Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Chapter 6: Work, Guest speaker Ken Fick, CPA, MBA.

1) Mr. Fick, telecommuting seems to be a large topic that has many different opinions. When did telecommuting every Friday become part of your everyday week?

2) Many people do not like the fact that you can not see your boss or employees because you are telecommuting from a house, or other department. What are some advantages that you have seen since you have started telecommuting?

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Chapter 5: Crime HACTIVISM

1. (Knowledge)Tell three interesting elements of this chapter:

 a. Hactivism has changed over the years, but one thing that has stayed constant is that a person “hacks” into a computer or database and steals unlawful information.

b. Since the growth of web hackers people are increasingly losing their amount of privacy. Web hackers can steal credit card numbers, social security numbers and other important personal information.

c. Hacking has become more popular due to things like script kiddie’s and groups like anonymous. Script kiddie’s make it possible for hackers to steal tools off the net and use them against other people.

2. (Comprehension) Summarize what is being discussed within this chapter?

Hacking has been around for many centuries. Hacking has three phases; phase one was the early years of technology, the 60’s an 70’s. This was when hacking was used as a positive term that was someone who was creative and created many of the first computer games and operating systems. Hackers of this time …”were not authorized users, the early hackers mostly sought knowledge and intellectual challenges”(Baase p. 254). In the late 1970’s to 1990’s the name hacking began to have a negative meaning. As computers and technology increasingly became popular, so did hacking and stealing information. From this time on hacking has been known as something detrimental to society. Hackers of these times steal an abundance of information and can sell or bribe a company with the stolen information. The ‘Anonymous’ group has had many attempts to take down the Internet. The problem with the Anonymous group is that no one can be completely sure if they are posing a threat of people are pretending to be these cyber hackers. In an article by Tom Gjelten, titled ‘Anonymous’ Hacking Group Threatens the Internet. Tom wrote, “The contradictions highlighted the difficulty of assessing whether a hacking threat should be attributed to Anonymous or to hackers merely posing as Anonymous”(¶ 7). These contradictions can be harmful to the Internet because no one can know for sure if these threats are real or not. The problem with the Internet is the amount of crime that can erupt from different websites and information. Hackers tend to put worms in these websites that flood your computer and erase and steal important data.


3. (Application)Name a specific example or NEW solution for this type of problem/similar situation in society or that you have experienced – BE SPECIFIC AND EXPLAIN?

The reason that hacking is so popular is due to the fact that there is no way of controlling these hackers. Groups like Anonymous have greatly changed the privacy of the Internet. Although the Internet does not have many privacy options, information like SSN and credit card numbers should not be able to be found on the Internet. Not only do SSN and credit card numbers get hacked, but so do large corporate businesses and even databases that the FBI and CIA use. A new solution to the increasing rate of hackers is to find software that could eliminate hackers from entering your computer. A situation that I faced with cyber hacking was when I got my credit card numbers stolen. My information was hacked because I gave an unsecure website my personal information. I then had hundreds of dollars stolen from my account by a man in England. This hacker was never found or punished for the money he stole. Since there are so many hackers they could not properly trace back who specifically stole my money.

4. (Analysis)Address ANY that apply. How can you compare one of the situations in this chapter to something that does not relate to computers, technology, or the Internet? Be sure to reference the chapter and your solution. What ideas NEW can you add to the issue that is being presented within the reading? Try to connect what you have by reading this article and how it applies to the stages in Bloom's taxonomy in 2 full sentences.

“Hactivism is the use of hacking to promote a political cause”(Baase p. 263). Hackers use the internet to try and change the government and to threaten it. This can compare to the use of propaganda, which became popular during World War II. Propaganda was used to support the government by telling people to join the war or have some sort of support for the country. This is similar to hactivism because hackers try to threaten the government so there duties can change. In the article “Anonymous, LulzSec Respond To FBI Arrests Of Suspected Hackers” by Huffington Post, hactivist claim that they will not change because the government lies to its citizens and takes money to change contracts, but hackers believe that the government can not fulfill these tasks. Hactivist use these arguments to justify their reasoning for government hacking.

5. (Synthesis) Address all that apply. Do you agree with what is being said within the article (Why/Why not? Back up with FACTS)? What new conclusions can you draw about this (or other topics) after reading this material?

These articles discuss the meaning of hactivist and why these people hack into websites. Reasons people do these is for money, popularity and to show that they have power. I do not agree with the ideas of a hacker or hactivist. Hackers can be extremely dangerous and very intimidating Hactivist are the main people who try to bribe the government and continuously threaten the Internet and our personal space.



6. (Evaluation) Address all that apply. Judge whether or not this topic is relevant in today’s society? Evaluate why you are viewing the topic in this manner based on your experiences. What ethical evaluations or decisions were made/can be assumed from this chapter? What new ideas will you make after reading this chapter?

This topic, hactivism is extremely relevant in today's society because people are constantly being hurt by these hackers. Hackers everyday steal important information and as of now there is no way to stop them. Hactivism is when hackers steal information from the government which can be extremely detrimental. Baase stated that someone hacked into the US government system and tried to get information to defend the Soviet Union during the war. There should be a harsh punishment for hackers therefore it could eliminate the amount of hackers by punishing them. Many hackers cannot be stopped and since this is such a wide spread issue there should be more ways to protect a person from being hacked.


References
http://www.npr.org/2012/03/30/149712036/anonymous-hacking-group-threatens-the-internet

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

"Midterm: 2 questions about the assignment"

When doing the GMO midterm assignment, are we going to be comparing and contrasting prices of organic and non organic foods?

How many products of food do we have to look at to get the proper information needed to complete the project?

Monday, March 12, 2012

Chapter 3: Part 1: Freedom of Speech


Author: Sarah Baase
Date of Publication: 2008
Book: A Gift of Fire
Sections read: 3.1-3.3
1. (Knowledge)Tell three interesting elements of this chapter:

a. Many websites are not as reliable as people believe. There are no qualifications for creating a website, people are free to speak their minds. Not all websites can be resourceful which is why people need to be more aware of the information that is provided on the Web.
b. COPA and CDA are two laws that tried to restrict searches of adult material, but were not passed due to the 1st Amendment, Freedom of Speech.
c. The government is able to regulate print media, broadcast, telephones, and postal service. However it is not easy to regulate the Web, which is why the web is filled with inappropriate websites.

2. (Comprehension) Summarize what is being discussed within this chapter?

Freedom of Speech is the reason why so much adult material is accessible to children. Since technology has become a large part in everyone’s lives there has been more child abductions and increase in pornography. Since some information cannot be blocked by firewalls, adult material cannot be fully monitored. Parents and guardians need to be more aware of the inappropriate websites that become easily attainable for children and people under the age of 18. This website exemplifies the realism of child abductions that occur because of the Internet. http://kidshealth.org/parent/firstaid_safe/outdoor/abductions.html

3. (Application)Name a specific example or NEW solution for this type of problem/similar situation in society or that you have experienced – be specific and explain?
 
A new solution to this problem would be to monitor the child and make sure they are being smart on the Internet. Although parents are able to set up firewalls, there are ways that spam and adult websites can find other ways to keep their websites on the Internet. Filters should be able to block all inappropriate websites that can be accessed in a child’s home, school environment or library.

4. (Analysis)Address ANY that apply. How can you compare one of the situations in this chapter to something that does not relate to computers, technology, or the Internet? Be sure to reference the chapter and your solution. What ideas NEW can you add to the issue that is being presented within the reading? Try to connect what you have by reading this article and how it applies to the stages in Bloom's taxonomy in 2 full sentences.

Freedom of speech is the main reason why the Internet is filled with spam, massive amounts of adult information and racist remarks and pictures. The Internet gains strong 1st Amendment protection since it is mainly based on the freedom of people thoughts and ideas (p. 155 Baase). A situation that occurred in this chapter can be related to the amount of privacy children are given which can lead to abduction or easy access to pedophiles and pornographers. Although parents are able to filter out bad websites, not every parent or guardian knows that this is possible

5. (Synthesis) Address all that apply. Do you agree with what is being said within the article (Why/Why not? Back up with FACTS)? What new conclusions can you draw about this (or other topics) after reading this material?

Yes I do agree with what is being discussed in these sections although it can be known as unethical. There are not enough protection acts therefore children are increasingly becoming victims of pedophiles and pornographers. The government should find more reasons to ban adult material from the Internet because it is not being fully protected. However pedophiles, spammers, and pornographers will always be in our society we make it easier to become victims by using the Web.

6. (Evaluation) Address all that apply. Judge whether or not this topic is relevant in today’s society? Evaluate why you are viewing the topic in this manner based on your experiences. What ethical evaluations or decisions were made/can be assumed from this chapter? What new ideas will you make after reading this chapter?

This topic is highly relevant in today’s society because it does not seem like people are aware of their lack of privacy. Since children are using the Internet more than ever there should be a strict law to help reduce the inappropriate websites that are easily available. The main reason there are inappropriate websites is due to the lack of responsibility users have. Most information that a person posts on the Internet is through their name or email and it is stored to a database and sold.

References
http://kidshealth.org/parent/firstaid_safe/outdoor/abductions.html March 10, 2012

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Chapter 2: Part 2

Author: Sarah Baase
Date of Publication: 2008
Book: The Gift of Fire
Sections read: 2.3, 2.4, 2.5


1. (Knowledge)Tell three interesting elements of this chapter:

               a. In section 2.3 Baase states that there is no law requiring federal agencies to notify
                  someone if their personal data is lost or stolen.

b. In four years government agencies had 788 different cases with lost or stolen identities. People were stealing data and personal information off of government computers. “The Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, and the U.S Marshals Service lost 400 laptops”(p. 86 Baase).
c. Data brokers and people who sell private information for money or for personal use are acting in an unethical way, which relates to chapter 1, section 4.

2. (Comprehension) Summarize what is being discussed within this chapter?

In this chapter the main topic is privacy. Privacy in the 21st century is looked at completely different than in past years. For example people are constantly putting their private information on the Internet because they think their account is private. What people do not realize is that even with a private account personal information is accessible. Information that is public, such as your hometown, school, or telephone number are pulled and used for data mining. These sections include topics from lack of data privacy to the importance of encryption resources and why they have become increasingly popular. Firms such as ChoicePoint and Acxiom “…sell data to businesses for marketing and ‘consumer management’ (p. 82 Baase). These sections also discuss that your personal searches and social networking sites are constantly being monitored and watched by the government.

3. (Application)Name a specific example or NEW solution for this type of problem/similar situation in society or that you have experienced – be specific and explain?

There are many solutions that can help prevent personal information from being sent out on the web. For example, people who do not want any of their personal information available for marketers should not use the computer because personal information has no privacy when on the Internet. People who use the web for any research, purchases, tax forms, credit card bills, social networking, etc. are all in danger. There is no way of stopping data miners from finding personal information because even a home telephone number can be used to find information like where someone lives or how many children they have. Although these solutions seem obvious, some people do not fully understand that there is a lack of privacy when you are putting personal data online.

4. (Analysis)Address ANY that apply. How can you compare one of the situations in this chapter to something that does not relate to computers, technology, or the Internet? Be sure to reference the chapter and your solution. What ideas NEW can you add to the issue that is being presented within the reading? Try to connect what you have by reading this article and how it applies to the stages in Bloom's taxonomy in 2 full sentences.

You can compare the extreme use of data mining and people hacking personal information with someone who robs a bank. Robbing a bank and someone robbing your identity is a unique comparison because they are both highly unethical. Ethics is an important part of someone’s life and without an ethical background many criminal activities can exist. Even though data mining is not as serious as robbing a bank it can still harm the person that the information was taken from. Data mining along with robbing a bank are unethical because they are putting people someone’s personal life at risk.

5. (Synthesis) Address all that apply. Do you agree with what is being said within the article (Why/Why not? Back up with FACTS)? What new conclusions can you draw about this (or other topics) after reading this material?

Yes, I do agree with what is being discussed in these sections. The sections put an emphasis on how important it is to keep your personal information off the Internet and not available for data brokers. Data brokers obtain information by lying to other companies to get a SSN, address, credit card numbers and other personal information. The important thing to remember when it comes to privacy matters is that the information someone puts on the Internet is no longer just that person’s information. The information can be bought and sold for 3/5th of a penny. Privacy rights can only be protected if you limit yourself to what you search online and what websites a person is browsing.

6. (Evaluation) Address all that apply. Judge whether or not this topic is relevant in today’s society? Evaluate why you are viewing the topic in this manner based on your experiences. What ethical evaluations or decisions were made/can be assumed from this chapter? What new ideas will you make after reading this chapter?

This topic is extremely relevant in society because many younger people are using the Internet and they are not aware of the lack of privacy that they are given. Since Facebook and other social networking sites are so prominent in the 21st century people around the world should acknowledge the fact that there are data brokers that will steal personal information and sell it for a profit. An ethical evaluation made from this chapter is that since people around you (data brokers and miners) live unethically, a person who uses the internet needs to act ethically and not post inappropriate information to a public website. After reading these sections my knowledge of the widespread lack of privacy has increased. I am now more aware that every Google search or website I look at is being monitored and watched.
Since I’ve read these sections I will be much more careful when entering personal data and information on a public website.

References:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wbBDQgFNoqw February 28, 2012
Baase, Sarah "A Gift of Fire" 2008