Learning Journal #2

In module 2, I learned a lot about internet security, hackers and how to protect myself from online scams, identity theft and phising scams. Individuals and companies alike struggle every day to protect themselves from the dangerous virus' and hackers trying to attack networks, software and steal personal information for all sorts of cyber crime purposes. I learned that there is plenty of information out on the internet geared to help consumers and users like myself to recognize and put up a defense to protect myself from becoming a victim of such crimes. While you can't always see and stop a virus from attacking your computer, just having common sense can help prevent you from becoming vulnerable to such things. Knowing that reputable companies operate with an OpenSSL, never will ask for personal information such as your creidt card number or social security number via emails and have customer service contact information clearly posted and available are all very important tips I learned in this module.

The games on the OnGuard Interactive site really helped me to understand the different ways hackers and cyber criminals can attack and how to protect myself against them the best that I can. It was helpful to see animations and interactive activities to help me remember the information as I am a visual learner. Another piece of this module that I found particularly helpful in understanding the more complicated parts of this section were the "Dawn of the Net" videos. The way the information was described and narrated with the mini movie was very helpful for me in understanding just how many steps our computers go through to ensure that our information and hardware is safe, only to find out that there are still more threats and ways of becoming victims of malicious internet scams.

I do feel as though I put in enough time for this module. I stayed on top of each section the best that I could. I likely could have spent just a few more hours on re-reading and processing the textbook assignment, but with all of the supplemental materials given in this course, it wasn't particularly necessary for me.

1.) LPD server - this is used to send print jobs to the printer from a computer over a network using LPR. 

2.) Mirrored Server - this is a server that contains the same information as a different server and serves it up when it's call on to give users access to the same site as the original.

3.) List server - this is used to manage lists of emails in a group to send and receive various messages among the entire group. 

4.) TCP - This is short for transmission protocol and is among the suite of Internet protocols to help protect and serve the web to the general populous on an even playing ground. To access the internet and even to send emails, web browsers and servers use TCP to perform these functions daily.

Learning Journal #1

In this module, I learned a lot about the history of the internet, technology and how it all came to be the thing we all take for granted day in and day out. Imagining a life before facebook, instagram and iMessaging seems almost impossible when you realize how embedded these "apps" that use the internet have become in our day to day lives.  This module brought it all back into perspective and helped me to realize just how far the world wide web has come in my lifetime. Having a device that is more powerful than the first computer in history is pretty powerful stuff and people need to be reminded of the roots of technology and the internet.

I learned that activities on the internet can be summed up in 4 broad categories, which I did not know before. I always sort of think about what I do online and what I would tell someone if they asked me "what do you do online" and I wouldn't really know how to articulate it. This breakdown helps a lot with thinking about this. The 4 categories for internet activities include:

1. Communicating and Collaboration
2. Transferring files between computers
3. Searching the WWW for Information.
4. Conducting electronic commerce- (E-commerce)

While broad topics, the pretty much sum up what literally everyone is doing online. Even mobile internet usage activities seem to land in each of the 4 categories in one way or another.

One of my favorite aspects of this course which really helped me to understand some of the material were the youtube videos provided in the lessons. I'm a visual learner and youtube is full of resources that aid in teaching to all levels of education and styles of learning that I think is under utilized for the most part. One of the videos I'm referring to is here:

Unfortunately I do not think I put in the time and effort necessary into this module to succeed. I started out strong, then I got a new job about 3 weeks into the course so I was distracted with that and other outside factors of life that I will do much better at juggling in module 2 so this doesn't happen again. 

Four terms that I only slightly understood before this module were:

1. Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET): "was one of the world's first operational packet switching networks, the first network to implement TCP/IP, and the progenitor of what was to become the global Internet."

2. ICANN - Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. Basically ICANN is responsible for ensuring that everything on the network is working and secure.
3. Open Source - Meaning that source code, or rather recipe of a program or software, is "open" for other's to download, edit and distribute to help create better versions with more functionality.
4. Fiber Optics - I've heard of fiber optics before this course, but I never really understood what they were, or how they worked. Essentially Fiber Optics are teeny tiny glass fibers, that are used to trasmit light signals long distances. It's also cheaper, and can handle more transmissions than standard copper wire cables.