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Teen Hacks $84 Million Porn Filter in 30 Minutes

An anonymous reader writes "Tom Wood, a Year 10 Australian student has cracked the federal government's $84-million Internet porn filter in just 30 minutes. He can deactivate the filter in several clicks in such a way that the software's icon is not deleted which will make his parents believe the filter is still working. Tom says it is a matter of time before some computer-savvy kid puts the bypass on the Internet for others to use."

3 of 479 comments (clear)

  1. The article by click2005 · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Tom Wood, a Year 10 student, probably 15 - 16 years old has cracked the federal government's $84-million internet porn filter in just 30 minutes. He can deactivate the filter in several clicks in such a way that the software's icon is not deleted which will make his parents believe the filter is still working. Tom says it is a matter of time before some computer-savvy kid puts the bypass on the Internet for others to use. "It's a horrible waste of money," he said. "They could get a much better filter for a few million dollars made here rather than paying overseas companies for an ineffective one."

    Australian communications Minister Helen Coonan said the government had anticipated kids would find their ways around the NetFilter. Yes Minister but 30 minutes for a teenager to crack a 84 million dollar filter is simply ridiculous.

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  2. Wood? by echucker · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Is the name coincidence? I think not.

  3. Re:Motivated Youth by saskboy · · Score: 0, Redundant

    In Australia, only vervet monkeys disable porn filters.

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    Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.