10 Most Dangerous Things Users Do Online

I recently listened to “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” by Stieg Larsson. One of the characters was Lisbeth Salalander who was a computer hacker and quite good. She was able to completely take over a person’s computer, follow a trail of money, find bank codes and was able to transfer money from the bad guys’ accounts to new personal accounts she set up. I began to wonder if I was doing all I could to protect my computer from being hacked or becoming a victim of identity theft?

We’ve all heard that you shouldn’t give out too much information on the Internet so I thought with summer vacation fast approaching it would be a good time to remind people how to stay safe on the Internet.

When you think about all the people who will be on vacation this summer with lots of free time you know some of those people will be looking at ways to hack into computers or take part in identity thief. Just type in “computer hacking” or “how to steal someone’s identity” and see how many results you get.

Here is a list of the ten most dangerous things users do online from School CIO dated May 29, 2009: http://schoolcio.com/ShowArticle/932

1. Clicking on email attachments from unknown senders
   a. Email attachments are still the easiest way to contract viruses on your computer.
2. Installing unauthorized applications.
   a. If you can buy and download a software application for $19.95 that sells for much more you’re probably not getting a bargain and the application may have hidden malware or Trojan viruses.
3. Turning off or disabling automated security tools
   a. Even though some security tools may slow down the performance of your computer it’s not a good idea to ignore security updates or just turn off the firewall. This opens up your computer for attacks from malware or viruses.
4. Opening HTML or plain-text messages from unknown senders
   a. HTML text and images may be infected with spyware. Other HTML files may contain Java Scripts or macros that allow an unknown person to gain control of your computer turning the computer into a botnet zombie.
   b. A botnet zombie also known as a zombie army is a group of Internet computers that have been set up to forward transmissions, spams and/or viruses to other computers on the Internet without the owners knowledge. Basically your computer becomes a computer robot or “bot” for the originator who gains control of your computer.
5. Surfing gambling, porn or other legally-risky sites
   a. Most workplaces restrict Internet access to risky sites through content filters. Your home computer doesn’t have the same level of filters and restricted access and many of these legally-risky sites put your computer at risk. When you visit these risky sites a cookie is placed in your computer. That cookie can trigger pop-ups to start appearing when you’re on the Internet – pop-ups of inappropriate advertisements. Systematically deleting the cookies on your computer will help.
6. Giving out passwords, tokens or smart cards
   a. You may have to use a smart card or security token at work but how do you keep your password from family and friends? Simple – don’t give it out. A family member or friend may decide to “look around” and you could become a victim of identity theft.
7. Random surfing of unknown, untrusted sites
   a. Surfing unknown sites can make your computer vulnerable to adware and spams because hackers like to crack into browser securities, One way to protect your computer would be to surf with active content disabled.
8. Attaching to an unknown, untrustworthy WiFi network
   a. Sitting at a quiet restaurant using a free WiFi connection may be a nice respite this summer but what about the guy in the next booth who may be hacking into your laptop using that same free WiFi network?
   b. Be aware that wireless cards that use Wireless Access Protocol (WAP) are easy for hackers to get your username and password.
9. Filling out Web scripts, forms or registration pages
   a. A lot of sites today use some type of security such as SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) to provide security when making purchases or giving out sensitive information so if you’re not sure a website is secure call the company and speak to a representative before giving out personal information. Also look for websites that begin with https which are more secure.
10. Participating in chat rooms or social networking sites
    a. One of the biggest problems with social networks is the amount of information someone can learn about you by simply searching. Hackers can find out where you work, your business partners, names of family members, where you live and even when you plan to take a vacation. Even using a “closed circle” won’t keep out people who are looking for information so be careful how much information you share in a chat room or social network.

Creating Cities of the Future

Remember the movie WALL-E? Everyone was evacuated from Earth to live on a fully automated luxury spaceship to spend five years on a cruise in space while the earth was cleaned up by an army of robots - WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth Class). But in the movie the earth is still covered in trash seven hundred years later. Could this really happen? Can man build a spaceship that could sustain life in outer space for seven hundred years?

Children watch cartoons and movies with elaborate futuristic worlds all the time. What if you asked students to create a new city for the future? Where would students choose to build a city? What would the city be like? How would the city be built? Would students create a city where everything could be easily controlled by computers? What would students include in their cities – housing, food, schools, entertainment, and jobs? Lots of questions.

Do you think only cartoons and movies have futuristic worlds? Let’s look at The Seasteading Institute: http://www.seasteading.org/
In February the Seasteading Institute announced a contest for architects, engineers, students and hobbyists to design a seastead, a permanent, stationary structure that is specifically designed for long-term living in a marine environment. Participants were given a patented 3-D model of a seasteading platform to create an architectural design. The winners were announced May 18, 2009.

Check out these winning designs:
http://seasteading.org/design-contest-winners#overall

How can teachers bring real-world projects like this to their students? What software could teachers use to help students create future cities and worlds? How about Google SketchUp?

http://sketchup.google.com/product/gsu.html
Students can create 3D models and share them with their friends. There are Training Videos, a warehouse of models that people have created to give students ideas, and a section that covers a list of features. Teachers can access the K-12 SketchUp for Educators section to learn about the free version and the Pro version.
http://sketchup.google.com/industries/education.html

Teachers and students can begin with the self-paced tutorials to learn the concepts of modeling with SketchUp from Google. Check out this Introduction to SketchUp:
http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=901231215767ef7a545172f70efed474&prevstart=0
Other tutorials are located here:
http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/cldetails?mid=36e1fa0d054a15eecc725c514c21d975&prevstart=0

To help you get started check out the 3D Vinci site for K-12 ideas using SketchUp.
http://3dvinci.net/?gclid=CM2gi7qE0JoCFQWfnAodDiIL3Q

Google image found at: http://sketchup.google.com/

Advanced Thinking in Digital Storytelling

The Creative Educator Spring 2009
http://thecreativeeducator.com/

The foundation of any digital story begins with a good story, one with a point of view, a dramatic question, and emotional content. Bringing the story to life for the reader through the words of the story should be more important that all the transitions, visual and audio effects, background music and text styles that the students can add to the digital story. As an example of visual effect, instead of writing “He was walking down the street,” the student may choose verbs and adjectives to describe how a character was walking down the street, “With his head held high and slightly cocked to the side, teeth clenched, and shoulders back he strutted down the street like he owned the town” draws the reader into the story allowing the reader to be a more active participant.

Once a story is mapped out on a storyboard the students will be able to decide which technology tool will best add the effects, transitions and sounds to best bring their stories to life. If the students are using still images to illustrate their stories, panning and zooming can add a certain impact and dynamic feel to the story. But transitions can be a problem. Help students understand there should be a reason for using transitions to tell the story, not distract from the story. A great story could be lost to the viewer because the students crammed all the effects they could into the finished product. Just because they knew how to add all those effects doesn’t mean that those effects added anything to the story. Students need to learn that less is more.

So what about the background music? Does the story need music to give a dramatic impact to the story? The background music should set the tone, add to the pacing of the story and augment the emotional content of the story, not distract from the story. Let the students’ own voice personalize the story and also help students to decide what sounds, soundtracks, or sound effects can best enhance their stories.

The main focus in digital storytelling should be the writing experience with the technology as a tool to enhance and bring the story to life. There are many tools that students can use:
Audacity for podcasting the story
PhotoStory 3 to enhance the story with images and music
Movie Maker to add images, video and music to the story
Voice Thread to allow other students to add their comments to the story and the images
PowerPoint presentations

To read the entire article please goes to http://thecreativeeducator.com/ Spring 2009 edition of the magazine.

Virtually Restored Egyptian Temple

Students who are studying Egypt and the Ancient Temple of Karnak can now virtually visit the temple. Thanks to the University of California, at Los Angeles team who created the “Digital Karnak” students can visit a three-dimensional 69- acre site that’s filled with temples, gateways, obelisks and 100 sphinxes dating back to 1951 B.C. to 31 B.C.

Similar virtual sites have been created by this team – Rome Coliseum, Roman Forum and Pompeii’s Villa of the Mysteries. These virtual models can be seen through Google Earth. To read the complete article pleas go to:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2009-04-22-temple-karnak_N.htm


So let’s look at Digital Karnak with Google Earth. Teachers and students will download the link to the desktop of the computer and once Google Earth is launched the file should appear in the left sidebar. No special hardware or software is needed. Begin by clicking on this link:
http://dlib.etc.ucla.edu/projects/Karnak/google_earth.

Students will be able to trace the development of the temple from the Middle Kingdom (1950 BCE) through the Greco-Roman Period (31 BCE). The model shows the chronological change in the temple as it was being built.

To access the Digital Karnak click here: http://dlib.etc.ucla.edu/projects/Karnak/ Once you have arrived select from one of the following sections to begin your adventure.
1. Time Map
2. Experience Karnak
3. Browse Archive
4. Google Earth

There is also a large gallery of pictures at the Temple Complex Overview link found on the Digital Karnak page. What a great way to have your students take a field trip !!!

Image from Google Earth and the Digital Karnak: http://dlib.etc.ucla.edu/projects/Karnak/google_earth