Unfortunately, I missed the guest speakers in class last week, so this blog is loosely based on my reaction to Ray Gabler’s power point presentation on Blackboard. It seems like one of the themes of his presentation was about security issues and how they affect Web 2.0 technologies. It’s easy to accept that with the evolution of the Internet, security threats have evolved as well. This is why antivirus software can be a very lucrative business. Since viruses of different types are continuously changing, antivirus software must release periodic patches or newer versions to fight the most current threats.
One particular part of Ray’s presentation that I found to be very interesting involved our online “friends”. I would say that “friend” is a relatively loose term because when you have hundreds of friends on your Facebook or MySpace page, how many of them do you actually know and interact with…in the real world? The fact that many of us are so willing to accept new “friends” leaves us vulnerable to security attacks. One of my previous blogs discussed the ease at which hackers can create fake profiles to befriend unsuspecting people on social networking sites. Once the hacker gains access to someone’s personal information the security barrier is breached and identity theft becomes a realistic possibility.
Several times a year I receive e-mails on my work and school account from the IT administration warning everyone of a potential virus. The potentially virus-infected e-mails usually possess the same characteristics. One, the sender may be a friend or coworker. Two, the e-mail contains an attachment. Three, the subject line or attachment name will be something friendly to peak your interest, something like “hey, you gotta check this out!” Normally, I can tell when I receive one of these corny e-mails because they are not inline with what I’ve come to expect from my friends. However, some people can’t tell the difference between an authentic e-mail and a bogus one. For this reason, the entire company or the entire student body and faculty receives a warning e-mail from the IT administration, telling us not to open any unfamiliar attachments or e-mails with “open me J” in the subject line. That’s sound advice.
One particular part of Ray’s presentation that I found to be very interesting involved our online “friends”. I would say that “friend” is a relatively loose term because when you have hundreds of friends on your Facebook or MySpace page, how many of them do you actually know and interact with…in the real world? The fact that many of us are so willing to accept new “friends” leaves us vulnerable to security attacks. One of my previous blogs discussed the ease at which hackers can create fake profiles to befriend unsuspecting people on social networking sites. Once the hacker gains access to someone’s personal information the security barrier is breached and identity theft becomes a realistic possibility.
Several times a year I receive e-mails on my work and school account from the IT administration warning everyone of a potential virus. The potentially virus-infected e-mails usually possess the same characteristics. One, the sender may be a friend or coworker. Two, the e-mail contains an attachment. Three, the subject line or attachment name will be something friendly to peak your interest, something like “hey, you gotta check this out!” Normally, I can tell when I receive one of these corny e-mails because they are not inline with what I’ve come to expect from my friends. However, some people can’t tell the difference between an authentic e-mail and a bogus one. For this reason, the entire company or the entire student body and faculty receives a warning e-mail from the IT administration, telling us not to open any unfamiliar attachments or e-mails with “open me J” in the subject line. That’s sound advice.
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