Mirror Mirror

One of my students figured out how to beat Bess. Bess, for those of you used to total freedom while surfing the internet, is site-blocking software that determines what parts of the internet a surfer will be able to reach. It is also the bane of my workday existence.

Put in place for the noble reason of keeping students from viewing pornography and playing games, it has since degenerated into a catch-all that blocks mostly harmless sites. It appears that Bess' logic follows the "safety in numbers" rule- namely, if we're not sure, we'll block it.

I understand this but in the past I had always wished there was a way for administrators and teachers to bypass the system. On several occasions I've been blocked out from sites that I know for a fact would help me plan a better lesson. In the world of technology, this is indeed a sad thing.

For those who are curious, the actual website is
www3.beijing999.com. From what I gather, it's either a proxy or a mirror- those might be the same thing, but I'm not sure. All I know is that it works. You will, as you might suspect, see a page filled with Asian characters. In the middle is a white box where you can enter text. This sends you to the website, but Bess thinks you're still on the original site.

The pages take just a little longer to load, but I think they're being routed through a server in Asia, so this is understandable.

Mark N. (or someone with a technological background), please visit the site when you get a chance and explain precisely how I'm able to beat the system. This will serve to satisfy my idle curiosity. Thanks.