Tiny software firm adds to Green Dam mess

MarketWatch ^ | Jul 2, 2009, 12:01 a.m. EST | Therese Poletti,

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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- A small software firm in the tony enclave of Santa Barbara may have helped personal computer makers fend off demands by the Chinese government for mandatory Web-filtering software on all PCs sold in China.

When the Chinese government delayed the requirement for Green Dam software, it did not give a new timetable on when the software had to be installed. No reasons were given, but some speculate that fear of being party to political censorship wasn't the only reason. See full story.

Last month, researchers at the University of Michigan found two big problems with Green Dam, co-developed by a company in Zhengzhou called Jinhui Computer System Engineering Co. Researchers said installing Green Dam would make PCs vulnerable to hackers.

They also pointed out that Green Dam has copycat files from another filtering program, called Cybersitter, developed by tiny Solid Oak Software of Santa Barbara.

"U.S. companies were concerned about Green Dam because it created legal risks and computer security risks," said J. Alex Halderman, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan, in an email. Halderman, who studied the software, added that Green Dam "exposes U.S. companies to potential legal liability because it includes blacklists and other files copied from Cybersitter."

Brian Milburn, president of Solid Oak, said researchers alerted him to the possibility that Green Dam's developers appeared to have copied many files from its Cybersitter software. It's a program parents can install on their PCs to block Web sites, especially pornography, from their kids.

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