used by many Iranians to get around a widespread government Internet filter that prevents them from accessing a number of sites, which - as per official reasoning to support the move - are offensive or criminal. The software chiefly provides Iranian users with encrypted links directly to overseas-based private networks; thereby enabling computers to behave as if it is based in some other country.

As per a report from the Mehr news agency, Iranian legislator Ramezanali Sobhani-Fard - who is the head of parliament's information and communications technology committee - told the agency on Sunday that access to "illegal" VPN has been blocked by the governmental authorities; a move which has also been conformed by some web users in the country.

Going by the Mehr report revealed that Sobhani-Fard - noting that the government's decision to block VPN access may also have inadvertently cut off access to some of the widely-used sites like Google and Yahoo - said: "Within the last few days illegal VPN ports in the country have been blocked. Only legal and registered VPNs can from now on be used."