This article describes national internet structures in Central Asia which are referred to as freenet. A separate article describes the decentralized censorship-resistant peer-to-peer file sharing software known as Freenet. There is also a text-based community computer network which offers limited Internet services, at little or no cost, and is known as a "freenet."
Several Internet networks in Central Asia, specifically, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are financed[citation needed] by USAID and other United States governmental authorities and are called Freenet. In contrast with the decentralized censorship-resistant peer-to-peer file sharing software called Freenet, which is specifically designed to be very censorship-resistant, and in fact, to increase distribution of information in the case of censorship attempts, there is little information regarding the independence of the Central Asian networks from censorship by the operating authorities.
These freenets were started in 1996 as part of a United States Information Agency (USIA) project known as the Internet Access and Training Program IATP. The IATP was administered by the International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX) and funded by the Freedom Support Act (FSA). The objective of the IATP was to assist universities in accessing and developing Internet resources. This included the development of infrastructure such as satellite connectivity, local area networks, dial up access, and computer labs. Further the project trained staff and students in the use of email and the web to support research and communication with peers outside of Central Asia.
The IATP in Uzbekistan was the first to use the name "freenet". As the project in Uzbekistan developed, dial up access was provided to regional non governmental organizations (NGOs) who in turn provided support to the project that allowed students and staff at universities to enjoy free Internet access. This is where the concept of a "free" network originated. The Uzbekistan freenet was started by the IATP Regional Coordinator Christopher Parker along with Alexei Vostrikov and Boris Miller. The University of World Economy and Diplomacy (UWED) and the Tashkent State University of Economics (TSUE) were the first universities in Uzbekistan to have always on Internet access. This was achieved using microwave links that connected both universities to a shared VSAT link.
Another Internet network, initiated by the UNDP, including support from USAID, was started in Armenia in 1997 and is also called Freenet. As of 2005[update], users of Freenet in Armenia cannot access web pages on servers outside of Armenia. Apart from this restriction on website access, the degree of censorship on Freenet in Armenia is unknown.
Hyphanet is a peer-to-peer platform for censorship-resistant, anonymous communication. It uses a decentralized distributed data store to keep and deliver information, and has a suite of free software for publishing and communicating on the Web without fear of censorship. Both Freenet and some of its associated tools were originally designed by Ian Clarke, who defined Freenet's goal as providing freedom of speech on the Internet with strong anonymity protection.
Telecommunications in Armenia involves the availability and use of electronic devices and services, such as the telephone, television, radio or computer, for the purpose of communication. The various telecommunications systems found and used in Armenia includes radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the internet.
GNUnet is a software framework for decentralized, peer-to-peer networking and an official GNU package. The framework offers link encryption, peer discovery, resource allocation, communication over many transports and various basic peer-to-peer algorithms for routing, multicast and network size estimation.
An anonymous P2P communication system is a peer-to-peer distributed application in which the nodes, which are used to share resources, or participants are anonymous or pseudonymous. Anonymity of participants is usually achieved by special routing overlay networks that hide the physical location of each node from other participants.
The Invisible Internet Project (I2P) is an anonymous network layer that allows for censorship-resistant, peer-to-peer communication. Anonymous connections are achieved by encrypting the user's traffic, and sending it through a volunteer-run network of roughly 55,000 computers distributed around the world. Given the high number of possible paths the traffic can transit, a third party watching a full connection is unlikely. The software that implements this layer is called an "I2P router", and a computer running I2P is called an "I2P node". I2P is free and open sourced, and is published under multiple licenses.
A darknet or dark net is an overlay network within the Internet that can only be accessed with specific software, configurations, or authorization, and often uses a unique customized communication protocol. Two typical darknet types are social networks, and anonymity proxy networks such as Tor via an anonymized series of connections.
Scouting in Uzbekistan was founded in 1995, and is working toward World Organization of the Scout Movement recognition. In 1998, Scouting was limited to two Scout troops with a total of 15 members. Since the increasing presence of the United States military in the region after the September 11, 2001 attacks, Scouting is beginning to develop more thoroughly, and the fledgling organization, Kidirib Topubchi O'zbekiston, the Uzbekistan Union of Scout-Explorers, has issued insignia, considered to be a large step for nascent Scout organizations.
The Internet Access and Training Program (IATP) funded by USAID since 2007, is a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), US Department of State, funded in the past under the Freedom Support Act (FSA). IATP was administered by Project Harmony in Russia and still is administered by the International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX) in other Eurasian countries. IATP promotes Internet training and provides Internet access in developing countries around the world.
Decentralized computing is the allocation of resources, both hardware and software, to each individual workstation, or office location. In contrast, centralized computing exists when the majority of functions are carried out, or obtained from a remote centralized location. Decentralized computing is a trend in modern-day business environments. This is the opposite of centralized computing, which was prevalent during the early days of computers. A decentralized computer system has many benefits over a conventional centralized network. Desktop computers have advanced so rapidly, that their potential performance far exceeds the requirements of most business applications. This results in most desktop computers remaining idle. A decentralized system can use the potential of these systems to maximize efficiency. However, it is debatable whether these networks increase overall effectiveness.
Tribler is an open source decentralized BitTorrent client which allows anonymous peer-to-peer by default. Tribler is based on the BitTorrent protocol and uses an overlay network for content searching. Due to this overlay network, Tribler does not require an external website or indexing service to discover content. The user interface of Tribler is very basic and focused on ease of use instead of diversity of features. Tribler is available for Linux, Windows, and OS X.
Agriculture in Central Asia provides a brief regional overview of agriculture in the five contiguous states of former Soviet Central Asia – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Two other countries that are sometimes classified as Central Asian – Afghanistan and Mongolia – are included in this overview because of their substantially different background.
An anonymizer or an anonymous proxy is a tool that attempts to make activity on the Internet untraceable. It is a proxy server computer that acts as an intermediary and privacy shield between a client computer and the rest of the Internet. It accesses the Internet on the user's behalf, protecting personal information of the user by hiding the client computer's identifying information such as IP addresses. Anonymous proxy is the opposite of transparent proxy, which sends user information in the connection request header. Commercial anonymous proxies are usually sold as VPN services.
The Foundation for Tolerance International is a Kyrgyz non-governmental organization (NGO) founded in 1998 to prevent conflict and build peace and justice in Central Asia. It has operated for nine years in a fluid and changing context, but it has remained focused on its original goals of conflict prevention on a range of vertical and horizontal conflicts. FTI’s work is focused on two main directions:
The Winston Smith Project is an informational and operational project for the defence of human rights on the Internet and in the digital era. The project was started in 1999 as an anonymous association and it is characterised by the absence of a physical reference identity.
Internet censorship circumvention is the use of various methods and tools to bypass internet censorship.
The InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) is a protocol, hypermedia and file sharing peer-to-peer network for storing and sharing data in a distributed file system. By using content addressing, IPFS uniquely identifies each file in a global namespace that connects IPFS hosts, creating a resilient system of file storage and sharing.
Waste management in Kazakhstan is an important concern within the country, considering the billions of tons of industrial waste produced yearly, the currently less-than-optimal state of solid waste management, and existing toxins remaining from both pollutants and Kazakhstan's historical position as the USSR's testing grounds for rockets and nuclear weapons. Kazakhstan has very few services for recycling solid waste, and waste management is currently dealt with using regional programs.
Science and technology in Kyrgyzstan examines government efforts to develop a national innovation system and the impact of these policies.
Science and technology in Tajikistan examines government efforts to develop a national innovation system and the impact of these policies.
The decentralized web is a network of independent computers that provide secure, censorship-resistant access to information and services without relying on central servers or clouds, using decentralized computing.
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