The Gaping Holes In the UAE's Net Firewall

Barence writes "The United Arab Emirates has its own Chinese-style firewall to weed out pornography and other 'unsavory' content. But as PC Pro's correspondent has found out, the firewall has more than a few holes in it. ISP helplines routinely suggest proxy server software that circumvents the filters. Access to Flickr is blocked, in case citizens' eyes should fall upon a naked buttock, but The Pirate Bay, which 'offers a range of bottoms to suit every need, including midget and donkey bottoms for anybody having a really slow afternoon – remains blissfully undisturbed.' 'Ultimately, I'm quite glad the UAE's authorities block websites, and thrilled that they're so inept at it,' concludes PC Pro's writer. 'Just like everybody in Dubai, all they've done is made me a master of internet chicanery.'" Guess that depends how closely they're watching the evaders.

Comments

Re:HIT SQUAD INBOUND

[ElectricTurtle]

Mods need a dose of the clue-by-four... this is not flamebait, people in the UAE get jailed for just kissing in public. You can also be thrown in prison for years for being gay and forced to take hormone injections. (Granted the Brits did that to Turing as recently as the 50s, so I guess that means the UAE is only a few decades behind the moral development of the West...)

Re:Legal maneuvers

[CRCulver]

Marriage licenses in certain states also require testing for various common STDs, and have done much to reduce the prevalence of syphillis in the US. It's not all racism; there are public health motivations too.