How Secure are You?

Let's start of the semester by looking at some relatively recent security items.  Below you will find a list of links to articles on security related topics.  You should read all of them, then comment - as a reply to this post - on at least one article.  Feel free to ask questions if you need clarification on something.

• Three Arrested for Distributing Virus
• Cracking 14 Character Complex Passwords in 5 Seconds  (This one's kind of old.  Also read the article about NTLM passwords linked at the end.  You can download their password cracker - Ophcrack.  Just use your powers for good and not evil!)
• The Hunt for Red October (with due respect to Tom Clancy)
• US Power Plants Hit with Malware
• 3.6 Million Social Security Numbers Exposed (You can also read a chronology of how they responded.)

Your responses should be posted no later than 9:00 AM on Monday, 04 February 2013 to receive credit.

Welcome to CTS 287 - Spring 2013

Welcome to CTS 287 - Emerging Technologies (Spring 2013) at Edgecombe Community College.

If you are reading this, you are probably in my class this semester. (If not, you're still welcome to read along.) Since you are going to be required to maintain a blog throughout the semester, I thought it would only be fair for me to maintain one as well.  The only difference is that I may not post as often as you have to - it's one of the perks of being the instructor.

I will be posting items that are relevant to the topics that we are covering in class along with other technology related items that I think may be of interest to you. And who knows, I may post something that has absolutely nothing to do with technology just for the fun of it. Yet another advantage of being the instructor!

You should check my blog at least once per week. Checking once at the beginning of the week and once at the end of the week would be even better. If I pose questions in a particular post, I will expect you to post a comment in response - it will count as part of your blog grade for that week. However, you can feel free to reply to any post that I make. Also feel free to reply to your classmates' posts as well.

You may find it interesting to read through my blog postings from the last few times this class was taught (Spring 2008 - 2012). You might actually find something useful, or you may simply be amazed at how technology has changed in the last 4+ years. You don't have to reply to those posts, and if you do, I probably won't see them since I have no plans of re-reading my posts from the previous semesters. Links to student blogs from the previous semester can be found at the bottom right of the page. Links to student blogs from this semester will be at the top right once everyone submits their links. Older student blogs may or may not still be available.

I hope you enjoy the class and your blogging experiences. If you have questions, let me know.