Researchers at the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto have developed software that they hope will allow Internet users in nations that practice censorship to have full access to the Web. Available as of December 1, the software, called psiphon, operates using social networking principles. Users in countries without censorship will download the application, which allows their computers to function as proxies. Users in countries with government censors can then access the Internet through the psiphon software, sidestepping Internet filters.
The software merely indicates that a user is connected to another machine, without divulging details about that machine or what Web pages are visited. Ronald Deibert, director of the Citizen Lab, said psiphon is an effort to counterbalance what he called the militarization of Internet censorship, restoring free access to online resources.
Officials from the Citizen Lab cautioned, however, that use of psiphon could constitute a criminal offense in some countries and advised potential users to understand the risks.
BBC, 27 November 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6187486.stm
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