Koshish Foundation Starts
Knowledge Exchange Program
By Ali Hasan Cemendtaur
The setting was Spartan - a classroom
was created in one corner of the warehouse of a general
contractor - but the subject matter of the lecture was high
tech, and the program the class was kicking off was very
ambitious. Koshish Foundation's first lecture under its
Knowledge Exchange Program on "Internet privacy/security
and parental control: Tips, tricks, tools and related information"
was held on November 23, at the office of Dyna-Sel USA.
L to R :Asif Habib,Suhail Akbar (Koshish
Chairman)
and Faisal Ali
Koshish Foundation (www.koshish.org) is a non-profit organization
working on education related projects in Pakistan. Koshish
describes its Knowledge Exchange Program to be a free community
service. The intent is to disseminate important information
to professional and non-professional individuals. Through
the Knowledge Exchange project Koshish plans to arrange
regular lectures on topics interesting to a wide audience.
Koshish believes the attendees of the Knowledge Exchange
program will get the benefits of learning, networking, getting
valuable advice and tips, generating new ideas together,
and making friends.
Asif
Habib,instructor of the class
The lecture arranged on November 23 was very timely as protecting
yourself on the Internet is a growing concern shared by
many. The information highway that at one time people aspired
is now a reality and has made exits and on-ramps at each
computer. Among the educated of the world the Internet's
membership, in numbers, far surpasses any other form of
membership, be it religion, language, or culture. The rate
at which new information is added to the Internet on a daily
basis is mind-boggling.
A
section of the class
The
Internet has everything: from the darkest aspects of our
existence to the brightest and most promising dreams of
the brilliant minds. And because this union of people transcends
national boundaries and geographical limits the Internet
has no rules.
It is a jungle where predators roam free and look for easy
preys. And this vulnerability dictates a need to prop up
safeguards. The Internet Security class was taught by Mr.
Asif Habib, owner of Hiregateway.com and the brain behind
NetGenii software (available at NetGenii.net). Mr.Asif Habib
who is leading Koshish's Knowledge Exchange Project has
fourteen years of management and software engineering experience.
Mr. Habib started the lecture with a general overview of
the Internet technology. He observed that parents are very
protective of their children when the children are out of
their homes, but when children sit in front of the computer
parents believe their child is safe just because parents
can see their child. Mr. Habib asked parents to be perceptive
of the influences their child gets exposed to the Internet.
"Everything is out there. Children are very vulnerable
and parents must protect their children," Mr. Habib
said. Mr. Habib then expanded the scope of the lecture by
delineating on aspects of identity theft and protecting
privacy when communicating through the Internet. Among a
bunch of observations and remedies he talked about, this
writer remembered the following:
Don't store your personal documents on any c omputer that
is connected to a local area network.
Always delete e-mail messages after reading them.
Do financial transactions only on secure servers (that start
with https.
Don't keep any history of your web surfing stored in your
browser. Periodically delete temporary I
nternet files that are stored on your machine by the websites
you visit.
Use a firewall.
Use an antivirus software.
Use an antispam software if you believe unsolicited email
messages are taking up a lot of your time.
Use an anti spyware. [Spywares sit in your machine, monitor
your activities, and send this information to their parent
servers.]
Encrypt e-mail messages that are classified in nature.
Never open any attachment that comes from strangers--or
even when it comes from someone you know but looks suspicious.
Whereas no funds are solicited from the attendees of the
Knowledge Exchange program, Koshish Foundation, through
this program, hopes to create a continuous source of revenue
for its ever-growing philanthropic activities.
Koshish is asking community members to financially support
the Knowledge Exchange program. Donators can become annual
supporters of this program for a $300 donation. Quarterly
and per lecture support packages at $100 and $25 are also
available. This type of a long-term fundraising drive with
obvious benefits to the community is a novel idea; it is
a welcoming deviation from gaudy fundraisers frequently
held in chic
hotels.
Exciting things are happening at http://www.koshish.org
Join Koshish's Knowledge Exchange; meet bright people, help
educate children in Pakistan. http://www.koshish.org/kx.html
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