Sesawe offers tools to circumvent web censorship

I had stopped shortly in a blogger/new media training session last Friday, that focused on Eurasian bloggers and new media people. You can check their work here:

Eurasian Stories | Digital Stories from Eurasia

and videos made in the workshop:
http://eurasianstories.blip.tv/

I have met Eric who works with a website called Sesawe. This site offers great tools and recommendations to circumvent web censorship. In their site:

Where sesawe matters:

CHECK OUT MORE AT Sesawe

My brief notes from Eric’s speech:

13 countries seriously censor web.

two basic ways to get around web censorship.
1) browser proxy. ktunnel, vtunnel…. but they might be blocked, too. then new sites. but cannot login to your account…
mobile sites are more accessible but not all capacities can be used…

2) a proxy client. you download and install and use. but only with your own computer. in internet cafes, you may not be allowed and download.

1- Sesawe.net uses web trust. only trusted people share particular DNS…
2- Tor. Chinese expats created some downloadable software. anonymity guaranteed. Ordinary solutions may not guarantee…
2b. “Your freedom” is downloadable.

Security.
Pirated copies are vulnerable. use original software, update your software.
*best way to convince people to buy originals*

anti piracy software is a must.
zero day exploits: before the next update, viruses attack your computer.

use FTP clients to send videos etc  from banning countries to free world (!)

hard drive encryption is a must!
gmail settings should be “sent always in https://

biggest threat that content of your hard drive can be stolen. more than what you actually correspond…

6 major IM among them:
skype and gmail are considered most secure. if you use original version of Skype… Skype in Chinese is not… mobile phone, phone is not secure at all. email partly secure. relatively secure is Skype and Gmail… (But if you save chat history… there might be more problem…) mobile phone cannot be encrypted.

Check also:

FLOSS Manuals

In an attempt to provide free documentation for free software, this wiki lets anyone read, write, remix articles or textbooks on any open source application …

IN OTHER NEWS:

Introducing Google Public DNS

When you type www.wikipedia.org into your browser’s address bar, you expect nothing less than to be taken to Wikipedia. Chances are you’re not giving much thought to the work being done in the background by the Domain Name System, or DNS.

Today, as part of our ongoing effort to make the web faster, we’re launching our own public DNS resolver called Google Public DNS, and we invite you to try it out.

Predictions for DNS 2010

This morning Google announced the laun

Google DNS

Google announced their public DNS server today. I’m using it right now. There’s been a bunch of speculation as to why Google is offering this service for free but the reason is pretty simple: they want to speed up people’s Google search results. In 2006, Google VP Marissa Mayer told the audience at the Web 2.0 conference that slowing a user’s search experience down even a fraction of a second results in fewer searches and less customer satisfaction.

ch of Google DNS. Most of the early posts I read didn?t mention that this is a great way for Google to know EVERYTHING that you do online. Back in 2007, James Thomas attempted to use the Web without ever touching a Google service. He was able to do it for a short bit but eventually gave in. In late 2007, I took a look at just how much Google knew about you. Last year I updated the post to note that Google even knows where I am.

Fashion Houses Making Room for Bloggers

?Fashion brands, increasingly aware of the power of bloggers, are making room for them in their front-row seats to try to grab consumers before they visit their stores,? according to Reuters correspondent Marie-Louise Gumuchian.

Map of Wikipedia article-density by nation:

Here’s a fascinating heat map showing the number of geotagged Wikipedia articles by country. It’s a map of the “known unknowns” — areas where there are likely to be many articles still to write.

Reports and Studies

• The Web?s Most Dangerous Search Terms

• Mapping the Mal Web

France Info interview about LeWeb09

Leading French radio France info interviewed me about this years edition and also captured it in video (in French). Thank you David Abiker and Jerome Colombain for having us on your show. We are thrilled to have France Info as media partner this year.

Iran: Fariba Pajooh, a blogger in prison

Fariba Pajooh, an Iranian blogger and journalist, has been in prison for more than 100 days. According to [fa] Ghomar Asheghaneh, an Iran based blogger, her parents do not know what to do and her father is in a bad physical condition.

Is Iranian Blogger Hossein Derakhshan a Spy?

On December 3, 2009, Newsweek online published what it called a ?Web Exclusive? headlined ?The Blogfather and the Spy.? Written by Christopher Dickey, Newsweek?s ?Paris Bureau Chief and Middle East Regional Editor,? the post is about ?Hossein Derakhshan, the liberal former Iranian blogger and progenitor of Iran’s online community.? He ?is thought to be aiding the [Iranian] government’s crackdown? on Iranian political reformers,? according to Newsweek.

What do ISPs charge the law to spy on you?

Cryptome is hosting several ISPs’ pricelists and guidelines for “lawful spying” activities on behalf of law enforcement. Included is Yahoo’s price-guide (hilariously, Yahoo tried to send them a copyright takedown notice to make this go away).

Google’s DNS Resolution Service

Google Public DNS ?is a free, global Domain Name System (DNS) resolution service, that you can use as an alternative to your current DNS provider,? Google announced, and says that in order to give it a try you need to configure your settings to use the IPs ?8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 as your DNS servers?. Supposed improvements are speedier browsing and better security.

Report: Facebook Popularity Not Fading Among Young Users

A new study being released this morning by Anderson Analytics reveals that prior reports suggesting Facebook may be losing it?s coolness factor among college students are inaccurate. Facebook was viewed as ?cool? by 82 percent of males and 90 percent of females in the study. While the study does not allude to reasons for the site?s continued popularity, it does suggest that Facebook is becoming a ?new mass medium?.