These days, it seems like everybody’s concerned about internet security. From firewalls to virus scanners, and SSL-encrypted login pages to more secure ways to create and store session data in cookies, there’s a breadth of information, software, and services available to the consumer to help with securing their computers and internet connections from attackers. Certain types of attackers, that is. What about when the attacker in question, though, is the user’s own ISP or the government they live under?
With ever-increasing state and corporate surveillance and censorship of the internet connection you’re already paying for, a VPN on top of it has become pretty much essential. Just see this article about what’s going on in the US starting this July, or the plans the UK government has for their residents. And this is just what’s public in the news media. For every story we hear, there are dozens of National Security Letters, warrantless wiretaps, and other abuses. How can you defend yourself?
There are large, public networks like Tor and I2P which offer various solutions to various problems. Tor encrypts your content and hides your origin very effectively when used correctly. It creates a tunnel using several nodes, none of which know the actual origin of the connection. The problems with Tor are two-fold, however. For one thing, you can’t always trust the exit node which delivers you to the internet, meaning you need to rely on other forms of endpoint authentication and encryption protocols (like SSL) to make sure you’re not made the victim of a man in the middle attack. The other big problem with Tor is speed. Anyone who has used it knows that the biggest price of good anonymity on the internet is that your internet experience is going to be slow, and some things – like large file downloads or peer-2-peer connectivity – are just not going to work. At all. I2P on the other hand isn’t really designed to access the regular internet. While it provides a gateway to its own “eepsites”, connectivity in a more secure manner to websites like google, facebook, or porn sites just isn’t going to be possible using I2P.
Another option, and one which better meets the needs of most users, is a VPN. VPNs do not provide anonymity as strongly as Tor or I2P, but they provide fast and reliable internet connectivity to the websites and other internet services you use on a daily basis. The Red Triangle Technology Collective is now offering low-cost VPN services for users around the globe. For many US internet users, a US-based VPN from RTTC may even increase internet performance, while simoultaneously evading censorship, connection hijacking, and data mining that US consumer ISPs are more and more frequently routinely inflicting upon their own customers. If you use Verizon, Comcast, Time Warner, or any other major consumer cable or DSL internet provider in the US, you need a VPN. For those also concerned about state surveillance with regard to users in the US, the collective’s Russia-based offerings provide a service hosted in Moscow, beyond the jurisdiction of the FBI and the NSA.
For greater “signal to noise ratio” a Tor service can be run on the VPN system, making surveillance even more difficult. For the ultimate in security, one can opt to have a Tor exit node running on the same IP as their VPN, which means that the user has plausible deniability for any and all traffic coming through their VPN. The unfortunate downside of running with a Tor exit node is that many sites may automatically block you. No other VPN provider is currently offering this functionality or this level of overall security. Backed by RTTC – an organization with radical values – you can be sure that your internet connectivity is safe with a Red Triangle Technology Collective VPN service.
In today’s environment of increasing surveillance and censorship, can you really afford not to? Sign up today!
Tuition outlook: who’ll pay, who’ll save: area schools look to give more students a break.(higher ED)
ColoradoBiz August 1, 2010 | Caley, Nora On June 9, Gov. Bill Ritter signed Senate Bill 3, which allows governing boards of public colleges and universities to raise tuition up to 9 percent annually from fiscal year 2011 to 2016 without having to seek approval from the Legislature. For an increase of more than 9 percent, an institution would have to seek approval from the Colorado Commission on Higher Education.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The governor also signed House Bill 1428, which allocates $35 million in funds from CollegeInvest to benefit higher education.
One goal for the bills was to increase funding to schools so they could allocate more money to scholarships and financial aid, according to statements that day by the governor and various legislators. Colorado colleges and universities say they have been working to help students finance their education through new financial-aid programs, discounts and other assistance.
One highly publicized effort came in June, when Colorado State University announced it would offer a tuition discount starring in fall 2011. Undergraduate students who are Colorado residents and whose families earn less than $57,000 a year will pay half CSU’s tuition rate. That’s a discount of about $2,600 a year available for students at CSU-Pueblo or CSU-Fort Collins. With this Commitment to Colorado program, students who also receive Pell Grants will not have to pay any tuition or fees.
The decades-old Federal Pell Grant Program provides need-based grants to low-income students seeking their first bachelor’s degree or certain post-baccalaureate degrees related to teaching certification. The amount of the grant is based on several factors, including the amount that the student’s family will contribute to his or her education, the cost of tuition, whether the student attends full or part time and whether the student attends for a full academic year or less. this web site jones international university
It’s not just low-income students who need help financing their education. “We believe we can direct more financial aid to middle-income students,” says Ken McConnellogue, associate vice president for university relations for the University of Colorado system. “Students in the low end of the socioeconomic scale tend to get more federal financial aid in the form of Pell Grants. What we feel this will do is make college more affordable for middle-income families.” In 2002, CU generated $38 million in financial aid, compared to $105 million today. Just more than half of that, $55 million, comes from philanthropy. The rest is generated from tuition. “Not this year, but the previous two years were our best fundraising years ever,” McConnellogue says. In fiscal year 2008-09, CU generated $134 million in donations, and in fiscal year 2007-08 the system generated $162.5 million.
University of Northern Colorado increased its budget for institutionally funded scholarships and discounts by about $500,000, to $15 million. “We did see a 12 percent increase in students enrolled last year,” says Tobias Guzman, assistant vice president for enrollment management and student access. “By increasing those dollars we were able to help more students.” UNC also relaxed the requirement that first-year students must live on campus. The 2010-2011 residence room and board rates start at about $4,000. “We do believe living on campus is important,” Guzman says. “Studies show higher persistence rates, but when it comes down to it, you look at your pocketbook.” Other new efforts include a payment plan that gives students the option to pay tuition over a six-month or 12-month period at an interest rate of 1.75 percent, instead of writing a large check at the start of the semester. There’s the Greeley Promise Scholarship, which began in fall 2009 for students who graduate from high schools in the Greeley-Evans school district. Also new is the First Generation Scholarship of $4,000 for students whose parents have not received a degree from a four-year university.
Centennial-based Jones International University serves a nontraditional student body. “Their average age is 36,” says Terry Rawls, vice chancellor of academics. “Many do seek federal financial aid, but many are graduate students, and there aren’t the typical grants available that are available to undergraduates.” Jones International University partnered with Douglas County to offer the JIU- Douglas County Educational Foundation Scholarship. The university provided $1 million for 100 scholarships for teachers in the Douglas County school district who want to earn undergraduate or graduate degrees.
At the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, the Kane Family Scholarship, which had its first graduating class this year, comes from the estate of a couple who were ranchers in Fountain. The scholarship pays tuition and fees for up to five years at UCCS or three years at a community college.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Robert Bode, director of financial aid and student employment at UCCS, says new flexibility in the Pell Grants has meant more applications and more grants. Before, Pell Grants were awarded for the year. Now students can apply for the grant for a summer session. “We have almost doubled the Pell Grants, from $5.25 million in 2008-2009 to $9.1 million in 2009-2010,” he says. “Part of that is the effect of the economy. We’re doing more adjustments for parents during the financial downturn, plus the fact that students are attending in summer as well as fall and spring.” UCCS is also trying to make on-campus jobs available for students. “Students who work on campus who are financially challenged are more likely to graduate than students who work off campus,” says chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak. “All our departments schedule the work around the student’s schedule. Employers in the community cannot necessarily change your shift around your class schedule.” She says 85 percent of UCCS students work. web site jones international university
Mesa State College launched MAV-WORKS, a work study program. (MAV refers to the school’s mascot, the Mavericks.) “It was for students who couldn’t get any need-based financial aid,” says Curt E. Martin, director of financial aid. The pilot program last year had a budget of $50,000. “We have a lot of work that needs to be done on campus, so we said we can spend $50,000 to hire one person or hire 50 students. That worked out pretty well.” For next year the budget will be $200,000.
Martin says he has been fielding at least twice as many loss-of-income appeals as he would in a normal year. Students who suffer a change in financial circumstance–for example, a parent became unemployed–after they filed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) can ask the college to adjust their award.
Other schools are also seeing increases in these requests. “This past fall our office saw a 300 percent increase in our Income Adjustments forms,” says Cindy Hejl, director of financial aid for Metropolitan State College of Denver. “The forms are a way for students or parents to have us look at their file to review again in case there is a reduction in income.” She adds that Metro disbursed $18 million in Pell Grants to 6,560 students in 2008-09, and so far has disbursed $29 million to 8,685 students in 2009-10. The summer Pell Grants have doubled. “We did try and communicate with students who were registered for at least six credits to tell them they might be eligible for more in summer Pell if they decide to register for more than six to eight credits.” Other schools say they haven’t launched any new programs, but they do communicate with students about financial aid. “It is definitely a topic of conversation very early in the process,” says Vic Davolt, director of admissions for Regis College, which is Regis University’s college for the traditional students, the recent high school graduates. “I find that many families are becoming better educated to the fact there are scholarships and financial aid programs available.” Colorado State University’s Global Campus, the online university, does not offer the half-off discount that CSU-Pueblo and CSU-Fort Collins will offer. As part of its Commitment to Colorado, CSU-Global offers guaranteed tuition rates for students who are continuously enrolled through graduation. Jenna Langer, CSU-Global’s chief operating officer, says students look at the online university, which is in its second year, as a less expensive alternative.
“We started off by keeping tuition rates low,” she says. “We don’t have student fees. We are pretty discounted if you compare us to other online programs.” Langer says students are finding more ways to save money, such as by buying used textbooks online. Also, they are being strategic about choosing a major. “They are very smart about the investment,” she says. “They’re making sure that they are earning degrees that help them become employable, not just choosing what looks interesting.” Caley, Nora
Author: Matt D. Harris
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Formerly two-term chairman of the Libertarian Party of West Virginia, Matt currently resides in northeast Kansas City, where he seeks to build an anarchist enclave in the mid-west with his friends and comrades.
8:30 am
like eric schmidt said, if theres something you dont want others to know about, then maybe you shouldnt be doing it in the first place. that could not be more true. let me remind you folk that the internet was created by the u.s military industrial complex, so it is hard to sneak something by the u.s. regime, even on a vpn, and in many cases vpn are used for surveilance, so you are protecting yourself from surveilance by using a surveilance device. that isnt going to be very effective. i can pretty much tell you that ultrasurf and freegate are both run indirectly by the u.s. regime. and they will collect your information, and even be able to get stuff directly from your hard drive. protecting yourself from censorship? anything that the u.s. regime does not like, they will take down. the u.s regime controls all root servers of the entire internet. they got guys working around the clock at the nsa doing this kind of thing. take mega upload for example. they didnt even do anything wrong and were shut down by the u.s regime, most likely because they were hosting hollywood films. take notes, the u.s regime works for the corporations. torrents are still around, but for how much longer? until the u.s regime decides to shut that down too.