This week, TechSoup published a new article on site analytics and privacy issues, Site Statistics and User Privacy for Nonprofit Websites. It's a complex issue with some strong feelings attached; there's much more to say than we could include in the article, but we hope it can serve as a starting point to help you make decisions about your nonprofit's website. Check out the article and share your thoughts in the TechSoup forums.

Internet privacy, particularly with respect to advertising, has been a big topic in the news lately. Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA) is introducing a bill next month that would force all U.S.-based websites to explain how users' data is being used and allow visitors to opt out of behavioral targeting campaigns (a few months ago, Boucher proposed a less-popular opt-in regulation).

Predictably, the advertising industry is responding negatively. "How many consumers want to pay $1,000 a month to have access to the Internet?" asked Matthew Wise of Q Interactive in a recent debate. "The reason they don't have to is because of advertising." If that argument sounds eerily familiar to you, it's because it's been voiced by the telecommunications industry throughout the net neutrality debate.

Global Voices Online is reporting how social media is playing a role in the latest parliamentary and council elections in Botswana. While they note that their use of social media tools is behind countries like Nigeria, Uganda, or South Africa, there are promising signs that individuals like journalists and students are using such tools to monitor and report on the ongoing elections. One blogger in particular, Patricia Maganu, notes that:

For the last three years, OneWebDay "has attracted a global network of partner organizations and individual activists committed to broadening public awareness of Internet and web issues while deepening a culture of participation in building a web that works for everyone."

This day is considered a day of action for digital inclusion, much like Earth Day has become a day of action for environmental issues. Grassroots organizers and individuals around the world are raising awareness, taking action, and encouraging change on a broad host of issues where web and Internet technologies are concerned. From expanding access to free WiFi, to creating public computing spaces, to expanding crowdsourced translation services for web content, OneWebDay is bringing together ideas and action for making the web truly a place for all.

In 2008, OneWebDay organizers documented volunteer-driven events in 34 different cities across the world. This year events are happening in over 50 cities in 20 countries!

OneWebDay is all about your passion for the web and your creativity. Visit the OneWebDay site to learn more and find out how you can participate!

Yesterday, Microsoft launched Microsoft Security Essentials Beta, a free set of security tools for validated users of Microsoft XP SP2 or SP3, Vista, or Windows 7 in the US, Israel, China, and Brazil.

In what looks to be the successor to OneCare, it is said to be faster and less resource intensive. Early reviews of the beta have been positive, so if you are comparing different security packages or are a current customer of OneCare, check it out.

There's an interesting discussion happening on MetaFilter about how to use the Web with bandwidth limitations. The user who started the discussion has only mobile broadband access, so he was trying to keep his costs down. But I think a lot of the recommendations would be equally useful for people with dial-up Internet access or other slower connections.

Here are some of my favorite suggestions:

• Rather than visiting all of the Web sites you need to see every day, start using RSS feeds.
• Most Web browsers allow you to disable all images: they'll simply appear as rectangles. When you need to see an image, you can have the browser load them automatically. Similarly, Flashblock lets you choose when to load Flash elements.
• Firefox Throttle is a Firefox plug-in that monitors your bandwidth usage. If you're paying for mobile access by the megabyte, then something like this is essential.
• But on the other hand, your Web browser isn't the only program that hogs your Internet access. Use Comodo Internet Security to control when and how other applications are going online.
• Disable prefetch. Firefox has an engine that preloads the most popular pages on a site when you first visit that site. I've had marked improvements in performance after disabling prefetch, even on a fast connection.

Photo: Cindy Seigle, CC license

At an event where managed security services provider MessageLabs (now part of Symantec) showcased Internet threats in artform, I had a chance to talk to Brian Hernacki, an Architect at Symantec Research Labs and Mark Sunner, the Chief Security Principal at MessageLabs. In addition to seeing malware and virus code realized visually, I gained some insights on the present and emerging threats on the Internet.

Hernacki asserted that since the acquisition of MessageLabs in November, Symantec has been able to see and address a wider range of threats that are on the Internet. Although he acknowledged that they are still in an integration phase, they are already able to leverage the intelligence that the MessageLabs network brings, and offer a broader range of services for customers. Being able to use a heuristic method and reputation-based scanning in addition to threat signatures allows for more robust surveillance and response. When asked whether the move or at least increased attention to cloud-based services makes the Internet easier or harder to secure, Hernacki believes that it's not one or the other, but just different. There are now more endpoints that organizations need to secure, and Symantec needs to have a global overview of threats as they emerge.

When asked a similar question — namely whether software, infrastructure, or applications as-a-service is a step down for large enterprises but a step up for small businesses — Sunner contended that isn't the case. He argued that the sheer volume of data MessageLabs processes allows them to react to threats quicker, as compared to when information about threats was independent. They have seen how instead of payloads delivered as attachments in email, users are now engineered to click on links from spam. It is thus more important to address the spam issue more vigilantly.

Video conferencing is no longer a technology only for rich corporations. There are many different types of solutions at different prices and different levels of quality. Is video conferencing right for you and your organization? Try a free service in a one to one informal setting to get the hang of it.

One basic free video conferencing service is Gmail voice and video chat. Read what one of our non-technical volunteer's had to say about it in her recent post Using Gmail Voice and Video Chat: Is My Camera On? You can also read a forum discussion about multi-point video conferencing, which includes a discussion of Skype, net meeting, and other more robust tools.

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd., makers of the popular ZoneAlarm security software products, is having a one day only special promotion of their Internet Security Suite for only $9.95 from 6 a.m. Pacific time April 14 to 6 a.m. Pacific time April 15. While you may have already used its award-winning free firewall before, this full suite includes antivirus and anti-spyware protection for up to 3 users. Best of all, 50% of the proceeds from the promotion will help TechSoup Global in our efforts to bring technology resources to social benefit organizations around the world. So if you still haven't had up-to-date protection on your PC's, check out this limited time offer, and help us help you!

Back in January, we blogged about the Downadup worm on the rampage. Fast forward two months, and not only has the problem not been suppressed, Downadup (also known as Conficker) has evolved and its variations have grown more sophisticated and potentially more virulent.

For example, it is said to have encrypted P2P (peer-to-peer) communication mechanisms to ensure a distributed command structure and disrupts Windows Update or other antivirus software from cleaning it. Currently it is still lying dormant.

Based on the code, some experts think that starting on April 1, infected computers can be activated to receive instructions as a massive botnet. If you haven't allowed Windows Update to address this issue since October 2008, or hadn't scanned your computer using updated virus definitions, at this stage perhaps the best protection may just be to ensure that your data is backed up and intact.

If your computer is infected with Conficker — as with any other instance of infections — be prepared to take any infected computers offline and even reinstall your operating system. Learn more about building stronger security for your personal and office machines in TechSoup's Security Corner.

Cisco writes about a public-private partnership they have had with British Telecom and OneWorld that offers a voice accessible knowledgebase for rural farmers.

LifeLines India allows them to call in and —using a voice activated system in their local language — get advice about their needs. This sustainable model has been in progress for over two years with measurable success. This innovative use of unified communications technology is sure to offer ideas for other programs to help bridge the digital divide.