ITS Technology Tips

If you constantly find yourself checking your email, updating your Facebook, reading blogs, shopping online or watching YouTube videos (when you are trying to get important work done) there is hope yet!  With Freedom, a  program available for Mac and PC users, you can set parameters to disable your internet access from 60 seconds up to eight hours.  You can circumvent the time limit you specify by rebooting; though if you have to go through the trouble of rebooting, the idea is that you would wait until your Freedom minutes are up and not cheat.  Freedom software is available for purchase for $10 with a 90 day money-back guarantee.

If you do think that your internet habits could use a little policing but maybe not by completely removing internet access, you might want to check out a free browser plug-in from Firefox called LeechBlock.   With LeechBlock you can choose specific Web sites to block and set times to make the sites unavailable.   Since it might be too difficult for some to part with all digital distractions initially, LeechBlock might be a good entry point into the world of productivity software.

Your laptop’s battery life can be extended if you take precautions to avoid frequent total discharges. One step you can take is to set up alerts so you’ll know to plug in the power adapter when the battery goes down to a particular level.

Almost all laptops display alerts if the battery has 5% or 10% of the charge left. You can easily modify your notifications to avoid total discharges.

In Windows 7, click on your battery icon in the system tray and select More power options, then select  Change plan settings -> Change advanced power settings and change the  low level battery setting to 30% and the critical level battery setting to 25%.

It is also recommended to keep the battery in cool temperatures to make battery life last longer.

Additionally, if you are planning not to use your laptop for a long time (for example when you go on vacation), make sure it is charged about 40% before you unplug the power adapter and power down.

With the introduction of iOS6, Apple has snuck in a feature that many users don’t even know exists. Identifier for advertisers, or IFA, is a random number assigned to a device and its user. It’s nothing all that unheard of, think grocery stores providing tailored coupons based off data they collect every time you use their “club card.” The reason IFA is more invasive though is it allows ad companies to not only tailor what ads show up on the screen of your smartphone, but it also lets them know if you clicked the ad, even if you downloaded or purchased whatever the ad was for. Even that’s not the biggest issue, what’s worse is that it’s on automatically without users even knowing it. Luckily though, there is a way to turn it off. To turn it off, first you need to go to “Settings” and then to “General” (not Privacy, which would seem logical). Then it’s off to “About” and finally, select “Advertising.” Here is the confusing part, naturally one would think something set to track your data needs to be turned off. In this case though, the option is labeled “Limit Ad Tracking,” it needs to be turned ON. Being ON in this instance actually means being off. In a world of constantly less and less privacy, it’s nice to be able to control and maintain some form of privacy.

For more information, check out this article:
http://www.businessinsider.com/ifa-apples-iphone-tracking-in-ios-6-2012-10

No matter how many steps you take to protect yourself or your information, there is still a chance you will get hacked. However, the sooner you identify you have been compromised and the faster you respond, the more you can minimize the harm.

ACCOUNTS

You probably have numerous online accounts for everything from online banking and shopping to email and social networking. Keeping track of them can be a constant challenge. Here are some steps to help you identify and respond to compromised accounts.

Symptoms:

1. You can no longer log in to the website, even when you enter the correct password.
2. Your friends & co-workers are receiving emails from you that you never sent.
3. Someone is posting messages on your social networking page (such as Facebook or Twitter), posing as you.
4. Someone is transferring money out of your online bank account.
5. Contact information or other settings on your online accounts are being changed without your knowledge.
6. When a website or service provider publicly announces they have been hacked and user accounts/passwords have been compromised.

Response:

1. If you can still log in, change your password immediately and be sure to use strong passwords.
2. If you can’t log in, contact the service provider or website immediately.
3. Once you have regained access, review all of your account settings to make sure nothing has been changed by the attacker.
4. Make sure you change your password on any other accounts that have the same password.

DEVICES

With the explosion of mobile devices, you now have even more things to protect. Once attackers control your device, they have the ability to intercept every action you take on that device. Here are some steps to help you identify and respond to infected devices.

Symptoms

1. Your computer is taking you to websites you do not want to go to & running programs that you never installed.
2. Your anti-virus reports an infected file/ Anti-virus and system updates are failing.
3. Your device is continually crashing.
4. Your smart phone is making expensive calls or purchasing apps without your permission.

Response:

1. Perform a full scan with your updated anti-virus solution. If it detects any infected files, follow the steps it recommends.
2. Make sure you install the latest version of your anti-virus & do regular backups of your personal Data.

INFORMATION

Protecting personal information, such as your Social Security Number, medical history, or purchase history, can be challenging, since you often do not control this data. Instead, organizations like your health care provider, your credit card company or your school store maintain this data. Here are some steps to help you identify when your personal information has been compromised and how to respond.

Symptoms:

1. A service provider announces they had an incident and your data may have been compromised, such as your credit card number or your medical history.
2. You see unauthorized charges on your credit card.
3. Your credit reports indicate loan applications you do not recognize.
4. Your health insurance is processing claims for treatments you did not receive.

Response:

1. Call your credit card issuer immediately & have them cancel the credit card and issue a new one.
2. If you believe there is fraud with your insurance account or bank account, call your insurance company or bank.
3. During any filing process, always document all conversations with date, time and the name of the person you talked to.

To learn more about the security solutions visit http://www.securingthehuman.org/

Jing is a software program that allows you to easily take, edit and share screen captures from your computer.  With Jing software, a free download for Mac and PC, users can upload images and videos to Jing’s website then simply copy and paste the item’s URL anywhere — email, IM, Facebook, Twitter, wikis, etc.. Anyone can access your content by clicking on the URL.  No more downloading, saving and opening files!

Jing also features a simple image-editing program so you can enhance your image with text bubbles, arrows, and highlights. You can also add narration to your screencast videos, which can be up to 5 minutes long. Jing is great for web-based conferences, creating narrated slideshows, explaining maps, diagrams, directions and more.

Additionally, Jing will automatically provide an HTML embed code for your image or video so that you can paste it directly into a blog or Website. The free Jing download allows you to capture and store up to 2 GB of image or video files onto screencast.com. If you intend to use Jing for more elaborate projects, you can purchase Jing Pro for $14.95/year, which offers a few additional features such as simultaneous screen capture and webcam activity, higher quality images and the ability to post videos directly to YouTube.

VoiceThread is a collaborative online application that enables users to share a multimedia slideshow and make comments, as part of a group conversation. Once a thread is created, contributing users can comment using text, a webcam, a microphone or even by telephone. With VoiceThread, a group discussion can be securely captured and stored in one place. This tool could be used a part of a class or even just to share photographs with friends and family.

After registering with VoiceThread, as a free member, you are able to create up to three threads at a time. If you would like to be able to create additional threads or need more space, there are purchase options available on the site.

With all of the video formats out there, AVI, WMV, FLV and MP4, to name a few, it can be a challenge to keep track of which video files are compatible with your different systems and devices.  With Sothink Video Converter, you can take any video or audio file and convert it to the proper format for virtually any device (iPod, iPad, iPhone, HTC, Blackberry, Android, XBOX, Sony PSP, PC, etc). This all-in-one free program features an easy to use interface and works quickly to convert to high-quality video.

SlideShare is a free Web-based sharing program that allows users to find, create and share presentations online.  With SlideShare, anyone can upload slides to the Web from PowerPoint, OpenOffice, Keynote or a variety of other formats, including PDFs, videos and prerecorded webinars.  You can easily sync MP3 audio files with your slides to create a musical slideshow or narrated lecture. Presentations can be kept private or made public if you would like to share your work with a wide audience. Viewers have the option to download public presentations and reuse or remix the slides.  Another benefit of using SlideShare is that the presentation files can be viewed on smart devices without Flash and smart phones.

As a new feature in Microsoft Office 2010, you can easily convert your document to a PDF from any Office program (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint). In previous versions of MS Office, you needed to have additional software installed to create a PDF. Now when you save your document, PDF is among the file types to choose from:

The PDF format is useful for sharing documents because all of the formatting is preserved and the file is protected from further editing.  Remember to keep your original Word document if you will need to edit it later.

What Is P2P?

P2P stands for Peer-to-Peer which means the sharing of files between two or more users on the Internet. The concept behind P2P networking is powered by a peer-to-peer application such as Gnutella, KaZaA, Napster, iMesh, LimeWire, Morpheus, SwapNut, WinMX, AudioGalaxy, Blubster, eDonkey and BearShare. The P2P application takes a piece of allotted data or sometimes whole directories from your hard drive and allows other users to freely download this content, and vice versa. Content downloaded via P2P applications can be potentially laced with a computer virus or be legally protected copyright data. P2P programs are most often used to share music and videos over the Internet. Although sharing, by passing around a CD or DVD is not illegal; sharing by creating multiple copies of a copyrighted work is illegal.

How P2P Works

Much of the P2P activity is automatic and its use is unmonitored. Computers running this software will be busy exchanging files whenever the machine is turned on. Some of the P2P programs themselves contain “spyware” that allows the author of the program, and other network users, to see what you’re doing, where you’re going on the Internet, and even use your computer’s resources without your knowledge. Once installed, these applications are hard to remove. In some cases a user has to know which files to remove, which registry entries to edit, and which configuration files need modification. Since the computers running the P2P programs are usually connected to a network, they can be used to spread malware, share private documents, or use your file server for store-and-forward where data transmitted from one device to another passes through a message center which is used by the message service to store the transmitted message only until the receiving device can be located and then forwards the data transmitted to the intended recipient. Various types of illegal files can be downloaded and re-shared over these P2P networks by mistake. This includes child pornography, which can bring the owner of the computer and network under severe criminal penalties.

Risks from P2P Programs

Some P2P programs will share everything on your computer with anyone by default. Searches done so far revealed patent applications, medical information, financial and other personal and corporate information. Viruses, Worms and Trojans are being distributed at a fast rate.

Cybercriminals these days are using a modified version of the Zeusbot/SpyEye malware, which is using a peer-to-peer network, rather than a simple bot to command-and-control (C&C) server system, making the botnet much harder to take down. Also, P2P network enables the botnet to stay alive and gather information, even if portions of the network are shut down making it even more dangerous to use P2P software.

ZeuS is very popular in the cybercriminal world because it’s capable of stealing a wide variety of information, documents and login credentials from infected systems. Both ZeuS and SpyEye can be best described as cybercrime toolkits that are used for the creation of customized banking Trojans. The code base of the two former rivals was merged last year that led to the creation of strains designed to target mobile banking customers. Basically, if the control messages are handled by P2P networks, it is almost impossible to track the criminals behind it.

Consequences of Copyright Infringement

Downloading and sharing files which contain copyrighted material is against the law. The responsibility to restrict sharing and monitor the legality of your downloads lies solely with you. This is what can happen to you:

• Disciplinary action. Your name may be forwarded to the Dean of Students Office for disciplinary action. Sanctions include fines, termination of university network access and/o university probation.
• Legal consequences. Copyright holders may offer a legal settlement option (a.k.a. Early Settlement Letter) or pursue legal action against you.
• Financial implications. If a copyright holder chooses to pursue legal action, the minimum damage for sharing copyrighted material is $750 per file (in addition to legal and court fees). Some students who settled their cases outside of court were forced to pay substantial amounts. There is no way to predict how much you may be required to pay in settlement costs.

The Federal statute, titles 17 and 18 of the U.S. Code, provide criminal penalties for infringing on copyrighted material. In the worst case infringements can be punishable by up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines. Repeat offenders can be imprisoned for up to 10 years. Violators can also be held civilly liable for actual damages, lost profits, or statutory damages up to $150,000 per infringement, as attorney’s fees and costs.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) makes it a crime to create software that helps distribute copyrighted materials. It also limits an Internet Service Provider’s (ISP) liability if the ISP notifies the alleged infringer and suspends access to illegal copies of copyrighted materials. As an ISP, Loyola is required to comply with the DMCA.

What to Do About P2P

• 1)  Remove any copies that are running on any computers. This may take some time, and require some professional assistance.
• 2)  Do not allow P2P software Internet access. This may mean: Disable NAT – Network Address Translation; Block access to/from the common P2P ports; Use a packet-reassembly firewall that can examine streams of data in-context for possible P2P misuse.
• 3)  Delete any files on any machines which may have been obtained over a P2P network.

Legal Alternatives for Downloading

Some of the sites listed here, provide some or all content at no charge. They are funded by advertising or represent artists who want their material distributed for free. This list is not exhaustive of all content that is legally available. However, it will give you some legal options.

Movies: Watch movies online legally. Many of them are free->> Hulu Movies, Joost Movies, Amazon Video on Demand, Netflix, CinemaNow, Walmart Movies, BlockBuster

TV Shows: Watch TV shows online legally. Many of them are free->> Hulu TV, Joost TV, Clicker TV, Netflix TV, Walmart TV, iTunes TV

Music: Listen to music online legally. Many of them are free->> Pandora, Slacker, iLike, Music Rebellion, Last.fm, Blip.fm, Napster, Rhapsody, Yahoo Music Unlimited, iTunes Music, eMusic, AmieStreet, Mindawn, Zune

Others: ESPN3, GameFly, GameTap, Steam

For more legal websites click here

Students can also watch new movies on-demand while on campus: http://watchnow.reslife.com/loyolachicago/SDC/Content/Browse.aspx