Ultrasurf
Encyclopedia
Ultrasurf is a free Internet censorship circumvention
product of Ultrareach Internet Corporation.
, enabling users to bypass firewalls and censorship. The software’s developers make use of sophisticated, proprietary anti-blocking technology to overcome filtering and censorship online.
Ultrareach was founded by Silicon Valley technologists
in 2002 and is funded in part through ongoing contracts with the U.S. government’s Broadcasting Board of Governors
, which administers Voice of America
and Radio Free Asia
. Ultrasurf was originally designed to enable internet users in China to safely bypass China’s Golden shield, but now has as many as eleven million users worldwide.
found Ultrasurf to be the "best performing" of all tested circumvention tools during in-country tests, and recommended it for widespread use. The report noted, however, that Ultrareach is designed primarily as a circumvention product, rather than as an anonymity tool, and suggested that users concerned about anonymity should disable browser support for active content when using Ultrasurf.
Wired magazine calls Ultrasurf "one of the most important free-speech tools on the Internet" for enabling citizens of repressive countries to access and share information during times of humanitarian or human rights crises.
According to unconfirmed speculation on the French computer security-related website Reflets, Ultrasurf contains spyware
and several trojan horses
, which may actually enable government surveillance. McAfee
and many other antivirus programs
also report Ultrasurf as a backdoor trojan.
Internet censorship circumvention
Internet censorship circumvention is the process used by technologically savvy Internet users to bypass the technical aspects of Internet filtering and gain access to otherwise censored material....
product of Ultrareach Internet Corporation.
Operation
The software works by creating an encrypted HTTP tunnel between the user’s computer and a central pool of proxy serversOpen proxy
An open proxy is a proxy server that is accessible by any Internet user. Generally, a proxy server allows users within a network group to store and forward Internet services such as DNS or web pages to reduce and control the bandwidth used by the group...
, enabling users to bypass firewalls and censorship. The software’s developers make use of sophisticated, proprietary anti-blocking technology to overcome filtering and censorship online.
Ultrareach was founded by Silicon Valley technologists
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
in 2002 and is funded in part through ongoing contracts with the U.S. government’s Broadcasting Board of Governors
Broadcasting Board of Governors
The Broadcasting Board of Governors is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for all non-military, international broadcasting sponsored by the U.S government. It was previously a department within the United States Information Agency until 1999.-Origins:Starting in...
, which administers Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
and Radio Free Asia
Radio Free Asia
Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation that operates a radio station and Internet news service. RFA was founded by an act of the US Congress and is operated by the Broadcasting Board of Governors . The RFA is supported in part by grants from the federal government of the United States...
. Ultrasurf was originally designed to enable internet users in China to safely bypass China’s Golden shield, but now has as many as eleven million users worldwide.
Evaluation
In a 2007 study, Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet & SocietyBerkman Center for Internet & Society
The Berkman Center for Internet & Society is a research center at Harvard University that focuses on the study of cyberspace. Founded at Harvard Law School, the center traditionally focused on internet-related legal issues. On May 15, 2008, the Center was elevated to an interfaculty initiative of...
found Ultrasurf to be the "best performing" of all tested circumvention tools during in-country tests, and recommended it for widespread use. The report noted, however, that Ultrareach is designed primarily as a circumvention product, rather than as an anonymity tool, and suggested that users concerned about anonymity should disable browser support for active content when using Ultrasurf.
Wired magazine calls Ultrasurf "one of the most important free-speech tools on the Internet" for enabling citizens of repressive countries to access and share information during times of humanitarian or human rights crises.
According to unconfirmed speculation on the French computer security-related website Reflets, Ultrasurf contains spyware
Spyware
Spyware is a type of malware that can be installed on computers, and which collects small pieces of information about users without their knowledge. The presence of spyware is typically hidden from the user, and can be difficult to detect. Typically, spyware is secretly installed on the user's...
and several trojan horses
Trojan horse (computing)
A Trojan horse, or Trojan, is software that appears to perform a desirable function for the user prior to run or install, but steals information or harms the system. The term is derived from the Trojan Horse story in Greek mythology.-Malware:A destructive program that masquerades as a benign...
, which may actually enable government surveillance. McAfee
McAfee
McAfee, Inc. is a computer security company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, USA. It markets software and services to home users, businesses and the public sector. On August 19, 2010, electronics company Intel agreed to purchase McAfee for $7.68 billion...
and many other antivirus programs
Antivirus software
Antivirus or anti-virus software is used to prevent, detect, and remove malware, including but not limited to computer viruses, computer worm, trojan horses, spyware and adware...
also report Ultrasurf as a backdoor trojan.
See also
- Internet censorship in the People's Republic of ChinaInternet censorship in the People's Republic of ChinaInternet censorship in the People's Republic of China is conducted under a wide variety of laws and administrative regulations. There are no specific laws or regulations which the censorship follows...
- Internet censorshipInternet censorshipInternet censorship is the control or suppression of the publishing of, or access to information on the Internet. It may be carried out by governments or by private organizations either at the behest of government or on their own initiative...
- Internet censorship circumventionInternet censorship circumventionInternet censorship circumvention is the process used by technologically savvy Internet users to bypass the technical aspects of Internet filtering and gain access to otherwise censored material....
- Tor (anonymity network)Tor (anonymity network)Tor is a system intended to enable online anonymity. Tor client software routes Internet traffic through a worldwide volunteer network of servers in order to conceal a user's location or usage from someone conducting network surveillance or traffic analysis...
- FreegateFreegateFreegate is software that enables internet users from mainland China, Syria, Iran, Vietnam and United Arab Emirates, among others, to view websites blocked by their governments. The program takes advantage of a range of open proxies, which allow users to penetrate firewalls used to block web sites....
External links
- Official website
- Ultrasurf presentation in How to Bypass Internet Censorship, a FLOSSFlossFloss may refer to:* Dental floss, used to clean teeth* Embroidery thread, machine or hand-spun yarn for embroidery* Fairy floss or candyfloss, alternative names for cotton candy* Rousong, i.e. meat floss-Computing:...
Manual, 10 March 2011, 240 pp.