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Chinese Web Users Celebrate Green Dam About-Face By Mike Kent July 1, 2009 10:10AM     An event planned to highlight an Internet boycott in China against the Green Dam Web-filtering software turned into a victory celebration in Beijing. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology abruptly postponed a requirement that Green Dam be included with all new PCs. Tests of the Green Dam software uncovered numerous problems.   Related Topics China Green Dam Censorship Malware Latest News Stocks: Three Overstuffed Turkeys Mobile Shopping's First Christmas Amazon Rolls Out Kindle 2 Upgrades Google Movie Search Goes Mobile Spam King Gets More Than Four Years Internet users in China celebrated the government's about-face on the Green Dam Web-filtering software with a party Wednesday in a Beijing café. The event was originally planned to coincide with an Internet boycott planned for the day China had mandated that all new PCs sold in China must have Green Dam. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology abruptly postponed the July 1 deadline on Tuesday, giving the protesters an unexpected victory. The ministry did not say when, if ever, a new deadline might be set. Artist Ai Weiwei, who organized the Internet boycott and the event, told Reuters, "This is a very rare example for the government to suddenly push back an important decision the night before it is due to be rolled out." The ministry has said the Green Dam software, which was to be bundled with all new PCs, was to block pornography and violent content on the Internet. However, tests of the software showed it tagged images of Garfield the cartoon cat and roast pork as morally bad. With the images filter turned off, Green Dam returned links to soft- and hard-core pornography sites. Other tests have shown it is vulnerable to malware. Green Dam can also be set to take snapshots of a user's screen and store them, leaving a potential trail for the government to follow, or for malicious software looking for confidential information. Computer maker Sony moved to ship the Green Dam software with its products ahead of Wednesday's deadline, along with a disclaimer absolving the company from any problems. Computer makers, the U.S. government, free-speech advocates, and Chinese citizens protested the Green Dam mandate. Dropping Wednesday's deadline indicates China is listening and having trouble censoring its citizens. Internet traffic that the government finds objectionable is still prohibited through the "Great Firewall," which blocks IP addresses and tracks users. Tech-savvy citizens are finding ways around the censorship.   Advertisement  World Wide Web 1.   Black-Friday: Savvy Attack Tactics 2.   Spam King Gets More Than Four Years 3.   Google: First Lady Photo Will Remain 4.   AOL Has Savvy, But Needs Time 5.   Fox CEO Wants U.S. Piracy Stance

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