Welcome to Dan’s Internet and Security Blog

History of Internet and Security Issues

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The internet actually began all the way back in 1958. Network schemes were developed in 1964, and the first message through a network was sent in 1969. The infancy of the internet was developed because the US Department of defense needed a computer network that would still be functional if there was an attack (Evans, 2019). Things have come a long way since that time. The world wide web is the part of the internet we are most familiar with. It is was broadcasts the pages that we see when we go to websites. The client server relationship is what makes the websites work. The client or computer requests data, and a server computer takes the request and turns it into data.

Security concerns came to light in the early 70’s. The first virus had infected a computer, and the ease of accessing information from the outside started to become known. The internet is not popular at this point, but that was going to change. By the mid 80’s, the internet was becoming more popular, and with this came malware and viruses that targeted personal computers. This started a change in security. 1987 was the year that saw the removal a a virus from a computer in the wild. This led to a TON of anti-virus companies working to create software for protection. The 90’s saw the internet advance and become more sophisticated. It also saw ad-on’s like flash. These came with a number of security concerns. Data phishing also started to increase

Fast forward to the early to mid 2000’s. This is when internet usage takes the shape of what we know today. It becomes a part of everyday life. The amounts and types of data being transferred on the web grew exponentially. As usage increased, the number of people looking to perform nefarious acts grew with it. Viruses, malware, and data breaches have become almost commonplace. Advancements in security have continually been worked on to combat this. The biggest security change in my opinion is knowledge. So much information is shared about how to protect your data. Another change is that software used to only combat the issues after they occurred. New software is continually watching in an attempt to protect users before data is stolen, or a virus is contracted.

References:

Evans, A., Martin, K., Poatsy, M. A. Technology in Action Complete. [Purdue University Global Bookshelf]. Retrieved from https://purdueuniversityglobal.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780134838410/cfi/121!/4/4@0.00:0.00

Le VPN. Origin of Cyber Security: When Did Internet Privacy Become and Issue? Retireved from https://www.le-vpn.com/internet-privacy-cyber-security/

Methods of Communication

Social Networking

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According to Evans, “social networking refers to using the web to communicate and share information among your friends and others” (p.89, 2019). This is pretty vast! There are sites like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter that most are familiar with. The apps are used for communicating in a variety of ways. There is so much more. LinkedIn for example, is a great social networking site when seeking a job or career. You have a profile, resume, history, skills, and more. This blog is social media. Video and image sharing sites like YouTube and Flickr are forms of social media. Trip Advisor, Yelp, Groupon, GoFundMe, and even product reviews are all examples of sites where social media is a definite component. There are also podcasts and webcasts. It’s crazy to think about how often the web is used for communicating and information sharing. Social media has become a main component of all advertisement, whether it be a person or a business.

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E-Mail

Electronic Mail (E-Mail) is the most common form of communication on the internet. This still rings true in the era of social media. It is a fast and convenient way to get information to people quickly. The ability to instantaneously send material is what has made and kept it so popular. It makes me cringe to think of all the legitimate spam I receive. There are a number of providers. Examples include Hotmail, GMail, and Yahoo! Mail. There are also mail client programs like outlook that allow you to bring all of your mailboxes to one easy to access location.

E-Mail is used for a number of things. Depending on what it is being used for there are guidelines to follow. With friends and personal acquaintances, formatting is not so important. This is different in a work environment. You want to be professional, avoid spelling and grammar errors, and usually have a formatted subject line as well as a signature line with the senders information.

It is still important to remember security when it comes to E-Mail. We all know to avoid the fishy emails that request personal information. All of my incoming mail is scanned by my internet security program. While E-Mail simplifies life quite a bit, beware of what you send via email, as it is only as private as those you send it to.

References:

Wikis and Blogs

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Wikis and blogs are other forms of social media communications. A wiki is a website that allows editing of its material by users. It offers the convenience of being able to be updated instantaneously. Wikipedia.com is the most common. Crazy to think that all of the information housed on the site was provided and edited by users. It is important to verify the accuracy of information received from any wiki, as it is edited and updated by users. I have taken a number of classes where you are not allowed to reference or cite wiki’s due to this.

Blogs are like online journals or data logs. As we have seen on WordPress, anyone can create a blog for free. It is critical for users to know that blogs are public! You can receive comments and feedback. Most blogs that you come across are text based, but some, like this one, contain images or audio. They are a great way for people to post opinions, start conversations, and gather information on a topic if there is good feedback. Last but not least, blogs are almost always chronological. Old posts go to the bottom, while the most current posts will be at the top.

References:

Podcasts and Webcasts

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According to Evans “A podcast is a form of digital media composed of a series of audio or video files that are distributed over the Internet” (p.92, 2019) In my experience they are recorded and distributed. There are podcasts for everything! For example, I went to podcasts in my Spotify app. Podcast topics include educational, true crime, comedy, news, music, sports, and lifestyle and health. The great thing about podcasts is accessibility. Most are free if you go to the creators site. It can be fun to listen to a group of people or an individual you like talk about a topic you find interesting.

Webcasts are similar to podcasts with one big exception. They are generally live. The broadcasts contain audio, video, or both. The live aspect can allow for feedback and comments from the audience during the webcast. The basic concept is the same though, and that is for people to share and receive information.

References:

Media Streaming

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Media Streaming has become commonplace. I do not know a single person without one media streaming service. It is instant access to video and audio, quite often for a nominal fee. I use Spotify, Amazon Prime TV, and Hulu. Other examples include Netflix, Amazon Music, Pandora, and YouTube. I feel like these services helped drastically in terms of reducing piracy. It not only allows people to access shows and albums, but it allows them to pick and choose the song and video files that they want. Streaming media has become so common that most televisions have access to the various streaming sites now.

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E-Commerce and M-Commerce

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E-Commerce is exactly what it sounds like. It is when you do business online. The 3 main types of E-Commerce are consumer to business, business to business, and consumer to consumer. In every situations there is a buyer and a consumer. M-Commerce is simply a part of E-Commerce. It is when you use a mobile device like a tablet or smartphone to conduct business online. In an effort to protect yourself, it is recommended that you use a credit card. There is more financial protection. Also make sure to look at things like the return policy, get confirmation numbers, and USE REPUTABLE SITES! Just like investing, if it’s too good to be true, it probably is.

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