AU Blogspot

 
                Thanks to Sherrie G. for permission to use this Photo.

A few days ago I purchased a new computer. The computer has a 4 gig hard drive — not much space for many programs. Well, I downloaded the updates or SP2 service pack the second day that I owned the computer. As we may see the hard drive is not built for that much data. Long story short; the hard drives capacity was reached.

Here is the solution: Re-install the software after a format and new partition. Well, the computer is small and has no CD drive. So, what to do? I thought that I could try to copy the software to a memory card and or an external hard drive and install from there. Guess what? The software was installed but the format was not in existence. The new installation files were copied right on top of the already full hard drive. Two other times the files were installed to the memory card and external hard drive.

After all this trouble the hard drive (c:/) did not register. Even better, the computer asked me what OS I wanted to load! I did make a selection but I had no luck. At that point I was without a functioning computer.

The problem: The programming or software on today’s memory cards and external hard drives are not always set to handle these installation problems. What we need is a solution to this problem. I have heard from other students that there is software for this situation, but it must not be an every day item. I have not seen much . . . to talk about.

Finally, I just paid for the external CD drive and I was back in business. Two things: 1. Attempting something new with available resources can lead to win, lose, or newly gained insight into a problematic situation. 2. Attempting something new can very much so be devistating to our equipment.

What did I gain, well; I understand that from a situation like this I can see what problems non-techs may have when they work with today’s computers. Although, I will be able to walk away from this task knowing that I can create software that is built for the common man or woman. I think it is a policy in today’s computer companies to think about the problems that can arise with software before it is sent out to the public. The main problem is the company that produced this computer did not realize that a 4 gig hard drive is not enough for today’s world. Solution: Do not allow the software to update, if it does the millions of customers out there will suffer the same fate that I did. Easy solutions for head-acking problemes!

Gabriel M.
Student
Ashworth University School Of Information Technology

                     Thanks to tacvbo for permission to use this Photo.

Even in a poor economy, the IT job field remains hot.  Despite the current economic woes, IT employment for the first quarter of 2008 shot up more than 12% compared with a year ago according to Information Week Magazine.  The US added a total of 376,000 IT Jobs, making a total of 3.8 million people in the IT field.   

This bodes well for future graduates of Ashworth University’s information technology programs because the biggest increase is in the computer support specialist field which grew by an astounding 41% in the past year, adding 127,000 jobs.  Network and system administrator jobs grew by 31%, adding 51,000 jobs total.  Despite the sustaining perception that the IT field has been weak ever since the IT bubble collapse and that all the jobs are going to India, the industry has added nearly 600,000 new jobs since its low point in 2002.  In a digital and virtual world, the IT labor market is here to stay.

Brad Rudisail
Computer Network Technician-Network Security Instructor
Ashworth University

           Thanks to Joshua Wickerham for permission to use this Photo.

Has anyone emailed you a Microsoft Word file or excel file made in Office XP that you weren’t able to open with your copy of Office 2003 or 2000?  That’s because 2007 saves Word and Excel files in a custom file type by default.  Word 2007 saves in the .docx format for instance.

Excel 2007 saves in the .xlsx format by default.  If this has happened to you there are two options.  One of course is to install Office 2007 on your computer.  The far lesser expensive alternative is to download and install the Microsoft 2007 conversion tool which allows earlier versions of Office to open 2007 files.  Note that this is a read only tool.  You cannot create 2007 files with it.  Office 2007 does allow you to save files in the format of earlier versions.  If you anticipate emailing any files created with Office 2007, you should do this so that your recipients can open them guaranteed.  You can download the conversion tool by clicking here.

There are other alternatives to Microsoft Office.  I have written about OpenOffice before, the most popular open source office suite.  It is totally free and many of its components, such as the word processing and spreadsheet components, have an identical look as Office 2003.  It is ideal for students.  You can research it further and download it here.

Another alternative is Google Apps.  Google Apps, which was heralded early on has not caught on as was anticipated.  It is a web based application which means that nothing is installed on your computer.

This means that you can work on your files from anywhere since you can also save your files on a personal storage space of your own on a Google server.  You can also save your files to your local computer or media as well.  You can access Google Apps here.

Brad Rudisail
Computer Network Technician-Network Security Instructor
Ashworth University

The 2008 Global Information Security Workforce Study was recently released.  A total of 7,548 professionals in the field were surveyed.  The complete study can be downloaded at https://www.isc2.org/cgi-bin/content.cgi?category=510 

The most interesting headline from the study was the fact that 70 percent of all respondents reported that their own employees are the biggest threat to their organization’s security.  This is contrary to the common belief that organizations must throw most of their resources at the outside perimeter of the organization’s network to prevent outsiders from accessing their network.   

This premise is supported by a recent finding that email is now no longer the number one manner in which viruses access an organization’s network.  With the ease at which employers now bring in thumb drives, personal laptops and PDA’s.  Network security plans must focus on an umbrella approach that guards the entire network. 

Brad Rudisail
Computer Network Technician-Network Security Instructor
Ashworth University

 
                 Thanks to David K for permission to use this Photo.

Back in 2000, we were constantly told that the world was running out of IP addresses.  This was because IPV4, the IP standard we use for IP addresses only has so many mathematical combinations, thus there is a defined limit to the number of IP addresses that can be utilized.  Due to the wide spread use of IP in the world, a usage rate far beyond what the creators of IP ever visualized; the IT world was stressing out as to how to address the problem.  The solution was a new standard called IPV6 which introduced more bits into the addressing scheme.  In turn, millions of additional mathematical combinations were created, resulting in an equal number of additional IP addresses.   

Unfortunately, IPV6 is more complicated than its predecessor, requiring a degree of training for networking professionals.  We were told back then that IPV6 would be implemented by the middle of the decade and alleviate the crisis. 

Well guess what?  It’s 2008 and the world hasn’t run out of IP addresses which is why IPV6 is barely used in the industry today.  This is because of the wide popularity of NAT, Network Address Translation, which is used by most organizations that have a WAN presence.   

For those unfamiliar with NAT, Network Address Translation allows a single device, such as a router to act as an agent between the Internet (or “public network”) and a local (or “private”) network. This means that only a single, unique IP address is required to represent an entire group of computers.  This isn’t to say that IPV6 will wither on the vine.  As of right now, government offices are required to transition to IPV6 within the next couple of years and other organizations are planning such an implementation in the future, but IPV4 is and will continue to be alive and well for some time to come.

Brad Rudisail
Computer Network Technician-Network Security Instructor
Ashworth University

   Thanks to NASA, ESA-Hubble Collaboration for permission to use Photo. 

One of the security weaknesses experienced with laptops and other portable computer devices for many years is the simplicity in which their drives could be compromised if the device is stolen.  This was especially true before Windows XP and Windows 2000 when a thief could simply install a second operating system on the laptop, logon to the new operating system and gain admin rights to all the data on the drive. 

Windows XP and Windows 2000 introduced EFS, Encryption File System, which allowed users to encrypt files of their choosing.  Because the encryption was centered on an encryption key based upon the original operating system, an intruder couldn’t access that file simply by accessing it through another operating system.  However, this required the user to individually encrypt every file or folder in order to protect all of their data.  Needless to say, the majority of users failed to do this.   

Microsoft has introduced a new technology called BitLocker with Windows2008 and premium flavors of Windows Vista.  BitLocker encrypts the entire drive, including the Windows system files necessary for startup and logon, which could give an intruder the ability to discover passwords and logon information.  What’s more, BitLocker utilizes a feature called Integrity checking which analyzes the early boot components and helps to ensure that data decryption is performed only if those components appear unmolested and that the encrypted drive is located in the original computer.  This prevents thieves from stealing your hard drive and putting it into another computer to access the data. 

It will also make it much easier for organizations to recycle old computers as they will not have to worry about erasing data on machines being decommissioned as the drives will be inaccessible.  BitLocker is a great new addition to the Windows operating system and should be implemented by any organization or individual that works with sensitive data.

Brad Rudisail
Computer Network Technician-Network Security Instructor
Ashworth University

              Thanks to Jamie Hladky for permission to use this Photo. 

You have to learn how to crawl before you learn how to walk, but once you learn a foundation of IT skills in Ashworth University’s information technology programs and anchor yourself in the IT labor force, here are the ten hottest tech skill sets you should aim to learn in the next five years according to Tech Republic.

1. Voice over IP - sales of pure IP PBX systems for the first quarter of 2007 increased 76% over the first quarter of the previous year 
2. Unified Communications - the convergence of different communications technologies, such as e-mail, voicemail, text messaging, and fax 
3. Hybrid Networks – Networks are no longer all Windows or all Linux, they are a hodgepodge of different systems and IT pros need to learn more than one of them.   
4. Wireless Technologies – everything’s going wireless it seems.    
5. Remote User Support – with more employees working off-site today, help support personnel must provide remote support to anywhere. 
6. Mobile User Support – more and more organizations are providing blackberries and other smart portable devices for their employees that must be supported. 
7. Software-as-a-Service – or SaaS as it is referred to in technical articles.  With the popularity of Web 2.0, the trend is to now provide software applications over the Internet rather than installing them on each and every computer. 
8. Virtualization – With the dominance of VMWare and the soon to be released 2008 Virtual Application from Microsoft, virtualization is THE buzzword today along with its countless benefits. 
9. IPv6 – Although this standard has not grown in popularity as of yet, mostly because the wide usage of NAT has allowed us to not run out of IP addresses on the Internet as fast as predicted, this standard is going to come about within the next five years.
10. Security - A skill set that will probably always be in the top 10. 

Brad Rudisail
Computer Network Technician/Network Security Instructor
Ashworth University

            Thanks to Donovan Mueller for permission to use this Photo. 

It’s standard practice that if you have an always-on Internet connection, then you should have a firewall, implemented in either hardware, such as a router, or in software.  But even if you are using a dial-up connection, you really need a software firewall to protect you from intrusions.  You would be surprised at the number of attempts to get into your PC a good software firewall will block on a PC using dial-up.  A firewall will also notify you of attempts to go out to an Internet website.  You can then allow or disallow the outbound traffic.  You would want legitimate programs such as Windows to access the company’s website for update purposes, but you’re safer to block any programs that you don’t recognize from doing so.  Be sure to check for correct spelling.  Say you have Symantec’s anti virus program on your PC and have set it up for automatic virus signature updates.  Your firewall will ask you whether you want to grant the program permission to go outbound.  But some malware could identify itself as Symantek.  Should you allow it to access the Internet, you could be in for an unpleasant surprise. 

Yes, it’s unfortunate that there are so many nasty things that can happen to your computer.  And thwarting such attempts can cost you time and money, but you really need to do this.  At minimum you need a firewall, an anti-virus program, and an anti-spyware utility.  You’ll also need to update the anti-virus and anti-spyware programs’ signature files at least once a week, as well as scanning with each at least once a week, more frequently if you are online daily.then you should have a firewall, implemented in either hardware, such as a router, or in software.  But even if you are using a dial-up connection, you really need a software firewall to protect you from intrusions.  You would be surprised at the number of attempts to get into your PC a good software firewall will block on a PC using dial-up.  A firewall will also notify you of attempts to go out to an Internet website.  You can then allow or disallow the outbound traffic.  You would want legitimate programs such as Windows to access the company’s website for update purposes, but you’re safer to block any programs that you don’t recognize from doing so.  Be sure to check for correct spelling. 

Say you have Symantec’s anti virus program on your PC and have set it up for automatic virus signature updates.  Your firewall will ask you whether you want to grant the program permission to go outbound.  But some malware could identify itself as Symantek.  Should you allow it to access the Internet, you could be in for an unpleasant surprise. 

Yes, it’s unfortunate that there are so many nasty things that can happen to your computer.  And thwarting such attempts can cost you time and money, but you really need to do this.  At minimum you need a firewall, an anti-virus program, and an anti-spyware utility.  You’ll also need to update the anti-virus and anti-spyware programs’ signature files at least once a week, as well as scanning with each at least once a week, more frequently if you are online daily.

Dave Ronan
Computer Training Instructor
Ashworth University

The threat of “cyber-terrorism” still strikes many as abstract, a symbolic fear first represented in seminal works such as William Gibson’s Neuromancer, followed by an explosion into pop-culture fantasy through the Wachowski Brothers’, “The Matrix.” While these dark visions of man’s accelerated move towards techno-slavery have certainly colored our perspectives, the reality of cyber-terrorism has existed since the 1950’s, when state secrets were first buried in dense programming language instead of manila folders labeled “top secret.”

Behind the curtain, the borderless battlefield is virtual and the threats are as imposing as those posed by nuclear weapons. After all, launch codes are just that—codes that are developed, stored, distributed, and controlled within cyberspace. The following podcast interview features Bruce Hoffman, a cyber-terrorism expert who outlines the precise nature and ominous implications posed by this threat. Mr. Hoffman also presents us with an in-depth report on how the U.S. government has redirected its’ counterterrorism strategies. Do you see a future where the Internet is under government control? Let’s think inside the box and brainstorm on the possibilities. Thanks.

Ryan Rode
Interactive Services Manager
Ashworth University

 
              Thanks to Miguel Lopes for permission to use this Photo.

The architecture of cyberspace is interconnected, timeless, and invisible from the inside-out.  On the Ashworth University Blog, we’re not afraid of the matrix and try to share perspectives from around the world, just a 0 1 code, on the technology issues that influence how this network will evolve in complexity, and most of us would like that evolution to be open rather than closed in principle.  Earlier this year, the nation of Estonia was involved in what by any measure must be considered one of the most large scale and sophisticated “cyber attacks” in history, an attack that operated on several levels simultaneously, resulting in the virtual collapse of this nation’s electronic infrastructure.  Instantly, the fundamental question, “who did this?” was buzzing with elements of fear and conspiracy.  Did Vladimir Putin and Russia conduct this operation in the shadow of political revenge?  Was the attack the work of loosely connected and politically marginalized hackers who were sending their own message to an establishment attempting to exert increased state control over the Internet, i.e. you’re more vulnerable than you think and we’re waiting for your next move.  The following video consists of an interview with information security expert, Dmitry Skylyarov, in which he shares his inside perspective on what occurred and the big picture implications of what is perhaps the most misunderstood yet powerful of political weapons; the large scale, well conceived, organized, and executed cyberattack.  This is a must watch interview.  Click on the image above to watch this video.  We look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Ryan Rode
Interactive Services Manager
Ashworth University School of Information Technology