Charlie Lindahl’s foreword to this session – Current Events – Lindahl Presentation
All support documents in PDF format Header
Third Saturday Seminar 2013-2014
Return of the Elders, Unleash your Wisdom
Session 08
Strangers in a Digital Land
(How to be a citizen of the digital community)
Charlie Lindahl
Saturday, 17 May 2014
9:30AM til Noon
Room B-102, Lone Star College – Montgomery
3200 College Park Drive – Conroe, TX – 77384 – 936.273.7000
We are fortunate to have our own Charlie Lindahl give us a briefing on the vagaries of security in the digital age.
Some of you have shown an interest in this subject and Charlie, who is a computer/internet professional in real life
has been kind enough to volunteer.
Highlights of Charlie’s history
Full computer access at home in 1970 (14 years old) — IBM Mainframe programmer in 1970s at the University of Florida (and later Texas Instruments) — Very broad literary/history education at UF — Personal ARPANET e-mail account in 1981 — Communications/networking in 1980s, including minicomputers — Defense systems/high end graphics and artificial intelligence in the 1980s — Tech research support for AI/robotics/graphics in the 1990s at UT Arlington — IT/web person at Texas A&M Health Science Center since 2001
How to be a citizen of the digital community
Abstract for “Stranger in a Digital Land”:
So you think you’re living in chaotic times when information is coming in so fast and furious it is hard to keep track of everything?
Well … you’re right.
We ARE living in chaotic times with massive amounts of information being produced around the world.
I will give some history of this buildup within the Information Age; the pace of the development of communications is explicable and has been happening for decades. The SCALE and SPEED of information flow is breathtaking even to experts who have been working on the infrastructure for decades.
So how can/should we react to this? In particular, what can an individual do to help lessen
the effect of security and privacy concerns?
I won’t have ALL the answers, but I will attempt to give some general guidelines (mostly common sense) to help cope with security, privacy, and things like identity theft. And I will try to give some hope that there ARE efforts going on around the world to adjust to our new digital reality.
Learn the lingo: Information Age terms & concepts
Key terms & concepts
Internet
E-mail
World Wide Web
Social Media
Mobile devices
Internet Of Things
Viruses & malware
Definitions
Prevention
Identity Theft
What is “phishing”?
General Guidelines
Avoiding Identity Theft
Using due diligence
Practicing common sense!
Setting strong passwords
Having regular technical checkups
Setting up regular Backups of all key information/data
Readings:
Social Media – A Fad? – Fast YouTube presentation, but amazing stats
Speed of Information – Static presentation/article including graphics about how much information is posted over history
History of the internet – Wikipedia
10 Important Computer Security Practices – HowtoGeek
If there’s privacy in the Digital Age, it has a new definition – NPR
As usual we will start out with Current Events
Possible Current Events Topics include:
The Pending presidential election in the Ukraine and
Vietnamese express anger at Ethic Chinese about Drilling on Vietnamese Island
Nigeria – Goodluck Jonathan – Boka Haram – 276 teenage Girls – and village massacres
Donald Sterling – Is he complaining or bragging?
The Mysterious Missing Flight 370 – plans to track all commercial flights?
Monica Lewinski reappears
Syria – Iran – Iraq
On the lighter(?) Side: Harry Reed explains the difference between evil and good corruption
The Daily Show 5/13/14 – Harry Reid takes on the Koch Brothers
The Daily Show 5/13/14 – Harry Reid’s Vegas Vegas Placation
This is the last session of the 2013-2014 Third Saturday Seminars. We are off for the Summer and will start up again in September 2014
About A.L.L.
You should be able to keep up with developments through the summer and the semester that starts in the Fall at: http://www.lonestar.edu/all-montgomery.htm
Reminder for ALL members:
Please let A.L.L. know if you change your address, phone number, or email.
Call 936.273.7446.
“Some part of our being knows this (the universe) is where we came from. We long to return. And we can. Because the cosmos is also within us. We’re made of star-stuff. We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.” Carl Sagan
If I don’t see you, have a safe and enjoyable Summer,
– Curt