MESC Learning Commons
The Dangers of Free VPNs
There are a number of people now that choose to use a VPN as a method of protecting their online privacy or to access services not available in their country. There are a large number of free VPN services available, however “free” isn’t completely free when it comes to accessing blocked websites through free VPNs. These services may actually allow malicious third-parties to snoop through your personal data, or, even worse, let others use your internet connection to conduct illegal activities on the web.
Free VPNs can log and keep track of all your content, your IP address, the types of sites you visit, etc.- the exact thing VPNs are meant to protect you from. In addition to privacy issues you would want to hide your IP, you may experience slow browsing speed, unstable connections, data usage caps, and outdated encryption.
Worst of all.. Many of these “free” services will sell your personal information to third parties, with some even going as far as placing extra advertising (sometimes malicious). They may even distribute your IP address, welcoming criminal activity that is traced back to your machine, not theirs.
Always take care, know the facts about something you install on your device and be aware that popular free VPN servers aren’t always as safe as they claim to be.
Kevin Hunter
ICT Services Manager
Melbourne Writer's Festival
One of the sessions we went to was about ghost stories. Nathan Curnow travelled around Australia, staying in the most haunted places, writing poetry inspired by his experiences. These places included a hearse, jails, manors and even lunatic asylums. He stayed one night in each haunted location, sleeping out for ten nights in total. In this interview they also discussed how to write a good ghost story and how to evoke feelings in the reader. Curnow’s book is called ‘The Ghost Poetry Project’ and is comprised of many short poems, all thrilling and gut wrenching.
"We liked Samy J "The Long Class Goodnight" and the session about creating characters. It was great how they explained how to do things in a abook and how to bring your ideas and characters to life"
Ruby and Sam
"We enjoyed the sassy debate about homework and the spooky poetry. We also liked the drawing session with Leigh Hobbs and Marc McBride." Belle and Madeline
On Monday the 27th August a group of Year 7, 8 & 9 students went to the Melbourne Writer's Festival with Mrs Swannell. On the day we went to four sessions. One of them included an interview with comedian and writer Sammy J. In this session we lwarnt all about his new book "The Long Class Goodnight". We learnt about the history behind his writing his first book and having it published. He also shared stories of his childhood from his first rejection letters from publishers (at 11 years old) to the stories of being a 'class clown' and 'the boy in the bin'! It was a very interesting and entertaining session with inspiring knowledge about never giving up on your dreams. It was a great session and a great day.
(Sammy J grew up in Mt Eliza and attended Mt Eliza Primary School, then The Peninsula School. He recognised our uniforms and spent time chatting to us, having photos taken and signing autographs afterwards.)
Olivia
eBooks and Audiobooks
These are provided for students and staff to use via the app 'ePlatform' by Wheelers Books (download it via your app store for use on multiple devices). With over 1600 eBooks and over 600 audiobooks (on trial until Term 4) to choose from there really is no excuse not to be reading these holidays. If you can't find anything on the app then pop into the library and we can give you 'the real thing'!