Final Blog?

For a final blog entry we were asked to examine our online uses and see if there has been any change. And to that question I can not say there are any major things that have influenced me in any way. I do think if anything it has been a bad influence on me, exposing me to other things that I do not really need to be using but find fun or simply a relaxation tool. One such example of this is face book which I did not have until the summer and the main intent in getting it was to stay in tough with people that were away fro the summer and now I find myself using it to avoid talking to people because rather than calling them I can just write on their wall. I wish I had almost stuck with the original intent of using it to keep in touch and not a lazy person’s tool. But in general the class has made me more aware of the things I am doing and causes me to question things like, would it be easier to just call, or do I really need to buy these shoes because I can support small business by going to the store and purchasing them in person. What is a person to do? I almost wish the class had made us explore the more personal aspects of why we do things online, sort of like a psyche class that relates online behavior to the way our brain functions. I hope to farther examine myself and try to grow on a personal level about who I am and what I do online. With the intent that someday I can merge the two together and ensure that people know the same me online and in person, but I am not sure which part has more room for improvement because like mentioned earlier it is often just easier to open up when not face to face versus when we are, and that for me is a large task that could use a lot of work. So in short I have learned a lot about myself in a way that I did not expect to at all. I may even choose to continue to blog as a means of keeping in touch wiht some friends and family.

The New Flu

The computer has not only helped us stay in touch with those that are far away but it has also helped us to stay away from those that are near and dear to our hearts while they are carrying a nasty virus called the flu. Although most people think they are safe from that by talking with these fallen friends via face book some 120 million users have been stricken by the newest in a series of face book spread viruses. This virus being referred to as koobface is spread to people via their friends list. The virus makes not of the friends and sends them an email notification as most normally get when someone has written on their wall or tagged a photo of them. Which is essentially what notification states, however it then prompts the user to take the time to install the latest version of any number of video programs to allow this notification to come through. Then during this process it infects the person whom the notification was sent to, causing a wider spread of the virus because it now has a new friends list to attack. So between the vast numbers of friends some people collect and the six degrees of separation theory it is quite possible to have the virus working its way to a computer near you. This all happens ironically as the beginning of the actual flu season begins to hit and people prepare to venture out to get their flu shots only if where that simple to get a simple injection for your computer or face book page and have all the troubles of online viruses go away.