LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE

In class, we played a game which I believe is called a truth and a lie (like two truths and a lie?).

 Basically, each one of us had to provide two statements, one lie and one truth. The challenge is to make our classmates believe that the lie is actually true. To do this, it is ideal to provide a statement that sounds almost absurd so our classmates wouldn't believe it's true and find a statement that almost seems too easy to not be true (does this even make sense??). Or, we could also take the risk and do it the other way around in the hopes to trick our classmates.

I liked this game because I'm usually good at telling when people are lying and when they are telling the truth. It's like a special talent I have.

I was a bit worried though because I'm not very comfortable with lying. In the end, I ended up fooling most of my classmates and making them believe my lie.

It was a very fun and interesting activity to do and I'd definitely try to play this again with friends soon. :)

HACKER vs. CRACKER

Whenever I hear the word "hacker" I always think of some computer genius or nerd who through his techy ways managed to get into someone else's computer system to wreak havoc.

I always thought a hacker could be someone who hacks into a government site, for example, and post false information. Or probably someone who would go into a social networking site of someone else to post malicious stuff or maybe even someone who would go into someone else's personal accounts to steal information or something else.

I learned through the video I watched though, that I had the wrong connotation of the word hacker all along and I was actually referring to a "cracker."

The RFC 1392: Internet Users' Glossary defines "hacker" as:

A person who delights in having an intimate understanding of the internal workings of a system, computers and computer networks in particular.

Apparently, the hackers are the good guys while the crackers are actually the bad guys.

Crackers are people whose purpose is to break security measures for various purposes. They use their knowledge not for good reasons.

When Ignorance is NOT Bliss

Let's go back to some of the many IT misconceptions we discussed in our INTRICT class, one I remember us talking about was the misconception that using plastic screensavers(the one we used to put over our computer monitors) which we believed to filter out radiation actually worked. We learned that this isn't true because in order for a screensaver to really filter out the little radiation our computers produce(very low and extremely low frequency radiation), we would need to install glass screensavers WITHIN our computers. Along with that misconceptions the false belief that being around computers could cause you cancer. Like I already said, computers only give off very little radiation, not enough to cause health problems. I used to have a professor who used to warn us not to put our mobile phones around our body because she believed them to cause radiation which she said may lead to infertility. I see now that this is a lot far fetched.

I also remember us talking about the Y2K bug and how a lot of people freaked out back then because they believed that the Y2K bug would lead to them losing everything they saved in the bank and everything they have on their computers. In reality, the Y2K bug was a very simple problem. All they had to do is fix the date and everything would come back to normal.

Another misconception we used to believe was that using mobile phones in gasoline station might cause a combustion. This is completely ridiculous to me because, what does your phone have to do with it???

These misconceptions prove that we fear what we do not know.We should keep learning new things to discover what works and what does not.

PIRATE

Piracy. Piracy. Piracy.

What could I really say about piracy?

Not a lot seeing as I'm admittedly guilty of downloading some songs online without paying for them and watching the occasional films I leech off my friends' computers. So yeah, I guess I can't really cast the first stone among the people who choose to pirate stuff instead of pay for them.

I do remember before when I knew nothing about piracy. I honestly thought downloading songs and the like from the internet is entirely free. I mean, that was the only way I knew I could download songs. I didn't know you had to pay for them. I swear. I guess I was indeed young and naive.

And when I was a bit more knowledgeable and finally found out that wasn't how things were supposed to be, I still couldn't do things the right way because I don't know how the hell I'm supposed to pay for my purchases when I don't even have a credit card or anything. In addition, purchasing those isn’t very cheap.

I guess I would've been more willing to pay for them and support the artists had they made their prices lower so their products would be more accessible. Also, they should provide more payment procedures to choose from so that we could pay in the easiest mode of payment for us.

Techy-fy the Government Part 3

For the last part of reporting on potential solutions to government problems, five of my classmates shared their suggestions.

First, Ms. Lo proposed creating hi-tech contact lenses which has the ability to zoom in and out, take pictures, and even record videos. To me, it still sounds a lot Sci-Fi and I'm not sure if such technology is possible in the near future.

Then, Ms. Ma proposed Find My Luggage. A tracker would be installed on the luggage's locks and you would need to download an app on your phone in order to track your luggage. This way, it would be easy to locate them and luggage lost would be avoided.

Next, Ms. Versoza proposed a Food Analyzer technology. This gadget aims to analyze the food we eat and provide us their nutritional facts. With the help of this, we would be able to watch what we eat and help us choose healthier options.

Ms. Lobatique afterwards suggested a technology that would not allow you to use your mobile phone inside your car. This way, vehicular accidents would be avoided and drivers would pay more attention to the road instead of their mobile phones.

Lastly, Ms. Blanquera proposed using CCTV's to survey areas during natural disasters, especially during floods. This way, the people would know which routes are safe to take and which ones aren't.

Techy-fy the Government Part 2

The class continued with the presentations of potential solutions to government related problems. Five students reported today including me.

First was a suggestion by Mr. Ludovico of a Radio Frequency Identification Device. It is basically a device which contains information about the owner of the vehicles and the vehicle itself. This would help in tracking motorists as there would be Radio Frequency Identification Scanners in every traffic light. This may help reduce traffic violations and make sure everyone follows our regulations or is punished rightfully if caught disobeying the law.

Next reporter was myself. I suggested having an Electronic Barangay Recording System because I noticed how a lot of work and papers processed in our Barangays are still being done manually and this usually consumes a lot of time and effort. Having automated processes in the Barangay would save a lot of time and energy and retrieval of information would be so much easier.

Third was Ms. Gonzales with her proposal of putting up CCTV's in rural areas. A lot of rural areas still don't have CCTV's so Ms. Gonzales suggested putting them in very strategic places where criminals can't tamper with them or steal them. She also suggested having a government card for public officials. Basically, all the officials' funds would be in the card and they could use the card to pay for their transactions. This way, we would know where the money is going and this way, reduce corruption. She also proposed putting Digital Map Directories in train and bus stations to help with the people who are visitors or new in some places.

Next up was Ms. Hatol with her proposal of creating an app called MyGov available for all androids, iPhones, Windows phones and the like. The app would contain a list of all government projects. This way, we would know what the elected public officials are doing.

Lastly, Mr. De Leon proposed a Light Powered but Cheap Solar Energy. The idea is to provide cheap solar panels to provide electricity especially for people affected by natural disasters.

Techy-fy the Government :P

For the first part of our reporting in class, two reporters, Mr. Gotuaco and Mr. Chan, presented their potential solutions that may help solve some government related problems.

First, Mr. Gotuaco proposed an Electronic Early Warning Device for Highway Construction Zones. We often see a lot of constructions along highways. A lot of people also get involved in accidents around these construction areas. So what Mr. Gotuaco thought of is to set up an Electronic Early Warning Device that would warn motorists whenever they are approaching a construction zone ahead. Basically, we would need to place a small computer in every vehicle. These computers would have alarms that would go off whenever they are near construction zones. The construction workers would also have a computer on the construction areas so they could send off the prerecorded signals. I think this is a brilliant idea because not only would it save the motorists the hassle of getting into traffic jams near construction areas, these may prevent accidents from happening and save lives.

Second, Mr. Chan thought of implementing a One Sim Per Person Policy. Since we frequently receive spam text messages or prank calls and the like, a One Sim Per Person Policy would help eliminate those. Through the One Sim Per Person Policy, unknown numbers or numbers not in your phonebook would not be able to contact you. You would have to save each other’s number on each other’s phone to be able to text or call someone.  

Websitessss

In class, we were asked what our favorite websites are and I said mine are YouTube and 9GAG. I forgot what exactly I said but now that I think about it, I think they’re my favorites because they keep me updated and entertained. Sometimes, these sites distract me too much to the point where I couldn’t focus on the things that I really need to be doing but I think that’s one of the reason I love them. :P

We were also asked what website we would like to be available on the internet. I said I wanted a website which focuses on cheering people up. When they’re feeling so down and lonely, they could go on this site and they could look through quotes, videos, images, or songs that may help them feel better. They could also talk to other people to help each other out. Negative posts and comments would not be allowed. I was informed by my professor though that there are already websites like these and I think it’s great that something like this is available on the internet for everyone to visit.

Lastly, we were asked what website we would like to create if given the chance. I said I wanted to create a website showcasing a lot of different charities. It would contain pictures of the less fortunate people who are supported by the different charities. The site may include some of their inspiring life stories. In the site also, would be given different ways to donate or volunteer to help the charities of their choice. Part of the website would be dedicated to the sponsors and the volunteers and would show pictures of grateful recipients of help.

Some Stupid Things People Do on Social Networking Sites

The social media is very big nowadays especially here in the Philippines. Along with the growth of technology and the spread of media, the stupid and shameful things people post on the internet is also alarmingly increasing. Here are some of the most annoying things people do or posts on social networking sites:

1.       “Like this if you don’t want your mom to die.” “Like-you love Jesus, Ignore- you love Satan.” “If you don’t like in 45 seconds your dad would die.”

First, don’t tell me what to do!!! Also, instead of “scaring” me, all these posts do is annoy the living hell out of me. Just. Stop.

2.       Post so many selfies every day.

Selfies are fine. Even I take selfies occasionally. The only difference is that I don’t flood everyone else’s walls with my selfies. Posting selfies every now and then is tolerable. But pleaseeee, I don’t want to see selfies of the same person all over my feed.

3.       Send game invites on Facebook to everyone.

I hate when I excitedly check my notification only to find game invites to games I don’t even play. Need I say more?

4.       Post every little thing you do.

People post what they’re eating, where they’re going, the new things they bought, ranting about something random, etc.  Posting things which aren’t even remotely exciting. These are things not a lot of people actually care about and just wastes time and cyber space. Stop.

5.       “Haters gonna hate.”

I never really understood why people insist on creating accounts on sites which allow other people to ask anonymous questions or say something to you anonymously. They already know that these sites are breeding-grounds for hate messages, what’s the point? And later on say they don’t care what other people think or say about them. I mean, seriously???

PASSWORD 101

Passwords provide defense from unauthorized access to your computer and accounts. Strong passwords ensure confidentiality and security of stored electronic information.

Having weak passwords is like leaving the door of your house wide open and allowing burglars to come inside and take what is yours.

I remember once, someone hacked into my friend’s Friendster account back when almost everyone then used Friendster. The hacker used her account to send inappropriate and explicit messages and post really mean statuses on her Friendster wall.

For people today who do money transactions online, having weak passwords will make it easy for hackers to have access to your accounts and before you know it, your credit card bill may come to you with a lot of purchases you know nothing of.

Here are some tips on having strong and secure passwords:

Use a different password for each account you make. If you do this, even if someone successfully gains access into one of your accounts, you are sure the person doesn’t get access to all your other accounts. It would help if you only make accounts for the sites that you would actually use. This way, you won’t have to memorize so many different passwords.

Never give out your password. Your password should remain personal and only you should have access to the accounts you make.

Use a combination of lower case letters, upper case letters, special symbols, numbers, and even spaces. This way, it would be hard for others to guess your password and even software won’t be able to get it right easily.

Don’t use obvious passwords. Passwords like the word “password”, your birthday, a sibling, a pet, and all kinds of usual passwords a lot of people use because they are easy to remember are a no-no because these passwords are very easy to guess.

Beware of phishers. Be very mindful of the links you click. Usually phishers direct you to a site that looks like a legitimate site you use and makes you log in. When you do type in your information, they save it and voila! They already have your information.

Consider using a password generator. Password generators provide you with a random and very strong password. You won’t have to stress about thinking of a password to use and worrying about it not being strong enough because the password generating software does that for you.

In making passwords, longer and complicated are usually better. Yes, it may be hard to remember but it would ensure your confidentiality and security of your passwords and accounts.

LAW AND ORDER: ACCESS NATION

WHICH IS REAL AND WHICH IS FICTITIOUS?

In the Access Nation episode of Law and Order’s Season 12, Detectives Briscoe and Green were investigating the murder of a psychologist named Tracy Conley.

Through investigation, they found that the murder may be linked to one of Tracy’s patients. Her client, a former rapist, asked for the aid of a to computer company to alter some information about him on Tracy’s computer.

With the help of the same computer company which sells information, the patient was also able to access Tracy’s private information

Now, let’s see which of the programs mentioned in the episode are real and which are purely fictional.

First, is it possible to recover files which have been modified recently?

The answer is yes, it possible and fairly easy. For Microsoft Word, specifically, you just have to follow a few steps. If the file was made in software other than Word and Excel, but is running on Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8, these versions have System Restore Tools which saves version information of your files. Aside from these, there is also available recovery software from the market like Recuva and RecoverMyFiles. which recovers files which were accidentally deleted or modified.

Second, does your computer really leave copies of deleted files in the hard drive?

Yes. When we delete a file from our computer, even after removing it from the Recycle Bin, it continues to exist on your hard drive. This helps us recover our deleted files and as demonstrated in Access Nation, it may help other people recover our confidential files.

Third, is there a worm that can make someone else take over your PC and see everything you type, keystroke per keystroke?

No. What worms basically do is copy itself from machine to machine. This makes your computer go slow because it takes up network bandwidth and computer processing time when they replicate. They may do considerable amount of damage but worms generally don’t alter files in your computer.

Fourth, is it possible to track banking transactions through computers?

Since the rise of the internet, banking transactions online has been made possible. All you need is connection to the internet and some account details and when you do payments or withdrawals or any transactions online, you would be provided with a transaction number from the bank or the transfer service enabling you to track your transactions.

And lastly, is there really information gathering software that can gather confidential information?

Just by searching the web and typing “information gathering software” we can see that there are quite a few of these software that claim to gather confidential information like the Software agent-mediated confidential information gathering system.  

There has also been a report about cookies that gather personal details much like what the worm was said to be capable of in the episode Access Nation.

Perks of Having an Android Phone

I prefer my Android phone over iPhones because of the following main reasons:

1.)    Most Androids are cheaper than iPhones.

-          Because Android OS is a freeware, it can be used by a lot of companies and carriers. Due to the number of competing phone companies, they tend to sell it at a cheap and competitive price.

2.)    Wide selection of devices and carriers.

-          As I’ve said, Android is a freeware. This means that it is available to a lot of handset manufacturers, providing a wide range of devices available for users.

3.)    More customizable.

-          There are a lot of available Home Launchers and Home Screens downloadable from the App Markets. You can even opt to use a Home Launcher similar to that of iOS. You can also choose which widgets you wish to use.

4.)    Alternative App Markets.

-          Aside from the Google Play Store, there are more App Markets available where you can download your apps.

5.)    Expandable Memory.

-          It is easier and way cheaper to expand Android memory via micro SD cards.

6.)    More apps.

-          More apps (free or paid) are available for Android devices than Apple devices.

7.)    It supports Java, Flash, video calling, MP4, 3GP, MPEG4, and MIDI.

-          I also like how it’s easier to share files via Bluetooth to others.

Computers vs. Humans

Since the development of computers, humans have been compared to them. Some people would say that computers are smarter than humans while others would argue that humans are still smarter than computers.

What are some advantages a computer has over humans?

One, a computer can process information faster. A computer usually takes just a few seconds or even less than a second while humans take longer to process information.

Two, a lot of people say that computers have more memory than humans. There are still people who would argue using the myth that humans only use around 10% of their brain and therefore has technically more memory than even the biggest memory available for computers these days (there is no scientific evidence to prove this).

Three, computers are said to be more reliable than humans. After all, humans commit human error.

Four, humans get distracted, tired, and hungry—the computer doesn’t experience any of these.

And five, computers retrieve data more reliably. Humans don’t always have reliable memory—we tend to forget things.

What are some advantages humans have over computers?

First, humans can think for themselves. They have reasoning unlike computers which are dependent on its users.

Second, humans have the ability to decide what it wants to do. It can think of whether an action is wrong or right while a computer only does what its users make it do.

Perhaps, it is best to say that humans are better at doing other stuff than computers in the same way that there are things a computer can do better than humans.

Evolution of Computers

I still remember our first computer. I believe my dad bought a second hand computer from a friend then. I was probably five or six.

Back then, for me, a PC consisted of a TV looking—big monitor, a CPU, an AVR, keyboard and a mouse with a ball-like-thingy under it (traditional mouse).

We didn’t have internet back then, but that was fine because I only used the computer for games and writing short stories.

Our second PC was an HP laptop. It was quite simple and it didn’t have a built-in camera. It had a touch-pad but my mom wasn’t very comfortable in using that so we bought a mouse. Of course, like most mice, it got broken after some time and we just have to purchase a new one when that happens. The mice at that time were the optical kind. We also used an external webcam for video-chatting purposes and such.

We also had an HP desktop which consisted of a slim monitor, a CPU, AVR, a keyboard and a mouse. It also didn’t have a built-in camera so we also used an external webcam.

My PC right now is also an HP but it comes with an internal webcam, it’s faster and it also has way more internal memory.

In my seventeen years of life, the computer has already evolved dramatically and I can just imagine how much better the computers would be five years from now.