And now, a bit of complaining about
Symantec's web filtering product,
Symantec Web Security.
I have come across two cases of blatantly false blocking in the past week alone. The first was the
Mozilla browser site. It is
blocked under the “Sex/Act” category. I’m willing to consider that this was a case of accidental blocking, since it was blocked in only one category.
The second improperly blocked case is more interesting. I discovered this case while researching different technique for anonymous network communication. The
ONR site on
onion routing is being
blocked in every possible category.
There is really no way to excuse blocking the site on technical grounds. The WHOIS records for onion-router.net clearly show that the site is registered to the Navel Research Laboratory until 2007. The primary name server is in the .mil domain.
There are no jokes on the onion-router site. They are not advocating drug use. Nor is there any content which could be even remotely considered Occult or New Age. The only category that might remotely apply would be Anonymous Proxies, since they link to
privoxy.
The site in question just has papers on a technique for anonymous communication. By blocking in all categories Symantec is trying to censor research into areas which would make their life as a security company much more difficult.
Symantec: Making Network Research a Thought Crime
I'd like to thank the Concordia network admin for promptly unblocking mis-blocked sites.
