Twenty-Five Years on the Magic Carpet!

Apple LISA

Years ago, when I was still a working man, I received a grant from the Provincial Government to do an Educational Needs Assessment in the West end of Toronto. I decided to move away from Windows and use the Apple Lisa. (considered by some to be one of the rotten apples.) It was the first personal computer and even had a graphic user interface! Personally, I loved the machine. However, Apple computers were not considered a  business tool and circumstances made it necessary for me to work with the Windows operating system for many years. Some time after retirement I made the shift back to Apple.

I now use a MacBook Pro and have enjoyed a number of iPods, finally settling on the iPod Touch.

A few years ago I switched from paper books to the Kobo reader, a good Canadian product at the time. More recently I moved up to the KoBo Arc 7. And the trouble began. I wanted my devices to talk to each other. The problem is Apple uses the iOS (previously the iPhoneOS) operating system and KoBo the Google Android (Linux) system. I solved the problem by downloading the Android File Transfer, or so I thought! Handling passwords got very confusing! Every time I attempted to open a program on a device I was informed the password was incorrect or that I had changed it just a few hours ago! I ended up changing passwords every time I switched devices. Finally, I got it all in line. I think!!!

The experience sharpened my awareness of being responsible for my own security and changing passwords is an important aspect of that odious task. Most people, I suspect, skip through the Agreement Policy and scan down the forty pages to the 'I AGREE' square. But the bottom line has to be this:  no one can promise you privacy on the Internet, it can only be controlled by you the user.

HELLO WORLD!

Many of the Social Networks are expanding like crazy. Facebook now has over 800 million subscribers. Other networks like Twitter, Linkedin, You Tube or My Space are also expanding quickly. Business is becoming aware of the marketing value of Social Networks, but they are being advised to assess the risks and have a crisis management plan ready to go - just in case! We all know the damage that can incur if a bad decision or mistake goes viral.

Identity theft and other scams are finding a gold mine of information on the net, especially the social Networks. Remember, whatever you put up there, is pretty much there for ever and available to millions of people. That is why some employers, as well as some colleges and universities will search social networks prior to hiring or accepting admission candidates. 

   

I read somewhere that Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, hacked into the Harvard University network to get photos and information about students to create Facebook!  Hackers today can do the same and easily get enough information to create a false identity. (Birthday, ethnicity, your mother's maiden name or the name of your first pet, work place, photo, place of birth etc.)

Facebook says its mission is "to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected." Most of us don't have the world in mind as we exchange trivia or photos. We just want to keep in touch with our family and friends. And that is what occurs, and it's fun. I presume the rest of the world is not  interested in what we are doing or saying. BUT, there are always those looking for any way to use this wonderful twenty-five year old magic carpet to damage others and steal their identity, their money and even their love.

So, lets keep in touch, but at the same time suffer through the reading of Agreement Policies and changing of passwords on a regular basis. Remember, don't expect others to provide the impossible, make sure you do it yourself.

And that's Dicks View of the World this Week