My New Blog

For this week, I am going over two popular mobile apps.

The first app I will be going over is YouTube. YouTube is a website based on video sharing where anyone can use it to post almost anything they would like to. YouTube’s target audience would be between 18 and above, as videos of any type and genre can be uploaded to the site. The main revenue stream for YouTube is through advertisements on videos. To get the most out of the app I would say to try and build your channel up as much as you possibly can. A way you can do this is by paying for advertisements if you want to.

The second app I will be going over is FaceBook. Facebook is a social networking site where people write and send out posts about whatever they want to and are able to connect with friends, family, and coworkers. The target demographic of FaceBook would be between 25 to 34. The main revenue source for FaceBook is advertisements on the site in the form of sponsored posts. In terms of tricks to get the most out of the app, I don’t have any besides just posting regularly and promoting your own business.

Sorces:

YouTube Users, Stats, Data, Trends, and More — DataReportal – Global Digital Insights

How YouTube Makes Money

Facebook Age Demographics [Updated Oct 2023] | Oberlo

How Does Facebook (Meta) Make Money?

The cutting-edge technology that I am choosing is 3d printing.

3d printing is a way a printing 3d objects and designs through software, one piece of software that is most used is 3ds max, you will need to have a 3d printer and filament in order to print out an object.

Charles Hull is the man credited for pioneering 3d printing in 1983.

3d printing solves the problem of hand-building an object from the beginning every time you want to make a new object, you also can 3d print parts for things like in my robotics club we did just that, and that was just a few of the things I could say.

Some problems with this is that the 3d print can get messed up causing you to have to redo it all from scratch, it also takes a lot of time to print things out, it can also edmit contaminants that can be dangerous to people’s health.

One way on how widespread adoption of this can help people is through the 3d printing of organs in order to give a physical way it look at them without it being too expensive, another thing that it can be used for is easily making a way to get mass test products.

For this week I am going over two popular mobile apps

The first app I will be going over is YouTube. YouTube is a video sharing website where anyone can use it to post almost anything they would like to. YouTube’s target audience would be between 18 and above as videos of any type and genre can be uploaded to the site. The main revenue stream for YouTube is through advertisements on videos. To get the most out of the app I would say to try and build your channel up as much as you can. A way you can do this is by paying for advertisements if you want to.

The second app I will be going over is FaceBook. FaceBook is a social networking site where people make posts about whatever they want to. The target demographic of FaceBook would be between 25 to 34. The main revenue source for FaceBook is digital advertisements. 

YouTube Users, Stats, Data, Trends, and More — DataReportal – Global Digital Insights

How YouTube Makes Money

Facebook Age Demographics [Updated Oct 2023] | Oberlo

How Does Facebook (Meta) Make Money?

1. Photos on my iPhone, basically it stores photos on your phone and puts them on the cloud.
2. Another one is youtube as you upload videos to their servers.

Social Media demographics

1. 1, Facebook, 2, YouTube, 3, Whatsapp

2. Facebook works by allowing people to connect through its website reaction feature, YouTube is a video-sharing site where people upload videos. Whatsapp is a messaging app in the same vein as iMessage.

3. Demographics are the type of people who can use your website or app and people to appeal to  

4. The majority of Facebook users are in the 25-34 years old, same with YouTube and WhatsApp.

5. Facebook users spend on average 35 minutes per day on the app, for YouTube 45 minutes, for WhatsApp 38 minutes.

6. The fastest growing social media platform in 2023 is TikTok and I believe that is because of the easy to watch short-form content.

7. The majority of users for these site are visiting them through mobile devices

An example of bad behavior online is the TrueUSD (TUSD, TrueCoin) data breach.

The incident happened on July 13, 2023 the entities that were involved were TrueCoin (the entity that owns TrueUSD), and a security team from one of their third-party vendors.

This started when the security team of a third-party vendor of TrueCoin detected suspicious activity. The alert showed unusual account modifications by a compromised support vendor associated with TrueCoins operations. From what I can find there were no financial damages but this incident did cause damage to TrueCoin’s reputation as people were too scared to trust them with their crypto and their money which can inadvertently cause financial damage to TrueCoin as it can make people not invest in them as TrustCoin has not told who the affected users of the data breach are. So far the criminals have not been found so therefore they have not been held accountable for the crime this can pose a problem since they have not been found and held accountable they can attack more companies and people’s data. A lesson that can be learned from this is that we should be careful where we put our banking information and money as well as making sure that we can trust the companies who hold that information.

Types of cyber security threats and how to deal with them.

For this assignment, I have been tasked with being in the shoes of a CIO or IT supervisor of a company, and I have to identify 5 sources/types of potential digital threats to the organization; identify at least 5 digital processes, systems, and/or functions your company has in place; and to make a strategy (5 recommendations) for the company to adopt in order to be more safe.

The 5 sources/types of digital threats:

1. Trojans: trojans are a type of malicious code that poses as a safe program in a download. These can look like a normal file or program (e.g. games, word documents, etc). When downloaded these programs can take control of the person’s device, and can spread itself to different contacts on the person’s computer.

1. Ransomware: Ransomware is when a person or organization is denied access to their systems or data due to encryptions. It is usually installed through a malicious email with it as an attachment which is opened and downloaded. Attackers will usually demand a ramson be paid in order for a decryption key to be provided to restore access. However, there is no guarantee that they will give a key or that the key will work.

1. Spyware: Spyware is a type of malware that is downloaded to a person’s computer without their knowledge and gains access to a person’s data, including sensitive information like passwords and payment details.

1. DDoS: A Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack is when a person hacks someone’s computer and installs malware allowing the attacker to remotely control the system. These devices are called bots or zombies in order to get personal information out of it, they then can release it to the public. A DDoS attack can also be used as a means of disruption of a targeted sever by overwhelming the server resulting in limiting normal traftie

1. Crypto-jacking: crypto-jacking is a malicious download that installs software to a person’s computer. Once installed, the program uses the computer resources to mine cryptocurrency on said person’s computer.

The 5 types of digital processes that are in place (how they can be exploited):

1. Anti-virus: a good anti-virus can easily block or delete malicious programs and files off of a hard drive or a database. A problem with anti-virus is that some files can bypass it and sometimes the anti-virus can detect safe files as potential viruses.

1. Backup servers: backup servers are used to collect backup data in case of a ransomware attack. They manage and store files and data allowing data to be restored if needed. One downside to backup servers is that they are expensive to run and manage since they are just like any server. Also, they can be hacked and held for ransom just like a regular server.

1. Block unsafe sites: Administrators can block known sites that are not safe for employees to go to. A downside is that it does not work for customers. Also, unknown sites which are not safe will not be blocked.

1.  Block unknown software: restrictions can be used to stop access to downloading any unknown software. This will stop malicious software and programs from getting company and customer data, the downside to this is that safe programs could be blocked as well.

1. Keep all of our software up to date: this ensures that software will be running at its full potential and at optimal speed. This will keep the systems running safely, blocking the newest threats. The downside would be that more recent software can cost a significant amount of money.

My 5 recommendations:

1. Invest in a DDoS protection program: one way to protect against DDoS attacks on the company is by investing in a trusted DDoS protection company with a reliable DDoS protection program. A good protection program will provide routine updates to look for newer threats as well as established attacks.

1. Make sure the anti-virus software is trusted: some anti-virus software should not always be trusted or is effective. To make sure that we get the best out of an anti-virus we should. Purchase a reliable and trusted software which gives frequent updates.

1. Check ads on our site: by checking all the ads that go through the site we can block ones that look like scams.

1. Check firewall month: by checking on our firewall monthly we are able to block any suspicious programs. Routine maintenance and inspection allows for the firewall to remain effective

Not allow attachments from outside the company: all attachments must be quarantined and reviewed to ensure that they do not contain malicious materials.

The tutorials that I have chose were ones to help fix the black screen after a restart and log-in.

1. The first source that I used was from Microsoft support, which from what I could find was made this year. The company making this tutorial is Microsoft and they do have authority over this subject as they are a computer software company and one of the biggest. I can tell that they are an authority because they have other reliable tutorials, and they are the products software company. They want you to have a good understanding of the software which they have released. There does not seem to be any gatekeeping mechanisms. The information is very easy to follow and laid out in an easy format. I will use this tutorial in the future as I have a Windows machine that does this sometimes. 

1. The second source that I used was from HP, which was made on August 19, 2022. HP does have authority over this subject as they are a computer hardware company and should know about computer problems affecting their products, and how to fix them. There does not seem to be any gatekeeping mechanisms for this site. The information is put out in a nice orderly fashion and goes into detail on trouble shouting what might be the problem including how to fix it from both the hardware and software aspects. I feel this source is somewhat easy to follow. I might use this in the future especially if I have my own PC instead of a laptop.

1. The third source I referenced was AVG, which was produced on May 19, 2023. AVG is a cybersecurity company and is not a software or hardware developer so they are not a great authority on this subject. They don’t seem to have any gatekeeping mechanisms for this site. The information was not laid out in as good and orderly fashion as the first two, but it is still able to be read with useful information. The quality of the information is good since it goes into great detail as to what could be the problem. I will probably not use this in the future as it will not be as helpful.

Sources

Microsoft: Troubleshooting black or blank screens in Windows – Microsoft Support

HP: How to Fix a Black Screen on Your Computer < Tech Takes – HP.com Malaysia

AVG: How to Fix Windows 10 and 11 Black Screen Issues Before or After Logging In

Content Management System is software that makes editing, modifying, and publishing digital content on a website.

Building a website using CMS is a lot easier than having to write it out by hand in HTML/CSS. This is because in order to build a website using HTML/CSS it must all be done by hand which requires a website designer, to take much more time to make minor edits. To go in and edit an HTML all code must be changed file and sent to your website in order to change just one small thing of text. With CMS, all you need to do is write something out in an application like Microsoft Word, upload it to your website, and you’re done. This does come with some drawbacks, like how you have less individuality, loading can be slower, there is not much multilingual support, etc. but overall, if you want a quick way to add information to a website, CMS is the way to go.

CMS impacts the web industry by making it easier to design and manage websites. This could mean that jobs are being taken away from web developers, but this may not be true as yes there are now easier ways for people to develop their own simple websites but more complicated sites will still require the skill of a web developer. Web creation still has advantages as many businesses will want their own website, and there are still many drawbacks of CMS so many companies will still want to use HTML/CSS as it can be more beneficial to them, but CMS is making it easier for small independent businesses who can’t afford a web developer make a blog on their own.

Sources

What is a content management system (CMS)?. Optimizely. (n.d.). https://www.optimizely.com/optimization-glossary/content-management-system/#:~:text=A%20content%20management%20system%20(CMS)%20is%20an%20application%20that%20is,of%20templates%20like%20a%20website. 

What is a content management system (CMS)?. Kinsta®. (2023, September 19). https://kinsta.com/knowledgebase/content-management-system/

Disadvantages of a CMS – Content Management System. (n.d.). https://workik.com/disadvantages-of-a-cms-content-management-system 

According to Perficient (2020), the majority of website visits are from mobile devices, with 61% of searches. The second most utilized form of website visits are from a personal computer at 36%. The remaining visits are from other devices like tablets. There is no single person or entity which controls the web because it operates largely on autonomous networks. With no one entity controlling the Internet, individual companies and governments try to implement some form of control. All this is because Sir Tim Bernes-Lee is considered to be the inventor of the Internet since he developed and wrote down the three fundamental technologies that remain the basis of the Web to this day.

A common website within web usage is a blog. A blog, according to Nick Barney of TechTarget, is a frequently updated webpage, it is used for personal commentary or business content. While websites can vary greatly in setup, design, and complexity, some key fundamentals to consider when developing a successful website are responsive web design, search engine optimization (SEO), dynamic content, and content management systems.

Responsive web design is an approach to web design that suggests that design and development should respond to the user’s behavior and environment based on things like screen size, platform, and orientation, allowing for automatic adjustments regardless of the device type (W3 schools). This is necessary due to the fact that while most people are on mobile devices, there are still many people using desktops or tablets, and if you only calibrate a site for one screen orientation or one device, then many people will probably not want to go onto your site. According to W3, through using HTML and CSS, a responsive viewport can be established.

Website owners and managers should be concerned with SEO because a search engine is one of the main components of a website. If you don’t have a search engine that is optimized for any device, then slow responses and search delays may occur. This will turn off lots of potential viewers.

Spiceworks defines dynamic content as “digitial or online content that changes based on data, user behavior, and preferences”. Content can be widely variable and can include text, graphics, audio, and/or video streams. Website and apps will use previous search histories to provide preferences for future searches allowing for customer-centered marketing (Spiceworks).

A content management system, or CMS, is a type of software that allows users to create, manage, and modify content on a website without having to have the technical knowledge to do so (Kinsta). A CMS will allow non-technical users the ability to easily build websites by providing them the basic infrastructure for a website. The CMS that we are utilizing for this class is WordPress which states that it is the “World’s most popular website builder” (WordPress.com).

A YouTube channel is an account on YouTube which is an online platform that can be used to share video and audio content. Someone who might want to start a channel could be an artist. By posting videos of them producing their artwork they can gain exposure to a worldwide audience. Through this exposure, they can direct people to their website where their artwork is available for sale, or provide a way people can invest or support the artist.

References

Perficient “Mobile vs. Desktop Usage in 2020” – Mobile vs. Desktop Usage in 2020 / Perficient

TechTarget whatis.com “DEFINITION weblog” – What is a Blog? | Definition from TechTarget

Smashing magazine “Responsive Web Design: What It Is And How To Use It” – Responsive Web Design: What It Is And How To Use It

World Wide Web Foundation “History of the Web” – History of the Web – World Wide Web Foundation

Omniconvert “What is… Dynamic content” – What is Dynamic Content? Definition & Examples

GCFGlobel “Internet Basics – What is the Internet?” – Internet Basics: What is the Internet?

Kinsta “What Is a Content Management System (CMS)?” – What Is a Content Management System (CMS)?

W3 “Tim Berners-Lee Biography” – Tim Berners-Lee

Spiceworks “What is Dynamic Content? Definition, Types, Strategy, Best Practices with Examples” – What is Dynamic Content? Definition, Types, Strategy, Best Practices with Examples – Spiceworks