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Click here to beat David Cameron's web porn ban

Chrome extension gives grumble flicks - and other 'filtered' stuff - a helping hand

A programmer has designed a backdoor which will allow grumble movie lovers to get around UK prime Minister David Cameron's ban on filth.

Anyone using Chrome can now employ a simple extension called Go Away Cameron to bypass the new network-level "safety" filters implemented by the UK's biggest ISPs: TalkTalk, Sky and this week, BT.

Its designer, a Singaporean computer studies graduate who goes under the name Nubela, claims his extension will allow aficionados to tiptoe past any online restrictions involving "firewalls, universities, workplaces, nanny filters, or well, censorship."

He told The Reg: "I strongly disagree with a censored internet, especially one that is implemented on a government-basis, opt-out or not.

"As a programmer, I actually have an ability to say no, which is through Go Away Cameron."

The coalition government has asked provider to implement network-level filth screens which will allow parents to filter all the badness out of their broadband. The plans have been controversial, as innocent pages like sex education websites have been snared up in the dragnet.

Of course, the filters were never going to be that hard to bypass.

"The difficulty of bypassing the filters is relative depending on one's experience," Nubela continued. "To me it's extremely trivial. To another who just wanna get off without understanding all the geeky stuff, the filters will annoy the shit out of him or her."

However, the programmer did not hold out much hope that anyone would actually bother getting around the filters.

"They will work, of course they will," he said. "At least 90 per cent of the people are not tech-savvy and they will hate it when the filters are implemented."

Basically, Nubela's extension is a private proxy service, which should mean it is not illegal or particularly difficult to use for anyone with even a basic understanding of computers. It requires a level of trust, as users need to allow the extension permission to access Chrome's tabs and browsing activity, as well as the data received from websites, but Nubela insists that no logs are stored.

We also asked Nubela if he was motivated by a love of porn, but he refused to answer and simply stated: "I prefer to keep this technical and not personal." ®

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