Exploring the Internet

91.113-001Instructor: Michael Krolak

Tonight

• Roll Call

• In the News

• Blog Reading

• Class Announcements

• Internet and Identity

• Create an on-line resume

• Assignments

In the News . . .

US surgeons are to interview a shortlist of patients hoping to be the first to receive a face transplant. Doctors in the US have already carried out the procedure on bodies donated for medical research.

Now the Cleveland Clinic team will choose a patient whose face is disfigured to receive a "new" face from a dead donor.

The chance it will work is around 50% and experts have expressed safety and ethical concerns about the procedure.

Blog Reading of the Week

“THIS WEEKS TOPIC, VANNEVAR BUSH. MY CURIOSITY WAS TO MUCH FOR ME REGARDING THIS MAN SO I FOUND HIS ARTICLE "AS WE MAY THINK". AFTER READING HIS ARTICLE I REALIZED HOW RELEVANT EVERYTHING HE SAID WAS IN TERMS OF THE ONGOING PROGRESS OF TECHNOLOGY EVEN IN TODAY'S SCOPE. HE HAD A VAST UNDRESTANDING OF THE NEED TO KEEP SCIENTIST ALWAYS LOOKING FORWARD AND CHANGING THEIR FOCUS. " IT IS THE PHYSICISTS WHO HAVE BEEN THROWN MOST VIOLENTLY OFF STRIDE, WHO HAVE LEFT ACADEMIC PURSUITS FOR THE MAKING OF STRANGE DESTRUCTIVE GADGETS.........NOW AS PEACE APPROACHES, ONE ASKS WHERE WILL THEY FIND OBJECTIVES WORTHY OF THEIR BEST". HE TALKS ABOUT THE BIOLOGISTS THAT HAVE GIVEN PEOPLE ,"A PROGRSSIVE FREEDOM FROM DISEASE AND AN INCREASED SPAN OF LIFE". HE REALIZED THAT COMMUNICATION WAS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT TOOLS TO ULTILZE AS WELL AS THE KEEPING OF DATA SO THAT IT MAY HELP IN THE FUTURE. READING THIS ARTICLE REMINDED ME OF GEAORGE ORWELL'S BOOK 1984 THAT HE WROTE IN 1949. ALTHOUGH HIS PREDICTIONS WERE SOMEWHAT UNREALISTIC THERE WAS A SIMILAR VISION REGARDING THE FUTURE. HE WAS INTERESTED IN THE FACT THAT ,"THE WORLD HAS ARRIVED AT AN AGE OF CHEAP COMPLEX DEVICES OF GREAT REALIABILITY, AND SOMETHING IS BOUND TO COME OF IT". BOY WAS HE RIGHT! HE ALSO WAS VISIONARY IN HIS UNDERSTANDING OF THE USE OF PHOTOGRAPHY. HE KNEW THAT SOMEDAY SOMEONE WOULD SPEED UP THE PROCESS OF PICTURE TAKING. "OFTEN IT WOULD BE ADVANTAGEOUS TO BE ABLE TO SNAP THE CAMERA AND TO LOOK AT THE PICTURE IMMEDIATELY". WHO WOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT POLAROID WOULD MASTER THAT! WHAT REALLY COMES OUT IN THIS ARTICLE IS THE FACT THAT THE WORLD OF TECHNOLOGY NEEDS VISIONARIES, WILLING TO GO BEYOND THE BOX AND CREATE. THE CONCEPT OF THE INTERNET WAS VANNEVAR'S HENCE HE WAS CALLED AN "INTERNET PIONEER". HAT'S OFF TO ALL THE VISIONARIES OF THE WORLD! “

Follow up from the last class

Feedback on Blogs

• Keep up with your blogs! Minimum 2 blogs per week.

• Keep the entries of the blog relevant to the class.

What is Identity?

i·den·ti·ty ( -d n t -t )n. The set of behavioral or personal characteristics by which an individual is recognizable as a member of a group. The distinct personality of an individual regarded as a persisting entity; individuality.

Source: The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical DictionaryCopyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Who are You?

How do we identify people?

Social

Characteristics• Intellect• Personality• Religion• Attractive• Sexuality• Class• Wealth• Culture

PhysicalCharacteristics

• Age• Gender• Skin tone• Weight• Height• Hair Color• Eye Color

AcquiredCharacteristics

• Name• Occupation• Social Security #• Username• Credit Card #• Email address• Phone Number• Web Site

Rudyard Kipling’s Kim (1901)

• 1901, Kipling writes “Kim”, a story of an Irish orphan raised in the slums of Lahore, India. He assumes the identity of a Hindi, a Muslim, and a British colonizer.

• Religious transformation

Pygmalion

• 1914, George Bernard Shaw writes a play called “Pygmalion: A Romance in Five Acts”

• Upper class linguist transforms lower class flowergirl into a lady.

• Class transformation

Superman (1938 - )

• Clark Kent is a quiet, shy, unimposing newspaper reporter

• Superman is the man who saves the Earth every few days or so.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1941)

James Thurber writes a story about an uxorious man who fantasizes about being a

• Navy Commander

• Doctor

• A Killer

• An Army Captain

Ferdinand Waldo Demara Jr. (1944)

• Born in Lawrence, MA.• Impersonated

– Royal Canadian Navy Doctor– Zoology Ph.D.– Law student– Cancer researcher– Hospital priest– Deputy sheriff– Teacher– Civil engineer– Assistant prison warden– Doctor of applied psychology,– Benedictine and Trappist monk– Child-care expert and– Editor

• Faked his own suicide • Occupational Transformation

Society of Creative Anachronism

• Founded in 1966, SCA reenacts Medieval festivals and battles.

Black Like Me (1959)

• John Griffin took medication and used a sun lamp to disguise himself as a black man in the Deep South.

• Racial Transformation

Frank Abagnale Jr. (1948 - )

Impersonated a • Pan-AM airline pilot• Pediatrician• Harvard Law School

Graduate• Sociology Instructor at

Brigham Young University

• Occupational Transformation

Frank Abagnale Jr., 16, impersonating a pilot

Cindy Sherman (1954 - )

• "Under this mask, another mask. I will never finish lifting up all these faces."

• Photos of herself that are not self-portaits.

• Complete Transformation

Zelig (1983)

• Woody Allen directs a film called Zelig. The main character, Leonard Zelig, can assume the characteristics of those around him.

• Complete Transformation

Mark Whitacre (1995)

• Executive at ADM• Informant for the FBI• ADM was part of an international conspiracy to fix the

prices of food throughout the world.

Infinite Jest (1997)

• David Foster Wallace outlines a “history of videophony”.

• Users become self conscious of their face during conversations.

• They start wearing masks of themselves made up.

• Then they begin to wear masks that improve their features

• Users start wearing masks of attractive people.

• Users eventually place a black cap over the camera and use the videophone as a telephone.

What are MUDs

A MUD is a multi-user fantasy world where users assume an identity such as a warrior or a mage and chat with other users, explore monster infested areas, solve puzzles, take part in quests and many other activities.

“In the MUDs, virtual characters converse with each other, exchange gestures, express emotions, win and lose virtual money, and rise and fall in social status. A virtual character can also die. Some die of "natural" causes (a player decides to close them down), or they can have their virtual lives snuffed out. “

Source: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive//4.01/turkle.html?pg=4&topic=

MUDs and Identity

“As players participate, they become authors not only of text but of themselves, constructing new selves through social interaction. Since one participates in MUDs by sending text to a computer that houses the MUD's program and database, MUD selves are constituted in interaction with the machine. Take it away and the MUD selves cease to exist: "Part of me, a very important part of me, only exists inside PernMUD," says one player. Several players joke that they are like "the electrodes in the computer," trying to express the degree to which they feel part of its space. “

Source: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive//4.01/turkle.html?pg=4&topic=

Law Enforcement

• To fight CyberCrime, The FBI has two thrirteen year old girls give lessons on tweenage slang and interests.

• FBI agents and local law enforcement impersonate young children online to trap pedophiles.

Protecting Identity

• Hiibel vs. Nevada

• Larry Hiibel was arrested and convicted of a misdemeanor after he told a deputy that he didn't have to give out his name or show an ID.

Protecting Identity (cont.)

• Gilmore v. Ashcroft

• Gilmore is a libertarian and a multimillionaire

• July 4, 2002 tried to board two planes without showing ID.

Identity Theft

“But he that filches from me my good name

Robs me of that which not enriches him

And makes me poor indeed."  - Shakespeare, Othello, Act III. Scene III.

What is Identity Theft?

• A Federal crime where someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person's personal data in some way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain.

• In 2004, almost 250,000 claims of Identity Theft within the US alone (1:1000)

• More than $500 million in reported losses

Source: http://www.consumer.gov/sentinel/pubs/Top10Fraud2004.pdf

Tiger Woods

“A man who used Tiger Woods' identity to steal $17,000 worth of goods was sentenced to 200 years-to-life in prison.

Anthony Lemar Taylor was convicted of falsely obtaining a driver's license using the name Eldrick T. Woods, Woods' Social Security number and his birth date.

Though he looks nothing like golf's best player, the 30-year-old Taylor then used the false identification and credit cards to buy a 70-inch TV, stereos and a used luxury car between August 1998 and August 1999.

Judge Michael Virga gave Taylor the maximum sentence under California's three-strikes law Friday.”

Identity Theft by Age

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

% of Claims

Under18

18-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+

Claims by Age in 2004

Souce: http://www.consumer.gov/sentinel/pubs/Top10Fraud2004.pdf

What is Phishing?

phishing (also known as carding and spoofing)n.

1. The act of attempting to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy person or business with a real need for such information in a seemingly official electronic notification or message (most often an email, or an instant message).

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing

Phishing Example

Register for eBay Dear valued customer Need Help?

We regret to inform you that your eBay account could be suspended if you don't re-update your account information. To resolve this problems please click here and re-enter your account information. If your problems could not be resolved your account will be suspended for a period of 3-4 days, after this period your account will be terminated.

For the User Agreement, Section 9, we may immediately issue a warning, temporarily suspend, indefinitely suspend or terminate your membership and refuse to provide our services to you if we believe that your actions may cause financial loss or legal liability for you, our users or us. We may also take these actions if we are unable to verify or authenticate any information you provide to us.

Due to the suspension of this account, please be advised you are prohibited from using eBay in any way. This includes the registering of a new account. Please note that this suspension does not relieve you of your agreed-upon obligation to pay any fees you may owe to eBay.

Regards, Safeharbor Department eBay, Inc The eBay team.

This is an automatic message. Please do not reply.

From: eBay Billing Department <aw-confirm@ebay.com> To: you@uml.eduSubject: Important Notification

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing

Methods to Steal an Identity

• TCP Spoofing

• DNS Spoofing

• Typo Squatting (e.g. www.goolge.com)

What is Pharming?

Pharming is the exploitation of a vulnerability in the DNS server software that allows a hacker to acquire the Domain Name for a site, and to redirect traffic from that website to another web site. DNS servers are the machines responsible for resolving internet names into their real addresses - the "signposts" of the internet.

Protecting Your Identity

• Never enter personal information (Acquired Characteristics) into a web site that uses only http (as opposed to https)

• Never send acquired characteristics (except your name) through the email.

• Unless you encrypt your email, expect that anyone can read it.• Always pay close attention to the spelling of the URL (web

address) when paying for anything on line.• Do not respond to unsolicited emails.• Shred all snail mail that contains personal information (especially

credit card offers!!)• Expect that once you throw something away, you are legally giving

it to the public.• Use only one credit card for online purchases• Keep your browsers up to date. Install security patches when they

are released.

Take-Aways

• Identity

• Acquired Characteristics

• MUDs

• Identity Theft

• Phishing

• Pharming

• http vs. https