WK7 Digital Media Design_Where can you turn for help?

The three posts I have found I have actually used recently that were helpful. It is a video on YouTube about how to find all files that contain a specific image in InDesign, the second is a forum on the adobe page about blending images in photoshop and the last is about creating gradients in Illustrator.

  • The information I have found is fairly current for what it is. The video about InDesign was uploaded on October 20, 2020, forum on combining images in photoshop was last published on May 21, 2020 and the forum on creating gradients in Illustrator was published on April 2, 2019
  • The video was uploaded by a channel named InDesignSecrets, the blending forum and the gradient forums were uploaded by the companies themselves. They are an authority on the matters. I can tell because they all seem to be uploaded by the original creators.
  • As far as gatekeeping mechanisms go, the forums have editors that seem to update the information quite often while as the video has a like/dislike rating with the likes being more than the dislikes indicating that the information is accurate.
  • The information is well written and concise. The video shows you step by step on how to do the operation while the forums have images that walk you through step by step on how to complete the operation.
  • As far as this being information I might use in the future, probably not mostly because I have learned what they were trying to teach me. Would I recommend it to someone who has a similar issue? of course.
  • links to videos and forums; how to find files that contain a specific imagehow to create gradientshow to blend images

WK8 Midterm Research Project_Privacy, Security, Hacks, and Leaks

1.) The top 5 biggest threats to restaurants are hackers, POS malware, ransomware, inside threats and Wi-Fi security.

When it comes to hackers, these highly skilled computer experts use their knowledge to exploit or break into connected devices and computer systems. They target restaurants due to the abundance of poorly secured systems. Once they find a vulnerability and get into the network, they go after the POS systems. Due to the POS doing the simple job of processing transactions, the typical alarm bells of a desktop computer hack would not be seen by a user, for example, ransomware messages, degraded performance, etc.

With POS malware it is quite simple, sometimes malware will discreetly slip by antivirus programs and then stealthily extract payment data, despite the presence of traditional firewalls. From there, it can extract stolen data slowly, making it look like normal traffic. Weeks or months could go by and by then, who knows how many customer credit cards have been breached?

Ransomware is an interesting one. Imagine logging into your back-office system only to be greeted with a frozen screen. You cannot access your files and then see a ransomware message: Pay $15,000 to access encrypted files. There’s nothing that can be done at that point. Ransomware prevents users from accessing their system until a ransom is paid to get a decryption key of some kind. Ransomware attacks are difficult to track down and have almost no way of getting around them.

Whether it’s an honest mistake or a disgruntled employee, inside threats account for about 50 percent of all security incidents. An inside threat can range from someone intentionally installing malicious software to accidentally opening an email that they believed was the real deal only to find out that they have compromised their entire network. It’s nearly impossible to stop this from occurring, but with the right managed security in place, it can be thwarted or caught before real damage is done.

Securing your Wi-Fi with firewalls and ensuring cellular backup from downtime will protect cashflow, your own restaurant’s security, and patrons’ security. Having separate Wi-Fi access points for patrons versus the POS and business network is crucial. You can lose connection at any time and lost connection means lost business. Having a backup cellular option in place is easy, affordable, and imperative. Especially in todays time. Many restaurant owners set up a firewall as a basic security measure and believe their networks will be sufficiently protected. In today’s cyber world, firewalls can’t just be set up and run on their own. While a network firewall is a fundamental security component, it must be actively monitored, managed, and updated to be effective. Even still, a managed firewall cannot defend every threat. Attack and breach prevention requires a new approach, and many products and service providers simply do not have the ability to stop cybercriminals before they do legitimate damage.

Know yourself: Identify at least 5 digital processes, systems, and/or functions your company has in place. Importantly, address how could those be exploited or manipulated in order to gain access to valuable corporate or customer data?

The five processes my company has in place are VPN’s, Firewalls, encrypted passwords, secured wifi networks and backup cellular options.

VPN’s can be manipulated by hackers by either breaking the encryption through known vulnerabilities or steal the key through unethical means. Hacking a VPN is far harder than just stealing the key. Because VPN’s run very complex mathematical computations it would require powerful computers and up to years of hacking to crack which is why hackers try to just steal the key.

To put it simply, a firewall with DPI (deep packet inspection) which is an advanced method of examining and managing network traffic, will inspect all of the data packets entering and leaving your network to check for malicious code, malware, and other network security threats. Encrypted injection attacks are usually delivered via phishing emails. To get around the firewall, attackers direct emails to specific targets within the network with the intention of tricking a user into accessing the email, which then gives them entry. Alternatively, they can attack public IP addresses found on a server to update their C&C (command and control) systems.

When it comes to hacking passwords we must understand how passwords work in the first place. When you make a password it’s obviously best to make one that you will remember. However, making a password you will remember and that will be secure are two different things that must coincide for a secured experience. Most people when creating a password don’t consider how safe that password might actually be. Some do the traditional 123456 or “password” as their password but that’s exactly how hackers get you. One of the most common ways of hacking passwords is by using a technique called Password Spraying which is a technique that attempts to use a list of commonly used passwords against a user account name, such as 123456password1231qaz2wsxletmeinbatman and others. Once we have established a secure password we must then encrypt it. Not all passwords are encrypted. Encryption uses an algorithm to scramble, or encrypt, data and then uses a key for the receiving party to unscramble, or decrypt, the information. Hackers can use advanced algorithms to counteract the encryption and extract the passwords.

Secured wifi networks are a must for anyone not just organizations and business. When a wifi network is hacked, hackers can obtain your location, IP address and your internet traffic. With that information hackers can use that to exploit users information that are connected to your wifi network and steal their information as well. This information can be used as ransom or can be sold to the black market.

Cellular backup options can be harder to hack than wifi because of the vast array of firewalls that are in place but when a hack is made on a cellular backup it is mostly because of software update issues and the company that is providing it. Similar issues occur when it is hacked versus a wifi network.

Develop your strategy: As the chief technology executive, make 5 recommendations that your company should adopt to be more safe, secure, and reliable. Again, consider hardware, software, networks, and human policies and procedures. (e.g., appropriate use policy on corporate computers; firewall; SSL/web encryption; backup/retention)

Five recommendations I would make are to 1.) insure that employees are trained in spotting out phishing emails and understand the consequences of falling prey to them. 2.) Have the latest and most up to date software security methods so that the company is always ready to defend itself against malicious wrong doers. 3.) Input security protocols that protect customers from hackers by making sure we use VPN’s in our networks and have separate network channels for both company use and public. 4.) Insure that we have backup cellular options incase anything were to happen to our network. And finally, limit access to company computers to managers and supervisors as to avoid in house hacking issues.

WK12 Mobile apps blog post

The two popular mobile apps I will be discussing are actually the number one and two trending apps in the app store right now. The first being TikTok and the second being YouTube.

TikTok is an app that is used to make videos for entertainment that last at most 60 seconds. It’s based off of the once popular app Vine that had a similar premise and structure. According to Hootsuite TikTok has a reputation for being popular with teens. 27% of its users are between 13-17 years old. But internal data from March 2019 shows that its largest age demographic (42%) is the young adult crowd. Combined, the 13-24-year-old segments reps 69% of the app’s user base. As far as revenue streams go its highly dependent on how many followers you have but according to influencermarketinghub.com Until TikTok’s advertising network develops further, the easiest way for TikTok influencers to earn money is by making direct arrangements with brands. As people become better known on the platform, they will begin to have brands approach them with business propositions. Once you count your followers in the thousands, you can start to look at monetizing TikTok. Companies have been known to pay $200 to $20,000 per branded video promoted by influencers, depending on the individual’s level of influence. I have never personally posted anything to TikTok but I have scrolled through occasionally when I would get bored so therefore I have no tips or tricks to getting the most out of the app.

YouTube is an app for both content creators and general users to stream videos of their liking. According Sproutsocial.com YouTube is the perfect platform for reaching a teenage and young adult audience, as 81% of US internet users aged between 15 and 25 are using the platform. Interestingly, YouTube is popular across other age groups as well. As far as how much you can make as a YouTuber turbo.intuit.com says  you can make anywhere between $0.01 to $0.03 per view, which translates to $3-$5 per 1000 views, and up to $5,000 for 1,000,000 views. YouTube income is generated by advertisements through AdSense, sponsorships with popular brands, and affiliate links. As an avid user of YouTube, one tip I can give to those looking to get the most out of the app, if you find a youtuber you enjoy watching make sure to turn on notifications so that you are alerted when they upload a video. Also, if you are looking to buy something make sure to look up reviews on the product first through YouTube because not only will you gain more knowledge on what you’re purchasing but you may also find discount codes.

 

 

WK9 Cybersecurity Blog Post

For my blog post this week as I was doing research I found some more recent news that actually took place on Oct 21, 2020. According to nbcnews.com Washington post stated “A cybersecurity company says it has found a hacker selling personally identifying information of more than 200 million Americans, including the voter registration data of 186 million.” Trustwave, a global cybersecurity company has stated that as it was monitoring the dark web forums for threat information, it came across a hacker calling his/her self Greenmoon2019. No financial loss or damage has been reported as of yet nor was there any word on an arrest of any kind however Trustwave has stated “We are committed to finding and investigating fraud during this election. While we cannot comment on information we may or may not have received from the public, we want to assure the American people the FBI is closely coordinated with our federal, state, and local partners to safeguard our voting processes.”

The biggest lesson we have learned from this is that we almost are never truly secured online. Whether we like it or not technology will continue to expand and new threats will continue to appear. The best and only thing we can do to prevent ourselves from becoming victimized as much as we can are the basics; use a VPN, install antivirus, and educate ourselves on how to prevent ourselves from falling victim to these attacks. Some things are out of our hands but if we all do our part in protecting ourselves, cyber security won’t be an issue.

WK6 Content Management Systems Blog Post

Content Management Systems are software programs that are used to manage the creation and modification of digital content. While they are used to create websites they can also be used for things such as ecommerce and remote linking to make updates from anywhere in the world. Most content management systems are pretty flexible nowadays. While there are some that focus on a specific uses most of the popular content management systems can be used to create essentially any type of website.

Building a website using a CMS vs coding it by hand are two different worlds. For one a CMS can be used by pretty much anyone and does not require much knowledge if any of coding at all. It keeps costs down by not having to pay someone to code and keep the webpage up to date while also giving the user quite a bit of different style options and choices on how they want their webpage to look. The biggest drawback is that you are limited by the preset styles, colors etc that the program provides so you get what you get when it comes to building your site.

Coding a webpage by hand requires a lot of knowledge on different types of languages and techniques to be efficient. Coding a website allows you to make the website exactly how you want it. You get to choose everything from the font style to the color of the page down to the value. The biggest drawback to coding by hand is that you have to learn the languages and how they coincide with each other. To code a website not just entirely but efficiently as well requires a lot of knowledge and effort to become good at it. When it comes to what the best current practices are to making a website it really just comes down to what is it that you envision. You must have at least an idea as to what you want your site to be about or look like before you start dabbling at the coding process of it.

CMS’s impact the web design industry in both a positive and negative way. For one, it is getting more and more people interested in coding which is always a plus while simultaneously giving industries a reason to not hire someone to do it for them. Despite what I just said I do not believe it is taking away jobs from web developers. While yes CMS’s are fairly easy to use and cheap not many companies go that route because of their limitations. Sometimes it is just easier to employ someone to do it for you so that it comes out exactly how you want it.

WK10 The Cloud – Cloud services review

The two cloud base applications and services I use are google drive and the Adobe Creative cloud. Google Drive is an online service that allows you to store files of any kind for safe keeping. Adobe creative cloud allows you to not only store the files and projects you were working on but also allows you to access your applications and projects from anywhere in the world because it will all link to an account. Google Drive would work as efficiently if it were not in the cloud the whole purpose of Google Drive is to be able to share your work with others and save it for future use. The cloud based system it utilizes allows you to access your files from anywhere you can log into it from. Adobe Creative cloud on the other may work fine if it weren’t in the cloud. I just believe you will run into the same situation as you would with Google Drive. Advantages to having both in the cloud are what I was mentioning before where you are able to share your files amongst others with choice of either giving or not giving them access to edit or make changes as well as the ability to access your files from anywhere you have access to your accounts from. I do not have any privacy or security concerns at the moment while using either platform.