Psiphon Project to Fight Net Censorship
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UPDATED: Researchers at the University of Toronto are working on a free tool to allow Web surfers to bypass government censorship of the Web. The tool, called According to the project documentation, psiphon will operate through networks of trust. The idea is to have psiphon providers install and administer a psiphon server (psiphonode) in an uncensored country and then provide login credentials to users in countries that censor Internet usage.
From the psiphon FAQ:
psiphon acts as a "web proxy" for authenticated psiphonites, retrieving requested web pages and displaying them in a user's browser. psiphon uses a secure, encrypted connection to receive web requests from the psiphonite to the psiphonode who then transports the results back to the psiphonite. There is no connection between the psiphonite and the requested website, as psiphon transparently proxies the request through the psiphonode's computer allowing the psiphonite to browse blocked websites seamlessly.psiphonites go to their psiphonodes' machine using a unique web address. The first page displayed is the user login. The psiphonite must login with a valid username and password, given to them by the psiphonode administrator. After authentication, the psiphon server displays a toolbar at the top of the page where the psiphonite can then enter a website to browse. When using psiphon, the psiphonite does not have to install any software or change any browser settings.
Internet censorship in some countries has become a hot-button topic in recent months and the easy availability of a bypass tool is sure to win applause from human rights groups.
UPDATE: The tool is now available for download.
