Internet turned into proxy server

A group of computer science researchers have devised a new system that would turn the Internet into a proxy server, thus making it impossible to block individual Web sites, writes The Times of India.

Computer science researchers of University of Michigan and the University of Waterloo presented the new system, Telex, at the USENIX Security Symposium in San Francisco on 12 August.

According to News Tonight, though Telex is just a prototype, in trails it has been able to beat Chinese Web filters.

Dr Alex Halderman, one of developers of Telex, says: “We have tried it from within China bouncing it off computers there, we had no problems with the censorship there, and the software allowed the team to view banned content such as high definition YouTube videos and sites deemed subversive by the Chinese authorities.”

Also, lots of existing anti-censorship systems deal with connecting to a server or network outside the country in which the user resides, hence, this approach depends on publicising information about the servers and networks wide enough that citizens hear about them, though not to the extent that censors can discover as well as block them.

“This has the potential to shift the arms race regarding censorship to be in favour of free and open communication,” TG Daily quotes Halderman.

“The Internet has the ability to catalyse change by empowering people through information and communication services. Repressive governments have responded by aggressively filtering it. If we can find ways to keep those channels open, we can give more people the ability to take part in free speech and access to information.”

Under the new system, users would need to install Telex software - maybe downloading it from an intermittently available Web site or borrowing a copy from a friend.