Internet censorship is denying people with access to valuable information. A human rights software project known as psiphon, run by the Citizen Lab at the Munk Centre for International Studies, allows people in countries where the Internet is censored unrestricted access to the Internet.

If you are in a country that censors the Internet, all you have to do is find somebody in a uncensored country to setup a server for you to access and you will have uncensored access. The server setup solution is software based and can be installed by anybody with an Internet connection. Once the software is installed the server administrator known as a psiphonode, sends a unique web address to somebody in the censored country that they know and trust. The user known as a psiphonite, logs in using a username and password via a secure and encrypted link. As a result of tight control it becomes difficult to find and block the server.

If the IP address is detected the software will play a shell game whereby as soon as an address is blocked the software assigns it to another region and puts in a new one. This is an ongoing process until the censor gives up.

While psiphon is intended to provide unlimited access to the Internet in censored countries this could possibly become a solution to staff of a company that blocks certain websites. Since there is a network of trust involved with psiphon as opposed to publicly available proxies that can be easily intercepted, corporate system administrators are going to find it increasingly difficult to stop psiphonodes. Have a look at the psiphon website for an overview of how it works.

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