Comp.
- Finals gives users better web browsing, search functions,
UNIT 7A: Personal Devices for Improving
Productivity
Mashup
• is a creative combination of content or elements
from different sources, such as a web page that
blends data from two or more sources to create new
services or content.
7.1 Convergence, Portability, & Personalization
Convergence
• or digital convergence, describes the combining of
several industries—computers, communications,
consumer electronics, entertainment, and mass
media—through various devices that exchange data
in digital form.
Portability
• A device that is portable is small, lightweight, and
easy to carry.
• means the state or quality of being portable—that is,
capable of being carried or moved about.
Personalization
• is the creation is the creation of information tailored
to your preferences, such as programs that
automatically cull recent news and information from
the Internet on just those topics you have designated
of information tailored to your preferences, such as
programs that automatically cull recent news and
information from the Internet on just those topics
you have designated.
7.2 SMARTPHONES: More Than Talk
Smartphone
• smartphone is a cellular telephone with software
applications and Internet access.
Cellphones:
• designed for calls & perhaps texting
• The lower-priced option ($20–$150, but often free
with a two-year phone company contract),
cellphones are compact, have a straightforward
keypad, let you receive and send text messages, and
allow you to store frequently used phone numbers.
Smartphones
• Designed with advanced operating systems & touch
screens
• The arrival of smartphones, which have advanced
operating systems and touch screens, has roiled the
telephone industry. Phone makers such as Nokia and
Motorola have stumbled over the transition from
cellphones to smartphones, and are now far down the
list of smartphone manufacturers.
• are more expensive (generally $200–$350, with a
two-year phone company contract) than cellphones,
have advanced operating systems (Apple’s iOS,
Google’s Android, Windows Phone 8) that give them
access to thousands of apps, have larger touch-
screen displays and more advanced cameras than
those on conventional phones, feature GPS
navigation technology, have Wi-Fi capabilities, and
support higher mobile wireless data speeds, which
and streaming media.
Cellphone
• A cellphone is actually a radio.
Apps
• are small, specialized programs that can be
downloaded onto mobile devices.
Tactile Keyboards
• Also known as physical keyboards,
• have raised keys and are perceptible to the sense of
touch, which make them easier to type on without
looking.
Touch-Screen Keyboard
• Also called virtual keyboards,
• are those in which the image of a keyboard is displayed
on a touch screen.
QWERTY keyboard,
• similar to a computer keyboard, is best for writing
and editing text and email messages.
“condensed” keyboard
• crams several letters, numbers, and symbols onto a
single key to save space, but is not as easy to use.
Media player:
• Some phones act as media players, letting you view
videos and listen to music tracks. Music companies
make songs and music video downloads available to
watch on mobile video screens.
Headset connector:
• This permits the user to attach a headset to the
mobile phone.
Bluetooth
• enables a phone to work with wireless headsets for
hands-free operation.
Text Messaging
• is the sending of short messages to others’ handheld
devices as well as desktop computers.
• , or texting or SMS (for short message service), is
the sending of short messages, generally no more
than 160 characters in length (including spaces), to a
smartphone or other handheld device, including
notebook computers.
7.3 TABLETS & E-READERS
Tablet computer
• are useful as multipurpose devices,
• is a general-purpose computer contained in a single
panel.
• lightweight, thin, web-enabled, and portable and yet
powerful enough to provide the functionality of a
laptop.
• a wireless, portable personal computer with a 7- to
12-inch multitouch screen (one can manipulate the
screen contents directly with one’s hand).
E-Reader/ E-book
• are usually better for reading.
• are also much in use, despite being single-purpose
devices, because they are so good at one thing:
displaying e-book content.
• The Reading Machine
• reader can hold a library that you can take almost
anywhere.
• or electronic book, is an electronic text, the digital-
media equivalent of a conventional printed book.
• or e-book reader, is an electronic
• device that can download e-books —digital versions
of regular books, articles, and magazines from
various suppliers.
7.4 PORTABLE MEDIA PLAYERS
Portable Media Player (PMP)
• or MP3 player, a small portable device that enables
you to play digital audio, video, or image files.
Music Player
• small portable devices, typically weighing around 3
ounces, that are designed primarily for playing
music. They feature controls for enhancing sound
and adjusting playback, and their 1- to 2-inch
screens are best used to view playlists and menus.
Media Player
• allow you not only to listen to music but also to
view videos, play games, browse the web, check
email, access social networks, read ebooks, and
even make phone calls (using Skype).
MP3
• is a format that allows audio files to be compressed
so they are small enough to be sent over the Internet
or stored as digital files.
UNIT 7B: Personal Devices for Enriching Leisure &
Life
7.5 DIGITAL CAMERAS: Changing Photography
Digital Camera
• takes video and photographs and digitally converts
the analog data by recording images via an
electronic image sensor.
Point-and-shoot:
• basic camera, is a camera, either film or digital, that
automatically adjusts settings such as exposure and
focus. Generally such cameras cost $75–$500.
Single-lens reflex (SLR)
• or advanced camera, is a camera, either film or
digital, that has a reflecting mirror that reflects the
incoming light in such a way that the scene viewed
by the viewer through the viewfinder is the same as
what’s framed by the lens.
Resolution
• refers to image sharpness.
Megapixels (mp)
• sharpness. A digital camera’s resolution is
expressed in ____________.
• , or millions of picture elements, the electronic dots
making up an image.
Lenses
• You also need to have a lens that ensures that your
picture is properly focused and that pulls in enough
light to get good exposure.
Digital Zoom
• is just another way of saying “we’ll crop the image
for you in the camera.”
• does is enlarge a portion of the image, thus
‘simulating’ optical zoom. In other words, the
camera crops a portion of the image and then
enlarges it back to size.
Optical Zoom
• will bring you closer to your subject without your
having to move. That is, the lens actually extends to
make distant objects seem larger and closer.
Optical viewfinders:
• is the eye-level optical glass device on the camera
that, when you look through it, shows the image to
be photographed.
LCD viewers/viewfinders
• display) viewers/viewfinders usually measure 2
inches or more diagonally—some are as large as 3.5
inches—and allow you to review the photos you
take.
7.6 HIGH-TECH RADIO: Satellite, Hybrid Digital,
& Internet
High-tech Radio
• uses satellite, digital transmission on FM stations
(HD radio), and the Internet. We also describe
podcasting.
Satellite Radio
• is commercial-free digital radio transmitted via
satellite and paid for by subscribers.
• radio is a radio service in which digital signals are
broadcast from satellites to special radios, primarily
in cars.
HD Radio
• or hybrid digital radio, provides the digital
technology for AM/FM stations in the United States.
• stands for hybrid digital radio, a technology that
provides CD-quality sound and allows broadcasters
to squeeze one analog and two digital stations on the
same frequency.
Internet Radio
• streams audio programs over the Internet.
• radio is the continuous streaming of audio over the
Internet.
Pandora Internet Radio
• The most popular online radio service
Podcasting
• involves delivering Internet music, radio, or movie
files from the Internet to a computer.
 7.7 DIGITAL TELEVISION

INTERACTIVE TV (iTV)
• lets viewers interact with their television sets, so
that, for instance, they can request information about
a product or play along with a game show.

Internet TV
• is television distributed via the Internet.
• If you’re paying a charge to a cable or satellite TV
distribution service, you can often see the same
network television shows—from ABC, CBS, NBC,
and Fox—for free on Hulu or uStream, online video
services that offer a selection of hit shows, clips,
movies, and more.

Internet-Ready TV
• TV is the term applied to television sets with broad-
band connections that allow viewers not only to
watch TV shows but also go online to get news,
stream movies, view photos, and the like.

Digital Television (DTV)

• which uses a digital signal, or series of 0s and 1s.

High-Definition Television (HDTV)

• works with digital broadcasting signals and has a
wider screen and higher resolution than analog
television had.

Standard-Definition Television (SDTV) ,

• which has a lower resolution, a minimum of 480
vertical lines, and a picture quality similar to that
required to watch DVD movies.

Video on Demand (VOD or VoD)

• which consists of a wide set of technologies that
enable viewers to select videos or TV programs from
a central server to watch when they want, rather than
when TV programmers offer them.

7.8 VIDEOGAME SYSTEMS: The Ultimate

Convergence Machine?

Videogames Console
• or gameboxes, specialized computers powered by
operating systems and CPUs different from those in
desktop computers.
 Chapter 8- The Era of Big Data
UNIT 8A: Files & Databases
8.1 MANAGING FILES: Basic Concepts
Database
• is a computer-based collection of related data
organized so that it can be conveniently accessed,
managed, and updated.
• is a collection of interrelated data and files.
Data Storage Hierarchy
• consists of the levels of data stored in a computer
database: bits, characters (bytes), fields, records, and
tables (files).
Hierarchy
• refers to a graded series of ordered groupings—
usually a pyramid-like ranking, with the most
important entities on the top.
Bits
• is the smallest unit of data the computer can store in
a database—represented by 0 for off or 1 for on.
Character (Byte)
• is a letter, number, or special character.
Field (Column)
• is a unit or category of data consisting of one or
more characters (bytes).
Record (Row)
• is a collection of related fields; it represents one
entry in a table.
File (Table)
• is a collection of related records.
Key Field
• (primary key) is a field (or fields) in a record that
holds unique data that identifies that record from all
the other records in the table and in the database.
8.2 DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
Database Management System
• is software that enables users to store, modify, and
extract information from a database.
• also called data-base software or database manager,
is software written specifically to control the
structure of a database and access to the data.
Data redundancy, or repetition,
• means that the same data fields (a person’s address,
say) appear over and over again in different files and
often in different formats.
Modern DBMSs (SPEED)
• are obviously much faster than manual data-
organization systems and faster than older computer-
based data storage arrangements.
Data Integrity
• means that data is accurate, consistent, and up to
date.
Three Database Components
Data Dictionary
• For defining data definitions & structure
• also called a repository or database schema, is a
document or file that stores the data definitions and
descriptions of the structure of data used in the
database.
Metadata
• data that describes other data, such as the name, the
data type (text, numeric, and so on), and the field
size (expected length ofeach data for each field).
Utilities
• For maintaining the database
• are programs that allow you to maintain the database
by creating, editing, and deleting data, records, and
files.
Report Generator
• For producing documents
• which is a program for producing an on-screen or
printed document from all or part of a database.
Database Administrator
• are specialists who manage database software.
• who coordinates all related activities and needs for
an organization’s database.
8.3 DATABASE MODELS
Database Model
• determines the information a database will contain
and how it will be used and how the items in the
database relate to one another.
Hierarchical Database
• was one of the first models to be widely used.
• fields or records are arranged in related groups
resembling a family tree, with child (lower-level)
records subordinate to parent (higher-level) records.
Network Database
• was created to represent a more complex data
relationship effectively, improve database
performance, and impose a database standard.
• database was in part developed to solve some of the
problems of the hierarchical database model.
Relational Database
• grew out of the hierarchical and network database
models.
• relates, or connects, data in different tables of rows
and columns through the use of primary keys, or
common data elements;
Structured query language (SQL)
• is the standard query language used to create,
modify, maintain, and query relational databases.
Query by example (QBE)
• the user asks for information in a database by using a
sample record form, or table, to define the
qualifications he or she wants for selected records;
Object-Oriented Database
• management system supports the modeling and
creation of data as objects.
• uses “objects,” software written in small, reusable
chunks, as elements within database files.
Multimedia Database
• An object-oriented database is a multimedia
database; it can store more types of data than a
relational database can.
Hypertext Database
• which contains text links to other documents.
Hypermedia Database
• which contains these links as well as graphics,
sound, and video.
Object-relational database:
• or enhanced-relational, database models handle both
hierarchical and network data (structured data) and
relational and object-oriented data.
Multidimensional Database
• is used to handle large amounts of data for decision-
making purposes.
• models data as facts, dimensions, or numerical
measures for use in the interactive analysis of large
amounts of data for decision-making purposes.
8.4 DATA MINING
Data Mining
• is sorting through large amounts of data to identify
patterns and establish relationships.
• the computer-assisted process of sifting through and
analyzing vast amounts of data in order to extract
hidden patterns and meaning and to discover new
knowledge.
Data Sources
• (a) point-of-sale transactions in files managed by file
management systems on mainframes,
• (b) databases of all kinds,
Data Cleansing/Scrubbing
• whether from inside the company (internal data) or
purchased from outside the company (external data),
must be fused together and then put through a
process known as
Metadata
• The cleansing process yields both the cleaned-up
data and a variation of it called
• is essentially data about data; it describes how and
when and by whom a particular set of data was
collected and how the data is formatted.
Data Warehouse
• is a special database of cleaned-up data and
metadata.
Regression Analysis
• takes a particular set of numerical data and develops
a mathematical formula that fits the data.
Classification Analysis
• is a statistics pattern-recognition process that is
applied to data sets with more than just numerical
data.
UNIT 8B: Big Data, Information Systems, &
Artificial Intelligence
Big Data
• aims also to tap all that web data and other data that
is outside corporate databases.
• Also called big data analytics, Analytics) typically
“means applying the tools of artificial intelligence,
such as machine learning, to vast new troves of data
beyond that captured in standard databases,” says
one report.
8.5 THE EVOLVING WORLD OF BIG DATA
Big Data
• which is derived from a bunch of old and new data
sources, could lead to a revolution in measurement
and to better decision making.
Big Data Analytics
• is the process of examining large amounts of data of
a variety of types to uncover hidden patterns,
unknown correlations, and other useful information.
8.6 INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN
ORGANIZATIONS: Using Databases to Help Make
Decisions
Information System
• system is a combination of people, hardware,
software, communication devices, and databases that
processes data and information for a specific
purpose.
Correct and Verifiable
• This means information must be accurate and
checkable.
Correct
• means information must include all relevant data.
Concise
• means it includes only relevant data.
Cost-Effective
• This means the information is efficiently obtained
and understandable.
Current
• means timely yet also time-sensitive, based on
historical, present, or future information needs.
Accessible
• This means the information is quickly and easily
obtainable.
The Horizontal Flow of Information Between Six
Departments
• Depending on the services or products they provide,
most organizations have departments that perform
six functions: research and development (R&D),
production (or operations), marketing and sales,
accounting and finance, human resources
(personnel), and information systems (IS).

THE VERTICAL FLOW OF INFORMATION
BETWEEN MANAGEMENT LEVELS
• Large organizations traditionally have three levels of
management— strategic management, tactical
management, and operational management. These
levels can be shown on an organization chart, a
schematic drawing showing the hierarchy of formal
relationships among an organization’s employees.
Strategic-Level Management
• Top managers are concerned with long-range, or
strategic, planning and decisions. This top level is
headed by the chief executive officer (CEO) along
with several vice presidents or managers with such
titles as chief financial officer (CFO), chief
operating officer (COO), and chief information
officer (CIO).
• are complex decisions rarely based on predetermined
routine procedures; they involve the subjective
judgment of the decision maker.
Tactical-level management:
• or middle-level managers, make tactical decisions to
implement the strategic goals of the organization.
• Decision is made without a base of clearly defined
informational procedures; it may require detailed
analysis and computations.
Operational-level management:
• Operational, or low-level (supervisory level),
managers make operational decisions—predictable
decisions that can be made by following well-
defined sets of routine procedures. These managers
focus principally on supervising nonmanagement
employees, monitoring day-to-day events, and
taking corrective action where necessary.
Computer-Supported Cooperative Work Systems.
• organizations that have computer networks often use
groupware to enable cooperative work by groups of
people—what are known as
Computer-Based Information System
• are combination of hard-ware, software, and
telecommunications networks that people build and
use to collect, create, and distribute data.
Office Information Systems
• facilitate communication and collaboration between
the members of an organization and between
organizations.
• also called office automation systems (OASs),
combine various technologies to reduce the manual
labor required in operating an efficient office
environment and to increase productivity.
Transaction Processing Systems
• are computer-based systems that take transaction-
related information that is time-sensitive and
immediately process it and keep it current.
• is a computer-based information system that keeps
track of the transactions needed to conduct business.
Transaction
• is a recorded event having to do with routine
business activities. A transaction may be recorded
manually or via a computer system and includes
everything concerning the product or service in
which the organization is engaged: production,
distribution, sales, and orders.
Batch Processing
• offline processing —that is, the data is gathered and
processed in batches at periodic intervals, such as at
the end of the day or once a week.
Real-Time Processing
• also known as online transaction processing (OLTP)
—that is, each transaction is processed immediately
as it is entered.
Input
• to the system are transaction data: bills, orders,
inventory levels, and the like.
Output
• consists of processed transactions: bills, paychecks,
and so on.
Detail Report
• contains specific information about routine
activities.
Management Information Systems
• transform data into information useful in the support
of decision making, principally at the tactical level.
• is a computer-based information system that uses
data recorded by a TPS as input into programs that
produce routine reports as output.
Summary Reports
• reports show totals and trends.
Exception Reports
• show out-of-the-ordinary data.
Periodic Reports
• are produced on a regular schedule.
Demand Reports
• produce information in response to an unscheduled
demand.
Decision Support Systems
• are a specific class of computer-based information
system that supports business and organizational
decision-making activities generally at the
managerial level.
• sophisticated information system is the decision
support system. A decision support system (DSS) is
a computer-based information system that provides a
flexible tool for analysis and helps managers focus
on the future.
Model
• is a mathematical representation of a real system.
Executive Support Systems
• are reporting tools that allow organizations to turn
their data into useful summarized reports. These
reports are generally used by executive-level
managers for quick access to reports coming from all
company levels.
• Is an easy-to-use DSS made especially for strategic
managers; it specifically supports strategic decision
making.
Expert Systems
• are computer programs that use artificial intelligence
to solve problems within a specialized domain that
ordinarily requires human expertise. These expert
systems represent the expert knowledge as data or
rules within the computer system.
• or knowledge-based system, is a set of interactive
computer programs that helps users solve problems
that would otherwise require the assistance of a
human expert.
8.7 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Artificial intelligence
• is the branch of computer science concerned with
making computers behave like humans.
• is the branch of computer science that is devoted to
the creation of computer systems that simulate
human reasoning and sensation.
CONVENTIONAL AI:
• based on machine learning
• attempts to mimic human intelligence through logic
and symbol manipulation, as well as statistics.
Machine Learning
• which is the development of techniques that allow a
computer to simulate learning by generating rules
from raw data fed into it.
COMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE:
• Based on Heuristic
• relies less on formal logical systems and more on
experimental and trial-and-error methods.
Heuristics
• or rules of thumb, for solving a problem, rather than
hard-and-fast formulas or algorithms.
Weak AI
• focuses on making machines act as if they were
intelligent.
• makes the claim that computers can be programmed
to simulate human cognition and only some human
cognition, to solve particular problems or reasoning
tasks that do not encompass fully human intelligence
Strong AI
• focuses on making machines that really think—that
represent human minds.
• makes the claim that computers can be made to think
on a level that is at least equal to humans and
possibly even be conscious of themselves.
Expert System
• is an interactive computer program used to solve
problems that would otherwise require the assistance
of a human specialist.
Knowledge Base
• is an expert system’s database of knowledge about a
particular subject, including relevant facts
information, beliefs, assumptions, and procedures
for solving problems.
IF-THEN-ELSE rule
• (“IF this happens, THEN do this, ELSE do that.”)
• The basic unit of knowledge is expressed as an
Inference Knowledge
• engine is the software that controls the search of the
expert system’s knowledge base and produces
conclusions.
User Interface
• is the display screen. It gives the user the ability to
ask questions and get answers. It also explains the
reasoning behind the answer.
Natural Language Processing
• involves designing software that will analyze,
understand, and generate human languages.
• is the study of ways for computers to recognize and
understand human language, whether in spoken or
written form.
Intelligent Agents
• agent is software that assists people and acts on their
behalf, allowing them to delegate work to the agent.
• agent is a form of software with built-in intelligence
that monitors work patterns, asks questions, and
performs work tasks on your behalf,
Bots/ Network Agents
• these intelligent agents search the Internet and online
databases for information and bring the results back
to you.
Shopping Bot
• comparison engine, that helps users search the
Internet for a particular product or service and then
brings up price comparisons, locations, and other
information.
Pattern Recognition
• is the computer-based identification of objects and
images by their shape, color, texture, temperature, or
other attribute.
• involves software that identifies recurring patterns in
what it is seeing and recognize the connections
between the perceived patterns and similar patterns
stored in a database.
Virtual Reality
• is an artificial hardware-and-software-created
environment that seems “real” and can be
manipulated in real time.
• a computer-generated artificial reality, projects a
person into a sensation of three-dimensional space.
Simulators Singularity
• are devices that represent the behavior of physical or • or the technological singularity, a moment when
abstract systems. humans would have created self-aware, smarter-
than-human machines that are capable of designing
Robotics computers and robots that are better than humans
• involves the conception, design, manufacture, and can make today.
operation of robots, devices that perform humanlike
functions. Robots can be classified according to
locomotion or application
• is the development and study of machines that can
perform actions normally performed by living
beings.

Robots
• is an automatic device that performs functions
ordinarily executed by human beings or that operates
with what appears to be almost human intelligence.

Fuzzy Logic
• recognizes more than simple true and false values. It
works with ranges of values, solving problems in a
way that more resembles human logic.
• is a method of dealing with imprecise data and
uncertainty, with problems that have many answers
rather than one.

Neural Networks
• simulate the connections between nerve cells in the
human body.
• , or neural net, consists of a network of processors
that are interconnected in a way that is similar to the
connections between neurons, or nerve cells, in the
human body. The neural network is able to simulate
the behavior of biological neural networks, as in
pattern recognition, language processing, and
problem solving.

8.8. ARTIFICIAL LIFE, THE TURING TEST,

& THE SINGULARITY

Artificial life, or A-life,

• is the field of study concerned with “creatures”—
computer instructions, or pure information—that are
created, replicate, evolve, and die as if they were
living organisms.

Turing Test
• test, which is intended to determine whether a
computer possesses “intelligence” or “self-
awareness.”
• a human judge converses by means of a computer
terminal with two entities hidden in another
location—one a person typing on a keyboard, the
other a computer program.

Captcha
• A newer sort of “reverse” Turing test, one that’s
simple for humans but that can baffle sophisticated
computer programs, has been devised in the form of
cognitive puzzles called
• an acronym for “ completely automated public
Turing test to tell computers and humans a part.”

Singularity
• is the moment when humans will have created self-
aware, smarter-than-human machines capable of
designing computers better than humans can today.
 Chapter 9: THE CHALLENGES
OF THE DIGITAL AGE
UNIT 9A: Security, Privacy, & Surveillance Concerns
9.1 SECURITY ISSUES: Threats to Computers
& Communications Systems
Human Errors
• can be of several types. Quite often, when experts
speak of the “unintended effects of technology,”
what they are referring to are the unexpected things
people do with it.
PROCEDURAL ERRORS
• Some spectacular computer failures have occurred
because someone didn’t follow procedures.
Software Errors
• We often hear about “software glitches” or “software
bugs.”
Software Bugs
• is an error in a program that causes it not to work
properly.
Dirty Data
• The expression “garbage in, garbage out” (GIGO)
describes what happens when ________, erroneous,
incomplete, or outdated data—is input to a computer
system, as when you make typing errors and then
don’t spell-check or grammar- check them.
Electromechanical Problems
• Mechanical systems, such as printers, and electrical
systems, such as circuit boards, don’t always work.
Natural Hazards
• Whatever is harmful to property (and people) is
harmful to computer systems, and this certainly
includes natural disasters and weather extremes.
Computer Crimes
• can be of two types. (1) It can be an illegal act
perpetrated against computers or
telecommunications, such as hardware theft, or
• (2) it can be the use of computers or
telecommunications to accomplish an illegal act,
such as identity theft.
Hardware Theft
• can range from shoplifting an accessory in a
computer store to removing a laptop or cellphone
from someone’s car.
Software Theft
• can be large scale, on the level of industrial
espionage, as when in 2013 China’s biggest wind
turbine company was accused of conspiring with the
employee of a Massachusetts wind company to steal
the American firm’s software for controlling the flow
of electricity.
Softlift
• companies, colleges, or other institutions that buy
one copy of a program and make copies for many
computers.
Theft of Intellectual Property
• Competing companies or individuals may break into
a company’s computer system to conduct industrial
espionage—obtain trade secrets that they can use for
competitive advantage.
THEFT OF TIME & SERVICES
• The theft of computer time is more common than
you might think. Probably the biggest instance is
people using their employer’s computer time to play
games, do online shopping, or dip into web
pornography.
Theft of Information
• Bank robberies of the “stick ’em up” kind are on the
decline, as criminals have discovered that bank
holdups just don’t pay—and there are greater
rewards in online theft.
Pharming
• in which malicious software implanted in your
computer redirects you to an impostor web page,
Trojan Horse
• programs (such as screen savers) that carry viruses
that perpetuate mischief without your knowledge.
Evil Twin Attack
• in which an evil doer sets up a Wi-Fi hot spot that
your computer thinks offers safe access to a secure
public network and then monitors your
communications and steals data you input.
9.2 SECURITY SAFEGUARDS: Protecting
Computers & Communications
Security
• is a system of safeguards for protecting information
technology against disasters, system failures, and
unauthorized access that can result in damage or
loss.
Rule-based detection software:
• In this technique, users such as merchants create a “
negative file” that states the criteria each transaction
must meet.
Predictive statistical model software:
• In this technique, tons of data from previous
transactions are examined to create mathematical
descriptions of what a typical fraudulent transaction
is like.
Employee Internet management (EIM) software:
• Programs made by Websense, SmartFilter, and Pearl
Echo-Suite are used to monitor how much time
workers spend on the web and even block access to
gambling and porn sites.
Internet filtering software:
• Some employers use special filtering software to
block access to pornography, bootleg music
download, and other unwanted Internet sites that
employees may want to access.
Electronic surveillance:
• employers use various kinds of electronic
surveillance that includes visual and audio
monitoring technologies, reading of email and blogs,
and recording of keystrokes.
PIN (personal identification number)
• is the security number known only to you that is
required to access the system.
Passwords
• are special words, codes, or symbols required to
access a computer system.
• are one of the weakest security links, and most can
be easily guessed or stolen.
callback system,
• the user calls the computer system, punches in the
password, and hangs up.
Biometrics
• the science of measuring individual body
characteristics, tries to use these in security devices,
Biometric authentication devices
• authenticate a person’s identity by comparing his or
her physical or behavioral characteristics with a
digital code stored in a computer system.
Hand-geometry systems:
• Also known as full-hand palm scanners, these are
devices to verify a person’s identity by scanning the
entire hand, which, for each person, is as unique as a
fingerprint and changes little over time.
Fingerprint Scanners
• These range from optical readers, in which you place
a finger over a window, to swipe readers, such as
those built into laptops and some handhelds, which
allow you to run your finger across a barlike sensor.
Iris-recognition systems:
• Because no two people’s eyes are alike, iris scans are
very reliable identifiers.
Face-recognition systems:
• The technology, which compares a live face image
with a digitized image stored in a computer, is used
now as a security system for some notebook
computers.
Voice-recognition systems:
• These systems compare a person’s voice with
digitized voice prints stored in a computer, which the
individual has previously “trained” to recognize his
or her speech patterns.
Encryption
• is the process of altering readable data into
unreadable form to prevent unauthorized access.
Data-Recovery Plan
• enables an organization to continue operating after a
natural or other type of disaster.
• is a method of restoring information-processing
operations that have been halted by destruction or
accident.
National Security Agency (NSA)
• is the official organization in charge of cryptographic
design and decryption for the U.S. government.
Metadata mining
• is the practice of using computer algorithms
(formulas) to search vast collections of data for
patterns.
Cyberwarfare
• —warfare involving computers and the Internet in
which one nation attacks another’s information
systems.
UNIT 9B: Other Social, Economic,
& Political Issues
Information technology
• technology allows the manipulation or falsification
of all sorts of data, including text, sound, and image,
which has led to problems with truth and credibility.
Morphing
• —transforming one image into another—using
image-altering software such as Adobe Photoshop
Auto-Tune
• that “can take a vocal and instantly nudge it onto the
proper note or move it to the correct pitch. . . . [I]t
can transform wavering performance into something
technically flawless.”
ENVIRONMENTAL BLIGHT
• Call it “techno-blight.” This is the visual pollution
represented by the forest of wireless towers, roof
antennas, satellite dishes, and all the utility poles
topped with transformers and strung with electric,
phone, cable TV, and other wires leading off in all
directions.
GAMBLING
• is already widespread in North America, but
information technology makes it almost
unavoidable. Instead of driving to a casino, for
example, gamblers can find slots, roulette, and
blackjack just a quick mouse click away—and just
as quickly find themselves in debt.
PORNOGRAPHY
• One of the biggest cultural changes in the United
States of the past quarter century has been the
widespread distribution of sexually explicit material.
Online blocking software:
• are designed to screen out objectionable material,
typically by identifying certain unapproved
keywords in a user’s request or comparing the user’s
request for information against a list of prohibited
sites.
ClearPlay
• uses filtering technology that allows parents to edit
out the inappropriate parts of films on DVDs—such
as disturbing images, violence, nudity, swear words,
and ethnic and social slurs.
V-Chip
• a device that is required equipment in all new
television sets with screen size of 13 inches or larger
sold after January 2000

Sexting
• is use of a smartphone or other mobile device to
send sexually explicit photos or videos; sometimes it
also refers to sexually charged text messages.

Cyberbullies
• , in which—generally but not exclusively—children
in the 9–18 age range use information technologies,
including the Internet, to unleash merciless taunting,
nasty rumors, humiliating pictures, and other put-
downs of fellow adolescents.

Cyberstalking
• an attacker harasses a victim using email, instant
messaging, or communications posted on the web,
hiding behind the anonymity afforded by the Internet
to stalk the victim undetected.