Saturday, May 16, 2009
A new tool to circumvent website censorship named "Alkasir" was released today in its BETA version 1.0 and is now in the public domain. The release comes after the software was publicly revealed for the first time in Cairo yesterday during the first day of the "Blogging the Future" summit organized by the Kamal Adham Center for Journalism Training and Research.
The software, whose name originates from the Arabic word 'alkasir', meaning 'the circumventer', is now accessible and according to its developer, Walid Al-Saqaf, an be downloaded directly from
The software, whose name originates from the Arabic word 'alkasir', meaning 'the circumventer', is now accessible and according to its developer, Walid Al-Saqaf, an be downloaded directly from
"l-Kasir is a project carried out with the support of the MidEastGate ongoing program to expand
access to information in the Middle East. The program is implemented by MideastYouth.com, "a nonprofit network supporting freedom of expression and activism online," Al-Saqaf said during a session he presented in front of an audience of bloggers and journalists representing many countries from around the world.
It was revealed in the session that alkasir is capable of tracking and circumventing censorship of websites by applying a multi-layered and distributed technique depending on a central service for storing information regarding blocked websites and other servers to provide tunneling channels for users of the program.
The author of the program said that although it originates from and is intended primarily for the Middle East, it is still possible to use it for other countries as well. "But we decided to give priority to the Middle East and North Africa region as it is one that suffers from excessive website censorship." Al-Saqaf noted.
Many of the participants in the Cairo summit gave a favorable opinion of the program's objectives and technique. Meanwhile, some participants expressed privacy and security concerns of its use and application given that it predominantly targets news and activism-related content. It was hence a priority, according to them, that the circumvention tool should enhance its anonymity and security features to avoid the exposure of data about users the service and what websites they access.
The launch of alkasir comes in a time when dozens of political and news websites are blocked by ISPs due to their critical anti-government content.
Syria, Tunisia, Bahrain, Syria, and Yemen are examples of countries where the software could be utilized to allow users to access banned websites. The developer however warned that the version is meant for testing purposes in the time being and noted that more services and features will be introduced in the future.
instructions on how to get the software can be provided upon sending an email to
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