Today, UW CSE’s Networks & Mobile Systems Lab released an alpha version of uProxy, a new browser extension for Chrome and Firefox that leverages social networks and trust between friends to provide web surfers with safe and unfettered passage through the internet.
Users of uProxy are able to share a trusted Internet connection with friends or to route their own traffic through a friend’s computer, essentially creating a personalized VPN (virtual private network) that makes it more difficult for third parties to monitor or interfere with their online activity. The alpha version is compatible with Google Hangouts and Facebook, and developers hope to add more social networks in future.
uProxy – which was developed at UW CSE with contributions from Google, Brave New Software and the open source community, and seeded by Google Ideas – is the culmination of two years of development. Way to go, team!
Learn more and try uProxy for yourself here. (And once you’ve tried it, be sure to provide the developers with your feedback!)