Secure E-mail Project

Thunderbird

Secure E-Mail Articles
        An extensive article about what it means to secure your e-mail, why it's important and how to set it up can be found here at stopdesign.com. This article begins with explaining what it means to secure your e-mail: protecting passwords, log-in information and the contents of your e-mail messages which are "flying" around in open air when using an open-network Internet connection. The article explains how simple it is for someone also on the network to obtain tons of sensitive information from your computer; without even a hint of warning, someone may be checking your e-mail right along with you on your work lunch break at Panera or Starbucks. This not only puts the individual's personal data at risk, but it also offers up the user's company information-by unknowingly providing unsecured access to your work e-mail, passwords and files by simply logging onto an open network without a secure system in place, you are putting your company in extreme danger of exposure of private information.
       Major networks, such as those a high-volume business conferences, often have the lowest security possible security settings, meaning corporate information is more vulnerable than ever as each employee logs on. E-mail not is not sent through a secure device is available for "sniffers" to read plain and clear in simple, non scrambled, unencrypted text. So what's the answer? Secure your e-mail! Companies should set up secure e-mail accounts for their employees on a private network. Passwords should be used to access the network and the e-mail client at all times, and security settings should be set high. Since there is no way to tell if your data has been read and "stolen" already, these measures should be put into place immediately, so stop any further leakage of important company data.


Here is an article on Tech Suberb that explains a step-by-step method to how and why secure e-mail set up is necessary.

Options for secure e-mail providers article on Life Hacker 

• An important fact: "Hint: you can tell a web site connection is "secure" if the address isn't just http://, it's https://. The "s" isnt' for savings, it's for secure. Good idea to double-check for the "s" on any page where you enter credit card info to purchase stuff, too."

Week 14: Muddy

Virtualization

• The abstraction of computer resources 
• A technique for running multiple "virtual computers" on a single physical host computer system
• Made up of CPU, memory, storage, NIC but no hard drive
• "The creation of a virtual-rather than actual-version of something, such as an operating system, a server, a storage device or network resources" (searchservervirtualization.com)
• "Virtualization can be viewed as part of an overall trend in enterprise IT that includes autonomic computing, a scenario in which the IT environment will be able to manage itself based on perceived activity and utility computing, in which computer processing power is seen as a utility that clients can pay for only as needed. The usual goal of virtualization is to centralize administrative tasks while improving scalability and workloads," says searchservervirtualization.com.

Together, these explanations create a clearer picture for me to visualize this process. 

Main benefits of virtualization include:

• Shared resources
• Ability to run independently of other machines, so if one crashes it doesn't affect the other
• Generic devices mean easy migration and repaid deployment 
• Multiple machines in 1 box mean power and space savings
• Ability to run multiple operating systems, for example, Mac OSX and Windows Vista on the same machine.
• Increased technical support
• Machine portability
• Security and ability to restore prior settings with patching and backups
• Consolidation of machines, utilizing maximum efficiency 
• Reduced hardware, server room, energy and power costs
• Faster turnaround and fewer errors
• Testing capabilities
• Redundancy 
• Disaster recover with "the cloud" data is easily duplicated to a remote site
• Scaling and speed

So what does it mean to have virtualization technology? This article details its applications further and what the concept means for smaller businesses in particular. 

Below is a diagram of the different forms of virtualization management

(netforce.ie)

Herman Miller Creative Presentation

Creative class presentation of portfolio work on Herman Miller's new environmentally friendly Aeron chair. I created the presentation using Prezie and though it was a little strange at first, I ended up loving it. The presentation includes the brief, 1 print ad, 1 outdoor, 1 viral and 1 mock-up microsite. This is part of my final portfolio for Copy and Visualization (ADV4101). Enjoy! I'm sorry in advance if you experience motion sickness. 

Click the arrow to start, then hover over over the "more" button and click "auto play" 

 

The New Aeron Chair on Prezi

 

Week 12: Clear

Change Management
"The effective management of a business change such that executive leaders, managers and front line employees work in concert to successfully implement the needed process, technology or organizational changes."

Two Perspectives of Change Management:

1. Managers Perspective: A results-oriented change in company strategy via senior level executives or business leaders. These individuals weigh the pros and cons of these changes , specifically the return on investment of the change in comparison to alternative strategic initiatives.

2. Front-line Employees Perspective: Day-to-day, operations-focused employees with such duties as serving customers, processing orders, and doing whatever it takes to get the job done on the floor. These individuals are more concerned with the personal issues they will face daily as a result of the change-a major factor that could result in a "dangerous mix of different priorities."

Click here to learn more about Change Management.

Database Project

Microsoft Access

During the process of completing this database project in Microsoft Access I learned a lot. Creating tables was probably the activity I was most acclimated to since I have experience in programs like Excel. Figuring out how to correctly import the data, however, was a bit of a trial-and-error type of experience. I ended up getting it right the third time around. I learned how to create a query from that imported data which was, in my opinion, the most useful of activities. I then learned how to create forms and reports which included a lot of specific property editing, but that taught me how to effectively organize and present information. Overall, I learned that I would never choose to use this confusing database and I hope that this was my first and only time having to.

(geekpedia.com)

I struggled with this database even though I watched the lectures, read the textbook chapter, watched outside tutorials and used the searchable help tool. Microsoft Access would benefit from creating a more intuitive application. Even through using the help tool I felt like I was really on my own trying to figure out the next step. It could streamline tasks by making items less separated-I was very confused and thought I had to somehow "merge" the tables, queries, forms and reports into one database, like I would with different PDF files. By using the same verbiage, this database would seem less complicated. For example, when I was trying to make the MemberID field not editable in the form, I could only find the "allow edit" option for forms in their entirety, instead of for just the MemberID field. I had to do multiple searches and trials until I realized that "disabling" that field would make it read-only. There is no reason why this field shouldn't have the same options as the form, at least for the exact same tasks. Microsoft Access should learn more about its users and predict what they might like to do next.

Week 11: Clear

Web Databases 
Although they might not know it, members of my generation probably spend the majority of their time on the Internet using Web databases. "One of the more profound features of the Web is the vast amount of information it provides," explains Shelly Vermaat in the course textbook, Discovering Computers 2009. These bits of information include:

• Jobs
• Travel Destinations
• TV programming
• Pictures 
• Movies
• Videos
• Local and Nationwide Weather
• Sporting Events
• Legislative Information
• E-commerce 
• Financial
• And so much more...

All of this information exists on the Web in databases.  But not only do users access these bits of information through Web databases-they also provide information to Web databases via "E-forms." Many Web sites request personal data from users (name, address, telephone number, preferences, certain behaviors or opinions, etc.) for the database to store and use in the future on things like customer-brand communication, advertising or promotions. 

The main type of Web database that users my age probably use the most are collaborative databases. These databases are used to store and share personal media items like photos, videos or recordings between registered users. The Web page of these databases act as the "front end" which users are able to clearly interact with. Examples of collaborative databases:

• YouTube [video sharing]
• Facebook [social networking]
• Flickr [photo storage]
• Vimeo [video storage]
• MySpace [social networking/music and audio sharing]

Click here to learn how to create a Web database using Microsoft Access 2010. 

Excel Project

Excel Project 

As an Excel beginner, I took the time to watch and take notes on the lecture videos as well as watch tutorial and how-to videos on the Web. I referenced Excel's help option when I was confused about a step, and was able to work through it using the program's own tools. The task to organize a spreadsheet of data concerning a 20 minute workout interval for 500 people was lengthy but worthy. The information was arranged by subject gender, age, heart rate, target hear rate, highest heart rate and time outputs for each minute. 

I learned how to create, replicate and work with formulas by creating new columns of data interpretation. Simple formulas like summations and finding maximums were easy to apply, while the logic test formulas were a bit more challenging, but even more useful. In working directly with formulas, I was able to realize their relevance as an effective tool.

Pivot tables were used to separate and further delve into specific portions of the raw data. They were difficult to understand at first, and I had a hard time figuring out how to tell it where I wanted the information to be derived from, but once I did, everything came together. They organized my information neatly and could calculate practically anything imaginable. Though Excel isn't the simplest program to learn over night, it is definitely crucial in the business world to keep data neat, organized and to save time and money. 

Below is a screen capture of one of the pivot tables I created to show the average increase in heart rate among females and males, displayed in ages grouped by decade.