Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Blog 4-Online Privacy
When we log onto the Internet, little do we know that our every move can be tracked. Companies are spending millions of dollars to track Internet users every move so they can have a better understanding of their market and the users preferences. But how much is our privacy at risk? Some say that privacy does not exist anymore and we are always under surveillance by the government, advertisers and companies. There is a sense of insecurity now when consumers log onto the Internet.
The way that companies have been able to track our preferences on the Internet is through cookies. By placing cookies into our computers they can track our every move on the Internet and watch what we read, what we are interested in and buy. By tracking the users, advertisers will be able to put up personal advertisements depending on what interests the user.
No software can help prevent these cookies from being placed onto our computers and if you were to block them, then you would have limited access to the Internet sites. It is a no win situation for the Internet citizens.
For some time we have had the federal government on the citizens side banning cookies to track users, the government created this ban so the citizens would have privacy. Although recently, they have reversed the nine-year ban and are going to allow the government and companies to track our every move.
According to Joshua Miller from Fox News he says, “the shift in policy is being billed as a way for government to enter the 21st century and for federal agencies to use the same technology utilized on news sites, retail sites and social media networks.”
The question is why does our privacy have to be taken to transform with the 21st century. They should make privacy the number one priority as technology becomes more advanced, not take it away from the consumer As citizens of the United States, it seems like we are no longer covered by the Fourth Amendment and our every move will be watch by cameras, the Internet and the telephone.
The government is trying to transform this new bill into a three tier process when it comes to tracking users. “OMB is currently considering a three-tier approach that would track users over single and multiple Web sessions, either to analyze Web traffic statistics or to remember the data, settings and preferences unique to individual users,” said Miller.
The government is trying to make it so they can track the consmers on all different levels of the Internet. The consumers need to restrict the information that they put out on the Internet because it will not be private.
Right now, online privacy is a major issue that needs to be taken seriously and put back into the citizens hands. The consumer needs to feel safe when they log onto the Internet and they should not feel like all of their private information is going out to the public. Instead of the government changing with the 21st century and take away privacy, they should be changing technology so that the consumers are more protected.
The way that companies have been able to track our preferences on the Internet is through cookies. By placing cookies into our computers they can track our every move on the Internet and watch what we read, what we are interested in and buy. By tracking the users, advertisers will be able to put up personal advertisements depending on what interests the user.
No software can help prevent these cookies from being placed onto our computers and if you were to block them, then you would have limited access to the Internet sites. It is a no win situation for the Internet citizens.
For some time we have had the federal government on the citizens side banning cookies to track users, the government created this ban so the citizens would have privacy. Although recently, they have reversed the nine-year ban and are going to allow the government and companies to track our every move.
According to Joshua Miller from Fox News he says, “the shift in policy is being billed as a way for government to enter the 21st century and for federal agencies to use the same technology utilized on news sites, retail sites and social media networks.”
The question is why does our privacy have to be taken to transform with the 21st century. They should make privacy the number one priority as technology becomes more advanced, not take it away from the consumer As citizens of the United States, it seems like we are no longer covered by the Fourth Amendment and our every move will be watch by cameras, the Internet and the telephone.
The government is trying to transform this new bill into a three tier process when it comes to tracking users. “OMB is currently considering a three-tier approach that would track users over single and multiple Web sessions, either to analyze Web traffic statistics or to remember the data, settings and preferences unique to individual users,” said Miller.
The government is trying to make it so they can track the consmers on all different levels of the Internet. The consumers need to restrict the information that they put out on the Internet because it will not be private.
Right now, online privacy is a major issue that needs to be taken seriously and put back into the citizens hands. The consumer needs to feel safe when they log onto the Internet and they should not feel like all of their private information is going out to the public. Instead of the government changing with the 21st century and take away privacy, they should be changing technology so that the consumers are more protected.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Blog 3-Conflicts in the Digital Age
With war being talked about constantly in magazines, television, radio, podcast's and newspapers the public is constantly reminded about the type of world we are living in and the physical wars that are taking place. But did anyone think that the Internet would not be safe as well.
The Internet is the fastest growing technology that the world has ever seen and with the on going physical war in Iraq, it is difficult to think that people would be using the Internet as a weapon. Little did the world know that the Internet, when it was started, can harm or ruin an entire country by hacking into computer networks and stealing information.
According to 60 Minutes, “much of it was still theory, but we were told that before too long it might be possible for a hacker with a computer to disable critical infrastructure in a major city and disrupt essential services, to steal millions of dollars from banks all over the world, infiltrate defense systems, extort millions from public companies, and even sabotage our weapons systems.”
This is known as cyber warfare and it is a serious crime that the world is dealing with. More and more, there are reports of countries and people hacking into other computers and stealing private information. Others are creating Trojans and viruses and sending them out to the public to ruin computers systems. This is not just a theory anymore, it is FACT and it actually happening everywhere and it is making the Internet more dangerous to be on.
It is reported that Russia, Brazil and China are the world leaders in cyber crime and malicious activity. The United States and United Kingdom are reported as the top two countries to be victims of cyber attacks. Countries all over the world are investing more money into cyber security.
Back in 2008, Pentagon officials told CNN, “U.S. military unclassified computer systems were broken into and information was taken.” The allegations stated that Chinese military tried to hack into U.S. military systems and plan to destroy satellites and invest in nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles with the use of Kylin, China‘s security operating system.
There are also threats that China’s spending would increase by 18% in the past year for cyber warfare. China denies the allegations of the cyber crime and claimed that they too were victims of cyber crime. Although, the United States has yet to drop or ignore this issue.
Today, there is a constant verbal battle between the United States and China of what really happened and “who did what.” The United States Homeland Security and other government parts are teaming up together to create a safer and more protected computer system that will prevent this issue from happening again.
The United States is more aware of the threats cyber warfare can have and they focused on fixing and creating a better cyber security to protect our nation. President Obama addressed this issue during a speech and he stated: "It is now clear this cyber threat is one [of] the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation.”
The Internet is the fastest growing technology that the world has ever seen and with the on going physical war in Iraq, it is difficult to think that people would be using the Internet as a weapon. Little did the world know that the Internet, when it was started, can harm or ruin an entire country by hacking into computer networks and stealing information.
According to 60 Minutes, “much of it was still theory, but we were told that before too long it might be possible for a hacker with a computer to disable critical infrastructure in a major city and disrupt essential services, to steal millions of dollars from banks all over the world, infiltrate defense systems, extort millions from public companies, and even sabotage our weapons systems.”
This is known as cyber warfare and it is a serious crime that the world is dealing with. More and more, there are reports of countries and people hacking into other computers and stealing private information. Others are creating Trojans and viruses and sending them out to the public to ruin computers systems. This is not just a theory anymore, it is FACT and it actually happening everywhere and it is making the Internet more dangerous to be on.
It is reported that Russia, Brazil and China are the world leaders in cyber crime and malicious activity. The United States and United Kingdom are reported as the top two countries to be victims of cyber attacks. Countries all over the world are investing more money into cyber security.
Back in 2008, Pentagon officials told CNN, “U.S. military unclassified computer systems were broken into and information was taken.” The allegations stated that Chinese military tried to hack into U.S. military systems and plan to destroy satellites and invest in nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles with the use of Kylin, China‘s security operating system.
There are also threats that China’s spending would increase by 18% in the past year for cyber warfare. China denies the allegations of the cyber crime and claimed that they too were victims of cyber crime. Although, the United States has yet to drop or ignore this issue.
Today, there is a constant verbal battle between the United States and China of what really happened and “who did what.” The United States Homeland Security and other government parts are teaming up together to create a safer and more protected computer system that will prevent this issue from happening again.
The United States is more aware of the threats cyber warfare can have and they focused on fixing and creating a better cyber security to protect our nation. President Obama addressed this issue during a speech and he stated: "It is now clear this cyber threat is one [of] the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation.”
Monday, October 26, 2009
The Digital Divide
It is normal to most of us to get on the internet from our computers, cell phones or even on our mp3 players. We do not think twice about it, we think everyone has this type of access. Although this is normal for most of us, there are millions of people who do not have this power and access. This is known as the Digital Divide.
The digital divide refers to the gap between people with effective access to digital and information technology and those who do not. There are two types of divides and they are the global divide which is the divide between the whole world and the social divide which is the divide within a nation.
It is quiet clear that those who have make a low income, had minimal education and live in poor areas are the ones without Internet access. One of the reasons are because they just can not afford the technology and the Internet, there is a physical imbalance.
There is a study that says that places without Internet access are behind on education because they do not have access to all the information out there. On the other hand, there is the argument that these children have access to the libraries provided by the states and it is free. But what about on a global scale, for example, places like Africa and it is dangerous to walk to the library due to the rebel tribes or they live to far from a library.
According to an article by the New York Times, “lack of broadband Internet access deprives countries of the possibility of building up offshoring industries,” said the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Countries without Internet access are not reaping the rewards that the Internet could provide for them.
So what do you to fix this gap? Well there are several countries, like Japan, that are trying to get together and make it possible for everyone to get access to the Internet. They are trying to create a broadband access that will reach all over the world.
Then the question comes up about actually owning a computer. Right now there are several non-profit organizations that are working to provide every child with a laptop around the world, for example, One Laptop Per Child. They are trying to give every child a XO computer that has built-in access to the Internet but also great for learning purposes.
It is critical that we bridge the digital divide and make it possible that everyone has access to the Internet, rich or poor. Everyone deserves a chance to be able to explore the Internet and learn.
The digital divide refers to the gap between people with effective access to digital and information technology and those who do not. There are two types of divides and they are the global divide which is the divide between the whole world and the social divide which is the divide within a nation.
It is quiet clear that those who have make a low income, had minimal education and live in poor areas are the ones without Internet access. One of the reasons are because they just can not afford the technology and the Internet, there is a physical imbalance.
There is a study that says that places without Internet access are behind on education because they do not have access to all the information out there. On the other hand, there is the argument that these children have access to the libraries provided by the states and it is free. But what about on a global scale, for example, places like Africa and it is dangerous to walk to the library due to the rebel tribes or they live to far from a library.
According to an article by the New York Times, “lack of broadband Internet access deprives countries of the possibility of building up offshoring industries,” said the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Countries without Internet access are not reaping the rewards that the Internet could provide for them.
So what do you to fix this gap? Well there are several countries, like Japan, that are trying to get together and make it possible for everyone to get access to the Internet. They are trying to create a broadband access that will reach all over the world.
Then the question comes up about actually owning a computer. Right now there are several non-profit organizations that are working to provide every child with a laptop around the world, for example, One Laptop Per Child. They are trying to give every child a XO computer that has built-in access to the Internet but also great for learning purposes.
It is critical that we bridge the digital divide and make it possible that everyone has access to the Internet, rich or poor. Everyone deserves a chance to be able to explore the Internet and learn.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Blog #1
At this moment, millions of teenagers and adults are logging onto Facebook, Twitter and Myspace. They are posting and writing their thoughts and ideas. But are they providing too much information? Each of these teenagers and adults have created a profile of themselves. These profiles represent of how they view themselves, it's their reflexive identities. But how true are these identities?
An online identity is someone who creates an identity on one of this internet sites, plus many others, that includes both their reflexive and ascribed identities. Sometimes these people exaggerate on these identities and create a whole new identity for themselves, so they can fit in. An identity of who they wish they were.
So many people, lose themselves and their true identities on these online sites. It’s where they disconnect themselves from the real world and completely give themselves to the online social media world. The question is, are they providing to much information to this social media world and are they showing risky behavior?
According to Fox News, they are showing to much and their behvaior is risky. “Young people do not consider the consequences of posting their drinking habits and sexual behavior.” The young people feel like it is the "cool thing to do," to show that they are drinking or showing a little skin. They feel like they can hide on the internet and meet up with other like people. But the internet is a very public place were there is the chance of a million viewers. The fact is that people want to change their online identities to fit in and feel like they belong. They want to show themselves as the party person, who likes “to have sex, drink and be violent.” These people try to portray an image that they think will fit in with the rest of the world.
Doctor Meg, from Fox News has stated, “the ones to me that were most surprising and most worrisome were the sexual references.” Sometimes we feel uncomfortable about expressing our true selves to the real world and it is easier to express ourselves on the internet. We join in with other people like us and create this online identity that no one knows of. But how safe are our online identities when we post these new profiles?
To answer all the questions above, yes, these people are sharing to much information and not showing their true identities. They are creating an identity that best describes who they want to be. These identities can be completely made up and false. They do not think that it is effecting them, but consequently it is. All these young teens are showing risky behavior for attention. But in the end, it is only hurting them. We are not safe by posting these new identities. There are many serious matters that can come out of these online identities. It is always important to be as private and secure about yourself, because there are some serious problems that you can face.
An online identity is someone who creates an identity on one of this internet sites, plus many others, that includes both their reflexive and ascribed identities. Sometimes these people exaggerate on these identities and create a whole new identity for themselves, so they can fit in. An identity of who they wish they were.
So many people, lose themselves and their true identities on these online sites. It’s where they disconnect themselves from the real world and completely give themselves to the online social media world. The question is, are they providing to much information to this social media world and are they showing risky behavior?
According to Fox News, they are showing to much and their behvaior is risky. “Young people do not consider the consequences of posting their drinking habits and sexual behavior.” The young people feel like it is the "cool thing to do," to show that they are drinking or showing a little skin. They feel like they can hide on the internet and meet up with other like people. But the internet is a very public place were there is the chance of a million viewers. The fact is that people want to change their online identities to fit in and feel like they belong. They want to show themselves as the party person, who likes “to have sex, drink and be violent.” These people try to portray an image that they think will fit in with the rest of the world.
Doctor Meg, from Fox News has stated, “the ones to me that were most surprising and most worrisome were the sexual references.” Sometimes we feel uncomfortable about expressing our true selves to the real world and it is easier to express ourselves on the internet. We join in with other people like us and create this online identity that no one knows of. But how safe are our online identities when we post these new profiles?
To answer all the questions above, yes, these people are sharing to much information and not showing their true identities. They are creating an identity that best describes who they want to be. These identities can be completely made up and false. They do not think that it is effecting them, but consequently it is. All these young teens are showing risky behavior for attention. But in the end, it is only hurting them. We are not safe by posting these new identities. There are many serious matters that can come out of these online identities. It is always important to be as private and secure about yourself, because there are some serious problems that you can face.
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