Should illegal downloading be punished?

Should people who illegally download or copy music, movies, games, etc. be punished? That has been a controversial subject and is still debatable. Downloading or copying music, games software should not be punishable. Among the debate there has been no proven loss of money to bands, creators, or producers. Copying information is just borrowing. Copying doesn't mean the same thing as stealing. Stealing is taking the item so that the owner is unable to use it. The original item has not been removed or taken just duplicated. The music, games and applications are actually receiving more exposure being shared among friends. It gives people who would not have access to the item the chance to learn about it and then to pass it on to someone else. The companies who reproduce the items to actually ship to stores to sell are still making a profit because of the markup on the item to make money. There are always opinions of what is legal and illegal as well as what is punishable or not. My opinion is that for all of these reasons, illegal downloading should not be punishable.






Picture courtesy of http://blogs.baruch.cuny.edu/technologyblog/files/2014/10/welcome_1.jpg

Article courtesy of http://www.debate.org/opinions/should-people-be-punished-if-they-download-music-and-movies-illegally

You Can't Take it Back

Have you ever posted anything on the internet that should never have been posted?  There was probably a time when you were angry or excited and wanted to tell the world. Maybe you sent some risky pictures to your girlfriend only to realize that wasn't such a good idea as you are breaking up? Be careful what you say and what you send over the internet. It may look like you are able to delete the items from the present application. But there is a hard drive somewhere that is still able to pull those things up for many years to come. Never put anything on the internet that you would mind your boss, mother or future wife to see. Your future employer is able to look at facebook to determine if you are a good candidate for the job you are interviewing for. Your mother is your friend on facebook and she sees every status and comment you make. Your future wife may not understand that you were only 17 when you sent those pictures to your old girlfriend. Just think twice before sending those questionable things out for the public to see.










 Photo courtesy of http://d3819ii77zvwic.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Facepalm-1024x617.jpg

Banking- an Unsafe Business

 

 According to an article from CNN Money, 100 banks were recently hacked. The hackers used spyware to mimic the transfers and transactions that employees would normally make. Even ATM's were manipulated to spit out money. There was someone waiting by the ATM to obtain the money as it was being released. This worries me because I make a weekly deposit of my paycheck into my bank. There is even a sign up that says my money is protected by the federal government up to a certain amount of money. Hackers have become smart with computers and technology that even the smartest and strongest firewalls and anti-spyware are able to be fooled. I wonder if I should hide my money under my mattress or in the freezer to ensure it is protected?  

Photo courtesy of  http://figures.boundless.com/21308/full/stacks-of-money.jpe

Article courtesy of http://money.cnn.com/2015/02/15/technology/security/kaspersky-bank-hacking/index.html?iid=H_T_News

Unsafe Passwords

 In today's technical society we use passwords on a daily basis. We sign in with a different password to our computer log-on, our email, sites, and even our computer literacy class. According to finance markets, most people have at least 22 different password protected accounts. This makes it impossible to remember every password. This is why most people only use one password for everythng. Along with only choosing to use one password, it is normally a very common password that can be easily hacked. According to this article, banking is most dangerous area to use common passwords. The best idea for a password should come from a line of a song. It would include the first letter of each word and have some numbers which would satisfy most site requirements for password selection. Knowing this information will certainly affect my future password selection.





Article- courtesy of http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/2012/12/17/financial-data-at-risk-from-unsafe-passwords/

Image- courtesy of  http://www.belredlocksmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/lock_and_key.jpg

Teens Learning Real-life Computer Skills

Most teenagers know how to use a computer to Google, play video games or see the latest post on Facebook. Most teenagers do not realize that computers are able to help them maintain records and even do their math calculations for them. There are several ways teenagers could use spreadsheets to help in their everyday life. Teenagers that are saving money can have the spreadsheet maintain the balance of their savings. When they receive money from a birthday, Christmas or doing a chore only the new amount would need to be added. The spreadsheet would add the new amount and list the new amount saved. Another way teenagers could use spreadsheets is to keep track of their school grades. The student would only need to set up a formula to compute their grade average. Then just input each new test grade and let the spreadsheet list the new grade average. Another way to use spreadsheets is to keep track of the final scores of their favorite video game. After each game just input the new final score and let the spreadsheet compute their new high score.





picture courtesy of http://i.investopedia.com/u53131/short-term_saving.jpg

  

How to Handle Cyberbullying

 

Cyberbullying is the use of computers, cell phones, or social media to bully other people. This seems to be common among teenagers today. It can be harmful and hurtful to teens and their families. If you feel that you are a victim of this cruel act please continue to read to learn how to stop it. Tell your parent or adult immediately. Save and print any information that has been sent to you or about you. Do not respond to the email or accusation. Do not take the accusations personally. Talk to your parent or another adult about your feelings. Report the incident to your teacher or principal if it involves another student at school. Please know that there are adults and parents who love you and want to protect you from being hurt.

Photo courtesy of  http://www.recognizeabuse.com/cyberbullying-a-resource-for-parents/  

Advances in Technology. Is it harmful or helpful?

 

Have you ever seen a family sitting at a restaurant and every member is texting or reading on their cell phone? Computer Technology has advanced over the past few years. We have a phone that is portable and able to go anywhere with us. Every member of the family has their own cell phone. These cell phones have multiple applications that are able to be done simultaneously. This advance in technology has also created a generation that is unable to spell correctly or even write correctly because of the abbreviations associated with texting. This generation isn't able to sit together and have a family dinner without holding their cell phone. It is very easy to respond to an email in text language but it isn't proper etiquette. It is becoming harder and harder for English teachers to teach the English language and proper spelling, grammar and sentence rules because students are exposed to abbreviations and texting from the time they are old enough to write and spell. Our generation is losing the ability to be able to write a paragraph or story in complete sentences. Our generation is losing the family values that come along with sitting down for dinner at night and talking about their day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo courtesy of http://www.scfamilylaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/texting-and-divorce.jpg