A new tool, Psiphon, from a University of Toronto a team of software engineers and computer-hacking activists allows users to bypass internet censorship imposed by countries like China.
Psiphon works by connecting a user in an internet restricted country to a user in a non-restricted country. The software needs to be installed on the host computer in the non-restricted country and then the user in the restricted-access country can login to that computer through an encrypted connection and use it as a proxy to bypass any government filters.
According to the designers there is no way to trace the restricted user's tracks from their computer, though the host computer will know what sites the user has accessed.
The Psiphon model sidesteps a number of pitfalls that have plague other attempts to bypass internet filters, most notably it leaves no tracks on the censored user's machine.
Psiphon also has a distinct advantage of being easy to use and requires no software on the censored users end, just login to the host and you're done.
However, because Psiphon works by connecting to trusted users, people living behind government restricted internet access will have to be very careful about whom they trust. I'm sure China would have no problem setting up fake hosts outside of China to try tricking users into accepting the hosts.
As the Psiphon site notes, bypassing censorship could violate national laws and have legal (and I'm sure much worse than legal) repercussions for users in restricted countries.
Reporters Without Borders recently released a list of thirteen countries they believe are suppressing freedom of expression on the internet including China, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Vietnam and more.
Psiphon will be publicly available for download beginning December 1st.
