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Google announces uProxy

engadget.com

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Re: Google announces uProxy

#11

Post by shazow »

While we're speculating about trust and such, the video mentions that it's a browser extension which connects to a trusted peer and uses the peer as a proxy. This leads me to believe that,

1. Since it's a normal browser extension, the source will be readable and verifiable.

2. It probably uses WebRTC.

It seems Google merely plays an incubator role here for the authors. Either way, I don't see much trust issues that other comments are complaining about.

Looking forward to trying this out when it's released.

Re: Google announces uProxy

#12

Post by draugadrotten »

> "If someone from a country with limited internet access installs uProxy, they can get a friend from the US to authorize them to surf the open web using their connection. "

In effect, they would also be sending all their sensitive, potentially illegal traffic to be read and copied by the american NSA agency. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM_%28surveillance_program%2...

People proxying illegal traffic through the USA would immediately be "on file" in the US registered as dissidents, criminals, and potential spies vulnerable to blackmail from US agencies.

I can see CIA looking at how their propaganda are affecting foreign nations by seeing who reads it from where. Foreign nations could even see proxying subversive traffic through the USA as being a worse crime than the subversive traffic itself.

Think twice about using this.

Re: Google announces uProxy

#16

Post by andyjohnson0 »

tombrossman wrote: post #9

Fast forward a year, HN headline: "Google shutting down uProxy". It looks interesting and I'm sure some number of people will find it useful while it lasts.

How exactly could they shut it down? Its a client-side browser extension that uses peer-to-peer connections. It doesn't run on any of Google's infrastructure.

I'm getting a bit tired of seeing this comment every time Google release a new product. I understand that people think they're being insightful in saying this, but they're really not.

Re: Google announces uProxy

#17

Post by Grue3 »

draugadrotten wrote: post #12

> "If someone from a country with limited internet access installs uProxy, they can get a friend from the US to authorize them to surf the open web using their connection. " In effect, they would also be sending all their sensitive, potentially illegal traffic to be read and copied by the american NSA agency. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM_%28surveillance_program%2... People proxying illegal traffic through the U…

Why would somebody who lives outside of USA care about US agencies? All I want is to bypass my own country's censorship.

Re: Google announces uProxy

#18

Post by Tyrannosaurs »

binarymax wrote: post #5
guidopallemans wrote: post #2

why should I trust google for an application that would enhance my internet privacy?

Privacy is not mentioned at all in the article. This is about bypassing censorship.

Except the bit that does mention it?

"The service has yet to launch, but its creators -- the University of Washington and Brave New Software -- have opened a restricted beta for select, technically adept users to make it as "secure, private, and robust" as possible."

Re: Google announces uProxy

#20

Post by nyrina »

Grue3 wrote: post #17
draugadrotten wrote: post #12

> "If someone from a country with limited internet access installs uProxy, they can get a friend from the US to authorize them to surf the open web using their connection. " In effect, they would also be sending all their sensitive, potentially illegal traffic to be read and copied by the american NSA agency. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM_%28surveillance_program%2... People proxying illegal traffic through the U…

Why would somebody who lives outside of USA care about US agencies? All I want is to bypass my own country's censorship.

I don't think you care a lot, but I bet your friend, that is allowing you to use his network, loves your bomb search results on his IP.
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