Steal This File Sharing Book: What They Won't Tell You About File Sharing

Steal This File Sharing Book: What They Won't Tell You About File Sharing was written by Wallace Wang. In brief this book, pretty much, teaches you how to illegally download files, such as, music, videos, or private documents and the pros and cons of doing so. The group who presented this book mentioned trying out the steps, in which, Wallace Wang noted in his book, to see if the book really offered legit information on downloading things for free. Well, I believe, they were surprised to find out that the steps in which they followed were good because by following them they were able to download this book for free. I thought that was hilarious.


The definition of file sharing is being able to publicly or privately download files. Napster is a good example of this. Napster was the first real file share that was found out and shut down. There were 26 million users in Febuary 2001, however, the original date of Napster was in the previous years of 1999. Shawn Fanning was the creator of this very popular file share which allowed people to download music for free. File sharing effects sales because the artists do not get their full royalties, however there are some definite "ups" to file sharing. People can check out music that they normally wouldn't which may even cause that particle consumer to purchase the CD or download the songs from iTunes to put on their iPods. Another form of file share that came out of wood work is known as Gnutella. Gnutella allowed people to share more than just music. This is just a little on the scary side because, so far, only you know the information that you store on your computer, so it's frightening to think that others across the world are going to know as well.

The Art of Deception

One of the groups that presented on Wednesday did two books instead of one, like the rest of the class (over achiever's...just kidding). But one of the books that was presented was called The Art of Deception by Kevin D. Mitnick. This book describes ways of getting into someones computer system and "crackering" it (I just learned that hacking into a computer is used in the wrong sense, but instead should be called crackering because hackers were known as good people in yester years). Obviously, by illegally getting into someones computer system can cause harm to that individual in many ways, depending on what kind of information can be found. Kevin Mitnick pulled a trick, such as this, and because of his actions he was held in jail for 4 and a 1/2 years waiting for his trial. He may even be the reason why many crimes that are committed today are even considered a crime. Mr. Mitnick committed crimes before they even became crimes, according to the presenters, and was once the FBI's most wanted hacker. One of the key points that this group discussed (and we briefly discussed it in our presentation) was "you can protect yourself with all the security but still not be safe". This is a scary thing to think about because no matter what, if a person whats to find you then they will some how make it possible.

A couple ways to keep yourself as safe as possible would be to make sure everyone who may come into contact with your computers, whether it be a business computer or at school even, that they are safe. DO NOT give out your password, and make sure to track all individuals you may deal with on a regular basis, for example, delivery workers or employees.

Presentation Process!

My group consists of Sraus Phoung, Justin Juntara, Alyssa Carpentar, Hellen Gakuru, and Ashley Walker. As a group, we decided to tackle the book "A World Without Secrets" by Richard Hunter. Email seems to be the best way to communicate our ideas and input about the presentation. We have broken the book up into chapter sections with each person reading at least three chapters from the book, preparing a slide for the power point, and presenting it to the class. In order to make sure we have all of our bases covered, we decided to try and complete, somewhat, of a "rough draft" by Monday so we do not fall too far behind. Plus, this will be one less project each of us will have to worry about. I have high hopes for this group. I believe, we are all talented and very intellectual, and each one of us has something to offer to the presentation.

Luckily, Alyssa found the book online through the University's library. This makes it easier for each of us since we won't have to purchase it, but I believe Hellen mentioned she ordered one online for only $0.53 so if each of us did have to purchase it, it wouldn't cost an arm and a leg. I can only hope Professor Fry enjoys our presentation, and hopefully he won't hesitate to give us an awesome grade.

Living in a Virtual World

I'm not much of a computer fanatic, and I didn't realize what an individual could do with this machine besides the obvious. The main reason's I use my computer is for research purposes for school, checking my facebook and myspace, paying bills, maybe a little shopping here and there, and emailing. Other than that, I never really paid attention to what we can do in the virtual world. The avatar thing is definitely new to me. I was not aware that other individuals would create, what sometimes, looks like a cartoon version of themselves and go into make-believe places online and build up a non-fictional world around this avatar. That seems to be a little too time consuming to me, and I don't understand the fascination with it.

However, if I could choose anywhere to go in the virtual world it would probably be somewhere similar to the real world; a nice warm and sunny place that provides the right amount of entertainment for me (whatever that is). I might even go on a mini shopping spree with about seven of my closest friends. If I'm feeling a little dangerous, I might try to figure out what an Ex has been up to (lol). Other than that I'm not really sure what the virtual world has to offer me that is going to capture my interest.

Kevin Freitas - Feed Tacoma

Kevin Freitas is the originator of a popular blog site in Tacoma, Washington known as feedtacoma.com. At this website individuals are able to get the latest news and informative information about what is going on in the city of Tacoma, and they are also able to blog and respond to other blogs which are posted. Kevin Freitas community blog site is one the most popular and longest running blog sites going today, with the exception of Derek Young's popular blog site, exti133.com. Kevin mentioned in his presentation, in Andrew Fry's Living and Working in a Virtural World class at the University of Washington, Tacoma, that he has been blogging for a long time. However, when he started blogging on the computer it was simply for journalistic purposes only. I bet he never would have thought that something so minimal would explode onto the internet scene.

Feedtacoma.com also offers other explorations from local shops and events to photos and videos posted by Kevin, himself, or others. This is definitely a site for every individual, and Kevin put it best, "A community resource by people who and live and love Tacoma".

The Online Shopping Crave

Given the dangers, cautions, and warnings, why do people still insist on purchasing items from the internet? I believe it all has to do with convenience. A person is able to avoid the outrageous lines and the hectic crowds. By shopping on the internet we are able to accomplish worry free, stress free shopping, in my opinion. For me, it's stressful going to the mall and shopping for an item because I have to deal with the immature high school kids that go or I'm constantly running into people who take up the entire walkway. It's just a hassle for me. Not only that, by shopping online, I don't have to wait in a line, or on occasions, deal with an inpatient cashier. For the most part, I don't have to worry about an item being out of stock. If anything, if I order something off the internet the worse that can happen is it gets lost or damaged in the mail or the item has been back-ordered.

Given the dangers of identity theft or having your credit card information stolen, I think it all boils down to convenience for people. They would rather risk the chance of purchasing an item online and having their credit card information stolen rather than facing the obnoxious crowds at the mall. Sometimes you even have to take in consideration a person's physical capabilities. Maybe physically it is easier to shop online. Also, I believe, online stores are heightening personal security to reassure the customer that their information is protected. Although, identity theft is a major problem when it comes to online shopping, I believe the convenience out weighs that issue.

Blue light special on the INTERNET!!

When I finally turned eighteen I was excited, not only because I was considered an adult, but I was now eligible for my very own credit card. Luckily, for me, my mother taught me how to budget my money and to only use credit cards for emergency purposes only. The thought of putting my credit/debit card information online to purchase merchandise kind of prohibited me from buying anything via the Internet. Especially since identity theft was on the rise and becoming a popular way to go on a shopping sprees with someone else's account. Well, the paranoia of Internet shopping ended once I realized that it was so much easier to purchase items online versus going to the store to find out that my size wasn't in, the retailer ran out of the particular item, or maybe the store was located further than I had anticipated to drive.

I think I have a tendencey to put more trust in certain situations then I should. I figure no one is going to want to steal my identity considering I have nothing to my name. I have no problem going from one site to the next to the next and shopping till I drop. For the most part, I believe people put a lot of trust in these online sites which makes it very rare that someone won't buy something on the internet. When sites promise not to disclose your personal information or show you that they have blocked out your credit card detail, for me, I feel a little at ease even though it's probably not that difficult to get someone's information with enough determination.

At times, I still hesitate a little before purchasing something on a website, but then the really cute shirt or the designer jeans ease my mind as I push the submit button on my computer and realize that the money I spent on clothes could have gone in my gas tank or towards a really good computer book for class :0) I'm always going to shop on the internet until someone or something happens to me that causes me to use more caution.

Identity

I researched myself on the internet by using the search engines Google, YaHoo! search, and ask.com. I was happy to see that my information was no where to be found, until....DON, DON, DON (dramatic sound effects). As I begin to type intelius.com into the address bar, I began thinking to myself, "what exactly can I find out about me just by using my first and last name and maybe even my middle inital". Honestly, my nerves weren't, in the least bit, aroused because I didn't think there would be anything to find.

As I did my little search on intelius.com, and entered my first, last, and middle inital, to tell you the truth, I was a bit taken aback to realize that the information listed under my name listed the city in which I live. Not to mention, who my father was. I was actually happy that the information which was found was not current, and that the site only listed one family member instead of my whole family tree. Although, I'm a little upset that anyone in the free world can figure out where I reside and who my relatives are, I'm also put at ease (minimally) to know that they'll have to pay a fee to get every detail, and the information that they may receive is, more than likely, going to be wrong. But it's very frightening to know that with determination, I too can be found.

What does the future hold for Newspapers?

The way technology keeps advancing, I, unfortunately, don't see a lot of hope for newspapers in the future. With a push of a button anyone can view the latest news breaks or events from their phone, home computer, while sitting at work, at an airport or even during class while pretending to listen to what the Professor may be lecturing about (just kidding). If you asked me "when do I think the extinction of newspapers will occur?", I wouldn't be able to answer that with an obvious answer, obviously. However, I can honestly say, or in my opinion, I believe that newspapers will still be around in five or ten years, but in 30 or 40 years I don't think it's looking too pretty.

In all of my 24 years I don't believe I have sat down and really read through a newspaper. I'm not going to lie and say I've never opened one because I have. Before the internet was popular in my household, I remember I would have to look through the classifieds for employment, or maybe a friend would call me every once in a blue moon and tell me about a mutual friend who ended up in the paper. I remember a few occasions where I would open the newspaper and read the comic section while eating a bowl of cereal in the morning, but now that I think about it, I believe I only did that because I assumed people would think I was more intelligent by taking the time to read through the newspaper. It also helped that my mother worked at, what used to be called, The Tacoma News Tribune for 23 years.

In all, I don't have high hopes for the newspaper anymore, as sad as that may sound. I think in today's world people are so used to multi-tasking and being on the go that sometimes they don't have time to look through a newspaper especially when you can get the same information via the internet quicker.

Email vs. Regular Mail

Email has exploded into the everyday lives of the people in today's world. With the advancement's that are occurring with today's technology, it makes me wonder if people will need to use regular postal mail in the future. In class we went over some of the reasons why the world still needs normal mail delivery; the delivery of packages, magazines/catalogs, certified mail, maybe a friend or family member is at a destination that will not allow wireless connection or computers, or maybe we have to consider that there are individuals (of the older generations) who still do not know how to access the world wide web. Whatever the case may be, there are still some advantages and disadvantages to using regular mail.

In my opinion, email has made life a lot easier for me. I don't have to wait, for what feels like an eternity, to receive mail. All I have to do is click the inbox button, and all of a sudden I've got mail. Email is also great because it makes shopping online so much easier. I remember when I was younger and liked shopping in catalogs, I would always have to ask my mom for a check so I could mail it to the clothing company that I liked and then have to wait about three weeks for my merchandise to arrive. Everyday I would check the mail to see if anything had been delivered. Now with the advancement of email, the clothing company will email me when my merchandise has been shipped and I can even track it online. I find that to be quite convenient.

It's rare that you will find me using regular mail. I don't even use it to pay my bills because it takes too long, and I might risk being late if I decide to mail my check versus using my debit card online. I feel like I'm constantly checking my email because this is, for the most part, the most popular way to get in contact with someone. A majority of things that I do involve email and the Internet. I have learned to appreciate the world wide web and email. I could probably go on and on about my excitement on today's technology and its future, but I will stop here and say that I'm grateful for email because now my friends and I can keep in contact about life while trying to stay busy at work.