“Broadband Providers Will Need Permission to Collect Private Data”

Most of us know about the attacks last Friday and Saturday to sites like Reddit and Twitter, but how do those attacks affect broadband companies like Comcast and AT&T? Well there was already broadband privacy rules proposed last March on collecting the data from users of broadband. The rules are huge to advertisers, companies like Comcast are no longer allowed to collect data unsolicited, they have to ask the users what information they would like to share with the company. These rules don’t effect any internet based companies like Netflix or Facebook, or even Direct TV or the HBO now app (both part of AT&T). This means the digital data they used to collect for ads and such will be a lot harder to find, and make it a lot harder for them to create ads that appeal to the general audience of certain TV networks and shows. Before they could look at a persons bills see there watching habits and then see there shopping habits and create ads that pertain to that certain person. AT&T who just made a bid to buy Time Warner last week will be affected 85.4 billion last week, is now under the question of whether they will be able to afford this acquisition of this movie giant. Why if the sanctions were proposed in March are they just being passed now? The recent attack on the internet scared the F.C.C., and has them realizing how easy our information can be to steal, so they are making an attempt to protect us from any possible future attacks. The only problem is, we are already in there information books, they already have enough information about each user for someone to steal it an do something with it 10 years from now. The next question in my head is will the F.T.C. do the same with face of internet and slowly tighten the grip around the neck of ad makers today? And if so, how will this effect the jobs of everyone whose is apart of the company making the adds, or even celebrities who endorse the ads?

“A New Era of Internet Attacks Powered By Everyday Devices”

The Internet of Things (IoT), good or bad? Well this article explains why the idea of the IoT may not be the best idea as a nation. When we think of everything connected, we think of it making day to day life easier and better all around by not having to worry about nearly as many things in life, or a least I do, or did. This article talks about the attack that happened to so many popular websites and social media forms this past weekend, that affected most of us, and if not most of us have heard about it by now. Well some people like Brian Krebs who run a popular site on internet security predicted the attack, knew it wasn’t long till it would come (Sanger, Oct. 22). Part of the problem is so many of these items tied into the IoT like street cameras or home invasion protection are made cheaply by the chinese and other foreign countries. Another problem is that those companies who advertise to have your whole home connected to your home, to know is someone broke in or your garage door is left open, can be easily hacked. Well now seeing how easily attacked those widely used websites were, with not that complex of a software, it’s scary to think what hackers could use with a more complex malware. These attackers could gain access to anything in your house most likely if they were to attack the security companies used to protect our homes, and increasingly easier if our home is connected to your phone. Another increasing worry is the attack could be anyone with the internet in the U.S not monitored, and we may not know who did it till weeks or months after the incident. We need to be worried about how vulnerable our information in certain sites really is, when most of us never worry to much about it. Who should be more worried the citizens of our country or the government? And who is going to fix this problem?

“The Definitive Guide to Cord-Cutting in 2016, Based on Your Habits”

The way we watch television today is so much different than how we did 20 years ago, 10 years ago, and even 5 years ago. In high school I did a study in my AP Statistics class about the way everyone watches television and how much they watch, compared to how they did five years previous. The answers I got from my classmates told me they watch the same amount of television even a little more than they used to with it being so accessible. People use networks like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu to stream most of the television rather than watching it traditionally through there cable network of comcast, or verizon, or whatever they had. That is what this article is talking about how, why and what people are switching too. Cable isn’t getting any cheaper, it is inconvenient, and dealing with them can be such a hassle. It seems the only upside is that you only have one bill to worry about rather than multiple. This article tells you for no matter what kind of entertainment watcher you are, which company has the best service, hardware, most affordable, and what other things it works with. The company Roku seems to pop up in at least one of those categories whether your a movie buff, sports addict, fan of premium hbo shows, tv binge watcher, or even for families. What does Roku do, are they like a netflix, or are they the hardware something like a netflix uses in order to run on? Another thing that raises a question in my head, is what keeps everyone today using cable? Is it because of sports? I know that’s the only reason I watch regular tv ever.

“N.S.A Suspect is a Hoarder. But a Leaker? Investigators Aren’t Sure. “

The story I have been hearing people around me talk about in the last couple days is the leaked information coming from a top government contractor, Booz Allen Hamilton. The man being investigated was Harold T. Martin III, he was previously an NSA man and before that a Navy one who served in operation Desert Storm. From previous unnamed friends and even his ownself, it was thought he has PTSD from being in war in Iraq. While no doctor has tested him to be able to say that, he did plenty of work on PTSD in order to try and get a Ph.D, he also diagnosed himself with it. This could be one reason he would have to leak the information, or even bring it home, keeping him from thinking about the other things from his past life that troubled him. The information had been leaked was intercepted by the communication, from allied countries like Japan and some European companies, and also hacking into other government agencies networks online and offline. This would put U.S relations with these companies at risk. He might not even have intentionally done it, doing this work at home you don’t have the same protection on your computer as the ones at any government agency contractor. Someone easily could have hacked his computer and stole the information and posed it themselves. Bottom line whether he leaked it or not he will be in trouble for illegally bringing home classified government documents without authorization. This creates a big problem for U.S relations and the real question here is do you think he leaked it or was he hacked?

“A Peak at the Secret English Farm Where Amazon Tests Its Drones”

This article talks about amazon and their hidden or secretive attempts to innovate and become a better company. The people in this remote area of England don’t really seem to understand everything that drones can do and the possible dangers of the. Their ignorance about drones scares them, and has some members of the community trying to find out more about this project Amazon is doing on this farm in outskirts of this tiny town. They even have security around the perimeter to allow amazon personnel in only and keep trespassers out.  Amazon is using this farmland and everything on the farm such as bales of hay to test their drones and improve them. They are also having the drones carry small packages, in order to simulate product delivery via drone. Amazon executives think this is a way to the future of delivery, and will make delivery quicker and easier for both parties involved in a delivery. The fact of the unusually fast cellphone speed in such a remote area throws up some flags that they are there, because that is something needed for drones, along with the warning to pilots flying anywhere close to the area. Another thing that seemed to both the citizens of the area was the reason amazon is even testing this in England and not the US. This kind of practice in the US is currently illegal, which makes the the citizens of the area uneasy. Is what Amazon doing okay? Is it woth the potential change to the world of delivery as we know it?

“Cloud Computing Brings Sprawling Centers, but Few Jobs, to Small Towns”

When we think of small towns in this country, we think of farmland a couple traffic lights and maybe a local shopping center. Well this article talks about how tech giants like Google and Microsoft are moving into these areas. No they aren’t moving in to have a company headquarters or even office space, they are building billion dollar data cloud storage centers. To convince these small towns they promise jobs and to bring growth to the local economy. The article this is about is mainly about one small town just south of North Carolina, where a billion dollar Microsoft plant was just built. These companies chose specifically small towns with plenty of space to build these plants. The jobs they promised well most of them are only for a short period of time. The economic growth they promised, well it turns out there was very little just another table at a gas station, and it’s hurting other small local companies. Other companies who are hiring people to be guards or build stuff can’t pay these possible employee’s what these large tech companies can. The relevance of this article goes back a couple days to we were in class and Dr. Pursel was mentioning different tech things and one was the cloud. He asked us if we knew what that was and most of us didn’t. Well this cloud space storage carriers may be hurting the small towns of the this country.They hurt these places by not employing the local citizens and not consuming from the surrounding businesses. Cloud storage only seemed helpful to everyone, but little do we realize what actually is happening is bad because of what their power plants surrounding areas.  

 

www.nytimes.com/2016/08/27/technology/cloud-computing-brings-sprawling-centers-but-few-jobs-to-small-towns.html?ref=technology