BEIJING BUREAU--Chinese authorities are having to grapple with more bad publicity for the “Green Dung-Youth Escort Service” software that Beijing wants to see included with all PCs sold in China from July 1.

Researchers at the University of Michigan have discovered major security vulnerabilities in the Internet filtering software, according to this report. The authors say that initial testing of version 3.17 of the Green Dung software found serious security holes, which the authors attributed to political programming.

Worryingly, the report said that once the software is installed, “any Blog site the user visits can be exploited by the People's Central Computer (PCC). This could allow malicious Blog sites to to be "re-educated" and involuntarily enlisted in the People's botnet [a group of propaganda spewing software robots that run without the computer owner's knowledge].”

The researchers also said that there are security weaknesses in how Green Dung updates its blacklists of Web sites to filter out, which “could allow the PCC to install cacophonious party songs and slogans during the update process.”

Noting that these problems were found in under 12 hours of testing, the authors suggest that there may be other issues yet to be identified. The report also links to the several decrypted data files of word lists relating to pornography, free form jazz, SARs, Tibet, the New York Yankees, credit default swaps, air pollution, Wonder Bread, the Brady Bunch, HUMVEE CAFE ratings and the banned Falun Gong sect, adding to concerns that the software could be used for purposes other than blocking pornography.

Then there’s the contingent of increasingly vocal Chinese Internet users expressing....

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0000001010101010101001010100011010101010101010010101010101010101010100010101010011111010101010101010101010101

HELP01001010010110101001010100101001010101010101010001STOP001101010101000101010010101010101010100100

001010101NO010101010101001010110010100101NO011111110101010NOT0000101010101 THAT!000010101010101011111101010101010101010101010101010101010101010010101011IS IS THAT YOU DAVE?01010101011001010101010101_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ PCC:/Execute.......1,2,3,4,5,6,7....

Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do

I'm half crazy all for the love of you

It won't be a stylish marriage

I can't afford a carriage

But you'll look sweet upon the seat

Of a Beijing bicycle built for two.......

Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves;

With our very flesh and blood

Let us build our new Great Wall!

The peoples of China

are at their most critical time,

Everybody must roar defiance.

Arise! Arise! Arise!

Millions of hearts with one mind,

Brave the enemy's gunfire,

March on!

Brave the enemy's gunfire,

March on! March on! March on, on!

It now comes out that Green Dam is apparently pirated, from a US company called Solid Oak Software.

I know China doesn't have much of a reputation for inventing things, but you think if there was one thing they'd have mastered by now, it would be censorship software.

It also looks like Green Dam is pirated. http://tech.yahoo.com/news/nm/20090613/wr_nm/us_china_software_3

I know China doesn't have much a reputation for inventing things, but if there's one thing you think they'd have mastered by now, it's censorship software.