Student cracks $84m porn filter
A MELBOURNE schoolboy has cracked the Federal Government's new $84 million internet porn filter in minutes.Read the rest...
Tom Wood, 16, said it took him just over 30 minutes to bypass the Government's filter, released on Tuesday.
Tom, a year 10 student at a southeast Melbourne private school, showed the Herald Sun how to deactivate the filter in a handful of clicks.
Parents easily fooled
His technique ensures the software's toolbar icon is not deleted, leaving parents under the impression the filter is still working.
A former cyber bullying victim, Tom feared a computer-savvy child could work out the bypass and put it on the Internet for others to use.
Tom, who spoke to Communications Minister Helen Coonan about cyber safety during a forum in May, said the Federal Government should have developed a better Australian made filter.
"It's a horrible waste of money," he said.
"They could get a much better filter for a few million dollars made here rather than paying overseas companies for an ineffective one."
