Students turn to Internet for education at home

The day 16-year-old Alex Bautista transferred home from 10th grade at his local high school, he had four substitute teachers.

He wasn’t turning in his homework, and when his parents received not-so-complimentary progress reports, they found it almost impossible to track down a teacher or administrator for help.

Patty Faircloth, Baustista’s mother, knew there had to be a better way. So she turned to the Internet, hoping to find the answer to her family’s educational nightmares.

She found the Florida Virtual School, a fully accredited school that provides free online classes and instruction to more than 6,900 Florida students. Bautista registered, and life hasn’t been the same.

For about a week, Bautista continued to wake up with the rest of the household, but that didn’t last long.

“I’d just laugh,” the slim 16-year-old said. “I love having my own schedule now. I can take my time or work fast and still go out with my friends.”

FBI raids firm that hacked into military computers

San Diego The FBI raided a consulting firm’s offices after a newspaper trumpeted the company’s claims that it found security loopholes in U.S. military computers.

The FBI raided the offices of 4-month-old ForensicTec Solutions after the claims were reported in The Washington Post.

“Regardless of the stated intent, unauthorized entry into Army computer systems is a federal offense,” said Marc Raimondi, spokesman for the Army Criminal Investigation Command in Virginia.

ForensicTec identified 34 military sites where it said network security was easily compromised. It reportedly used free software to identify vulnerable computers and then peruse hundreds of confidential files containing military procedures, e-mail, Social Security numbers and financial data.