Common Sense, the savior of the home computer

Talking about all these risks with social media or just plain interaction for a computer can be quite daunting. Of course, the number one rule to browsing the web is to BROWSE SMARTLY. I cannot stress just how much common sense can save you from doing horrible horrible things on social media.

Some examples of common sense in action

• Ignoring suspicious emails from weird "addresses"
• not clicking on links you don't know
• not typing your information on those links you don't know unless you can surely see it is the correct site (the secure lock on the top left corner is always a nice thing to see if this is a legitimate site that YOU HAVE BEEN ON BEFORE)
• not giving out your information publicly unless you feel there are no repercussions to it
• constantly checking your privacy settings on facebook, phone, twitter, etc.
• and I cannot stress this enough, don't go to links that may be "Shady" (In the most PG sense I can put it), and if you must, make sure you have a good anti-virus/firewall and make sure you are surfing safely

And having a legitimate adblocker helps too if you must go on those sites to prevent misdirection

I have had many stories of fellow friends coming to me with bricked laptops or PCs wondering why their computer won't work anymore, first thing I do once I actually get it somewhat functioning again, is to go on the person's browser history and point out the sites they probably got the bug/worm/virus/trojan/rootkit from and how these sites can cause "problems" if you don't have the proper security needed for a computer (this includes Macs too)

In modern society, government officials can fall for this as well, and we have seen it multiple times, until people properly understand the responsibility of a computer and its connection to practically everyone if exposed, well we see better usage of the product, just like cars (unless you live in South Florida). 

Well...This is my final post for the course, I have had a blast learning and having so much fun taking this! I would like to thank Professor Dennen for introducing to the world of blogging, and it is such a nifty tool to talk about whatever you want...I really want to continue this.

E-Government and Security...oh No

Did you know that in the US alone, over 20,000+ serious cyber threats attack governments daily? No? Well now you know..

And Knowledge Comes Power....and Infoleaks!

These leaks and breaks through security can come through many forms, whether it be to gather information, mess with the production of a service, stopping services for extortion , or allegedly influencing the votes of an election, cyber threats and attacks happen more often and more common than you think, even if some are more in "jest" or for political statements. Hacking to a government service can be costly, and with the role of CTOs (Chief Technology Officers) to keep up with the times in terms of security and updates versus a continuously clever group of actors, the battle is never fully "won". What government is doing though is at least taking those steps into helping mitigate the solution through training and hiring of "competent"(allegedly) personnel to handle these breaches. Yet there comes another problem to this. Human Error.

Oh yes....those humans

Human error, especially when it comes to being tricked by "Social Engineering", or influencing one to give away information, whether it come via phone calls, emails, etc.

These CTOs do try to teach the Three As (Access, Authentication, and Authorization) or the Three Ds (Deter, Detect, Defend), but unless a user is truly listening and will not "shirk" off responsibility, these problems can arise in any agencies anywhere up or down the chain!

So how does one fix this? well, the next post may surprise you...Okay, it won't cause I said it earlier, and I mean it is "Duh" seriously people why don't you use it...

Youtube and Twitch, A Streamer's worst nightmare

While stardom is an amazing feeling when streaming as a regular on the world wide web, it can also come at its negatives. With social media, and especially focusing on interacting with the audience, every little tick/noise/distraction/accidental screen opening, can give away more personal information about you. With this personal information constantly being at risk on livestreams (as human error is probably at its highest live than in lets say something one could take the time to write and review), avid fans....or at least users who think they are "Friends with you personally" can take the time to find and stalk your location. This type of incident is not rare, and has happened to the likes of many streamers and major youtube hosts.

Pewdiepie, one of the biggest youtube channels right now had a good video talking about it, and the issue he has with these people, it is 2 minutes and a rather good video of how youtube stars feel. The Twitch Reddit also has had discussions about stalkers harassing the producers virtually, another big issue in the community. Whether it is physical or virtual, those producing run the risk of stalking, especially in the age of internet and access to information, the gathering of information (if you are rather easy-going with it) can be very easy in locating you. Even if you are at your best, you can check some government websites if you have a hunch where the house is, or location of the streamer (which they usually post on their profiles), and look through properties till you find the owner of the household (and with faces constantly being shown or names being given away, these scary occurrences can come true.

A lot of youtubers and streamers withold their faces so fans will not know who they look like (such as Youtubers "I Hate Everything", "Pyrocynical (Formerly until another youtuber showed his face without permission)", "GradeAUnderA", and many many MANY more. Some youtubers after a while may feel lax and do a "Face Reveal Special" after so many subscribers, but to the ones who try to prevent as much information from leaking as possible, really have to keep their information away from even the closest of friends on who they are online, unless they want to run the risk of leaks.

It is a dangerous world for youtubers/twitch users and is something that videos on demand and livestreaming don't tell you when one becomes popular enough.

Final week for EME6414 T_T

Well, it has been a fun ride in EME6414, but all good things eventually come to an end.

It was pretty great taking a break from the social sciences that focused on government and land use, and to rather explore the digital world of interaction. Will I continue this blog? possibly. It may be a little more sparse due to my oral exam followed by prospectus arriving very VERY soon, but I may have some more ramblings, and might stretch this more into other topics within the web! I know this week deals with wrap up and privacy, so I figured for the next posts I'll take about safety on the web, especially on social media and web 2.0 services, putting it towards livestreaming and youtube, we have the issue of "Stalkers", when it comes to E-Government we have the issue of "Actors", and when it comes to personal use, we have the issue of "Common Sense"(Wait what...that's mean).

So Long, Farewell. For now T_T