In my CIS 152 (Internet/E-Commerce Technologies) course, we discuss some of the reasons technology is ahead of the laws. I usually then bring up a picture of Frank Lautenberg (an 86 year old Senator from Paterson) and half jokingly asking if the class thinks this guy even knows how to check his email, let alone write laws on technology. (And yes, I am sure he has a staffer who does the work for him)
I do know there are many committees and subcommittees who specialize in certain areas, but part of the problem is the representation we have. A government should really represent the people they represent - in demographics, education, race, occupation, etc. However, if you look at the numbers (scroll down to "Education" or "Occupations"), you will see that over 50% of the Senate have law degrees (57/100), while only 1 of 100 has nothing beyond a high school diploma. None have associate's degrees. Yes, this means 99/100 Senators have at least a bachelor's degree. Now, I understand that you do need a level of savvy to do things politically, but it is one thing to study groups you don't know, and another thing to actually be one of those people and try to be an advocate for them.
In addition, if you look under the occupations, you will see there are (as far as I can tell) no Senators and only one Representative with a degree in Computer Science (Steve Scalise from Louisiana). Meanwhile, there are 24 members of Congress who are medical professionals. Of course, one does not need a degree in Computer Science to understand technology, but if you are not using the technology on a daily basis as an everyday person is, you can't truly understand the challenges the way the everyday user does.
If I needed any more proof in my mind, the article below confirmed what I thought. In this Washington Post article, it says that a number of Congresspersons do not even know how to use an ATM, or do not use them frequently. This is information culled from public statements, and I am sure there are many more who, if they answered honestly, would say they also do not use ATMs. Therefore, when reform comes across the Congressional floor regarding ATM fee reform, they do not truly understand the problem (in this case, large ATM fees) as someone who pays large ATM fees does.
So, if Congresspersons do not have a deep understanding of ATMs (which I take for granted as a pretty simple technology), imagine when someone tries to explain phishing to them...or the challenges of wardriving....or why spyware should be restricted.
I am sure they have some staff members who can inform them about these things, but it is very different when a Congressperson has first hand understanding of an issue and a passion to fix it...and another thing when a staffer gives them information on a topic.
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is part of the reason why technology laws are so far behind the technology.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
Everybody Draw Mohammed Day
Facebook certainly has had its share of controversy, and another round of controversy has come up recently.
The entire Facebook site was banned in Pakistan due to a Facebook user creating a group called "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day". Images of the prophet Muhammed are considered offensive by many people of the Muslim religion, as shows like South Park have shown lately. I think every group has the right to their own beliefs, and if they believe that an image of Muhammed are offensive, I don't think I have any right to tell them otherwise.
Facebook was blocked in the entire country of Pakistan as a result of this controversy. The offensive page has been removed. No one is quite sure whether Facebook removed it, or whether the creator did, or whether it was hacked and taken down.
Sites like Facebook present such interesting problems for governments. In the United States, we enjoy a freedom of speech, but in other countries, this is not necessarily the case. In a country where that is not the case, how does a government deal with a site that is based in the US (and therefore a site they have no jurisdiction over)? Worse yet, how does a government deal with a site that contains offensive material posted by a user, as was the case here? In Pakistan's case, they chose to simply shut off access to Facebook. Fascinating. One person posts something offensive, and it causes an entire country to block access to the entire site. Think of all the losers here. Advertisers could not get their message out, so they lose. Facebook could not display the ads, so they lose revenue there. People around the country who had nothing to do with this and no knowledge of it could not access the site.
It makes me appreciate our freedoms just a little more when I read things like this.
The entire Facebook site was banned in Pakistan due to a Facebook user creating a group called "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day". Images of the prophet Muhammed are considered offensive by many people of the Muslim religion, as shows like South Park have shown lately. I think every group has the right to their own beliefs, and if they believe that an image of Muhammed are offensive, I don't think I have any right to tell them otherwise.
Facebook was blocked in the entire country of Pakistan as a result of this controversy. The offensive page has been removed. No one is quite sure whether Facebook removed it, or whether the creator did, or whether it was hacked and taken down.
Sites like Facebook present such interesting problems for governments. In the United States, we enjoy a freedom of speech, but in other countries, this is not necessarily the case. In a country where that is not the case, how does a government deal with a site that is based in the US (and therefore a site they have no jurisdiction over)? Worse yet, how does a government deal with a site that contains offensive material posted by a user, as was the case here? In Pakistan's case, they chose to simply shut off access to Facebook. Fascinating. One person posts something offensive, and it causes an entire country to block access to the entire site. Think of all the losers here. Advertisers could not get their message out, so they lose. Facebook could not display the ads, so they lose revenue there. People around the country who had nothing to do with this and no knowledge of it could not access the site.
It makes me appreciate our freedoms just a little more when I read things like this.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Cyber Crooks and Disasters
As always, criminals are clever.
When disasters or other newsworthy events happen, they rush to get information out there. The goal is to get people to visit their sites, and if they can be the first results on Google after an incident, they can often infect people before Google has a chance to filter out the results.
For example, when the recent Icelandic volcano eruption happened, the scammers were smart enough to realize people were not going to search for the actual name of the volcano (Eyjafjall), because who is going to remember that spelling? Instead, they had results up quickly for the search terms people would likely use - things like Icelandic volcano eruption. By getting their results on to Google quickly, they had the chance to infect people's PCs.
Interestingly enough, newspapers want to be the first people to report news to gain prestige. They are now competing with hackers.
http://pandalabs.pandasecurity.com/volcanos-ashes-and-malware/
When disasters or other newsworthy events happen, they rush to get information out there. The goal is to get people to visit their sites, and if they can be the first results on Google after an incident, they can often infect people before Google has a chance to filter out the results.
For example, when the recent Icelandic volcano eruption happened, the scammers were smart enough to realize people were not going to search for the actual name of the volcano (Eyjafjall), because who is going to remember that spelling? Instead, they had results up quickly for the search terms people would likely use - things like Icelandic volcano eruption. By getting their results on to Google quickly, they had the chance to infect people's PCs.
Interestingly enough, newspapers want to be the first people to report news to gain prestige. They are now competing with hackers.
http://pandalabs.pandasecurity.com/volcanos-ashes-and-malware/
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Leave
I know I announced this in some of my classes, but I wanted to make a public mention of this. I will be taking a leave of absence from PCCC next year. Since I am tenured, this is not an end, but rather a chance for me to take some time and recharge. The College has supported me in this, so I thank them for that.
My plan is to return in the Fall 2011 semester. I still plan on updating this blog and being around, and of course I will be at graduation this year (and next year).
My plan is to return in the Fall 2011 semester. I still plan on updating this blog and being around, and of course I will be at graduation this year (and next year).
Friday, May 14, 2010
10/SP Grades
I am always happy to see technology make things easier for people.
I remember when I first adjuncted a class in 2001, my students wanted to receive their grades. They told me it took them weeks to get the information from the College. I was happy to email the grades to them, but this being 2001, many of them did not have email (and the College didn't buy a portal until 2004 or so).
It used to be that we would have to fill out paperwork, send that paperwork to another office, and then that office would manually enter this information in to the computer. Yes, I would take my electronic files, turn them in to paper copies, and then have someone else turn the paper copies in to electronic copies in the College's database. Then someone would print letters, put them in envelopes, and put them in the mail, and a month later, students would get their grades.
Now, it's all electronic. When I enter grades, the Registrar's Office just hits a button and students can access their grades.
I sent grade information in for all my classes by Wednesday of this week, so at this point, all students are able to see their Spring 2010 grades. Two days to get grades...we have come a long way since it took a month to get them.
I think most of our professors assume you know how to get the grades (this is what a College Experience course should teach you, among other things). If you do not, you can find the information on the College's Web site:
http://pccc.edu/prospective/registration/grades
I remember when I first adjuncted a class in 2001, my students wanted to receive their grades. They told me it took them weeks to get the information from the College. I was happy to email the grades to them, but this being 2001, many of them did not have email (and the College didn't buy a portal until 2004 or so).
It used to be that we would have to fill out paperwork, send that paperwork to another office, and then that office would manually enter this information in to the computer. Yes, I would take my electronic files, turn them in to paper copies, and then have someone else turn the paper copies in to electronic copies in the College's database. Then someone would print letters, put them in envelopes, and put them in the mail, and a month later, students would get their grades.
Now, it's all electronic. When I enter grades, the Registrar's Office just hits a button and students can access their grades.
I sent grade information in for all my classes by Wednesday of this week, so at this point, all students are able to see their Spring 2010 grades. Two days to get grades...we have come a long way since it took a month to get them.
I think most of our professors assume you know how to get the grades (this is what a College Experience course should teach you, among other things). If you do not, you can find the information on the College's Web site:
http://pccc.edu/prospective/registration/grades
Friday, May 07, 2010
Blogging with Word
This blog is being done entirely in Word 2007 on my home computer. I've resisted using this so far because (as I've been discussing lately), sometimes retraining is hard for someone who is experienced with a tool. I am making a concerted effort to try to really use some of the new features.
I enjoy blogging (obviously - if I've been doing it here for four years). I typically use the Web interface to blog, but there are some advantages to using a new feature in Word 2007. Word 2007 will allow you to publish directly to many blog services, including Blogger (the site I use) and WordPress. For someone like me, who is familiar with the Web interface, this is not a big deal. However, let's take the case of a company that has no technical expertise. They want to add information to their Web site, and their Web person has integrated a blog in to their Web site (such as the site FutilityInfielder.com. Jay Jaffe (who I met a number of years ago at a Pizzeria Uno in NYC) has his blog set up through WordPress. He publishes directly to WordPress, and it shows up on his Web site. Many companies want this type of ability. The only problem is that Web blog publishing can be complex for a new user. A good Web developer could set up someone up with a Word 2007 blog and avoid the hassle. If the person knows Word 2007, all they would have to do is click on the Office Button and select "New", and then select "New Blog Post". The account setup only needs to be done once, so you could very easily give a less savvy customer a five minute demonstration and get them blogging. Now this user will have all the Word tools they are used to: spell check (with their custom dictionary), formatting tools, thesaurus, symbols, tables, and all the rest. Once they type the blog, all they need to do is click "Publish". Adding pictures becomes a little more complex to set up, but can also be automated. The ability to give a customer push-button blogging that integrates in to their Web site is a great little feature.
One other issue that I see is that sometimes, people want to keep a record of their blogs. For example, there was a site named Gaia that had a blog function. A colleague of mine was blogging there for a few years, and the site shut down. In order for her to save old blogs, it became a real pain. If one were to use Word 2007 to do this, they could very easily click "Save" and keep a local copy of all blog entries as they publish them.
Here are instructions on how to set this up: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HA101640211033.aspx
What's also cool is if I make changes, I can just type them in to Word and click "Publish", and it knows to "Republish" rather than create a second entry.
Still haven't figured out how to add tags, but overall a nice feature.
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
New Blog Post
This is a post demonstrating that you can "push-button" publishing from Word to a blog.
From XP to 7: new features part 2
One of the new features in Windows 7 that I noticed was the addition of libraries. Windows 7 has introduced a feature that allows me to specify a group of directories as a library.
Let's go with an example. If you have a folder for music in your Documents folder. However, let's say you also download song files through a program like Ares. If you do that, you would typically have to move those files from the Downloads folder over to the Music folder in order for you to listen to the music.
Now, with the addition of Libraries, you can specify a number of folders that contain music, and simply browse to it. For example, under your Start Menu in Windows 7, you will see an area called "Music". This is a link to the library. This will show you music files in all folders that it recognizes as music folders. Right clicking on it and selecting it will allow you to add or remove folders from this list. You can do this for pictures, videos, and documents by default.
You can also create your own custom libraries. For example, I have three locations that I am typically using for school stuff. The locations are my downloads folder (where electronic files I need to check go), my documents folder (where I typically keep some information), and my desktop (where I put stuff I really don't want to forget).
It is also very cool that programs optimized for this (for example, most of the Office suite) can use these libraries as well.
Though you CAN include folders from an external hard drive, you can NOT include locations on a USB drive. That is one negative I have. If someone is technically proficient, it should not be a problem. For example, my USB drive is always assigned to a drive letter of "H". Any non-work USB drive gets "F". I think I understand why they wouldn't allow this - but there should be an option to override it. In my case, there will never be confusion between my main USB drive and others, and I think that is why Microsoft disabled this option. I wouldn't mind if it gave me all sorts of annoying warnings, if it allowed it.
Cool feature, though the USB drive being excluded is a bummer.
Link to more information (with pictures)
Let's go with an example. If you have a folder for music in your Documents folder. However, let's say you also download song files through a program like Ares. If you do that, you would typically have to move those files from the Downloads folder over to the Music folder in order for you to listen to the music.
Now, with the addition of Libraries, you can specify a number of folders that contain music, and simply browse to it. For example, under your Start Menu in Windows 7, you will see an area called "Music". This is a link to the library. This will show you music files in all folders that it recognizes as music folders. Right clicking on it and selecting it will allow you to add or remove folders from this list. You can do this for pictures, videos, and documents by default.
You can also create your own custom libraries. For example, I have three locations that I am typically using for school stuff. The locations are my downloads folder (where electronic files I need to check go), my documents folder (where I typically keep some information), and my desktop (where I put stuff I really don't want to forget).
It is also very cool that programs optimized for this (for example, most of the Office suite) can use these libraries as well.
Though you CAN include folders from an external hard drive, you can NOT include locations on a USB drive. That is one negative I have. If someone is technically proficient, it should not be a problem. For example, my USB drive is always assigned to a drive letter of "H". Any non-work USB drive gets "F". I think I understand why they wouldn't allow this - but there should be an option to override it. In my case, there will never be confusion between my main USB drive and others, and I think that is why Microsoft disabled this option. I wouldn't mind if it gave me all sorts of annoying warnings, if it allowed it.
Cool feature, though the USB drive being excluded is a bummer.
Link to more information (with pictures)
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
From XP to 7: Using the new features part 1
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I went to a conference in the city and they demonstrated the new features of Windows 7. This got me thinking that I should start using the new features. Since I skipped Vista as an operating system, some of the things I am learning were new in Vista, and some are new in 7.
Here are some new features I am going to use:
Here are some new features I am going to use:
- Flip 3D: Since the old days, holding down the ALT key and hitting TAB was the way I switch between open programs. Windows 7 has a new feature called Flip 3D that is similar. If you hold down the WINDOWS key and hit TAB, you can switch between programs, except with a 3D effect. This is a very neat little feature that I will add to my bag o' tricks.
- Windows+Arrow: I have two monitors at home. I have times where I want to switch things over to other windows, and I have thus far been dragging things from one monitor to another. Who knew I could simply hold WINDOWS and hit the RIGHT ARROW to move it to the screen on the right, and WINDOWS and LEFT ARROW to move back to the left screen. This is a pretty neat little feature that saves me some mouse clicks.
- Problem Steps Recorder: There are times where I want to show people problems I am having, and I end up taking screen shots (using print screen). The problem is I then have to type up the steps and do work to show this. This tool will let me simply record step by step what I am doing, so I can create a report and just mail that with very little effort. I can imagine this is going to be a great tool for technical support professionals in the future as well. Link to more information
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Interesting Computer Stuff Wayback Machine: 4/17/2010
Trent at The Simple Dollar does this thing where he looks back and says "what was I doing at this time last year". I thought I might check it out for my blog and see what happens.
Wayback to one year ago (April 2009):
Just because security is an illusion doesn't mean you can't be safer
How readable is your Word document?
Nissan vs. Nissan
I discussed how motivated hackers can get in to most any system, and how your goal should be to not be the weakest link. I also discussed "readability statistics" in Word (which I recently demonstrated in my CIS 125 classes). I also discussed the case of Uzi Nissan, who owns Nissan.com and is constantly sued by Nissan, the car maker.
Wayback to two years ago (April 2008):
Secure, Random Passwords
What not to do in PowerPoint
People want passwords that are easy to remember. Sometimes, for security's sake, it is worth it to memorize a difficult password. PC Tools has a link that will create a difficult to hack, random password. And when I say "memorize", I don't mean "write it on a sticky note and put it on your monitor". I also had found a PowerPoint video that I still use today: "Life After Death by PowerPoint". This is a comedy routine that a comedian does to show common presentation mistakes.
Wayback to three years ago (April 2007):
Massacre of Virginia Tech
Wow. The College was in the middle of closings due to the flooding of downtown Paterson (sound familiar?), and the Virginia Tech shootings had just happened.
Wayback to four years ago (April 2006):
Hello World
The blog had not been created yet, but it was close. I started the blog on May 6, 2006 after attending a conference at NJCU.
Wayback to one year ago (April 2009):
Just because security is an illusion doesn't mean you can't be safer
How readable is your Word document?
Nissan vs. Nissan
I discussed how motivated hackers can get in to most any system, and how your goal should be to not be the weakest link. I also discussed "readability statistics" in Word (which I recently demonstrated in my CIS 125 classes). I also discussed the case of Uzi Nissan, who owns Nissan.com and is constantly sued by Nissan, the car maker.
Wayback to two years ago (April 2008):
Secure, Random Passwords
What not to do in PowerPoint
People want passwords that are easy to remember. Sometimes, for security's sake, it is worth it to memorize a difficult password. PC Tools has a link that will create a difficult to hack, random password. And when I say "memorize", I don't mean "write it on a sticky note and put it on your monitor". I also had found a PowerPoint video that I still use today: "Life After Death by PowerPoint". This is a comedy routine that a comedian does to show common presentation mistakes.
Wayback to three years ago (April 2007):
Massacre of Virginia Tech
Wow. The College was in the middle of closings due to the flooding of downtown Paterson (sound familiar?), and the Virginia Tech shootings had just happened.
Wayback to four years ago (April 2006):
Hello World
The blog had not been created yet, but it was close. I started the blog on May 6, 2006 after attending a conference at NJCU.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Learning Technology
One of the problems with teaching technology is that everything changes. Many times, people just sort of stick with the features they know and just look for the spot where that same feature is, rather than learning the new features of a program.
The most recent example I can come up with is Office 2007. People got very frustrated with a new interface, even if it is a simpler interface. One company even created a program to make Office 2007 look like Office 2003, and charges $30 for it. People will pay $30 to stick with the old interface! (To be fair, businesses don't like dealing with retraining, because it costs money).
This does go beyond new versions of software. I remember when I was in college, we were being taught the C programming language (something we computer people use to actually create computer programs). The college upgraded to a newer version of the language called C++, and I did not bother to take advantage of the new features. For those who know programming, C is designed to be procedure-oriented, while C++ is designed to be object-oriented. It took me years to gradually accept the object-oriented programming method.
The reason this is on my mind is because I went to a conference in the city last week, and they included a demonstration of Windows 7. I have had Windows 7 for a while at home as my primary operating system. I didn't realize how many features I haven't been using, because much like the programming days in college, I have been using Windows 7 like it was still Windows XP. I am planning on spending some time playing around with the new features this weekend and re-learning my behaviors a bit, because that's what a technology person should be doing, right?
The most recent example I can come up with is Office 2007. People got very frustrated with a new interface, even if it is a simpler interface. One company even created a program to make Office 2007 look like Office 2003, and charges $30 for it. People will pay $30 to stick with the old interface! (To be fair, businesses don't like dealing with retraining, because it costs money).
This does go beyond new versions of software. I remember when I was in college, we were being taught the C programming language (something we computer people use to actually create computer programs). The college upgraded to a newer version of the language called C++, and I did not bother to take advantage of the new features. For those who know programming, C is designed to be procedure-oriented, while C++ is designed to be object-oriented. It took me years to gradually accept the object-oriented programming method.
The reason this is on my mind is because I went to a conference in the city last week, and they included a demonstration of Windows 7. I have had Windows 7 for a while at home as my primary operating system. I didn't realize how many features I haven't been using, because much like the programming days in college, I have been using Windows 7 like it was still Windows XP. I am planning on spending some time playing around with the new features this weekend and re-learning my behaviors a bit, because that's what a technology person should be doing, right?
Monday, April 12, 2010
Hacking Facial Recognition Software
One thing that I see often in TV is facial recognition software. For example, in the current season of "24", Chloe O'Brien is able to very easily figure out who someone in based on the digital image of their face. The way these software programs work is similar (though not as advanced as in "24"). They take a facial image and scan it to determine what the features of the person are, and then compare that to a database of people's characteristics.
Of course, the easy way to beat this would be to wear a ski mask or something, but it would be way too obvious if you were walking around in public with one on. I often wondered if some sort of plastic surgery would make you harder or impossible to detect, and that certainly is an option.
However, a computer programmer was able to reverse engineer this software to find ways to beat it, in theory by using makeup patterns. He had three sets of images. The first set were basic images with no makeup, the second set was images with random patterns, and the third set were images that exploited what he considered potential weaknesses in the facial recognition software. His conclusions? The patterns he created all fooled the system, while the random patterns and the blank patterns did not fool the system.
His conclusion? The images represent potential anti-surveillance makeup.
Now, if someone was walking around with the makeup you see in the images, it might look weird still...but the potential is there. If someone can wear a weird makeup pattern and throw off these systems - well, these systems need to be more mature and figure these things out. I am sure the companies will say "well, no one is going to walk around with that makeup" publicly, while privately scrambling to find a fix.
Needless to say, if a graduate student came up with an idea like this...imagine what terrorists who do not want to be found will come up with.
http://ahprojects.com/c/itp/thesis
Of course, the easy way to beat this would be to wear a ski mask or something, but it would be way too obvious if you were walking around in public with one on. I often wondered if some sort of plastic surgery would make you harder or impossible to detect, and that certainly is an option.
However, a computer programmer was able to reverse engineer this software to find ways to beat it, in theory by using makeup patterns. He had three sets of images. The first set were basic images with no makeup, the second set was images with random patterns, and the third set were images that exploited what he considered potential weaknesses in the facial recognition software. His conclusions? The patterns he created all fooled the system, while the random patterns and the blank patterns did not fool the system.
His conclusion? The images represent potential anti-surveillance makeup.
Now, if someone was walking around with the makeup you see in the images, it might look weird still...but the potential is there. If someone can wear a weird makeup pattern and throw off these systems - well, these systems need to be more mature and figure these things out. I am sure the companies will say "well, no one is going to walk around with that makeup" publicly, while privately scrambling to find a fix.
Needless to say, if a graduate student came up with an idea like this...imagine what terrorists who do not want to be found will come up with.
http://ahprojects.com/c/itp/thesis
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Probably Bad News
If there is one thing I like, it is looking at the world around me and being amused by it.
Probably Bad News is a site that accepts user submission of bizarre and poorly worded newspaper, online, and television news reports. It's definitely worth a click, though it may not be safe for work!
probablybadnews.com
Probably Bad News is a site that accepts user submission of bizarre and poorly worded newspaper, online, and television news reports. It's definitely worth a click, though it may not be safe for work!
probablybadnews.com
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Animator vs. Animation
This is an interesting use of Adobe Flash and also very creative.
Adobe Flash, of course, is the program that we use to create animations. Most home users have Adobe Flash Player installed, which allows them to view these animations (but not create them). Many companies like this feel they can give away the viewer, and if people actually want to design things with the program, charge for that.
The animation below is pretty cool because in my CIS 273 class, I teach Adobe Flash, and it's cool to look at an animation and just understand how it is done. My Web Graphics students, past and present, should understand how much work went in to this person's animation. Cool stuff!
Link to animation
Adobe Flash, of course, is the program that we use to create animations. Most home users have Adobe Flash Player installed, which allows them to view these animations (but not create them). Many companies like this feel they can give away the viewer, and if people actually want to design things with the program, charge for that.
The animation below is pretty cool because in my CIS 273 class, I teach Adobe Flash, and it's cool to look at an animation and just understand how it is done. My Web Graphics students, past and present, should understand how much work went in to this person's animation. Cool stuff!
Link to animation
Monday, March 22, 2010
Cat-proof your computer
So, I ran across this site today and, it's interesting to say the least. You can buy software to cat-proof your computer. Really, for those cat owners out there, is this a problem worth software for?
I think my favorite feature is the one that detects cat-like activity, and plays a sound that annoys cats to chase it off of your keyboard.
This is not a joke, from what I can tell:
http://www.bitboost.com/pawsense/
I think my favorite feature is the one that detects cat-like activity, and plays a sound that annoys cats to chase it off of your keyboard.
This is not a joke, from what I can tell:
http://www.bitboost.com/pawsense/
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