Iran election

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Since the president election on Friday 12th of may 2009, there have been protests on the streets in the cities of Iran. It is very hard to get any information on the situation in Iran. The government have banned all foreign news agencies. At the same time the Iranian internet connections are heavily crippled by censoring from the government. The most reliable source of information have so far been the microblog service twitter, whwere one can follow the so called hashtag #iranlection. The Irani government is directing a lot of resources on internet censorship and to get around this censoring the people of Iran needs the help of the outside world. By setting up a so called proxy server you can help the Irani people to spread the word about what is happening in Iran right now.

Proxy-server

Windows

It is really easy to set up a proxy-server. Just download the proxyserver software AnalogX proxy and follow the setup guide here

Be sure to configure your router to forward ports to the server machine!

Linux

If you are running linux, you can set up Tinyproxy. Just install it using your distributions package manager, ie. on Debian/Ubuntu

 sudo apt-get install tinyproxy

On Fedora/RedHat

 yum install tinyproxy

On ArchLinux

 pacman -S tinyproxy

Etc....

Mac OS X

It is probably possible to install Tinyproxy on a mac. It is available using MacPorts. Just install it by runnig

 sudo port install tinyproxy

You can also use SquidMan to install Squid. It includes a graphical interface for configuration, and requires no other software.

Live CD

Hackers without borders have developed a so called live-cd operating systems for easy setup a proxy-, vpn-server and tor-node. The Test Build can be downloaded from the HWB-wiki.

A Virtual Machine-proxyserver has also been developed for easy setup of a proxyserver, Proxy Box.

SSH Socks proxy tunnel

You can use pretty much any machine running a UNIX-based (Mac OS X, Linux, *BSD, etc) operating system as a proxy, as long as it's running a fairly modern version of SSH. (which most of them are) Instructions can be found here. There's a somewhat more complicated configuration of the client, but it works without any extra software except for PuTTY. It's also encrypted, which of course is a good thing.

Update:

(moderators, feel free to edit this part)

You can find a detailed step-by-step instructions to set this up on both sides. here.

Using the Proxyserver

Firefox

Open the menu "Edit" -> "Preferences. Click on the "Advanced" icon. Under "Connections" Klick on the "Settings" icon. Then mark the "Manual" radio button and till in the correct proxserver adress in the HTTP box. The internet is full of guides.

Safari

Click on the menu "Safari" -> "Settings". Click on the "Advanced" icon and then the button "Settings" next to "Proxyservers". Mark the checkbox "Webproxy" and then fill in the proxyserver name or ip in the box under "Webproxyserver".

Internet Explorer

Please fill in this information if you know how to do it...

Use TOR

Another really easy solution is to use the anonymizing software tor. Tor is free software and an open network that helps you defend against a form of network surveillance that threatens personal freedom and privacy, confidential business activities and relationships, and state security known as traffic analysis. Tor is also really easy to use, just follow the installation guide for your operating system. Tor can be downloaded here make sure to download the whole bundel and follow the installation instructions carefully.

Cyberaid guide for Iran election

The purpose of this guide is to help you participate constructively in the Iranian election protests through Twitter.

Do NOT publicize proxy IP's over twitter, and especially not using the #iranelection hashtag. Security forces are monitoring this hashtag, and the moment they identify a proxy IP they will block it in Iran. If you are creating new proxies for the Iranian bloggers, DM them to @stopAhmadi or @iran09 and they will distributed them discretely to bloggers in Iran.

Hashtags, the only two legitimate hashtags being used by bloggers in Iran are #iranelection and #gr88, other hashtag ideas run the risk of diluting the conversation.

Keep you bull$hit filter up! Security forces are now setting up twitter accounts to spread disinformation by posing as Iranian protesters. Please don't retweet impetuosly, try to confirm information with reliable sources before retweeting. The legitimate sources are not hard to find and follow.

Help cover the bloggers: change your twitter settings so that your location is TEHRAN and your time zone is GMT +3.30. Security forces are hunting for bloggers using location and timezone searches. If we all become 'Iranians' it becomes much harder to find them.

Don't blow their cover! If you discover a genuine source, please don't publicise their name or location on a website. These bloggers are in REAL danger. Spread the word discretely through your own networks but don't signpost them to the security forces. People are dying there, for real, please keep that in mind...

Denial of Service attacks. Do not DDoS Iran! If you don't know what you are doing, stay out of this game. Only target those sites the legitimate Iranian bloggers are designating. Be aware that these attacks can have detrimental effects to the network the protesters are relying on. Keep monitoring their traffic to note when you should turn the taps on or off.

Do spread the (legitimate) word, it works! When the bloggers asked for twitter maintenance to be postponed using the #nomaintenance tag, it had the desired effect. As long as we spread good information, provide moral support to the protesters, and take our lead from the legitimate bloggers, we can make a constructive contribution.

Please remember that this is about the future of the Iranian people, while it might be exciting to get caught up in the flow of participating in a new meme, do not lose sight of what this is really about