On February 23,2008,Pakistan blocked YouTube due to "offensive material" towards the Islamic faith, including the display of pictures of the prophet Muhammad. This action by the Pakistani authorities led to a near global blackout of the YouTube site for at least two hours. Thousands of Pakistanis undermined the 3-day block using VPN software called Hostpot Shild. The YouTube ban was lifted on February 26,2008 after the " Offensive material" were removed from the site.