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Iran-Specific Version of Anonymizer Unblocks Net Access

Posted by timothy on from the free-access-sounds-like-a-good-idea dept.

thelaw writes "Securityfocus has an article explaining a new anti-censorship proxy set up for Iran through Anonymizer, similar to one for Chinese citizens (did anyone know we had a proxy for Chinese citizens?). An interesting quote: '"In China we're continually monitoring the state of the proxy, and when we see the traffic drop off, we change the proxy's address, usually within 24 hours," says Berman. "In Iran, we're prepared to change the proxy address every day if necessary."'"

5 of 31 comments (clear)

  1. Spam? by Piquan · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The deliberately generic-sounding URLs for the service are publicized...through bulk e-mails that Anonymizer sends to addresses in the country.

    Spamming for freedom!

  2. what would worry me... by onya · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I wouldn't be so worried about having to change my proxy settings every day, so much as i'd be worried about some spook coming around and chopping off my hand for using the proxy in the first place.

    There's one handed typing, and then there's one handed typing.

  3. Is This Just a Publicity Stunt? by swdunlop · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If Iran is willing to impose a 15000 item blacklist on its ISPs, wouldn't it be willing to impose some network monitoring restrictions, as well? What precludes the State from rounding up individuals who use the US-sponsored anonymizer service, whose addresses are promulgated over monitored propaganda sources? How many public arrests would it take to chase an already suppressed populace away from these proxies?

    I think this is just a nice little publicity stunt / ego stroking expedition for the U.S. propaganda arm. An effective anonymous proxy would not be so widely disseminated, and would want to change addresses before the Iranian government caught on, not after, to keep its clientele moving.

    --
    Weapons of Mass Analysis
  4. Think by L-s-L69 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Just another reason the freenet project www.freenetproject.org needs all the help it can get. At the risk of sounding paranoid maybe western 'democracies' will oneday need this sort of technology.

  5. Too late... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Germany is a democracy, right? Well, a German law enforcement agency got a court order to force the JAP anonymity servers to install a back door to log traffic and IPs to a certain undisclosed website. The fact that JAP is a university sponsored project makes this rather scary. What's even scarier is that the JAP team delayed making the spying public until a couple weeks after it began, probably to protect their project. If the "Crime Logging" code hadn't been spotted in the sources, they might never have revealed this. If you can't trust a University sponsored project, who can you trust?

    Anyway, the court order was suspended around August 27th. Let's hope permanently.