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Technical Specs Released For Aussie Net Filtering
smallkathryn writes "Technical specifications have just been released for the Australian net filtering trial. The trial, which aims to prove that ISP-level filtering is a viable way to stop 'unwanted content' from reaching users, will go live on 24 December. The trial will involve ISPs choosing a commercially available hardware filter from an internet content filter (ICF) vendor, adding it to their networks, then loading the blacklist of unwanted sites. Still no indication of how peer-to-peer information will be addressed."
This is the time to invest in and bring to market an encryption product to the masses in Australia. What would stop a US company from selling cheap VPN tunnels to end users down under?
I do not believe any government should censor speech. This sort of technology is ripe for abuse. There will probably be sites which "accidently" are filtered, maybe sites with unpopular political views, or legal material, such as adult pornography. As well, this sets dangerous precedents as well, that government has a right to censor things. It could set a dangerous precedent for censoring things we all agree should not be censored, like pornography of consenting adults and unpopular (communist, marxist, etc) political views.
then loading the blacklist of unwanted sites.
Obviously someone wants these sites, else there would be no need to blacklist them.
We'll all be rooned.
Won't somebody please think of the children, who will be grown-ups one day -- grown-ups shackled with the consequences of implementing this unethical system?
A government is a body of people notably ungoverned - AC
Putting aside the question of whether filtering is desirable in the first place ("think of the children!"), or issues regarding the potential for future abuse (e.g., censorship of unpopular speech, and who determines what needs to be filtered in the first place) at the technical level any halfway-reliable filtering technology that peeks into the transport layer is going to add a huge amount of overhead that will increase costs and degrade performance. Good for the equipment companies, but bad for everyone who would prefer their Internet connection as dumb and fast as possible.
OTOH, OpenDNS provides a free, opt-in filtering service available to anyone who wants it. It's very easy to deploy, why not just use that?
TurnKey Linux: if it can be easy, it should be easy
We patch apache (patch XXX obviously) to toss back hex or D-word IP addresses when hit with them. Actually I don't think a patch is necessary; I can think of a quick and dirty way to do it in Korn with forward and reverse proxying on..huh, pretty much any apache from 1.33 on.
Then all we need to do is wait until the Aussies load so many obfuscated hosts into their border boxen that they all fry themselves and the silly idea it is will be really quite clear to anyone with opposable thumbs.
Only the *testing* is voluntary.
When (if, hopefully) the real thing goes live, "Filtering will be mandatory in all homes and schools across the country".
See: http://nocleanfeed.com
The paper says that the filtering will be URL based (to start with, possibly moving to other methods later). With that in mind, I present my (patented..?) two step method to bypassing the filter:
Step 1: Get IP address of blocked site
Step 2: Enter that IP address
The awesome thing here is that the ISPs are now responsible for all the actions their users take.
Did Bob Aussieman pirate a movie? Well, the ISP should have filtered that out. Did Steve Kiddyporn upload/download illegal pictures of children? The ISP should have stopped it.
By even doing token filtering, they're taking responsibility for everything that happens on their network.
Not a Twitter sockpuppet... but I wish I was.
Senator Steven "Liar" Conroy. He has claimed over and over, that the Mandatory system he wishes to implement is of the same variety as what's in Europe. NSW calls Conroy on Euro filter fudge'
Which after a little searching one finds completely untrue. He has been questioned by other members of parliament and skirted around the issue by feeding the "Unwanted Material" line.
# cat
Damn, my RAM is full of cats. MEOW!!
Did Steve Kiddyporn upload/download illegal pictures of children? The ISP should have stopped it.
His name is Bryan Kiddyporn! Not everyone in Australia is called Bob or Steve!
Cheers
Bruce
Australia already has that law. Free NetNanny for everyone that wants a "clean" connection.
Now ask me how many people have taken up this offer...
3laws: No freebies, no backsies, GTFO.
Rest assured there will be a law that absolves them. Else the lights will go out pretty fast in the fiberoptic cables of Aussieland.
Because, as everyone here knows, there WILL be downloads and there WILL be illegal content, and you can filter however and whatever you like, it will get through. Now, ISPs are usually international companies, few are still single country. And when I am in constant danger of a lawsuit that threatens my very business in some country, I'll pull out. Providing internet services is a lossy business in Australia? Ok. Shut down the branch, we move the resources to some other country. It's done everywhere? Most ISPs are either also in telco or cable TV, so let's shut down the ISP biz and concentrate on the rest.
If ISPs become the new scapegoat of the sue happy industries, they will close their doors. Unlike real people, corporations can easily move, and they can easily "die" without anyone being hurt.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
42.
That's actual people that took up the Netnanny offer before you start going on about some answer to life, the universe and everything.
Moved to http://soylentnews.org/. You are invited to join us too!
iiNet have said that NOBODY has EVER downloaded the free filtering software from their website.
I'm fairly sure one of the first things added to the list will be torrent indexes. No more TPB or ISOHunt for Australians. This is exactly what Australian media companies want: they used to have it good, they would hold over US shows and movies for rating windows and screw over viewers that just wanted to watch stuff current.
The big problem is, Australian media holds a lot of sway with the scum that is an Australian politician.
Of course you'll be able to access them in a round-about fashion. Maybe it will eventually become illegal to bypass the filter, call it hacking. Aussie freedom will go, china style.
Sorry I'm having trouble understand you. Half of your post was filtered.
While I'm not pro-censorship or anything like that, I find your argument and sig.... disagreeable. You seem to be seeing the world in black and white, without the shades of grey.
You say a picture or a video is just information. Ok, fair enough.
But just because information can be freely duplicted doesn't mean it isn't affected by the laws of supply and demand.
Some people will pay for this "information" (kiddie porn). Therefore other people will create child porn, for money.
The creation of child porn (your definition may vary)should be punished, in my opinion, by death. Commissioning of child porn is accessory to the crime and should also be punished. On the other hand those who have not commissioned the deed should not be punished even if they buy child porn because they did not have a hand in the act. Would you make it a crime to sell the 9/11 videos? Surely billions of dollars have been made from those crimes. Where is the divide between the newscaster hawking scenes of death (if it bleeds it leads) and the exploitive pornographer hawking his wares? Surely either both should be illegal or neither.
Unfortunately those people do unspeakable awful things to innocent children in order to create the information, in order to satisfy that demand.
Punish them! punish them harshly! You will have all the evidence you need.
By your logic I have done nothing wrong if I say I will provide $10,000,000 for a video of someone shooting you in the head, and someone follows through and I pay them. Or your children. Heck, your whole family. If all of you died horribly, simply because I paid for some "information" have I done anything wrong? By your logic, no.
By my logic you have done something horrible, in commissioning the crime. The newscaster who puts it on for the 8:00 news hour in return for commercial profits has not. If you had specified a computer-generated video of such then nothing wrong would have been done at all.
If video games influenced behavior the Pac Man generation would be eating pills and running away from their problems.
Now, ISPs are usually international companies, few are still single country.
I don't know how it works in the US (or wherever you live) but the 2 of the top 3 ISPs in Australia (Telstra and iiNet) only serve within Australia, AFAIK. There headquarters are here too, meaning it would be difficult to move, especially since they own so much of the local infrastructure.
The reason for this is likely that Australia is geographically isolated from other countries, being a continent in its own right.
Most ISPs are either also in telco or cable TV, so let's shut down the ISP biz and concentrate on the rest.
Telstra is a telco, but iiNet is only an ISP. There's actually talk of them providing IPTV next year, but that would be over the internet.
Besides, at least one company will remain, and feel free to charge whatever they want (probably Telstra, due to their government given monopoly on the infrastructure). Isn't that the situation in the US - few people can choose an ISP other than Comcast?
Most human behaviour can be explained in terms of identity.