Hacktivism: Heroes or Criminals?

Hacking can be used in many ways, by many different people. Some get the joy of cracking a security system, others use it as a practical joke, some want to send a clear message, and others want to open up information previously unavailable to the public. For the latter, hackers may crack government or company sites to show their opinion on an issue or get past restrictive government firewalls. I feel like this as a form of protest is legitimate, especially in an oppressive environment. If a government or a company is treating the citizens or its employees unfairly, I believe that expressing your opinion through cracking their security and posting your opinion on their site is an effective way to have your voice heard. In the case of Nike, there was someone hacking their site to protest their unfair treatment of employees and the hacker acted in the interest of everyone who felt mistreated. I believe this is a useful and a peaceful way to get the point across. Another seemingly valid use for hacking would be to resist oppressive government policies to give people access to information the government does not want them to see. Although hacking for ethical reasons may seem beneficial, I still believe that it should be punishable. If people begin to get unregulated access to everything, it may potentially give them access to false information. Because it may change certain opinions, this may destabilize a situation in a given society. There is a fine line between useless and need-to-know information. It should not be up to someone with hacking skills to decide that. Hacking hurts the creators of the original sites, data, or similar information and therefore should be considered a crime. If someone wants to use it for ethical reasons, they may as well do it without hurting anyone else.

Cyberslacking

The boss is out of the office, probably on another business trip, there is no pressing deadlines, or anyone else to interfere with you. So you decide to open up a new tab and see if your friends posted anything up on your Facebook, or check out the news on Yahoo! Taking a break at work may seem harmless, but according to BNET, it costs companies billions of dollars! Check it out for yourself: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FXS/is_12_79/ai_68325779/

So now, there are two sides to this argument. There is the cost to your employer, and the rescue from boredom for you. In my time being employed in a company that religiously utilizes computers for just about anything, I have learned that taking a break may sometimes be essential to keeping up productivity. While on the face of it, if you spend time not working, then obviously you have less time to get work done, right? Not really. I have noticed that while working non stop, I tend to slow down and eventually get over exhausted over the 8 hour period that I work. It takes me about 20 minutes to finish a given piece of work, but over time I saw that time drop to 30 and 35 minutes, working non stop, that is. When I took five minute breaks after every two or three chunks of work that I had to do, I was able to stay fresh and get the work done in about 20 minutes every time. What this means is that, in the long run, slacking may be more productive than straight work. This is, of course, if we do not get carried away. Now some of the stuff is definitely over the top and should not be accepted under any circumstances. Downloading music and files is something that should be done at home, not at work. Video games should also be a home exclusive. Reading the news, taking a break to skim over an article, or answer a quick message is a lot less troubling and consumes much less of the company's bandwidth. In the end, it is up to us to be responsible for our own work and carry full responsibility for our actions.

How Smart, How Safe?

With the ever advancing technology, our world is becoming more and more controlled, automated, and digital. There are great benefits to such evolution of technology, yet with those benefits come a few perils. Acknowledging the dangers and taking cautious steps to ensure that at the end of the day we are the ones in control of technology and not the other way around is vital to our success in the future. Today's computers are able to control everything from planes, trains, all the way down to our own car's safety systems. When everything functions flawlessly, we reap the benefits of not having an extra little thing to worry about, yet when technology fails, the results may be deadly. This is ever so evident in the case where a faulty computer software caused a plane crash. Read more at:

http://www.theinternetpatrol.com/fatal-commerical-airplane-crash-caused-by-computer-malware/

This is just one of many cases where over reliance on technology has caused tragic results. Other examples included computer controlled trains running off tracks or into one another due to a system glitch. Case in point is the DC train crash which happened not so long ago. Information can be found on: http://articles.sfgate.com/2009-06-24/news/17208134_1_train-crash-new-cars

Because any system is prone to failure, it is essential that we keep a stronger human presence over any machine. While technology can be of great aid, it should never be completely depended on, or used to replace human beings.

Amazon Shopping Experience

I've been a regular Amazon shopper for a long time now. Basically, ever since I got my own debit card, I've been exploiting my checking account to the fullest and even taking chunks out of my saving to buy things online. Amazon has had the “recommended items” for a some time, but I have never really paid them much attention. Whenever I go to buy things on Amazon, I know exactly what I am looking for from the exact name down to the model or series number. Having Amazon offer things to me which I was not looking for, in my eyes, is completely useless. I am not one of those people to buy things at first sight and do my research before making purchases. I may occasionally take a look at their “Today's Recommendations For You” section, but that is merely to waste time. Because I have already usually purchased the item I needed, I have no use for any of the similar options they offer me. One of my major lines of products I purchase over amazon is audio equipment and gym equipment. Just because I have recently purchased a pair of resistance bands, or a subwoofer, does not mean I need a second one. This is exactly what Amazon is offering – similar items to what I purchased. I find this completely useless and yes – intrusive. I definitely would not purchase any more items because Amazon is showing them to me. I treat the website like a store and just because there is a shelf full of similar items, it does not mean I will purchase every single one off that shelf.