Two decades ago, to have a desktop computer at home is considered an honor and privilege. I still remember going to my cousin's place and played on his Floppy Disk games. There were no such thing as Internet, not to mention computer having a virus attack. Today, almost everyone has a computer with internet access at home. We use it everyday. And most of us have surely encounter viruses, spams and hackers in our Internet. Although it is a major issue, nobody kicks up a fuss anymore. Worst comes, we'll just reformat the computer; if that still fails, we just go along Sim Lim and buy a brand new one.
Well, prevention is still better than cure. If we can prevent viruses from attacking, spammers from sending malware into our hard disks, and hackers from stealing our information and identity, we would not have to spend the additional money re-formatting the computer or buying a brand new one. Since most problems we face today comes from the Internet, i'll be discussing Internet Security today. Let's watch a video.
Haha! Botnet is basically one of our many hackers online today. So they access your computer through email attachments, some website links that you clicked on, and with some software/freeware which you installed with. Scary isn't it? Just within the second we click on a suspicious attachment from our emails, the computer is theirs to control.
Virus, is a term used for malicious programs which spreads to many computers. It normally attaches itself to a normal program file, a host program. It could be exe, doc, or even ppt. The virus will start attacking when we open these files.
Worms on the other hand attaches themselves to email addresses, and tracks out our address book and sends itself automatically to our friends. Have you ever received MSN messages from your friends saying you've sent them a link which you don' remember at all? What about Facebook? Have you ever log in and realized your account has sent some links to your friends which you never did it? Well, that's worms for you.
As from the video, there are some tips in which we can prevent spams, virus, hackers from entering our computer:
1) Do not open attachment from suspicious emails. They often have typo errors or link to websites which you do not recognize. Once again, DO NOT OPEN.
2) Have anti virus software in your computer and keep it updated. The video introduces Norton Anti-Virus. To my knowledge, they have a one year protection, after which you have to purchase their software again. If you would like some secure freeware that helps keep viruses and malwares at bay, i recommend AVG, windows defender, and IObit security. These are freeware that can be downloaded from the Internet.
3) Have your firewall switched on, and keep it on always.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Best Employer in the world?!?
Before I say anything, just take a look at this video... and see if you'll get tempted to immediately quit your current job and send your resume to this company
Oh yes, favorite pastas, gyms, tennis courts, swimming pools, casual wear to the office, bringing your pets along... plus this is a worldwide renowned company, google. I would definitely want to work there. As the adage says: enjoy what you work, and you need not work for a single day. The culture in the Google company is having fun, in turn, the employees devote their energy and time to produce their best results.
Let's watch what the employees in Google have to say about their fantastic job there. Perhaps we'll get a hint as to what requirements we need to possess to be able to their colleagues.
i am sure many of us have used Google, at the very least, Google search. There is Gmail, google maps, google earth, google scholar, google wave, google docs and many many great products. All we need to do is to access Google's home page and click on Google labs. Recently, Google has invented more great products which threatens even giant Microsoft. One such example will be the Google docs and Google wave, which helps us organize our documents, and email conversation seems easy.. Once again, a video is more than a thousand words.
Oh yes, favorite pastas, gyms, tennis courts, swimming pools, casual wear to the office, bringing your pets along... plus this is a worldwide renowned company, google. I would definitely want to work there. As the adage says: enjoy what you work, and you need not work for a single day. The culture in the Google company is having fun, in turn, the employees devote their energy and time to produce their best results.
Let's watch what the employees in Google have to say about their fantastic job there. Perhaps we'll get a hint as to what requirements we need to possess to be able to their colleagues.
i am sure many of us have used Google, at the very least, Google search. There is Gmail, google maps, google earth, google scholar, google wave, google docs and many many great products. All we need to do is to access Google's home page and click on Google labs. Recently, Google has invented more great products which threatens even giant Microsoft. One such example will be the Google docs and Google wave, which helps us organize our documents, and email conversation seems easy.. Once again, a video is more than a thousand words.
Friday, February 5, 2010
A virtual Classroom
NO more difficult wake ups, NO more morning rushes for the bus, NO more facing bias teachers who favors "pet" students only, NO more having detentions for dozing off in class... no more classmates and friends.. Yes, it was proposed that students study at home, making education 24 hours accessible to them. Finally, education is catching up with technology. With such advanced technology today, we might as well send our avatar to school and he'll transmit all he learns back to our main server computer at home. Well, we've heard plenty about the pros and cons for having a virtual classroom to replace traditional whiteboard-lecturer classroom. Let's look at the idea from a video:
Cool isn't it? But is it applicable to students and apt for learning? Let's look at this systematically..
According to Bloom's Taxonomy, the most ideal learning involves 3 domains: Cognitive, Affective, and Psychomotor.
Under Cognitive domain, students have to remember what is being taught, understand and apply it. A higher level for them will be to analyze the information given by the lecturer, evaluate it and re-create the information. From the video, the lecturer was apparently teaching geometry, it is analytical as the diagrams are precised. If they do not understand, they could virtually "raise their hands". Well... understanding it is one thing, applying it? I am assuming they have downloaded a worksheet, so that they can complete the questions and submit it back.
Under Affective domain, students learn best when they are emotionally "touched". For example, a teacher who cracks the best jokes in class is likely to receive attention, and during that point, the information related by the teacher will be embedded into students' brain. Another example, we all know how Titanic sunk, all due to the movie Titanic, with its amazing storyline and tears-triggering scenes. In a virtual classroom, i can't visualize how can teachers interact with students "affectively".
Under Psychomotor domain, students get to experience it real time, first hand. For example, nothing beats learning about Crystallization with doing the real experiment itself. Watching a video would be very difficult. You get to touch sodium sulphate, smell ammonium, taste (don't know) which would not be available through a virtual classroom. Sports, you can't become a sportsman by just reading up a Dummies guide to basketball. You have to experience it yourself: the sun and sweat, the the fatigue, the teamwork, the satisfaction of throwing the ball through the hoop.
Hence, although the cognitive domain is sufficiently attained, students who learn best in an affective and psycho motor domain get compromised. Of course, that's why schools in Singapore today still require students to be in class and the fields, but also INTEGRATE cognitive learning with technology by submitting assignments online, doing research and bringing it to class...etc. Yeah!
Cool isn't it? But is it applicable to students and apt for learning? Let's look at this systematically..
According to Bloom's Taxonomy, the most ideal learning involves 3 domains: Cognitive, Affective, and Psychomotor.
Under Cognitive domain, students have to remember what is being taught, understand and apply it. A higher level for them will be to analyze the information given by the lecturer, evaluate it and re-create the information. From the video, the lecturer was apparently teaching geometry, it is analytical as the diagrams are precised. If they do not understand, they could virtually "raise their hands". Well... understanding it is one thing, applying it? I am assuming they have downloaded a worksheet, so that they can complete the questions and submit it back.
Under Affective domain, students learn best when they are emotionally "touched". For example, a teacher who cracks the best jokes in class is likely to receive attention, and during that point, the information related by the teacher will be embedded into students' brain. Another example, we all know how Titanic sunk, all due to the movie Titanic, with its amazing storyline and tears-triggering scenes. In a virtual classroom, i can't visualize how can teachers interact with students "affectively".
Under Psychomotor domain, students get to experience it real time, first hand. For example, nothing beats learning about Crystallization with doing the real experiment itself. Watching a video would be very difficult. You get to touch sodium sulphate, smell ammonium, taste (don't know) which would not be available through a virtual classroom. Sports, you can't become a sportsman by just reading up a Dummies guide to basketball. You have to experience it yourself: the sun and sweat, the the fatigue, the teamwork, the satisfaction of throwing the ball through the hoop.
Hence, although the cognitive domain is sufficiently attained, students who learn best in an affective and psycho motor domain get compromised. Of course, that's why schools in Singapore today still require students to be in class and the fields, but also INTEGRATE cognitive learning with technology by submitting assignments online, doing research and bringing it to class...etc. Yeah!
Friday, January 29, 2010
BUSINESS on the Internet
Business is definitely not my cup of tea... (That's why i am taking psychology as major!) This semester, i tried to take up MGA201 Introduction to Accounting. Immediately after the class, i head to the library and dropped the course. All the terms simply makes no sense to me. All the formulas are harder than C-Maths. 90% into the class, i couldn't understand what the lecturer was saying.. So i made the right choice to drop it. As you can see, I can't do business when i can't even stay focused in a basic accounting class. If that is so, how dare I post a blog on BUSINESS on the Internet? This post is not a how-to-set-up-business, it is just a generic post to list down some pros and cons, so that those who wants to be their boss in the Internet have some realistic views over it.
Ever toyed over the idea of becoming your own boss and setting up a business online? You could wake up at anytime you want, wear your pajamas, switch on the computer and check your revenue pouring in every day! Wow.. it sounds like a marvelous idea, but with so much scams today, is it actually feasible?
Technology has advanced so much throughout the years that of being slaves to technology, people today are making use of technology to their own benefit. But of course, these are clever people mind you. I am not talking about those websites where you enter to search for online jobs, i am talking about creating an own web space and attracting investors, revenue, and many potential customers who are willing to fork out the money to see your website grow.
Well, one of the benefits of doing E-biz is of course Communications. You could be living in SIngapore but have American investors and Chinese customers. You can easily discuss a business on a common internet platform such as google docs. You can communicate with each other via Skype and receive documents with a click at a finger on the fax machine. Technology definitely helps facilitate communications. Instead of printing mass catalog, and mailing them over the world, you can now reach out to more people when customers scour through your site for products.
In an average business, you have to fork out a start-up capital, know somebody in that field, have business partners...etc. But on the internet, your start-up is basically ZERO! All you need is a computer, internet connection, a basic business plan and some creativity to start up a business online. Sounds easy? (Seems very difficult to me..)
Internet sometimes can become a bane for users if not properly managed. We have to deal with copyrights. A web entrepreneur is constantly faced with copycats, and has to learn how to protect his trade secrets, and continue to be innovative and attract customers. Just as you can attract customers all over the world, competition can come all over the world too. Hence you must be shrewd and have enough strategies to ride on them.
Security is one big issue too. You have to prevent professional hackers from hacking in either to your websites or your clients' transaction history. Their private data such as credit card number, addresses would be food for identity thieves. You would have to employ professional help in setting up firewalls, anti-phishing and malware...etc.
This seems like a long post, to prevent it from getting too dry, i shall continue on this topic some other times. ^_^ Stay tuned!!
Ever toyed over the idea of becoming your own boss and setting up a business online? You could wake up at anytime you want, wear your pajamas, switch on the computer and check your revenue pouring in every day! Wow.. it sounds like a marvelous idea, but with so much scams today, is it actually feasible?
Technology has advanced so much throughout the years that of being slaves to technology, people today are making use of technology to their own benefit. But of course, these are clever people mind you. I am not talking about those websites where you enter to search for online jobs, i am talking about creating an own web space and attracting investors, revenue, and many potential customers who are willing to fork out the money to see your website grow.
Well, one of the benefits of doing E-biz is of course Communications. You could be living in SIngapore but have American investors and Chinese customers. You can easily discuss a business on a common internet platform such as google docs. You can communicate with each other via Skype and receive documents with a click at a finger on the fax machine. Technology definitely helps facilitate communications. Instead of printing mass catalog, and mailing them over the world, you can now reach out to more people when customers scour through your site for products.
In an average business, you have to fork out a start-up capital, know somebody in that field, have business partners...etc. But on the internet, your start-up is basically ZERO! All you need is a computer, internet connection, a basic business plan and some creativity to start up a business online. Sounds easy? (Seems very difficult to me..)
Internet sometimes can become a bane for users if not properly managed. We have to deal with copyrights. A web entrepreneur is constantly faced with copycats, and has to learn how to protect his trade secrets, and continue to be innovative and attract customers. Just as you can attract customers all over the world, competition can come all over the world too. Hence you must be shrewd and have enough strategies to ride on them.
Security is one big issue too. You have to prevent professional hackers from hacking in either to your websites or your clients' transaction history. Their private data such as credit card number, addresses would be food for identity thieves. You would have to employ professional help in setting up firewalls, anti-phishing and malware...etc.
This seems like a long post, to prevent it from getting too dry, i shall continue on this topic some other times. ^_^ Stay tuned!!
Friday, January 22, 2010
GUess WHat? I got a taste of the medicine...
Last week, i blogged about how Technology has evolved so much such that humans can't live without internet. Just 16hrs ago, my modem broke down (supposedly out of power). i was out of internet!! i needed to send a draft assignment to lecturer, check my email, play a bejeweled game at facebook... immediately at 11:15pm, i called the technical support and arranged an appointment first thing today. Due to my network being Singtel Mio, my home telephone couldn't be used too.. what a whole lot of inconvenience.. the first thing i did when the internet was finally up just now at 2:30pm was... FACEBOOK!
Well, today I like to share about RSS. any idea what it means? Seen the logo on the right before?
That's right, its called Rich Site Summary.
Ever followed a blog before? I know a particular cute friend who follows friends' blog passionately. Do you find it a waste of time whenever you enter the blog only to find out he/she hasn't update for a long time? Forgot which blogs to go simply because you have too many of them? Fret not! Now with RSS, you need not go into each and every blog to search for new posts. The new posts COME TO YOU.
You will have a personalized site, where you can organize your RSS from blogs, news, movie reviews... etc. Next, subscribe to your friend's blog or CNN news or movie reviews... etc. With that, every time you log in your computer, you only need to go to your personalized site, and check on the NEW posts that will show up when your friends update their post on their individual blogs.
The next question you might ask is.. HOW? First, you need a Reader. E.g. (www.google.com/reader). After that, go to the blogs you like, click on the RSS icon, Choose your reader from the list (blogline, yahoo, google...etc) and click "subscribe to feeds"! Easy right?
Now, I've done my homework.. most common blogs to me are blogspot, livejournal, wordpress. So both wordpress and livejournal has the RSS icon on the blog sites. Blogspot is more tricky. On your friend's blog address, enter /atom.xml.
For example, mosesmoses.blogspot.com --> mosesmoses.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Then the same thing happens again.. Choose Reader.. Click Subscribe.
Now you can save so much time surfing blogs.. the new ones come to you! ^_^
That's right, its called Rich Site Summary.
Ever followed a blog before? I know a particular cute friend who follows friends' blog passionately. Do you find it a waste of time whenever you enter the blog only to find out he/she hasn't update for a long time? Forgot which blogs to go simply because you have too many of them? Fret not! Now with RSS, you need not go into each and every blog to search for new posts. The new posts COME TO YOU.
You will have a personalized site, where you can organize your RSS from blogs, news, movie reviews... etc. Next, subscribe to your friend's blog or CNN news or movie reviews... etc. With that, every time you log in your computer, you only need to go to your personalized site, and check on the NEW posts that will show up when your friends update their post on their individual blogs.
The next question you might ask is.. HOW? First, you need a Reader. E.g. (www.google.com/reader). After that, go to the blogs you like, click on the RSS icon, Choose your reader from the list (blogline, yahoo, google...etc) and click "subscribe to feeds"! Easy right?
Now, I've done my homework.. most common blogs to me are blogspot, livejournal, wordpress. So both wordpress and livejournal has the RSS icon on the blog sites. Blogspot is more tricky. On your friend's blog address, enter /atom.xml.
For example, mosesmoses.blogspot.com --> mosesmoses.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Then the same thing happens again.. Choose Reader.. Click Subscribe.
Now you can save so much time surfing blogs.. the new ones come to you! ^_^
Friday, January 15, 2010
Introduction to the Internet
Life have become indispensable with the Internet. People can watch movies without going to the theatres, play games with friends without going to the cyber cafe, exchanging favorite photos and songs without having to burn CDs, and even going into business with an associate without having meet him physically!
Can we ever live without the Internet today? Before this, let's watch the reactions towards internet 50 years ago when it first came out.
Now, let's look at a small evolution of the Internet. A simple email account has became more than exchanging information and documents, but becoming a social media.
As seen from the videos, internet has become a social media, a platform for people to interact and change their lifestyles. Internet started of in 1968 as ARPAnet, as a defense measure from the United States to prevent information loss and chaos during an attack. Slowly, it evolved into an instrument from political uses to our personal uses of today. In a short period of 50 years, we can't live without the internet. Without emails, information exchange cannot be instant. Without the teaching resources online, teachers will have to revert back to textbook and boring lectures. Without the entertainment on the Internet, people will have very much less to look forward to when they reach home.
In the later entries to come, i will be talking about communications on the Internet, Business on the Internet, Education on the Internet, Security, Entertainment... etc. So stay tuned!!
Can we ever live without the Internet today? Before this, let's watch the reactions towards internet 50 years ago when it first came out.
Now, let's look at a small evolution of the Internet. A simple email account has became more than exchanging information and documents, but becoming a social media.
As seen from the videos, internet has become a social media, a platform for people to interact and change their lifestyles. Internet started of in 1968 as ARPAnet, as a defense measure from the United States to prevent information loss and chaos during an attack. Slowly, it evolved into an instrument from political uses to our personal uses of today. In a short period of 50 years, we can't live without the internet. Without emails, information exchange cannot be instant. Without the teaching resources online, teachers will have to revert back to textbook and boring lectures. Without the entertainment on the Internet, people will have very much less to look forward to when they reach home.
In the later entries to come, i will be talking about communications on the Internet, Business on the Internet, Education on the Internet, Security, Entertainment... etc. So stay tuned!!
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