From time to time all web masters get the urge (or the order from on high) to re-vamp their site. For websites that do not include e-commerce business or transaction processing, this SHOULD be a fairly painless procedure.
Unless you are also running a personal web server, it makes sense to discuss your plans with your web hosting provider. At the very least, you will be ensuring they don’t have plans of their own that clash with yours.
Document every step you take in detail, especially file names and locations, whatever changes you make, tests and results. Check your backups, don’t leave it to chance.
You can add extra insurance by creating a complete copy of the old site on a second subdomain, which you can bring into service with a temporary redirect if the plan fails and you run out of time, or if you need to put the project on hold part-way through.
If, having consulted this check list, you do not feel confident about managing your web site upgrade – save yourself the headaches and hire a professional.
by Mary McGuire, Senior Communications Manager, Freedom House
Across the board, the assessed technologies failed to adequately protect user security. In autocratic countries such as Belarus, China, and Iran, this has serious implications for human rights defenders, journalists, and political opposition figures, as well as for ordinary citizens. Individuals who manage to get on the bad side of the government in these countries are harassed, imprisoned, tortured, or even killed, and there is no structure in place to prevent authorities from using mobile phone data to carry out such abuses.
Are citizens in non-democratic countries the only ones who should be concerned? Perhaps not. In the United States and other democracies, there are certainly institutions and procedures designed to protect user privacy, as well as legal remedies if one’s privacy rights are violated. But these safeguards are far from ironclad, and they may be falling behind the pace of technological development. Moreover, even the most benign government is likely to be tempted by the monitoring opportunities associated with devices like smartphones, which a growing number of citizens carry 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Big Brother could be watching. The video and audio recording capabilities that have become so vital to capturing important moments in our lives are also perfect surveillance tools for intrusive governments. It is even possible for the cameras and microphones in smartphones to be remotely activated by government agencies and mobile service providers.
There is nowhere to hide. The Global Positioning System (GPS) that allows us to get directions, find local businesses, and keep tabs on our friends and family members can also be used by governments to track our movements. Because most of our phones rarely leave our sight, we are essentially carrying personal tracking devices.
Our mobile carriers can’t protect us. Mobile providers gather personal data to keep up with our constant desire for customized services, and perhaps more importantly, because it is immensely profitable for them. However, once this data has been gathered, it is for the most part out of our control. Relying on these companies to make the right decisions about who is allowed access to personal information—particularly under threat from governments or when the provider itself is a state enterprise—is not a very safe bet.
The choice is not ours. When we buy a computer, we have the power to install the security tools of our choice, including applications that encrypt communications, circumvent censorship, and detect viruses and malware. When we buy a mobile phone, we are generally forced to use the default settings of the mobile operating systems we purchase. According to the recent Freedom House study, these default settings are grossly inadequate for keeping us secure. Moreover, add-on security and encryption options are often incompatible with the phones and/or limit one’s ability to use other features.
Everyone is to blame. Because mobile security is threatened on various fronts—mobile networks, operating systems, applications, handsets, and users—it is nearly impossible for any single actor to change the situation. The only way to better protect our security is through improved coordination among all players. In the meantime, users in repressive environments should be aware of the risks they are taking, particularly if they are engaging in activities likely to put them on the radar screen of their government.
Photo Credit: Gesa Henselma
The technology that some governments are using to oppress their own citizens is primarily developed in advanced democratic countries. The developers of these tools appear more concerned with potential profits than the potential risks they might pose when misused by repressive regimes. But even those of us who do not have to fear an authoritarian government should care about what we may be giving up in order to live in an interconnected world. Our information is out there, possibly forever, and probably out of our control. It might be time to start demanding new phones and applications that protect our privacy and security as well as entertain us.
To make sure everyone stays safe, knows their rights, and keeps their protest movement peaceful and non-violent, here’s a useful checklist.
Follow these tips if the worst happens. Remember, safety of yourself and others comes FIRST
otherwise known as micro-broadcasting
Your Own Pirate Radio station? by Ubstudios
Your Own Pirate Radio station? (part II)by Ubstudios
Free Radio Berkeley via Freeradio - How To Make a Radio Station by seth gadsden
Where to find free audio content?
Try the A-Infos Radio Project (http://radio4all.net) Formed in 1996 by grassroots broadcasters, free radio journalists and cyber-activists to provide them with the means to share radio programs via the Internet. A-Infos Radio Project was the first grassroots media project of it’s kind on the internet. Their goal is to support and expand the movement for democratic communications worldwid, to be an alternative to the corporate and government media which do not serve struggles for liberty, justice and peace, nor enable the free expression of creativity. The archived material is available to anyone who wants it free of charge. NOTE: If you create content, please consider sharing it via the A-infos Radio Project to help others like you.
How to Create a Pirate Radio Station
Want to create an FM radio station for your town? It’s easier than you think
The FCC has made it pretty much impossible for the average person (or even a group of people) to start and run a community focused radio station that reflects the local listeners interests. Thanks to the National Association of Broadcasters, a few well paid senators and big radio corporations like Clear Channel, there just isn’t room on the dial (or so they’d like you to believe).
The reality is Low Power FM could easily fit into the existing spectrum available on the FM dial. The folks above have made sure you can’t do this though. They’ve created rules based on false information that make it impossible to get a license.
Hell with that. Set up your own pirate radio station and go on the air. It’s easier than you might think. Continue reading
