Developer creates Chrome VPN extension to get past Singapore censors
February 21, 2013 by Terence LEE
While the Internet in Singapore is generally free of censorship, the prudish Singapore government has made the extraordinary step of barring users from accessing certain pornographic sites.
On its blacklist are Playboy, Penthouse, as well as a variety of video streaming sites like Redtube, Tube8, and Pornoxo. Less titillating content related to religious extremism are purportedly banned too.
Now, a developer has created a Chrome extension that allows users to bypass the censors. Called ‘Go Away MDA’, with MDA referring to the government’s media authority, the extension essentially enables a VPN via a proxy.
The process is made as seamless as possible — once users install the extension and key in the login details (provided by the developer), they can immediately start surfing with impunity.
According to the website, the developer, a graduated Computing Science student, created this as a Chinese New Year project where he was learning Twitter bootstrap.
He has stated that others are welcome to read his source code, which is stored in a bitbucket private repository.
Credit to e27 for spotting this.
Find out more about SGE’s research arm: SGE Insights, providing customized in-depth research reports to help you navigate the business of technology in Asia.
About The Author
Terence LEE - Editor
Terence writes mainly about technology trends and startups in Asia. He believes in crafting smart content: Not just a regurgitation of text, but well thought-out pieces that serve the reader using a combination of data, design, narratives, analysis, and visual impact. His articles have been published on Venturebeat, Yahoo!, Straits Times, Today, and The Online Citizen. He also co-founded NewNation.sg, a satirical news site covering Singapore affairs. Engage him on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Read other posts by Terence LEE







Share this: