ACCESSING INFORMATION ON INTERNET: TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES TO BYPASS FILTRATION

Internet filtration is the control or suppression of what can be accessed, published, or viewed on the Internet. Filtering can be based on relatively static blacklist or be determined more dynamically based on real-time examination of the information being exchanged. There are many individuals, corporations and governments who favor Internet filtration. Internet filtration takes many forms. For example, governments may block regular e-mail services in order to compel citizens to use government e-mail that can be easily monitored, filtered, or shut down. Parents can control the content their minor children access. A university may prevent students from accessing Facebook from the library. An Internet café owner can block peer-to-peer file sharing. Authoritarian governments may censor reports on human rights abuses. People have widely varying views about the legitimacy or illegitimacy of these forms. Just as many individuals, corporations and governments see the Internet as a source of dangerous information that must be controlled; there are many individuals and groups who are working hard to ensure that the Internet, and the information on it, is freely available to everyone who wants it. There is a vast amount of energy, from commercial, non-profit and volunteer groups, devoted to creating tools and techniques to bypass Internet censorship, resulting in a number of methods to bypass Internet filters.