Canadian Proxy Servers

Paper Summary:

This paper asserts that some Canadian government officials believe that Canada should establish proxy servers to help peoples in other parts of the world circumnavigate official repression. The paper posits that the establishment of proxy servers might do wonders at breaking down the control of authoritarian governments and would allow Canada to build its international stature while empowering a huge number of peoples abroad. However, the paper points out that proxy servers appear to be, by default, unencrypted and thus information being exchanged between the proxy and the user can be easily "tapped" into by a third dissident party. In the end, the paper concludes that Canada would do well to leave such matters alone inasmuch as the proxy server plan may endanger lives rather than enrich them.

From the Paper:

"Still, there are real-life benefits to proxy servers that are appealing to technocrats within the Canadian bureaucracy. For one thing, there are many software packages now available that can "proxy" traffic and that can be configured to operate on non-standard ports. As well, there are now many publicly-accessible proxy servers ("Technical Ways to Get around Censorship," para.2). Consequently, it is easier to set up proxies than ever before and it is easier to access proxy servers than ever before. Thus, the advent of a generation of proxy servers capable of helping private citizens navigate their way around government censorship seems like something that can only help educate (and empower) the public."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Cain, Mark. "Cyber-theft, Network Security, and the Library without walls." Journal of Academic Librarianship, 29.4 (2003): 245-248.
• "Gagging Google: Politically sensitive material unavailable." Irish Times 26 Jan. 2006. Newspaper Source. EBSCOhost. University of Calgary Lib., Calgary, AB. 29 Mar. 2007 <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nfh&AN=9FY1008486203&site=ehost-live>
• "Technical Ways to get around Censorship." Reporters without Borders. 2005. RSF: Reporters without Reporters. 29 Mar. 2007 <http://ice.citizenlab.org/mirror/choosing_circ-2.htm>
• Tomazin, Anton, and Caroline Leming. "Non-poxy proxy." Australian Personal Computer, 25.2 (2005): 94-95.
• Webster, Peter. "Remote patron validation: Posting a proxy server at the DIGITAL Doorway." Computers in Libraries, 22.8 (2002): 18-23.

More papers on Canadian Proxy Servers:

• Analytical Essay # 132471 : "Internet Freedom Plan"
• Term Paper # 137233 : "US Proxy Marriage"
• Essay # 85870 : "The Canadian Justice System"

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