DISQUS

Good news Geoff, the filter will be incredibly easy to bypass! The only protocols that will be filtered will be HTTP and possibly BitTorrent so anything else, such as FTP, DCC over IRC, etc. will not be filtered. You can also set up an SSH tunnel to browse the Web without being affected by the filter. That's why so many people think this filter is a waste of time: those who want to bypass it will be able to do so easily. A better system would be requiring all ISPs to provide an opt-in "inappropriate content" filter which parents can choose to subscribe to if they cannot be bothered supervising their children whilst they browse the Internet.

Bob, you seem to have as much idea of how computer networks operate as Stephen Conroy does. Implementing the proposed filters will not be as simple as adding one firewall server to the ISP's network.

As for proof of a speed decrease: did you miss the govermnent trials of various filter software? ALL of the tested filters had a negative impact on network performance.

Ever hear of prohibition in the US? I suggest you read up on it and then revisit your opinions on the benefits of driving crime underground.

Your entire comment is so poorly reasoned it makes me want to wrap a cat5e crossover cable around your neck.

1) The proposed filter aims to block "unwanted content", ie. child porn and the like. Things like fraud, spam and identity theft cannot be blocked or prevented by a content filter.

2) Does it make sense to increase network speed with the national broadband network, only to then reduce it with the filter? Yes, computer network technology is always getting faster and more reliable, but the filter will still slow down network speeds by as much as 75% - that means my 10Mbps connection will drop to 2.5Mbps.

3) ISPs also don't want the filter because it will be expensive to implement, maintain and administrate.

4) I'm not sure how business and consumer confidence can be increased by the content filter, and the cost to households to set up a client-side filter was zero thanks to the freely available filtering software provided by the Liberal government. "Businesses can safely expand into the internet without fear of attacks to both them and their customers." - how will the content filter prevent attacks? If you mean DDoS or the like then this filter will not do anything to prevent that. Schools already block inappropriate material with their own filters and it isn't difficult to monitor what your children do on the home computer.

another computer science project saved thanks to this code. cheers!