--- Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2002 14:43:19 -0500 (EST) From: Tommyc <tommycat_private> To: declanat_private Subject: Peekabooty (fwd) Sounds like this is up the Politech alley. Perhaps this will replace SETI as everyone's computer's spare-time hobby. ------------- Begin Forwarded Message ------------- http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991948 Peekabooty aims to banish internet censorship 14:31 19 February 02 A long-awaited computer program that can circumvent government censorship of the internet has debuted at a computer conference in the US. The program - Peekabooty - promises to give people in countries such as China and Saudi Arabia safe access to the whole of the internet. In these countries, internet access is controlled by government-operated ISPs, which blacklist certain web sites. This may include news sites that are deemed unsympathetic to government policy. Peekabooty relies on users inside and outside a government-imposed "firewall" downloading software. Restricted content can then be delivered using volunteer "nodes" outside the restricted zone communicating with users within. The content is disguised as encrypted browser traffic, which is normally used to transmit credit card information or sensitive information such as passwords. Hidden identity Peekabooty uses a complicated communications system to allow users to share information while revealing little about their identity. When a node receives a request for a web page it randomly decides whether to pass this on or access the page itself. It also only knows the address of its nearest partner. This makes it difficult to determine who requested what information and is designed to protect users from anyone trying to infiltrate the system from inside. [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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