It has been a full day since we finished our 2nd day of podcasting. What a success. In the words of one student, "I love being able to actually DO something in class--not just listen to a professor talk ABOUT it."
Now, this is not to say that this experience has been problem-free. in fact,in terms of technological issues,there have been many. Many of the lab computers have not been working. Students have had difficulty turning computers on and off.
Then , it happened.... dun,dun,dun... I received an email Tuesday afternoon stating that IT needed to wipe the contents of the computers in Pope Lab 215 because they are doing harm to the college network and its connected computers. Oh no! Apparently, virus protection software was not running on the computers and the computers were infected with a virus. What is a virus?
According to Wikipedia, "A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without the permission or knowledge of the owner. The term "virus" is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, adware, and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability. A true virus can only spread from one computer to another (in some form of executable code) when its host is taken to the target computer; for instance because a user sent it over a network or the Internet, or carried it on a removable medium such as a floppy disk, CD, DVD, or USB drive. Viruses can increase their chances of spreading to other computers by infecting files on a network file system or a file system that is accessed by another computer.[1][2]
The term "computer virus" is sometimes used as a catch-all phrase to include all types of malware. Malware includes computer viruses, worms, trojan horses, most rootkits, spyware, dishonest adware, crimeware, and other malicious and unwanted software), including true viruses. Viruses are sometimes confused with computer worms and Trojan horses, which are technically different. A worm can exploit security vulnerabilities to spread itself to other computers without needing to be transferred as part of a host, and a Trojan horse is a program that appears harmless but has a hidden agenda. Worms and Trojans, like viruses, may cause harm to either a computer system's hosted data, functional performance, or networking throughput, when they are executed. Some viruses and other malware have symptoms noticeable to the computer user, but many are surreptitious.
Most personal computers are now connected to the Internet and to local area networks, facilitating the spread of malicious code. Today's viruses may also take advantage of network services such as the World Wide Web, e-mail, Instant Messaging, and file sharing systems to spread."
It got me thinking,I better update my own virus software. Maybe you should,too!
2 comments:
This is true. When dealing with technology, we must take the proper precautions to make sure that everything will run smoothly. An example would be to always have back-up for all your work, and always update the proper antivirus software for your computer.
Incroporating technology in your classroom is a wonderful thing, but like with many good things in life, it comes with a price.
Technology can be really tricky. You have to look at a computer as if it were a car. It needs to be taken care of. It has to be secure and make sure that everything is running smoothly, other wise, your car would break down. Computers are very similar. We must take proper precautions to make sure that anything and everything we input into a computer is either saved to a jump drive, or even if you back up your information that is a good thing also. Having an anti-spyware software, or a virus protection, makes sure that no harm can come to your computer. Also we have to be careful which links we open or spam mail because there are people who actually get paid to send viruses to other computers. (Trust me I know)
We really do need to take care of our work that is put into a computer. It really is important.
Post a Comment