The internet as most people know it is seen as a wealth of information that can be accessed at anytime without any fear of being punished or restricted. So while we Americans might complain on a regular basis that we get half the internet for twice the price, at least we have full access to it. Places like Iran, on the other hand, aren’t so lucky.
If you don’t know about the issues in the Iran and you are a prolific social media user either one of two things happened:
1. You died for two months
And there is actually no second reason. Why? Because there is no reason for a second reason, that’s why. On to my point. With the crisis in Iran, the government blocked many sites that pumped the latest information to the people, with Twitter and FriendFeed being among them. There is one group that intends to solve this far-too-common problem, and that is Austin Heap’s product called Haystack.
Haystack is a unique program that allows you to access an unfiltered internet, while all the while remaining anonymous. Haystack does this by covering up “bad” website requests with what seem to be perfectly genuine requests to allowed websites through their servers. In another words, Haystack will make sure your tracks are covered.
Currently Haystack is in testing mode, but it is a very promising method for providing access to the whole of the internet even if working from within nations with oppressive regimes. According to the FAQ, Haystack will work on all major platforms including Linux, so no one is left out of the freedom the internet provides.
Thanks to Joe for the tip!
