My Way News - Ideas for keeping your data safe from spying
My Way News reports: "Experts say there are steps anyone can take to improve privacy, but they only go so far. Using anonymity services and encryption 'simply make it harder, but not impossible,' said Ashkan Soltani, an independent privacy and security researcher. 'Someone can always find you _- just depends on how motivated they are.' With that caveat, here are some basic tips to enhance your privacy..."

NYT - Security Pioneer Creates Service to Encrypt Phone Calls and Text Messages
The New York Times reports: "At a security conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Mr. Zimmermann introduced the service, which is available for Android and iPhone. Silent Circle lets users make encrypted phone calls, send text messages and do  videoconferencing. Messages are scrubbed completely from the phone after a predetermined amount of time. Communications are secured using a new, peer-reviewed open-source encryption technology."

Comment: Those of you serving as missionaries in repressive countries might benefit from this service, it might protect you and those you minister to.

NYTimes.com - Nadim Kobeissi, Creator of a Secure Chat Program, Has Freedom in Mind
The New York Times reports: This group was building a project called Cryptocat, which has a simple, countercultural goal: people should be able to talk on the Internet without being subjected to commercial or government surveillance [...] Cryptocat and a few other services disguise the content of chat messages so that they look like gibberish to anyone who does not have the encryption key."

Comment: This looks like a tool that might come in handy for missionaries working in repressive countries. You can download Cryptocat here.

My Way News - EU Commissioner calls for new tools for bloggers
My Way News reports: "The European Union should help teach bloggers living under oppressive regimes how to communicate freely and avoid detection, and develop technology to help them, the bloc's digital affairs commissioner said Friday."

Comment: I wish them luck. It's nice to see TOR still in the mix.

CNN - What to do with passwords once you create them
CNN reports: "Password management isn't sexy but it's a problem that touches everyone who touches a computer. Not only are people forced to create new passwords at a dizzying level as they join social networks, do e-commerce and deal with frequently expiring passwords at work, but there are new and novel password theft methods all the time."

Comment: Missionaries operating in unfriendly countries would do well to secure their computers with the methods mentioned in this report from CNN.

ars - EFF announces Web encryption add-on for Firefox
ars technica reports: "Although many Web sites support SSL, it isn't always used by default, which means that users are sometimes exposed to the risk of snooping and data interception by unauthorized third parties. The add-on aims to mitigate that risk by directing users to HTTPS URLs whenever it is possible."

Web tools help protect human rights activists - Reuters
Reuters reports: "Now, human rights activists are looking to a new generation of Internet privacy tools to keep companies from gathering such data, hoping that it will protect dissidents like Shi. One, called Tor, scrambles information, then sends it over the Web. It hides the user's location and gets past firewalls. Those features make it popular with activists in countries like China and Iran."

Comment: This Reuters report highlights internet technology that is useful for human rights activists and missionaries operating in repressive countries.

My Way News - Web site tracks world online censorship reports
AP reports: "Herdict users report their Web site problems anonymously - numeric Internet addresses are recorded but only general location is displayed - so people can post more freely, encouraging reports about sensitive topics [...] The site doesn't investigate reports, though, so there's no way to know for sure that an outage is related to government meddling rather than a cut cable or other problem unrelated to censorship. Although surges in reports do suggest a government role, a widespread technical glitch can also produce a similar spike."

Comment: The Herdict site is located here and looks to be a valuable tool for keeping tabs on censorship worldwide.

My Way News - Iran: new audience for US scholar's protest guide
AP reports: "Iranian protesters wondering what to do next are being encouraged to consult a source that helped drive a decade of nonviolent revolutions in Eastern Europe: a how-to guide to toppling dictatorships written by a retired American scholar who is little known outside of activist circles. But the Iranian regime definitely knows about 81-year-old Gene Sharp. His name and references to his 1993 book have buzzed around opposition Web sites and social networks."

Comment: His book From Dictatorship to Democracy can be downloaded here in PDF form.

My Way News - Web support pours out for Iran protesters
AP reports: "Google and Facebook have rushed out services in Farsi. Twitter users have changed their home cities to Tehran to provide cover for Internet users there. Others have configured their computers to serve as relay points to bypass Iranian censorship. [...] He and other U.S. Web users set up ways for Iranians to access the Internet using Tor, a service that allows people use the Internet anonymously. Even the file-sharing site Pirate Bay, best known for its run-ins with the law over copyright infringement, has jumped in with the launch of a network that helps Iranians surf anonymously."

My Way News - The Pirate Bay helps Iran critics dodge censorship
AP reports: "Popular file-sharing site The Pirate Bay said Wednesday it has helped launch an Internet network in support of Iranian election critics allowing users to dodge the regime's censorship rules by surfing anonymously [...] The Web site, iran.whyweprotest.net, says it allows 'a secure and reliable way of communication for Iranians and friends' and also directs users to an anonymity system, which can be used to hide their Internet locations."

Comment: This kind of site can also be useful for persecuted minorities in any repressive country.

My Way News - Tweeting Iran: Elex news in 140 characters or less
AP reports: "Iranians must outsmart government blocking to use Twitter, on which users post messages limited to 140 characters called 'tweets.' Twitter and other social-networking sites remained blocked Monday in Iran. [...] Facebook was used to organize people before the election, but it was also blocked after the vote. On Monday, the site was replaced with a message that said the page was blocked under a filtering policy."

Comment: It is very important for Christians to make use of all of the new social networking technology to share the gospel and to familiarize missionaries with the tools of dissent that may be needed in repressive societies.

My Way News - China requires PCs to come with anti-porn software
AP reports: "China is requiring personal computers sold in the country to carry software that blocks online pornography and other Web sites, potentially giving one of the world's most sophisticated censorship regimes even more control over the Internet."

Tech Clampdown On Tiananmen Anniversary - CBS News
CBS News reports: "Chinese authorities blocked popular Web sites like Twitter and Flickr on Tuesday after forcing dissidents from Beijing in a clampdown ahead of the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests."

Cyberwar - Iranians and Others Outwit Net Censors - Series - NYTimes.com
The New York Times reports: "The Internet is no longer just an essential channel for commerce, entertainment and information. It has also become a stage for state control — and rebellion against it. Computers are becoming more crucial in global conflicts, not only in spying and military action, but also in determining what information reaches people around the globe."

Comment: This report describes both the methods used by governments to control access to information and the software tools used by activists to circumvent them. Missionaries operating in repressive countries would do well to look into the following:

• Global Internet Freedom Consortium
• Tor Project
• Psiphon

My Way News - Laptop searches at border might get restricted
AP reports: "Customs and Border Protection, part of the Department of Homeland Security, asserts that it has constitutional authority to conduct routine searches at the border - without suspicion of wrongdoing - to prevent dangerous people and property from entering the country. This authority, the government maintains, applies not only to suitcases and bags, but also to books, documents and other printed materials - as well as to electronic devices."

My Way News - Internet companies embrace human rights guidelines
AP reports: "Leading Internet companies, long criticized by human-rights groups for their business dealings in China, agreed Tuesday to new guidelines that seek to limit what data they should share with authorities worldwide and when they should do so."

Comment: It's nice to see that these companies recognize that they have a responsibility when dealing with repressive countries, but I'd like to see how these new polices fare when tested by real events. Is this just PR?

My Way News - Review: Tiny flash drives improve their security
AP reports: "My favorite IronKey feature was the built-in Firefox browser. It let me take my favorite Web bookmarks and login information with me, along with my Web surfing cookies and site history. This means I left no trace of my Web browsing on the computers I plugged the IronKey into."

Comment: Here is a great tool to allow you to take your net with you, your browser, your settings, along with you, user any computer you like, and leave no trace of your activity. Let's buy a bunch of these and send them to the underground church in China, that should poke some holes in the Great Firewall.

My Way News - Microsoft's newest browser may block ads
AP reports: "Users surfing with InPrivateBlocking turned on can review a list of which companies are trying to display or collect data. Users also can click a link to read more and decide case by case whether to permit certain ones to go ahead."

Comment: This promises to be a great feature of the next version of IE, let's hope it survives their beta test and their internal debate with their marketing types.

My Way News - Some Web sites unblocked for Olympics, but not all
AP reports: "Olympic organizers unblocked some Internet sites at the main press center and media venues Friday while others remained off limits for journalists covering the Beijing games."