Final Exam

The Internet has radically changed the way we communicate. Social network sites like Facebook and Mixi help us keep in touch with our childhood friends with so much ease. We can also have as many friends as we like without any restriction. Sites like LinkedIn help in forming and maintaining business connections, as well as connections which could be immensely helpful in one's career. 

The Internet has revolutionized the way we access information, starting with Google in 1998. Google and Yahoo help us find information with so much ease, a degree of ease never imagined before their creation. With Google Documents, we can create, edit, and share documents online, which is quite economical.

However, coexisting these advantages are potential disadvantages. They include malware and online scams. Recently, social networking sites such as Facebook have been the target of malware attacks. In these, malware gets installed on a user's computer through advertisements. Also, criminals try to access users' confidential information and gain unauthorized access to their system by pretending to be friends or acquaintainces of the recepients. Online scams also include fake iTunes gift certificates in which the scammers deceive online users by claiming to be from iTunes Store to make customers download the attachment and get the certificate code in order to redeem the gift certificate. The attachment is a zipped file containing the malware Mal/BredoZp-B which can provide unauthorized access to hackers to steal confidential information such as credit card numbers and passwords.

Currently, the Internet is accessible not only through computers, but also through smartphones. Since Android is presently the most commonly used operating system on smartphones, malware authors have been targeting smartphones using Android. Basically, they target devices which are the most used. When computers and/or smartphones get infected with malware, users' privacy and important details can be compromised, the device does not function propoerly, and it is likely that the malware could be spread to other users.

Also, once information (particularly images) is uploaded on the Internet, it circulates and cannot be retrieved. This is not just one of the worst aspects, but also a potentially embarrassing one. One example is that of the circles for a blog post that Scott Hanselman made. On Facebook, he discovered the image he used was on a stranger's wall, and that the image spread very rapidly within Facebook.          

Thus, the best aspects of the Internet include ease of communication and instant access to information. The worst aspects include malware, online scams, and the inability to retrieve information once uploaded.

Sources

http://androidandme.com/2011/11/news/googler-speaks-of-mobile-security-says-anti-virus-companies-are-playing-with-your-fears/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet

http://www.hanselman.com/blog/YourImagesAreAVirusTheyAreEVERYWHEREOnTheInternet.aspx

http://sixrevisions.com/resources/the-history-of-the-internet-in-a-nutshell/

http://www.wwwireframe.com/geekosphere/security-flash/dont-fall-for-malware-and-scam-deals-this-shopping-season.html

final exam question

Viruses, Trojan horses, worms, and spyware are included in malware.  T/F

Malware

Malware (short for "malicious software") refers to programs designed to gain unauthorized access to a computer system, to destroy data, and to change the whole working of the system. Viruses fit into malware. They can be transmitted via the Internet including through e-mails. Other type of malware include Trojan horses, computer worms, and spyware.

Facebook and other SNS are targets for malware. The advertisements on the site cannot really be trusted as spyware can get installed on one's computer. Recently, in Japan, one company's system was attacked by virus. It came via an e-mail from someone who posed as the legitimate sender.

1 Quote a Day

"I believe people work for satisfaction. I believe it is a big mistake to think that money is the only way to compensate a person for his work." 


Hint: from the founder of Sony 

Google Translate Fail

Ryoko Sakka Chaya Jiro ( 旅行作家・茶屋次郎 ) is a famous mystery series occasionally aired on TV Tokyo.

I copied 旅行作家・茶屋次郎 and pasted it in Google Translate. The English translation was "Chaya travel writer Jiro"

I found this amusing because although all the words in the translation are correct, I was actually expecting to see "Travel Writer Chaya Jiro".

Wait a minute! I thought that Google Translate does word-for-word translation! Now, I think this translation is really funny because Ryoko ( 旅行 ) means "travel", Sakka ( 作家 ) means "writer" and Chaya Jiro ( 茶屋次郎 ) is Chaya Jiro, the writer's name.

So, the reason I find this translation very funny is that Google Translate did a very random translation instead of a word-for-word one that I was actually expecting it to do!

Google Maps Story

For this assignment, I chose Sapporo (capital of Hokkaido, which is the northernmost island of Japan) because I went there with my high school teachers and friends before graduation. We saw Sapporo City. It was very beautiful and different from Tokyo. The roads were broad and there was plenty of greenery. Sapporo is renowned for the Shiroi Koibito chocolate brand. Here is the map.



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The idea for this type of interesting assignment was submitted by David, who is also known as Mr. Thimble.

Following are the steps I used to embed the Google map.

1) I searched Sapporo Google map.

2) I clicked on the Link button (which is after the Get Directions, My Places, and is to the right-side of Print button) in the left-side panel. 

3) Then, I copied the HTML code to be embedded and pasted that code in the Edit HTML tab of the blog.

4) After pasting, I just clicked on the Compose tab.

Colorize Your World

 

 

As You can see, I chose my favorite cartoon characters, Tom and Jerry! I found this CC image from Flickr, and saved it as a Paint file.

 

How I changed the colors:

1) I clicked on the Color 1 box in the Home tab of the ribbon. Next to that are the Color 2 box and a list of colors to choose from.

2) I chose black from the list of colors.

3) Then from the Brushes box (with the down arrow) on the Home tab, I chose the first option (Brush).  

4) Using the Brush option, I colored both Tom and Jerry with black! (although not completely)

5) Then, I colored both white by clicking on the Color 1 box and choosing white from the list of colors.

6) When coloring white, I used the Calligraphy brush 1 and Calligraphy brush 2 options (from the Brushes box)

7) I colored their tongues red. To color using red, I clicked on the Color 1 box and chose red from the list of colors.

8) When coloring Tom's tongue, I used Calligraphy brush 2. For Jerry's tongue, I used Brush.   

 

This assignment was enjoyable and interesting. I also learned more about using Paint. There are indeed other ways of achieving this same result such as using only Brush to color their tongues and using only Brush to make those white spots. I did this assignment because many times, I tried to imagine how Tom and Jerry would look with just black and a few white spots instead of their respective colors, that is grey and brown.