By Kathleen Kalk on August 7, 2010 | Tagged with
This is something to keep an eye on: throttling. As internet file sharing continues to erode publishing and copyright revenue, will throttling, or pay-for-speed internet presence, be the ‘net tax’ that solves the web publishing quagmire?
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Few people have been talking about throttling in this sense, but I suspect that sooner or later, paying for one’s place in the Internet queue will be one of the answers for recouping revenue lost to ‘illegal’ file sharers. Check out the following story for the most recent developments. What are your thoughts?
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By Kathleen Kalk on August 6, 2010 | Tagged with employee, Work
They knew it was bad, but not this bad. The BBC reported this week that the country Jordon has blocked access to over fifty websites on computers in government offices. The move came after government investigations showed that employee’s were spending more than three hours per day searching the web. Read the story here, and see how your habits compare.
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By Kathleen Kalk on July 29, 2010 | Tagged with cookies, Protect
For the past year, Adobe Flash has been reinstalling cookies that have been deleted by users through its popular viewing application. Known as ‘Zombie Cookies,’ these are secret cookies that, without consent, are re-activated after users have disabled them.
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Cookies are used to track unique web searches and store bits of information that allow websites to personalize viewing data based on the sites a users has visited in the past. Concerned internet users can disable cookies on their computers (though this often affects the ability of sites to operate as intended) and many do. A class action law suit has recently been launched in the Untied States against sites using the application without informing their users of Zombies. Defendants include MTV, ESPN, ABC, NBC and MySpace.
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Visit the Protect module of the Digital Tattoo website to figure out how you can control your cookies and protect yourself.
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By Kathleen Kalk on July 20, 2010 | Tagged with Connect, cyberstalking safety, Protect, safety
Along with a whole slew of simplified privacy settings, Facebook has added another safety-made-simple feature: the panic button. The button is an application that is available to those whose age on their FB profile says they are a minor.
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The button links youth directly to a reporting and resource agency where they can enquire about bullying, luring, or abuse, and if they so choose, report infractions. Currently the button is only used in the UK, after a recent high-profile killing of a youth there who was lured by an adult on Facebook.
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The button is a step in the right direction for on-line safety, but by no means is it a cure-all remedy for web deception. As always, there is no replacement for supervision and education when it comes to net safety.
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Critics of the Panic Button say that the app can be used too easily to falsely accuse honest social networking users, or even worse, used as tool to bully by purposely false reporting. Read the latest developments here. Tell us your thoughts.
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By Kathleen Kalk on July 8, 2010 | Tagged with Academic Honesty, cheating, Learn
A recent story by the Vancouver Sun said that on-line based acts 0f academic dishonesty have tripled in the past five years at Canadian universities. Using data from the University of Waterloo, plagiarism was highlighted as the most common form of cheating. The revelation is certainly a shock, but it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise.
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The real question is whether or not cheating on a whole has increased, or if only the form has changed. I have not come across any study that has authoritatively dived into this. If you have, please let us at Digital Tattoo know.
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I often wonder about such studies as the one referenced in the article and the impact it has on public perceptions of new technologies in the classroom. Yes, the internet makes it easier to cheat by the simple fact that a person can copy and paste entire works into a Word document and call it heir own. But this also has a flip side – it is easier to get caught. A suspecting instructor only needs to re-copy and paste a section of the suspicious material into the google window, and boom, the perpatrator is busted.
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The bottom line is don’t cheat.
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By Kathleen Kalk on June 23, 2010 | Tagged with Connect, open access, sharing, wikipedia
Gone are the days of uncontested truth. Hegel’s thesis – antithesis – synthesis is unfolding in front of our eyes as the continued evolution of the information society unfolds. If we consider media conglomeration and state surveillance as the thesis stage of a new era of social organization, Wikileaks just might be its antithesis for the 21st century.
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If you have not visited Wikileaks, it is about time you did. Any person can post information on Wikileaks (all of which is vetted by staff), but unlike Wikipedia users do not have the ability to edit. Alive since 2007, this past year has been the most high profile for Wikileaks yet. In April 2010, it posted a highly classified video from Iraq depicting the innocent killing of civilians by coalition forces. Listed as ‘collateral’ damage in war briefing rooms, the video undressed the euphemisms of conflict.
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The video would never had made it to the public had it not been for an anonymous whistle blower who had access to the footage and posted it to the site. It is one of many high-profile stories that have been uncovered because of Wikileaks users.
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Journalists, politicians, and activists have had a field day with the leak, though intelligence officials have now identified a possible source of the anonymous leak which could jeopardize public faith in the site. The story unfolds as we speak.
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Wikileaks’ ability to defend its anonymity claims will prove the efficacy or the danger of the site to whistle blowers. And, without sounding too trite, this ‘anonymous’ site is a reminder to all of us at Digital Tattoo that even the highest levels of intelligence and security are vulnerable to their on-line identity.
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By Kathleen Kalk on June 17, 2010 | Tagged with Connect, open access, Publish, wikipedia
Wikipedia announced recently that it will make it possible for a broader swath of users to edit controversial subjects on the site whose pages are locked due to abuse and political manipulation. Generally, any reader can edit a page, but there are certain people and topics that the Wiki masterminds do not allow ‘editing’ of without prior vetting from senior Wikipedia staff.
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For example, search the George W. Bush page and you will find that the ‘edit’ button does not appear below sub-sections. Editing by just anybody is not allowed for the former American President’s page. Type in the name of a lesser known political figure, like the assassinated Zimbabwean independence leader, Herbert Chitepo, and you will find edit buttons a plenty which the whole world can click.
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Commenting to the BBC, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales said that tighter security on sensitive subjects is necessary, but that these checks have also “prevented thoughtful and sincere newcomers from making good changes.”
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Wikipedia has set up a blog page to show readers how they can navigate the new rules so they too can add to controversial subjects and people. In theory, the changes will make Wikipedia more aligned with its user driven content philosophy, though some content will still be censored.
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Currently, there are over 2000 pages that are considered ‘divisive’ on the site, making up 0.1% of the 3.3 million articles.
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Interesting to note, Germany requires that all Wikipedia pages in the German language be vetted, not just those for controversial characters. The current changes only apply to the English language version of Wikipedia.
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By Kathleen Kalk on June 10, 2010 | Tagged with google, identity theft, privacy, Protect
Google has been up in arms in recent months over unscrupulous monitoring and hacking of its search engine by the Mainland Chinese government. Today, however, Google finds itself at the other end of the finger pointing, accused by Internet watchdogs of infringing on privacy. The saga gas been going on for weeks, and today the BBC reported that Google could face prosecution in Germany.
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The privacy breach is in relation to Google’s Street View program and the collecting of non-visual data from unencrypted Wifi connections. Privacy International, an Internet advocacy group, has said Google’s coincidental collection of data is the net equivalent of wire tapping without consent.
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German authorities have asked Google repeatedly to hand over alleged hard drives containing illegally collected data. Google has yet to comply. Australia has made a similar request, and New Zealand is the most recent state to make official inquires.
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Google has faced legal challenges in the past over its Street View program, and has come out on the winning side in most cases. Those legalities of the past, however, had to do with images of people and property caught on Street View, not Wifi data. If Google is taken to court, their prosecution could set the privacy precedents of the near future.
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