Week 14: Clear

Throughout this course, we have looked a variety of intricacies of the PC and its uses. This week we will look at virtualization. Virtualization is part of enterprise computing and is the abstraction between the various computer sources such as CPU, Memory, Storage and NIC. The basic idea of virtualization is the fact that many different tasks may have to be completed in the same time frame, so the computer works on "virtual" computers to get each task done while relying on only one physical host computer.

So, this may seem confusing to some, but let's break it down a little more. The difference between a physical and virtual machines comes down to the actual parts of a machine. For instance, physical machine parts of a computer are dedicated resources, device drivers specific to hardware, multiple PM or boxes and the fact that one must by operating system licenses to utilize such material. Virtual machines, on the other hand, consist of shared resources, generic device drivers, multiple VMs take up only one box and OS licenses are required. One of the main differences is the fact about device drivers; VM utilize generic device drivers that make migration easy and deployment rapid.

There are obviously incentives for utilizing VM. Some of these benefits include: less money spent on technology support as there are multiple OS on just one physical host, VM portability, security. The biggest part for me is security. The fact that VM are easily restored to previous settings and do not mess up the integrity of the physical host makes it an ideal situation. Even servers that utilize VM have benefits such as utilizing space at a maximum and consolidation of information.

As you can see, there are many reasons why virtualization is an important part of the business world as well as the computer world. It saves time, money and space which are key factors in business!

Secure Email Project

Above is my Mozilla Thunderbird account opened with my two emails from the ISM professor. This project taught me how important it is to utilize secure email to ensure that private information does not fall into the wrong hands or go public. As I enter into the work force, I will keep this in mind when I am computing from work about private corporate information as well as when I am at home computing about my finances or paying bills online.

The article I read was "Indicted suspect allegedly breaks for credit-card data theft." It is about a man who was convicted of breaking into TJMaxx, BJs wholesale, Marshalls, Office Max, Barnes and Noble and Sports Authority. He stole credit card information from millions of customers and accrued millions of dollars through this terrible deeds. This goes to show that many companies, especially retailers can be vulnerable to security problems. If aforementioned companies had utilized an encryption based system to store credit card numbers, Gonzalez (the thief) would have never been able to hack into their systems. Gonzalez utilized the exploitation of weak computer networking systems to steal a large amount of each company's customer base.

The article I've mentioned goes along with the security topic we encountered last week. One of the most important lessons I learned this semester was the fact that computer networks should be solid and secure before you utilize them as a company, consumer or personally.

Week 13: Clear

Although the invention of the internet was a great thing, it is important to realize how much easier it is for someone to get a hold of your personal information. Through viruses and worms you and your computer could be at risk. Illegal activities happen each day to thousands of people across the world. Although many hackers create these destroying programs just because they can, many also create these programs to steal passwords and credit card information. This brings us to the most imperative point of today: computer security risk. Computer security risk is the activity that causes damage to computer hardware, software, date, information and its ability to work properly. Nowadays, there is such a thing as cybercrime-- internet-based illegal activities that place one's computer in harm's way. An interesting fact from the textbook is "Today, cybercrime is one of the FBI's top three priorities." This goes to show just how pertinent it is today.

There are a few key players you should be afraid of :hackers, crackers, script kiddie, cyberextortionists and cyberterrorists. A hacker once was used to describe a person who was great with computers, but now describes anyone who is able to access your computer without your consent, which leads to illegal activity. A cracker is similar to a hacker but delves deeper into criminal activity and either destroys or steals one's information from accessing his or her computer. A script kiddie is a step down from a cracker on computer knowledge and skill but usually utilize prewritten programs to break into computers. Cyberextortionists utilize e-mail as their vehicle to send threatening messages in order to exploit a person or company stating that private information will be exposed if action is not taken. A cyberterrorist utilizes computer attacking to front politcal actions or reasons; electric companies, air traffic-controllers and many other sources that reach millions each day are at risk.

It is important throughout one's computing to be aware of these types of people, who are only out in the world to cause harm to you and perform illegal activities on the internet. These people will go to great lengths to put viruses, worms or trojan horses on your computer or network to take command of your computer and all of your information. Don't let this happen to you! It is easy to take control of your online destiny, by following some of the tips from the interview with Ms. Kelly Bergsma who stated that computer users should always update one's PC with patches, utilize an anti-virus software and always be wearly of websites and unknown persons. For more information about computer security please check this link.

Database Project

When our professors said to start this project early, they weren't kidding. Although I thought I had allotted ample time to work through the project and complete it this past week, I soon realized that I would be spending my Friday night finishing up the project, so I could enjoy my Easter weekend. I initially expected Access to be a lot like Excel in the aspect that tooling around with it will generally point you in the direction you intended; I was dead wrong.

This project was a great learning experience for me because I had never worked with Access before. After watching the database lectures (a few times), I finally got to understand the nature of the beast. Some downsides to my trial-and-error technique in order to familiarize myself with the program ended quite terribly as I ended up deleting my database a few times and starting fresh. However, I do think that I have firmly grasped the beginnings of Access. It was great to learn the basics such as creating various tables, forms and reports. I think the greatest piece of information I learned was how to import and export information from Excel, Access, etc. This will definitely help me in the real world as I will be working with Excel on a daily basis. Learning how to make order forms by extracting information from other tables and queries was a tremendous thing to learn because I will be making and placing orders in the field of merchandising upon graduation.

This brings me to my next point. How is Access going to help me function in the real world? Most of my ideas come to mind in the retail industry because so much emphasis is placed on the customer. Due to the fact that Access can take thousands of customers from a database and filter that information, I think this will prove helpful when I am analyzing buying patterns and customer preferences. Additionally, one could also send out coupons to a certain grouping of customers, such as all customers in Florida or all Female customers who have spent $500.00 at Store A Year-To-Date. Even though Access may be challenging to overcome, the possibilities with filtering and analyzing data is endless. It makes me wonder just how many companies are under-utilizing Access as we speak and could really gain perspective on their customers from cold hard data.

Week 12: Clear

Throughout this week, we learned about Information Systems Development. This seems to be one of the topics I knew least about, so it was refreshing to learn something new that will really help me understand the business world a bit better. Let's start off with the basics as this seems to be the most relevant information to me as a graduating senior.

In the business world, there are various careers and occupations that are solely responsible for the managment of system operations and information systems. First off, information systems is the overall culmination of every single input that produces information, such as hardware, software, data, personnel and business processes. Within information systems is a cycle called the System Development Cycle. The steps are as follows:

1. Planning
2. Analysis
3. Design
4. Implementation
5. Operation, Support and Security

Systems Analysts are responsible for making sure this cycle flows properly and each requirement of a certain task is executed. Some of their job taks are

• Alleviate Obstacles
• Determine necessary steps
• Define the parameters of the given project
• Control problems at hand and fix them

For the most part, system analysts are responsible for delegating and communication to everyone in the task force and are not responsible for producing or completing the given project. After listening to the interview with Miss Christine Schoaff, it is apparent that there is a multitude of job titles (systems analyst, project manager, etc.) and an infinite amount of job requirements depending on the depth and breadth of the project and company.

To delve a little further into systems analysis, it is important to realize the pros and cons of such a business design. Whether a system will fail or succeed varies greatly on how well designed the system is; some qualities associated with a well-designed system include: being cost effective (the outcome outweighs the input of capital and persons), easy to implement, and meet or exceeds expections and objectives. Deviations from this occur, but when the opposite tends to happen the design is likely to fail or be abandoned.

Many project managers utilize software in order to lay out the gridwork for a given project such as the estimated cost and time, required activites and a timeline. As mentioned earlier, there are five steps in the System Development Cycle. Planning and Analysis are the first two, respectively, and start the process by reviewing project requests, prioritizing activities and determing whether each request is feasible. The next step, design, works on gathering the necessary tools to execute the given task and set schedules to stay on task. Step four or implementation is the process of executing the tasks at hand being sure that goals are met in a timely manner and each aspect of a project is addressed. Operation, Support and Security or the final step includes the upkeeping, monitoring and securing the project while measuring effectiveness.

For more information on this imperative business operation please check here.