Here's a little review of some important aspects of digital technology to enrich your mind, and help you prepare for the EID100 Midterm Exam.
Big Data is large amounts of data that is too difficult to analyze by organizations, because it surpasses their IT department’s data management limit. Big Data is characterized by volume, velocity, and variety.
The data helps large organizations to understand customers better, and distribute resources more efficiently. Such as data from retailer databases, logistics, science, financial, and health field, as well as social media data (i.e. photographs, audio, video, location data). Plus, Big Data systems help data to be viewable in real time.
Hadoop is one popular solution to Big Data management, and is a free open-source software library. It transfers the data across a large group of server computers, reports system failures, and substitutes alternate servers for faulty ones, among other things.
Cloud-based Big Data systems are also in place, and are more convenient for transferring data due to their Internet connectivity.
Websites that allow anonymity allow users to protect their real identity when posting, such as 4chan and formspring. Ones that don’t require authenticity expect users to display their real identity, such as Google+ and Facebook.
Sites that offer permanency allow a users content to be permanently attached it, such as reddit. Sites that promote ephemerality, allow a user to delete their content, or erases content automatically after an elapsed time, such as 4chan.
A cookie is user data in a text file downloaded to your hard drive when using the Internet. It’s generated by a site’s server, and can be re-used upon subsequent visits by the server to identify the user, and their preferences, or registration information. It also carries demographic and browsing information about the user that can be tracked by other sites, and sold to marketers.
You can prevent privacy violation caused by cookies by disabling your browser from storing usage history, by enabling your browser setting that requests that websites don’t track you, and by using browser add-ons like Collusion.
Remediation is when a media form is taken and transferred into another media type. Such as when a book is turned into an audio book recording.
Kirby Ferguson believes “everything is a remix”. It means that not many or anyone can claim complete ownership over an idea, because most, if not all ideas, usually build upon a preexisting one, which means it was never the individual’s own idea to begin with. He believes the borrowing of ideas is also a necessary part to human innovation and progress.
Intellectual Property believes otherwise. Its standpoint is that a work or invention created should allow for the creator to have exclusive rights over its use, supported by a patent, copyright, or trademark.
The Digital Age has caused instances of intellectual property violations to increase by non-authorized use of online content. Creative Commons is helping to solute things by giving creators a platform to publicly declare if they would like their works to be used, and how.
The different Creative Commons licenses creators can sign up for are:
Allows others to distribute, tweak, remix, and add to the work, as long as credit is given for the original work, even when used commercially.
Attribution-No Derivs CC By-ND
This allows for the redistribution of the work in its original form, both commercially and non-commercially, as long as credit is given to the creator.
Attribution-Non-Commercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SA
Others can distribute, tweak, remix, and add to a work non-commercially, as long as they provide credit to the creator’s original work, and license their creation under the same terms.
Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA
Others can remix, tweak, and add to work, even commercially, as long as they credit the creator, and license their new creation under identical terms.
It’s often compared to “copyleft” free and open source software licenses, and is used by Wikipedia. It’s ideal for materials that would benefit from using content from Wikipedia and similarly licensed projects.
Attribution-Non-Commercial CC BY-NC
Others can remix, tweak, and add to work non-commercially, as long as the creator is acknowledged, but derivative work doesn’t have to be licensed on the same terms.
Attribution-Non-Commercial-NoDerivs CC BY-NC-ND
Others can only download creator’s works and share them with others as long as they credit the creator. They can’t change the work in any way, or use it commercially.
Malware is an unwanted software package that is unintentionally installed onto a computer while using the Internet, by unknowingly clicking an activation link. It’s often used to steal banking information, and to aid in identity theft.
It can also cause pop up advertisements, allow a user’s key strokes to be noted, allow a user to be watched through their camera, or the hacker can connect to the user’s other devices through Bluetooth connectivity.
Phishing is when an email is sent to a user from a seemingly reputable company, like a bank, usually urging the user to change their password for security precautions. It’s used as a way to gain the user’s personal information for committing bank fraud and identity theft.
Spoofing is when a fake site is generated to look like a site a user might try to access, like a bank site, in order to collect the user’s personal info to steal their identity. The user often activates malware by clicking on a fake link on the fake site.
Cyber Bullying is a form of bullying done by use of online tools like computers, smartphones, and social networking sites, rather than happening offline. It typically involves the bully posting hurtful messages about another user privately or publicly on the Internet to embarrass and distress the individual.
All the above are examples of cyber crime, and rely on social manipulation to work successfully. The best way to protect your computer from most cyber crime is to use more secure browsers like Firefox and Google Chrome.
Also, use search engines that don’t track your usage like DuckDuckGo. Use add-ons for browsers like Firefox, such as NoScript, which prevents scripts from being downloaded onto your computer unknowingly, or AdBlock Plus, which prevents pop-up ads.
Other great options are Quick Java, which can allows you to allow or disallow script software. Lastly, Web of Trust (WOT), which shows user ratings for a site based on coloured circles, ranging from green, which equals a very safe site to red, which means a site isn’t safe to access.
That's all folks! I hope after reading this you feel more enlightened and empowered with digital technology. Cheers.
