No laboratory needed: The Person Project mines social science data with secure online activities - Princeton University
No laboratory needed: The Person Project mines social science data with secure online activities - Princeton University |
- No laboratory needed: The Person Project mines social science data with secure online activities - Princeton University
- 7 best VPN services for most people 2020 - T3
- No laboratory needed: Person Project mines social science data with secure online activities - Mirage News
| Posted: 07 Jan 2020 08:22 AM PST  Understanding the human psyche is complex, for ordinary people and scientists alike. Now, researchers at Princeton University have created a new tool for social scientists to study human psychology through a series of fun, thought-provoking activities. Launched this month, the Person Project website and smartphone app (available for both iPhone and Android) are designed to encrypt and store securely collected data from users who participate in these activities, providing an online platform for researchers to use in academic studies. "The goal of this project is to connect people to psychological research and give curious users the opportunity to learn a little about themselves while helping us advance social science," said Stacey Sinclair, co-principal investigator and professor of psychology and public affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Research on human behavior has traditionally involved laboratory research focused on human experiences. The idea for the Person Project was motivated by the way "advances in the technologies people use every day — from web browsers to smartphones — offer psychologists opportunities to study psychological phenomena in context and in real-time, and at a larger scale than ever before," Sinclair said. "The Person Project hopes to involve people from all walks of life, all over the world, to help make our science stronger and more universal," said Diana Tamir, co-principal investigator and assistant professor of psychology. "Social science research is all about what people think, how they perceive their reality, their behavior and what they feel." The activities featured on the Person Project platform focus on issues such as one's motivational style and the need to belong. It also contains activities that reveal your underlying preference for a 2020 presidential candidate and encourage you to set good goals and stick to them over time. "For example, the 'need to belong' survey uses a validated psychological measure of belonging to help a user learn about their personal needs for belongingness in social settings," said co-investigator Nickolas Jones, a postdoctoral research associate in psychology. "Data from the survey may be used in conjunction with results from other surveys and experiments on the platform to understand, for example, how people with different belongingness needs perceive the level of social support they have in their lives." After each activity is completed, the Person Project offers the user personalized results and feedback. If a user creates an account, this information will be saved and stored on a personal dashboard. Users can also share results with family and friends on social media. In addition, the user's dashboard allows them to compare their results with others. Participants are also provided with resources to learn more about the activities they completed. "We know that people are curious about themselves, and we want to foster that curiosity by providing them with interesting study options so they can maximize their self-learning in areas of life that matter to them," Tamir said. "We've tried to build an easy-to-use system that is intuitive and seamless." The Person Project platform offers a secure, password-protected experience. The personalized data collected from activities are not shared with any third party and users are not able to personally identify others' results. The Person Project team plans to expand in the future, featuring new and informative activities users can engage with to learn more about themselves while helping to advance social research with meaningful insights into human behavior in daily life. The project was funded by the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Transformative Technology Fund. Connect with the Person Project online or download the smartphone app for iPhone and Android.  |
| 7 best VPN services for most people 2020 - T3 Posted: 31 Dec 2019 03:24 AM PST T3 has tested all of the biggest and best VPN services out there, so if you're looking for a safe, reliable and trustworthy VPN that's easy to set up and use, we've got the answers on this page! We'll also explain some of the basics - what is a VPN, how to get set up, how to use it, how to get started - and why ExpressVPN tops the list above all others! In recent times, VPN services have made giant leaps in growing from niche online products hidden away in a dark corner of the internet to almost must-have services for anyone with an internet connected device. VPN is very much in the mainstream now and luckily that broadened appeal has done wonders for the usability of the services themselves - there are some brilliant options available in 2020. What's more, there's so much competition out there that VPN prices have also reduced as the products themselves have been enhanced. In short, there's never been a better time to get started with a VPN! On this page we're going to walk you through all of the best VPN options out there no matter what device you want to use. And we'll also touch on some of the basics in terms of what a VPN even is, who you might want to sign up for one and what you might use it for. VPN explained: what is a VPN?What do you need to know before you sign up for a VPN service? So what even is a VPN? VPN stands for 'virtual private network' and it acts like a private, encrypted tunnel between you and the internet. In practice, it's like a private filter which completely anonymises you online - so no one can see who you are or what you're doing. Even your internet service provider cannot see what you're doing, what you're downloading or where you're browsing to. So a VPN not only makes your connection completely private, it also makes it completely secure. The encryption that VPN services use is foolproof which means no one can hack into your device and steal your data. The practical uses for a VPN service are plentiful. Want to access a website that your ISP has blocked? A VPN puts that website just one click away. Want to access the US version of Netflix from the UK? Just set your VPN to a US location and you're there. Want to access porn without your ISP or your business knowing about it? Want to download torrents without being blocked by your ISP? It's easy. Most VPN services are available as apps for any and all of your devices - whether that's a Windows laptop, a Apple Mac, iPhone or iPad, Android device, Amazon Fire TV Stick or even Smart TV. And many allow you to log on from as many as 5 devices at once, so with one account you can secure and anonymise all of your gadgets. You simply install the app, open it and tell it what you want your location to be. All the encryption is done in the background so simply by switching it on, it'll do all of the hard work for you. The best VPN for most people:1. ExpressVPN
Express VPN is the best all-round VPN service for most people, whether you want ot unblock websites, stay secure or keep your network super speedySpecificationsNumber of servers: 3000+ Server locations: 160 IP addresses: 40,000 Maximum devices supported: 5 Apps: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, Routers, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, PlayStation, Xbox, Smart TV and more Offers: 30-money back guarantee and exclusive deal for T3 readers Reasons to buy+Available on any and all of your devices+Amazing customer support 24/7+Dial in to services in 94 countries ExpressVPN has servers in loads of different countries which means you can dial your IP address into 160 locations around the world. ExpressVPN delivers great performance - and it's put the effort into its software too, with dedicated apps for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android and BlackBerry as well as some Smart TVs, Amazon Fire TV Sticks, Apple TV, PS4 and Xbox and even your router. Not only that but there are solid online tutorials too, so even if VPNs are dark magic to you they'll have you up and running in no time. P2P is fully supported and it's super speedy so you can torrent using the maximum bandwidth of your broadband connection and there's a kill switch that keeps your IP address hidden if anything goes wrong with the VPN or with your internet connection. ExpressVPN is reasonably priced, delivers a good service and has support for five simultaneous connections. There's no free trial available as such but there is a no-fuss 30-day money back guarantee if the service doesn't meet your requirements so that's a good way to test it out if you're unsure. We have used the 24/7 customer service a number of times and can vouch for its effectiveness - we had a couple of issues with using the service on a PC and were able to sort it within a few minutes using the instant online chat support.
2. IPVanish
A superb VPN service especially for torrenting and downloading lots of dataSpecificationsNumber of servers: 1,300 Server locations: 75 IP addresses: 40000+ Maximum devices supported: 10 Reasons to buy+Brilliant speeds+Great apps for all devices+Reliable brand+Use 10 devices at once IPVanish is one of the most recognisable names among all the VPN services out there. They've been going for years and if you've read about VPNs in the past you've probably seen some of their ads! IPVanish certainly isn't going after the budget market here but it's still a bit cheaper than ExpressVPN. Like Express, IPVanish doesn't offer a free trial (although there is a seven day money back guarantee if the service doesn't live up to your expectations). It promises to be the world's fastest VPN, with more than 40,000 IP addresses, 1,300 servers in 70+ countries, unlimited peer to peer sharing and up to five simultaneous connections. That's certainly a bonus over ExpressVPN which only offers three connections at a time - IPVanish could be the better option for you if you want to get the whole family on one plan, for example. There's a no logging policy, too, which means the service isn't gathering stacks of data about what you're doing.
3. VyprVPN
A reliable VPN service for performance and securitySpecificationsNumber of servers: 700+ Server locations: 73 IP addresses: 200,000+ Maximum devices supported: 5 Reasons to buy+Great speeds+Good value VPN options+Free trial+Use 3/5 devices at once Switzerland is famed for its privacy-friendly legislation, and that's where VyprVPN operates from - although its servers operate in 72 other countries to deliver unlimited data. If you're used to VPN services absolutely killing your data speeds you'll be positively surprised by VyprVPN: we found that our data speeds actually increased when we enabled the VPN! Not only that but there are plenty of useful options including auto-connect, a kill-switch and enhanced security via the service's proprietary Chameleon protocol and its own DNS. VyprVPN has a free trial too so you can try it our and see what you think before you commit!
(Image credit: Tunnelbear) 4. TunnelBear
A super easy to use VPN service for newbiesSpecificationsNumber of servers: ~1,000 Server locations: 20+ IP addresses: N/A Maximum devices supported: 5 Reasons to buy+Extremely user-friendly+Wide range of client software+Transparent privacy policy Reasons to avoid-Long-distance connections can be slower TunnelBear is designed for a very specific group of people: people who want a VPN service but don't want to mess around with configuration or become IT experts to make their connections more secure. And it caters brilliantly for that market, with a very straightforward interface and jargon-free writing. In truth, all of the VPN services these days do this but TunnelBear tries very hard to stand out. It's not for power users - there isn't much you can change - but with up to five simultaneous connections, servers across 20 countries and decent performance on US and Canadian websites. Longer connections can be slower, though: it's when the relatively small number of server locations makes itself obvious. There's a free version that limits you to 500MB of monthly traffic, and if you pay annually the price of the full version drops from $9.99 to $4.99 per month.
5. Windscribe
A great VPN service offering unlimited connectionsSpecificationsNumber of servers: 400+ Server locations: 60 IP addresses: N/A Maximum devices supported: Unlimited Reasons to buy+Unlimited device connections+10GB of monthly data+Free plan available Reasons to avoid-Average speeds Windscribe offers unlimited device connections. Yes you heard that right! The reason is that unlike the others above on this list, it doesn't offer unlimited data. So you're limited by bandwidth and data, not by devices. You get 10GB every month, and there's a free plan also but that only allows one device. There are apps for Windows, Mac and iOS but not Android, and the service also offers browser add-ons with useful features such as ad-blocking. Short range performance (to US sites) is good, but we noticed lag with transatlantic connections. However, if you're looking to protect the data from a whole bunch of devices - an office, perhaps, or just a smart home - the support for unlimited connections is a real stand-out feature.
6. Hotspot Shield
A well known VPN service that's just not quite as good as the others aboveSpecificationsNumber of servers: 2500 Server locations: 70 IP addresses: N/A Maximum devices supported: 5 Reasons to buy+Low price+Great download speeds+7-day trial Reasons to avoid-Few server locations How much should a VPN cost? Hotspot Shield can be as little as $2.99 a month if you'd rather sign up for a year. For your money you get a decent range of features including up to five devices, private browsing, virtual locations and good if not stellar performance: we did notice a slight increase in latency when Hotspot Shield was enabled, although it wasn't too dramatic. There's a seven-day trial that gives you more than enough time to put it through its paces.
7. NordVPN
One of the biggest names in VPN - but confidence is compromisedSpecificationsNumber of servers: 3500+ Server locations: 60+ IP addresses: N/A Maximum devices supported: 6 Reasons to buy+Great apps+Use 6 devices at once+Good speeds+Reliable brand Reasons to avoid-News of hack has tainted the brand This is a really tricky one, in truth. There's no doubt that NordVPN's product is excellent. It has over 5,000 servers in 60+ countries, supports up to six devices simultaneously, runs 2048-bit encryption and has a feature list including an automatic kill switch, dedicated IP addresses, strong DNS leak protection, the ability to pay in Bitcoin and a 3-year plan which is currently going for a song! BUT (and it's a big one) our confidence in NordVPN has been shaken by news in October 2019 that it experienced a data hack in 2018. All companies make mistakes - of course - but the fact that this was covered up makes us a little concerned and means that we can no longer whole-heartedly recommend Nord to the masses. VPN: frequently asked questionsWhat is a VPN?What does VPN stand for and what does a VPN do? A VPN is short for Virtual Private Network. It's a network that you don't share with the wider world. It's a kind of tunnel that only you have access to, keeping the data you send and receive far away from prying eyes. Is having a VPN legal?VPN services are entirely legal and legitimate in most countries. It's completely legal to mask your IP address and encrypt your internet traffic. There is nothing about using a VPN that's illegal and VPN services themselves do not and cannot do anything illegal. The only thing that's illegal is if you were to break the law while using a VPN - for instance if you were to infringe on someone's copyright. But that's the action of infringement that's illegal, not the use of the VPN. How secure are VPN services?The main reason to use a VPN is security - in theory, the data that travels across your VPN should be impossible for anybody else to intercept, so it can protect your online banking or confidential business communications - but there are other benefits too. VPNs can make it much harder for advertising to track you online, and they can overcome geography-specific blocks that prevent you from accessing some country-specific services such as online video. When we say that in theory VPNs can't be intercepted, that's because VPNs are like any other form of security: if you use them on a device that's already been compromised by malware such as keyloggers or other security threats then they can't do their job properly. If you're on Windows, then good quality, up to date anti-virus software isn't a luxury. It's absolutely essential. Can a VPN really make you anonymous online?VPNs can make your browsing private, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're anonymous. VPN services can and do log traffic (even the ones that say they don't log do need to log some information, or they wouldn't be able to function properly), and those logs can be requested by the authorities. Think of a VPN as being like curtains: people can't peek through your curtains if you've got them closed, but curtains won't hide your house. What that means in practice is that VPNs are fine for bypassing geo-blocks, for protecting your online banking and for keeping business communications free from interception. However, if you're using the internet to fight repressive regimes or to do anything else that could attract the attention of the authorities where you live, a VPN is not a magic wand that'll make you invisible. What's the difference between a VPN and a proxy?A proxy server is another way to conceal your real location. By transferring data through a proxy server the data appears to be going to that server, not you - so for example if you're in the US and the proxy is in Switzerland, the website or service will think it's talking to a machine in Switzerland. The main difference is that VPNs protect all your traffic while proxies tend to be limited to specific types of data, such as peer to peer networking or web browsing. Can I trust a free VPN?Because as the cliché goes, you get what you pay for. Or rather, with free services you tend to get what you don't pay for in the form of advertising, lower priority connections, blocks on data hungry apps such as peer to peer networking, session limits and in most cases, a lack of any guarantees about service availability or quality. If you only want to protect a laptop from time to time in a coffee shop a free VPN will be fine, but for anything more serious we'd recommend a paid-for product. How do I choose a VPN service to download?To choose the best VPN for you, don't just look at the price, not least because many services offer massive discounts if you take out a longer term subscription. Start with the basics: how many simultaneous connections can you have? Are there particular security protocols you want to use? Does the provider have servers in the places you'll want to use it from and the places you want to connect to? How much data will they log about you, and how long do they keep it for? Wherever possible try before you buy. In some cases there won't be a free trial, but most reputable VPN providers offer a money back guarantee if the service doesn't meet your expectations.  |
| Posted: 07 Jan 2020 08:20 AM PST Understanding the human psyche is complex, for ordinary people and scientists alike. Now, researchers at Princeton University have created a new tool for social scientists to study human psychology through a series of fun, thought-provoking activities. Launched this month, the Person Project website and smartphone app (available for both iPhone and Android) are designed to encrypt and store securely collected data from users who participate in these activities, providing an online platform for researchers to use in academic studies. "The goal of this project is to connect people to psychological research and give curious users the opportunity to learn a little about themselves while helping us advance social science," said Stacey Sinclair, co-principal investigator and professor of psychology and public affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Research on human behavior has traditionally involved laboratory research focused on human experiences. The idea for the Person Project was motivated by the way "advances in the technologies people use every day – from web browsers to smartphones – offer psychologists opportunities to study psychological phenomena in context and in real-time, and at a larger scale than ever before," Sinclair said. "The Person Project hopes to involve people from all walks of life, all over the world, to help make our science stronger and more universal," said Diana Tamir, co-principal investigator and assistant professor of psychology. "Social science research is all about what people think, how they perceive their reality, their behavior and what they feel." The activities featured on the Person Project platform focus on issues such as one's motivational style and the need to belong. It also contains activities that reveal your underlying preference for a 2020 presidential candidate and encourage you to set good goals and stick to them over time. "For example, the 'need to belong' survey uses a validated psychological measure of belonging to help a user learn about their personal needs for belongingness in social settings," said co-investigator Nickolas Jones, a postdoctoral research associate in psychology. "Data from the survey may be used in conjunction with results from other surveys and experiments on the platform to understand, for example, how people with different belongingness needs perceive the level of social support they have in their lives." After each activity is completed, the Person Project offers the user personalized results and feedback. If a user creates an account, this information will be saved and stored on a personal dashboard. Users can also share results with family and friends on social media. In addition, the user's dashboard allows them to compare their results with others. Participants are also provided with resources to learn more about the activities they completed. "We know that people are curious about themselves, and we want to foster that curiosity by providing them with interesting study options so they can maximize their self-learning in areas of life that matter to them," Tamir said. "We've tried to build an easy-to-use system that is intuitive and seamless." The Person Project platform offers a secure, password-protected experience. The personalized data collected from activities are not shared with any third party and users are not able to personally identify others' results. The Person Project team plans to expand in the future, featuring new and informative activities users can engage with to learn more about themselves while helping to advance social research with meaningful insights into human behavior in daily life. The project was funded by the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Transformative Technology Fund. Connect with the Person Project online or download the smartphone app for iPhone and Android. /Public Release. View in full here.  |
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