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When IT Goes Bad From Software to Society

INFO100 and CSE100. Fluency with Information Technology. When IT Goes Bad From Software to Society. Katherine Deibel. Errors and IT. Basic fact: Technology can go bad At least two sources of fault How the technology operates How people use the technology At least two forms of correction

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When IT Goes Bad From Software to Society

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  1. INFO100 and CSE100 Fluency with Information Technology When IT Goes BadFrom Software to Society Katherine Deibel Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  2. Errors and IT • Basic fact: Technology can go bad • At least two sources of fault • How the technology operates • How people use the technology • At least two forms of correction • Debugging • IT Fluency Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  3. Debugging THE ANTS… THEY'RE IN MY PANTS!!! Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  4. But before we begin… A Historical Note Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  5. An Amazing Photo Philadelphia Inquirer, "Your Neighbors" article, 8/13/1957 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  6. Grace Hopper • Education • Vasser: B.S. in Mathematics &Physics • Yale: M.S. and Ph.D. in Mathematics • Naval Career • Joined Naval Reserves (1943) • Assigned to work with Howard Aiken • Harvard • First person to write a program for the Mark I (arctangent calculations) • Member of the Mark II and III development teams Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  7. The Infamous Bug • While working on the Mark II, Hopper discovered a moth stuck in a relay. • Originated the term “debugging” Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  8. Debugging THE ANTS… THEY'RE STILL IN MY PANTS!!! Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  9. Many Types of Debugging • Programming Debugging • Writing HTML, CSS, Javascript, etc. • Software Malfunction • Program crashes, feature doesn't work as expected, etc. • Hardware Debugging • Printer will not print • Wireless will not connect Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  10. Your Role as the Debugger • Programming Debugging • You are the chief mechanic • Software and Hardware Mechanic • Your role is much more limited Historically, it was much, much easier for people without technical degrees to perform repairs on home electronics: televisions, radios, etc. Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  11. Programming Debugging • Ignore the number of errors • Remember, errors propagate errors • Start with the error that first occurs • Again, errors propagate errors • If there is error feedback, read it! • Make a fix and then check • Do NOT fix repeated errors unless you are certain that you know the cause Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  12. Example: XHTML Validation • We attempt to validate a page • We get 24 errors and warnings.. EEK! • What do we do? Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  13. Example: XHTML Validation • We attempt to validate a page • We get 24 errors and warnings.. EEK! Ignore the number of errors Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  14. Example: XHTML Validation • First error reported is an <h1> tag <h1 class="banner>…</h1> • We put in the missing quote Start with the first occurring error Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  15. Example: XHTML Validation • We save and revalidate • Only 4 errors and warnings now Make a fix and then check Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  16. Example: XHTML Validation • All of our errors now look like this • We need to put <img> inside <p>…</p> • We can do this for all four Line 11, Column 25: document type does not allow element "img" here; missin one of "p", "h1", "h2", "h3", "h4", "h5", h6", "div", "pre", "address", "fieldset", "ins", "del" start-tag ... <imgsrc="photo.png" alt="a cute calico cat" /> Only fix multiple errors if certain of cause Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  17. Software/Hardware Debugging • Much more difficult • If possible, first save and backup your work • Look around and see what you know • Read the screen • Write down any error messages to look up online • Is there a pointer/link that offers help • When in doubt, restart Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  18. The Levels of Restart • Close and restart the program • Might need to close in Task Manager (Windows) • Log out and log back in • Restart the machine (hot reboot) • Shutdown the machine, wait a few minutes, then restart (cold reboot) Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  19. Why Restarting Helps • Think mental exhaustion • When programs run • Memory gets allocated and deallocated (available for others to use) • Memory is not cleared when deallocated • Legacies of past calculations build up • Minor things begin to snowball • Entropy ensues Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  20. Why Restarting Helps • Helps flush away the clutter, clears the board, etc. • Power down causes most volatile memory to "zero" out • Basically gives programs a do-over, mulligan, fresh start, etc. Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  21. But I must whine… Why bugs will always occur Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  22. IT Cannot Be Perfect • Bugs, errors, etc. cannot be avoided beyond very simple situations • Proven to be mathematically impossible • Unless you invoke a god-like being • But you cannot prove the god-like being will always work • Unless you invoke a god-like, god-like being… • Etc. Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  23. We Do Our Best • Software engineering • Testing before products hit market • Upgrades and fixes • Risk assessments and failure cost analyses Debugging will always be necessary Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  24. When Users Go Bad Don't always blame the inventors and engineers Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  25. How IT Goes Bad • Spam • Scams • Phishing • Viruses • Trojans • Malware • Misinformation • Pollution Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  26. Spam – Not a pork product • Different definitions • Informal: e-mail you don't want • Formal: unsolicited e-mail • Estimated to be ≈80% of all e-mail • Mostly sent by bot-nets • Virus-infected computers • Distributed across globe • No central means of takedown Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  27. Spam – Address Collection • Some companies sell their lists • Hacking of lists • We give our e-mail addresses to them • Crawled from webpage mailto links • Our names are listed at organizations • John Smith is a student at UW • UW e-mails are @uw.edu • Try smith@uw.edu, jsmith@uw.edu, jsmith1@uw.edu, etc. Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  28. Avoiding Giving Out E-mail • Make it harder to crawl from a page • I avoid mailto links • List e-mail verbosely: deibel AT uw DOT edu • Do not make your address an image file—This violates accessibility guidelines • Keep separate e-mail addresses • An e-mail address purely for online shopping • A dump addresses for registering products, etc. • I never check these except when I am interacting with said companies Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  29. Spam Filtering • Incorporated into e-mail clients and providers • Series of filters that add “points” to email score • Examples • Forged header information • Suspicious content • No text, just an image • Foreign language email • Fonts all in Caps • Threshold determines if e-mail is spam

  30. How Spam Filters Work • Spam filters cannot “understand” the content of a message, they just guess based on message characteristics • Spam score is computed by checking • Forged message headers • Suspicious text content (keywords like “lottery” or “mortgage”) • No text, just as image (an attempt to foil text checks) • Foreign language text • Fonts styles – all caps, large font size, bright colors

  31. How Spam Filters Work • If the score passes some threshold, the message is quarantined, meaning put aside in a spam folder • User can scan the spam folder for legitimate messages that have been wrongly flagged

  32. Spam Filtering Threshold • Set too high, you miss some e-mails • Set too low, you get more spam • No perfect value in general • Adjust until it works for you • Might need to 'whitelist' certain addresses

  33. Whitelisting • Opposite of blacklisting • A list of entities you want to allow in • Examples for Kate: • E-mails from Sallie Mae (student loans) • Student e-mails • Hotmail addresses • Foreign characters Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  34. Spam Netiquette • Many of the commercial spam emails we receive seem unsolicited, but may not be so • We often have given our permission to the sender • we may not remember doing this • it was in some small print or checkbox on some Web form or site we used • Reputable companies provide “opt out” addresses or links in the ads so we can get off the mailing lists

  35. Scams • Nigerian E-mail Scam SUBJECT: URGENT RESPONSE DEAR SIR IT IS WITH HEART FULL OF HOPE THAT I WRITE TO SEEK YOUR HELP IN THE CONTEXT BELOW. I AM MRS. MUNIRAT ABACHA THE SECOND WIFE OF THE FORMER NIGERIA HEAD OF STATE, LATE GENERAL SANI ABACHA, WHOSE SUDDEN DEATH OCCURRED ON 8TH OF JUNE 1998. HAVING GOTTEN YOUR PARTICULARS FROM THE FAMILY LIBRARY, I HAVE NO DOUBT ABOUT YOUR CAPACITY AND GOOD WILL TO ASSIST US IN RECEIVING INTO YOUR CUSTODY (FOR SAFETY) THE SUM OF US $20 MILLION WILLED AND DEPOSITED IN MY FAVOUR BY MY LATE HUSBAND, PLUS 24 CARAT GOLD DUST WORTH USD5M. …

  36. Scams • Old tricks, new technologies • You've won a lottery so we need your bank account number • Forward this e-mail to collect money for a kidney transplant • Free chemicals at European prices Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  37. Phishing • False web site for collecting personal information • Most companies will not send e-mails such as this • Check the links • Contact the company directly <a href="http://borscht.ru/custverifyinfo.aspx">http://trustedbank.com/general/custverifyinfo.asp</a>

  38. Malware: Malicious Software • Viruses SW that rides along on other software with the intent of doing damage and propagating • Worms SW that transmits itself (often by email) with the intent of doing damage and propagating • Trojan SW inside of other SW with monitoring or other malicious purposes • Spyware SW resident in your computer trying to find information about you for malicious purposes

  39. First Virus: Morris Worm • The first major malicious attack on computers came from Robert Tappan Morris, Jr, a Cornell CS major who lost control of self-replicating software in 1988 • It took down 10% of the Internet (~6000 machines) and cost millions to recover from • Morris got 3 years probation, 400 hrs community service, $10,000 fine

  40. Vectors of Attack • E-mail attachments • Even friends and family may send them • Facebook Apps • Infected websites • Google warns you about these if it can • Infected ads on websites • Rare nowadays • Infected downloads from sketchy sites • Just buy your own copy of Plants vs Zombies Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  41. Misinformation • Sometimes it's not the technology but the message • Credibility of web pages • Appeal to popularity • Deliberate tampering • Fearmongering Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  42. Googlebombing • Embedding links in web pages to change Google Search results • Positive and negative uses • Positive: Prevent an anti-semitic site from being the first result for 'jew' • Negative:Link "dumb motherf***er" to George W. Bush during the 2000 elections Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  43. Wikipedia Falsehoods • Vandalism is frequent but gets caught usually quickly • Easier for popular topics • Seigenthaler Incident • Palin-Paul Revere revisionism • Neutral point-of-view contention Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  44. Internet Diseases • Munchausen by Internet • People self-diagnosing via WebMD • Faking illnesses for sympathy • Morgellons • First Internet-spread epidemic • Non-existing illness that is a group think led hysterical delusional parasitosis Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  45. Pollution • Disposing of old electronics • Too hazardous for landfills • Few recycling options • Recycling efforts are problematic • Shipped to third world countries • Sits outside and contaminates area • Poor working conditions for recycling staff Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  46. Other Errors of IT Use • Intellectual Property Theft • TV shows • Movies • Books • Distractions • Productivity drops due to e-mail • Workers spend time on Facebook • Cyberbullying, flame wars, etc. Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  47. Not all IT is Bad Right? Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  48. Lots of Positive Aspects to IT • Greater access to information • Connecting disparate groups • New means of expression, sharing, ideas, learning, etc. • What are some others? Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

  49. Summary • IT can and does go wrong at times. • Sometimes it's the technology • Debugging can help you fix the problems • You just need to observe and think • Sometime it's the use of technology • Be aware of how it can go wrong • Be smart, careful, and kind • IT should be a net positive Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology

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