Stingray

For this week's blog post, I read an article that hits close to home for everyone living in the Baltimore area. That article revealed that Baltimore police have been using technology that many feel is a violation of our privacy. The technology, called the "Stingray", is basically a tapping system. It acts as a portable cell phone tower and gives police complete access to any phone calls, text messages, and records attached to the device. According to David Rocah, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, "We think it should not be used by police in Baltimore or anywhere else without a warrant,". I agree with Rocah. I think it in an extreme violation to  someone's privacy to access their records and informations without reasonable cause or their consent. Some Marylanders don't see a problem with this, including July Kelly. Kelly stated, "...Apple has access to all of your tracking information. I trust police more than I do a corporation...". I also couldn't agree more with this. I would trust police more than a corporation, but I think that too many people have too much access to our privacy. I think is just one example of why it is important to monitor your online and mobile activity, as well as keep up with recent news in technology.

"ACLU: Baltimore Police Use "invasive" Surveillance Technology." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 30 Nov. 2014. Web. 30 Nov. 2014. <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/aclu-baltimore-police-use-invasive-stingray-surveillance-technology/>.

The Safest User Response

During this week, part of the lesson was to complete a quiz that analyzed how well we utilize software security tools in our on lives. I was shocked by my classmates and my responses. Generally speaking, most of my classmates and I were deemed unsafe users by the quiz. I would agree with this statement. Several of the items that were used to judge us on this quiz I hadn't even heard of or thought existed. For example, as foolish as it sounds, I didn't know the importance of having software security on mobile devices and tablets. For some reason, I had just thought any devices other than my computer were safe, simply because they are mobile. This week I learned that this is not the case, and that it is critical to practice software security on any devices connected to the internet. Another thing I learned this week is to be cautious of free and open WiFi networks, because you have no way of knowing who is using the networks and that the network is very insecure. I found the ways I learned to utilize software security very valuable, and I have applied some of these methods since. I even downloaded an app to protect my mobile phone's software!

Net Netrality

I decided to do this assignment on the topic of Net Neutrality. Prior to this week's class, I had never even heard of net neutrality before, which I find to be rather alarming. In addition to the information I gathered in class this week on the topic, I read a very informing article on net neutrality by the Apple Insider. The article explained the ins and outs of net neutrality, including its origins, its consequences, what it means to every day consumers, and even the President's view on the topic. A line that I found very helpful in explaining the issue was "cable companies are currently fighting for the ability to throttle Internet traffic from certain sources, while giving preferred content a fast lane over their network" (Robles, 2014). My reaction to this topic stayed consistent throughout the entire article: I support net neutrality. I think that it is critical to keep the Internet free and open to everyone, just as it has been in the past. I think that if cable companies and Internet providers began charging g and certain services the amount of users would decline dramatically. Overall, I feel as though the absence of net neutrality would cause technology, research, social media, shopping to fall back rather than come forward. Just as Obama had told in a statement he made to the FCC, I believe the Web should be "open and free" (Obama, 2014).

Robles, S. (2014, November 14). Inside the net neutrality dispute, and why it's important to Apple users. Retrieved November 17, 2014, from http://appleinsider.com/articles/14/11/15/inside-the-net-neutrality-dispute-and-why-its-important-to-apple-users