Software Will Let Users Dodge Government Internet Censorship

November 27, 2006 (5:20 PM EST)http://www.techweb.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=196513593&cid=RSSfeed_TechWeb

Developers from the University of Toronto plan to release software this week that will allow residents in restrictive countries to gain uncensored Internet access through friends' and family members' home computers.
The Citizen Lab at the Munk Centre for International Studies announced Sunday that it will release psiphon, a "human rights software project," under General Public License, by Friday. The system, part of the lab's CiviSec Project, is funded by the Open Society Institute.

It is not entirely bulletproof, but developers say it will be difficult for censors to identify and block psiphon.

People in free countries can install the free login with usernames and passwords provided by administrators, and surf the Web.
The people living under censorship (the software developers call them psiphonites) never make a direct connection to Web sites through their own computers. The psiphon Web site contains a warning that bypassing censorship may be against the law and users should seriously consider the risks and potential consequences.
It may be interesting to see how the system goes over in China, where officials claim that, despite studies showing otherwise, they have trouble with access, not deliberate Internet restrictions.