Thursday, October 30, 2008

Our Attention Span Gets Longer!


The known fact is that people on computers only have the attention span to watch short video clips. But according to the New York Times that has clearly changed! 


Thursday, October 23, 2008

Virtual Strip Seach Sparks Privacy Fears


CNN - Virtual Scanners Video. See how the Scanners work! Its a really interesting video!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Image Manipulation Exercise



Number of Layers: 10

Topic of Your Images: TIGERS

Filters and Effects:

-Sepia

-Fade Image (bottom to top/linear)

-Brightness/contrast

-Curves (Input: 89 Output: 44)

Sunday, October 5, 2008

News Discussion 6- Palin Email Hacker Said It Was Easy

Someone obtained access to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's private Yahoo e-mail account on Tuesday. The hacker revealed his simple steps he took in ordered to gain admission to her private email and information. The hacker hoped to find incriminating evidence that would “derail her campaign”. He reported all he read though was, “personal stuff, some clerical stuff from when she was governor…And pictures of her family.” According to the hackers detailed posting of the crime the hack didn’t don’t require any real skill. He simply reset the password using her birth date, ZIP code and personal information that could be acquired just by searching the World Wide Web.

This article didn’t come to a surprise or shock me. After addressing the issue of security and hacking in class you realize how easy the process is. Even though this particular hacking incident didn’t involve much skill it’s a great example about how even the simplest information about you online can be helpful to anyone. Doing the class exercise which involved us finding personal information about people you certainly realize how easily facts can be obtained if you know where to look.

The hacker admitted to finding all the information he needed to change her password on the web. After a short amount of research he was able to find her birth date (found on wikipedia), Zip code (the United States Postal Service website), and even where she met her husband. Which was the last answer the hacker needed to obtain entry to her account. Just by doing some simple research he found she eloped with mister Palin after college and continued his search to find where they met. Eventually he found more details and guessed “Wasilla high” and was correct. Scary stuff.