PR: Launching a browser dedicated to circumventing censorship
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Version 1.2.0 of the Internet censorship
circumvention software alkasir has been launched today and is currently
accessible directly on the web at https://alkasir.com.
The new version, according to its developer Walid Al-Saqaf, has numerous new
features compared to the first version originally released a year ago. Among
the most notable new features is its multilingual interface (Arabic/English) as
well as its built-in browser, which can be used most effectively to open
blocked websites. "It is based on the Mozilla Gecko engine and is hence
expected to open most websites without much trouble," Al-Saqaf said.
Al-Saqaf noted that despite the addition of the internal browser, external browsers will still be able to use alkasir to bypass censorship. He indicated that the intention in creating the internal browser was to maximize the potential of the program in a way that would make browsing blocked content seamless and more convenient. "The internal browser is not a replacement of standard well-known browsers, but it is an additional component that would make browsing blocked websites more convenient as there will be more uniformity between the browser and the program." Al-Saqaf said.
Al-Saqaf added that the new version will make old versions obsolete and hence, warned current users of alkasir to quickly shift to the new version as the old ones will be unable to connect in the next days.
Although the cost of running free ad-free circumvention solution is quite costly, alkasir is managed with a rather small budget due to its unique method of circumvention as it only uses its proxy when the website being requested is found to be among the list of blocked websites. This list is constantly updated through background scan processes and with the help of volunteers and the alkasir user community itself.
The alkasir project is partially funded by Mideast Youth, a network of students and activists that are dedicated to promoting dialog and freedom in the Middle East and North Africa.
Although alkasir ver 1.2.0 is free of charge, there is a 15 minute 'tax' to be paid, according to Al-Saqaf, in the form of filling an online survey about Internet censorship. "This survey is for academic purposes and is meant to help us know the opinions of users about Internet censorship and their experiences with circumvention solution." he said.
How to get the new version
The new version is available at https://alkasir.com/downloads. If the website is blocked -which is the case in at least two countries-, an email to get@alkasir.com would reply back with the installation file as an attachment along with instructions on how to have alkasir successfully installed. Those who want to fill the survey directly without downloading alkasir can do so by visiting this link: https://alkasir.com/doc/survey/?sid=83319&lang=en