Why Yik Yak Will Be the First Website I Hack

So I suppose by now that a lot of you already have heard of that anonymous twitter-like website, called Yik Yak. For those of you are who are not up to date about this app, I will explain it in brief.

Yik Yak, created on November 3rd, 2013, is a location-based messaging service that is entirely anonymous. It resembles a twitter, without having to log in or choose a username. As Yik Yak's website states: "Send and receive anonymous messages based on your location. No sign in, no profile, just chat with anyone around you. Choose your message radius to reach different amounts of people." A person can post and vote on posts without anyone having to know who they are. Sounds great, right? Not really.

Since anyone can post anything with having to say who they are, everything is posted on this website, with no sense of filter or morality. It is overrun with profanity, unpure thoughts, and unkind, bullying verbal behavior. Yes, once a post is voted down enough times, it "disappears". However, that doesn't undo the damage it has already done, and sadly, once something is on the internet, it never really goes away. 

Last week the first-years at my college had what they called "Intruder Training", which was a lecture on how to handle yourself during a dangerous situation, and to stay safe. The person giving the lecture mentioned how one of our academic buildings does not have lockable doors or furniture that you can move to cover yourself. Her point in saying this was that we needed to make sure we got out of that building as fast as possible, were the college campus to be under threat. 

Shortly after this session, someone posted on Yik Yak a statement that people who were in that academic building the instructor mentioned were pretty much dead if there happened to be an active shooter on campus. My college, wanting to make sure that everyone was safe and eliminate the possibility of a threat, locked the building down and checked everyone's backpacks before they went into class. 

As you can see, one small anonymous post on Yik Yak led to many people feeling unsafe and unrest on campus. Because of the easy accessibility of the website and the lack of filter, the person who posted this comment had no second thoughts - after all no one would know who they were. I go to a Christian college, and the use of this website bothers me - I want to protect my brothers and sisters in Christ and participate in an uplifting community. Yik Yak is not helping that. 

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." Ephesians 4:29

The Internet of Things

We live and breathe technology. Wi-Fi is the the air all around us - we feel naked without having some sort of connection to the online world. The internet is such a huge part of our world, it is hard for us to imagine a life without online connectivity. It has evolved so much over the years - it is truly amazing to realize and contrast the technology of today and from a mere two years ago. A huge example of this is the Internet of Things, or commonly referred to as the IoT. I believe this is the most important and impactful technology of today - it has the potential to become increasingly beneficial and essential in our lives.

The Internet of Things is having commonplace electronics and appliances connected via the internet into a simple manageable connection. Jacob Morgan at Forbes defines the IoT simply as “…the concept of basically connecting any device with an on and off switch to the Internet (and/or to each other).” It is phenomenal - you can connect appliances such as your fridge, your thermostat and your washing machine all to your smartphone and access them remotely. In combination with this IoT technology comes the further inventions of wearable technology, such as Apple’s soon to be released iWatch and Google’s Glass. As the ability to connect advances, more and more of our lives become entangled in online networking. This then brings up the questions: Is this beneficial for society and our lives? Is it safe? How will it change the future?

Some people approach the IoT and wearable technology cautiously. They are concerned with what will happen to social interaction, and what affect the IoT will have on consumer products. With so many people connected to their various devices, what will happen to face to face conversation? While technology changes the way we communicate, it doesn’t mean it is for the worse. While face to face conversation is important, communication over long distances has never been easier. Instead of being concerned we will miss important social interaction, we should focus on all the opportunities we have to connect with friends far off and share more of our lives. Like says in his article on Generation Moth, “Technology will build thriving interpersonal relationships for Generation Moth, who will share more experiences together without ever having to physically be in the same place.”

Security is a popular topic when concerns about uprising technology is addressed. It everything is connected, isn’t the potential for some one to hack your systems and discover your information even higher? Could the convenience of having universal connectivity be harmful in the long run? While security could and most likely become an issue, there has always been security issues. As computer viruses come out, updated antivirus software is released and more efficient firewalls are created. For example, the company SANS is working on creating training courses and security technology especially for the IoT to ensure that that users’ information is safe and kept from cyber theft. As convenience technology moves on, so will security. There will always be security concerns, and there have always been security concerns. We should look at it as another challenge that is necessary during the next step in innovative technology.

The Internet of Things will change the future. Like everything once invented, it effects our lifestyle and how we see the world and society. With this new technology, the way we do things will be very different. Tasks we once had to spend much time on will and are now done quickly. But this will free up our time to create new things, new tasks and spend time building creativity and learning more about our lives. We’ve learned to adapt to other new technology - we will learn to adapt to this one. The future is bright, and exciting, and we should embrace the change that comes with new inventions.

Technology has been evolving, changing our lives everyday since the moment man first learned to garden. It’s a part of life. Impersonal communications will always change with technology - but we make the change good or bad. Cyber security will always be a problem, so we will always continue to fight it. Technology will change us personally, but decide what kind of change it is. The IoT is just the next new thing. We will adapt it, learn it, live with it, and move on.




Sources:

"Don't Underestimate the Impact of the Internet of Things” Kavis, Mike. Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikekavis/2014/07/21/dont-underestimate-the-impact-of-the-internet-of-things/



“A Simple Explanation of the Internet of Things” Morgan, Jacob. Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobmorgan/2014/05/13/simple-explanation-internet-things-that-anyone-can-understand/



“Generation Moth” Schybergson, Olaf. Wired. http://www.wired.com/2014/06/generation-moth/

5 Ways to Efficiently Use Google Drive

I've used Google Drive for several years now and I still learn new ways to use this service. I thought I'd share with you a couple ways you can maximize your Drive use without paying to upgrade. While $1.99 a month really isn't that much, when you're a college student that really adds up.

1. Your Free Storage
Google Drive comes with 15GB of free storage - so bear that in mind when uploading your files. As a comparison, iCloud and Dropbox offer 5GB of free storage - so really Google is the best deal here.

2. Photos Don't Count (Well almost)
All photos under 2048x2048px don't count for your storage. Which means, you could have 100GB worth of photos on a 15GB Drive account - and when they are under that size they count for nothing. Fantastic, right? But wait, there's more.

3. Docs Don't Count Either
That's right. Any Google Doc, Sheet or Slide file you create in Drive won't count against your storage. Who needs MS Word?

4. Play Videos From Your Drive Account
Upload alot of vids to Google Drive? It's a pain in the neck to re-download - so stream them on your computer straight from your Drive webpage

5. Offline Access
Need to work on Docs without internet? No problem - download the Google Drive app or simply enable "offline access" in the Drive settings.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask! There's probably stuff I've missed.

Java Ain't No Coffee

This is a post about coding and programming so if you don't like that kind of stuff  and/or is really bores you and gives you a headache I won't blame you because I was like that until I started coding.

I started learning code and programing on Code Academy a couple months ago and I finished HTML and CSS so I'm doing JavaScript now. Let me just say, I can now appreciate the people who work on websites and such. Java is hard and learning it requires you to remember a lot of stuff. Actually I've been trying to use the Loki memory method to remember different attributes and variables. It has surprised me how much math is actually involved. But I can handle it, it's not difficult math at least.

I'm really excited to learn how to make stuff like web apps and write website code, but I know I'm pretty far away from that. But it's been fun being able to change certain stuff in code on my blog and my Tumblr page now that I know what I'm looking for.

Anyway just a random update on my ridiculous life.

Slan,
Courtney Elizabeth

Yet Another Tech Problem

Okay, so I got my computer back, but I ran into other technology problems. Our family used to have DirectTV as our television service, however our internet and phone is Verizon, and she recently received a better off to do cable tv with them for a better price. So, I hook up the Verizon box. (Yes, I'm the established Master-of-Everything-Tech in my house, so naturally this became my job. So I plug everything into the correct ports and turn the tv and the cable box on. Nothing happens. Okay, so I missed something. I double check all cords and repeat this several times. I input to the correct channel on the TV, and I get a flashing distorted image and then it goes blue. Hallelujah, we have another tech problem. So now I have to talk to people. Which I hate. A lot. Even if it is on chat, (because apparently everyone that works at Verizon is introverts; when you call their phone lines, you can't talk to an actual person, it is all something that sounds like Siri. So in order to talk to a human being, you must "chat".) it is annoying to me because they still seem to not understand what you are saying even when you are typing it.

Anyway, so after chatting for about an hour the guy tells me that our service isn't "technically" activated for two more days. ...
I try again after two more days and there is not difference. You guessed it - I'm back on chat with another Verizon employee who tells me not to worry he will fix the problem today. I had my doubts. So I waste another two hours of my time, to no avail. Since we are having no success, he tells me that they are going to send another box. We get said box the next day, (I guess I can be impressed with the fast shipping), and skeptically I hook it up. Ta-da! Nope.

I would like to say that by at this point in time I was feeling EXTREMELY TICKED. I was toying around with various ideas on how do destroy the cable boxes in the most satisfying way.
I was feeling something like this:

But I probably ended up looking like this, because generally I'm too angry to say anything.

In the end they ended up sending someone out to our place who could technically charge us if they discovered that the problem was our fault. By now I had narrowed the situation down to two possibilities:
1. There was a problem with our TV, and possible something to do with the cable section on the TV which we had not used in years due to the fact that DirectTV was satellite. I was skeptical of this hypothesis because our TV has no other problems.
2. There was a problem with the hardwiring/cables. Possibly the cables are only wired for DirectTV and Verizon needs different wiring.

Turns out number two was spot on. They didn't even have it wired for TV. Thank goodness we didn't have to pay for anything. That is the last thing we need. Right now, I'm just glad it's over with. That DVR had better work...

Back In Business

Guys! My computer is back!

Ok, creepiness aside...It just came back a couple of hours ago. I am so excited; I was about ready to kill that tech team. :) I had actually just said something of the same to my mom before she left this morning. I guess the tech team got nervous. ;)

Anyway, so now I plan on getting caught up with you people's blogs and continue posting regularly on my own.

Till later!

A Tech Rant

My computer has died.

This is why I wasn't posting for a while. For some odd and ridiculous reason, my computer has decided to fail me. This is extremely annoying to me because I am able to fix every technological problem with computers in my house. I hate calling tech, its is shameful for me. That I, the family computer whiz, should have to call those tech guys on the phone. It's shocking. (Who ask dumb questions like "did you restart the computer?") It's embarrassing and I HATE talking to people. On. The phone.

Anyway, it's library day, so I'm posting from one of their computers. My computer went out in the mail today, so it should be back in a couple of days hopefully. I'm going crazy without it. I'm really hoping they send me back my same computer, I don't want a new one. :(

Google Glass: Reality or Science Fiction?

At this rate, I'll be posting like five times a day. Whatever. Hey, it's not like anyone's reading this, right?

My best friend Sarah's dad was asked to test Google Glass recently. I believe he went, although I haven't heard anything of it since. Some people know about Google Glass, but the majority of people I haved talked to have no idea what it is, and upon hearing my explanation, laugh.

So what is Google Glass? In short, Glass is a smartphone worn as glasses. You can watch movies, use Google Maps, and take pictures, right from your eyes. Amazing, right? I was really excited about these fantastic pieces of technology right off the bat. Currently they are not available to the public, but are expected to be on the market next year. Most likely it will become the top 2014 Christmas list item.

The more I learn about this product, the more amazed I am. I'd say we haven't done too badly with futuristic movies in the past. I feel like I am starting to live in a science fiction tv show, waiting for the Doctor to turn up and stop the use of Google Glass that is secretly hiding hijacking alien species.