by Devon Neal

Few things go hand-in-hand like music and technology. Most of the space these two share is fraught with negativity in relation to P2P software, the outbreak of viruses and spyware, and the RIAA’s fight to limit illegal downloading of copyrighted tracks. The debate on this is heated and endless, but all for one very important reason: music is something everyone can be completely passionate about. Whether you’re looking for a comforting voice on a sad day or looking to liven up your morning with something energetic, music is one of those rare forms of media that we all can make incredibly personal.

With the risks that can be had in downloading music these days, some may find it fairly difficult to broaden their musical horizons. However, the technology world provides plenty of completely legal ways to discover your next favorite band.

Apple’s iPhone just recently announced the integration of a new application in conjunction with a company known as Kyte. This company has struck an agreement with Interscope Geffen A&M to allow any artists or bands signed to this label to develop their own personalized applications. What this means is that the bands themselves can actually provide video content and allow fans to chat and comment on concerts. So far, the label has provided artist-specific applications for the All-American Rejects, Keri Hilson, Lady Gaga, the Pussycat Dolls, and Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em. In doing this, Kyte is looking to develop its own network of artist-produced applications allowing bands to interact one-on-one with all their fans, all through their iPhones.

Don’t have an iPhone? Luckily, there are plenty of other ways to interact with and discover new talent. The new Sirius/XM merger has allowed a broadening of satellite radio larger now than ever before. And, for cheaper, you can log on to any online radio station. One of these, Pandora, allows you to create your own stations by entering the names of your favorite bands and artists, and then plays any related artists, including many obscure ones that you possibly haven’t heard before. You can “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” certain songs as they play, allowing further customization. You can even get applications to allow Pandora to play on your Blackberry, iPhone, or with Windows Mobile.

Despite the hubbub that music and technology are stirring up, there are still plenty of ways for you to artfully and legally assemble the soundtrack for your life.

by Graham Ricks

With the holidays fast approaching, people are beginning the search for the perfect gift. Our nation’s most prolific shopping day, Black Friday, is a week away. Stores have already begun stocking for this shopping rush. Each year we hear more elaborate stories of people camping out overnight for a Tickle Me Elmo doll, or the newest game console, but with the use of the internet you no longer have to worry about fighting those long lines and sitting in hours of traffic.

Cyber Monday has brought holiday shopping into the 21st century. For those of you who have not heard of Cyber Monday, this is the name given to the Monday after Thanksgiving. Instead of fighting people for the last toy on the shelf, many people have decided to do all of their shopping online, and most people tend to do it while at work and behind their computer. Below are a few tips to follow when doing online shopping.

* First of all, make sure you are dealing with a reputable online retailer. This time of year a lot of websites pop up hoping to catch unsuspecting shoppers giving out their credit card numbers for a seemingly good deal. If you stick to larger retailers like Buy.com, Overstock.com, or even EBay’s Shopping.com you have less to worry about than if you shop at a generic internet discount store.

* Make sure that any page you submit any personal information to begins with https://. If the web page address does not begin with this, DO NOT ENTER PERSONAL INFORMATION. The “s” in the address indicates that the page is secure; if the “s” is not there your information could be captured by an outside source looking to steal your identity.

* Look for logos on the site from groups like TRUSTe or VeriSign. These are companies whose business is to verify the legitimacy of other websites. They look at things like how long the company has been in existence, customer surveys and the amount of internet traffic they receive. Making sure a website is verified by TRUSTe or VeriSign will ensure a more pleasant shopping experience.

If you follow these guidelines for online shopping safety, you are going to insure that you have a pleasant and safe holiday shopping experience.

Happy and Safe Computing!

by Jen Fife

Every 12 seconds a laptop is stolen. This may not seem urgent to the average college student, but 45% of reported cases of identity theft are in some way connected with or caused by stolen laptops. Even more disturbing is the fact that the 18-29 year old age group accounts for 29% of identity theft cases. College campuses are prime targets for such theft because many students make their information easily accessible. Students, if you don’t believe this, answer this question: Is your birthday listed on your Facebook page?

If identity theft seems so inevitable, how can students possibly protect themselves? The short answer is, by exercising common sense and caution. More specifically, by following these tips:

**This one should go without saying, but NEVER give out your social security number over the phone.

**ALWAYS lock the door to your room or apartment when you aren’t home. An unlocked door is an open invitation for a thief to come in and help themselves to anything, including laptops, bank statements, and other identifying information.

**Computers should be password protected, and passwords should be changed every few months. Passwords should not be easily guessed, and should be at least 8 characters long. For more tips on creating strong passwords, refer to: http://support.resnet.eku.edu/password.php/

**Digitally shred all personal information. There are sites with free shredding software on the internet, or you may choose to purchase such software.

**Exercise caution when using Facebook, Myspace, and other social networking sites. Profiles exist as a means for students to market themselves to potential friends, dates, and/or employers, but these people aren’t the only ones who can see a public profile. Many over-the-phone agencies require only a person’s full date of birth as confirmation of identity, so students should avoid listing this information on the internet.

**NEVER give out personal information in response to an email request. Any reputable organization will NEVER ask for this information. Providing passwords via email gives anyone who may intercept that email access to your private data.

**Finally, always log out of your email inbox, EKU Direct, facebook, etc. and close your browser to avoid providing sensitive information to others.

While anyone can be a victim of identity theft, college campuses are prime targets. Follow the tips above and be cautious of anything that seems suspicious. If any person or organization asks for information you don’t feel comfortable sharing, trust yourself and don’t share!

http://www.money-zine.com/Financial-Pla ... Statistics

http://ezinearticles.com/?Identity-Thef ... ;id=559297

by Brady Begley

"Real-Time Guardian™ (RTGuardian) is the most advanced perimeter security solution for managing web browsing, securing unauthorized IM and P2P usage and blocking the spread of malware in the enterprise." -facetime.com

RTGuardian is your new best friend in the battle against spyware, malware and the other trouble related websites. RTGuardian has gotten rave reviews from leading technology sources. This new service will be coming soon from IT!

"it can enhance your ability to filter unwanted data from your network." -networkcomputing.com

"Offering the zero latency that IT users have come to expect from the Real Time Guardian platform with double the throughput of FaceTime's RTGuardian 1000, the new RTG 2000 addresses the challenges of managing and securing the avalanche of real-time applications being deployed on the enterprise network." -eetimes.com

"Enterprises can manage employee use of all Internet channels—both greynets and the Web—with a single solution using unified policy management." -itwire.com

Typical user will not see any changes to the network but if you are one of the unlucky few who are infected with any spyware you will see a page that tells you "Web Site Restricted". If for some reason you feel you have reached this page while trying to view a legit site please contact us at resnet@eku.edu

As of the date of this summation EKUs IT has no intentions of blocking IM and P2P usage.

By Demetrius Anderson

Just right for Halloween is this tale of robots and zombies. Over the past few semesters Eastern has experienced a rise in software robots or BOTNET software. BOTNETt (also known as a zombie army) is a number of Internet computers that, although their owners are unaware of it, have been set up to forward transmissions to other computers on the Internet. These computers are remotely controlled and they are used to send out worms, Trojans, and/ or backdoors throughout the net. According to the Symantec Internet Security Threat Report, through the first six months of 2006, there were 4,696,903 active BOTNET computers.

Of course there are many ways to prevent this from happening to your PC and the safest form of prevention is always internet absence. If you don’t what your PC to become a Zombie we recommend that you avoid going to websites you don’t trust, don’t install software when you’re unsure of what it is, and be cautious of programs like Limewire and many other file sharing programs that install a huge amounts of spyware. If a browser or instant messenger pop up asks you to install software it’s probably not a good idea to install it! We recommend that you download and install Ad-aware and other free anti-spyware programs offered on our support site. Make sure to keep these programs updated and run them weekly!

For more support visit:
http://support.resnet.eku.edu/
http://www.resnet.eku.edu/

I suppose I'm showing my age but when i was young (in the late 70s and early 80s) we had these devices called a cassette tape. Know what was terrific about a blank one...recording music from LPs, other cassettes, 8-tracks or the radio. We played those until either the tape was "eaten" in the tape player or the tape wore out. Did those ever stop people from buying music from music companies? Sure they did...did people pirate "legal" copies with them? Sure they did. Did people still buy music legally and go to concerts? Yes, of course.

Why am I telling you all this? Well, this was a day before anti-piracy lawyers worked for each music corporation in droves and before such organizations as the RIAA. It was before someone would show up at your front door with a multi-thousand dollar fine and jail time for you to serve in their hands. It was a day before music companies complained about lagging sales of CDs and concert attendance.

Today we have CDs, all types of radio options (Internet, satellite, AM/FM), iPods, the Internet, and concerts, for example. For some odd reason when someone swipes music today you hear complaints about lagging sales and millionaire musicians who can't get anyone to attend their concerts....Music companies are forming bread lines because of the lost revenues but they can afford to throw money hand over fist into lawyer and court fees to stop you from getting a CDs worth of music ($18 CD that costs them, say, $9 to make and is costing them $3,000+ in fees to get it back from you). Does it make sense? What's new now that wasn't new back then? Do their tactics really stop anyone?

No. Greed. And no.

Some people say the quality today is different but I say hogwash because in "my day" the quality of our cassettes was fine because LPs and 8-tracks weren't CD quality either so our tapes sounded fine.

Some people say that it's because the Internet makes sharing so much easier. That may be "true" but it's also an opportunity to re-market--getting music to the people (iTunes) creatively and stopping the greed. Or maybe we should get music companies a full-time accountant who can do the math.

The latest news from Capital Records, et. al. v. Jammie Thomas, a P2P lawsuit happening at this moment--according to a Sony BMG anti-piracy lawyer we're now suppose to buy each copy of a song we possess. If you want a song from a CD you own legally on your iPod you should buy the song twice. Also want it on your PC--three times. And you can forget making a backup of the CD--stealing! So, once it gets ware and scratches and won't work anymore...you're out of luck. Buy it all again. Remember...they're all starving now. $15 billion+ buys nothing these days!!

Am I advocating stealing? NO WAY! Am I saying copyright violations are right? NO! I don't think people should "steal" music or "steal" copyright. All I am saying is what is so different today than what's always happened? How is all this madness cost effective? And, does the silliness of buying 5 copies of a legal CD make sense to the consumer and what are the repercussions of that? Does it make people want to "share" more or less? I think the music industry would better spend their money ($15+ BILLION in revenues between the top 4) researching what drives all this and how to fix it in a way the consumer will agree with, instead of making lawyers and the RIAA rich/er.

RIAA http://www.riaa.com/
THE BIG 4:
EMI Group http://www.shareholder.com/visitors/dyn ... anyid=EMIL
Sony BMG http://www.sonymusic.com/about/corpcomm.html
Universal Music http://www.vivendi.com/corp/en/subsidia ... _music.php
Warner Music Group http://investors.wmg.com/phoenix.zhtml? ... ortsannual

Boycott RIAA http://www.boycott-riaa.com/
RIAA Radar http://www.riaaradar.com/
How to Not Get Sued for File Sharing http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/howto-notgetsued.php
Recording Industry vs The People http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/
Internet "Trial of the Century" Produces "Playlist of the Century" http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/riaa_trial/index.html

Just last week Virgin Mobile in Australia is being sued over the use of a photograph in one of their ad campaigns. This photo, published on Flickr under a creative commons license, is now in dispute by the under-aged girl in the photo, her family, and camp counselor who took the picture. Her uncle, by the way, posted the picture on Flickr.

What exactly is a creative commons license? It is basically a copyright free work--meaning it can be used without charges. [http://creativecommons.org/]

Is this really all that new? No. Software developers have had GNU (free operating systems) and "open sources" codes forever.

So, if the picture was posted as copyright free as long as where the photo came from was credited--and it was on the ad--is this really a violation by Virgin Mobile or Flickr? Is this merely a money issue or was she really embarrassed? Does her being embarrassed matter if the photo release was signed away? Should creative commons licenses include photos of others who didn't give their permission, especially if under-aged?

Lots of questions but not a lot of answers yet. Could be a real slam for Web 2.0 and user generated content but we'll see.

Remember: Don't put your pictures online without changing or morphing it somehow or worse could happen! NOTHING you post online is safe from anyone....folks much worse than some Madison Avenue type. I promise.

http://support.resnet.eku.edu/phishing.php

If you get rid of your old computer and leave the hard drive in it...you could be giving away or selling your information!

Your old computer could end up on Ebay, at a recycling center, or a computer show. This leaves you completely open to identify theft if you don't wipe your hard drive before disposing of it properly.

Find an effective erasure program and use it next time you get rid of a computer. Do a Google search for one or pay to have it done, if you must, or you could end up paying for it later!

by Adam Conner

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file sharing has become a great tool for people to communicate between each other and share music, video, audio images, etc. Programs such as Limewire and Kazaa allow a person to download music and video to a certain location to their computer and share this information with the people who have the same software, but there are risks.

Risk #1: As with anything you download from the internet, there is always the risk of being infected with a virus, spyware, or other malicious programs such as rogue programs, programs that take up space on your computer and are really nothing more than a nuisance. Malware is the other name used for these type of programs. The best defense is to have antivirus software and spyware software, like Spybot, to scan these items to see if they are legitimate or possible infections on your computer.

Risk #2: Be careful not to download copyrighted materials. Overall, file sharing is legal to use but when in doubt, do not download the software, image, song, or video.
Here are some other tips to think about when it comes to using this feature:

*Monitor family peer-to-peer sharing. Do not assume that internet filters can block most P2P files that you receive. Guidelines should be set between family members so that no one downloads a virus or spyware. Be careful who you share these programs with because it may contain either one of these. Also, be careful not to download any copyrighted material.

*Treat all downloaded files with suspicion. Scan each new file with an industry- standard antivirus software before you download it. Set your antivirus to scan your hard-drive on a regular basis or perform these scans yourself.

*Delete any pirated material you find on a family computer, digital audio players, CD-R discs, and other storage devices and consider disabling the P2P’s software downloading option or block outside access to the program by changing your computer’s Internet firewall settings.

*Learn all you can about P2P software and be careful what files you make available to others. Most P2P files are stored in a folder or “My Shared file” or something similar

*Do not store copies of copyrighted files that you have legally purchased, such as a CD from a retail store, into your P2P file-sharing folder.

*Back-up important files on an external device before downloading any shared files

Source:
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/yourse ... aring.mspx

Instant messaging (IM) programs (MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, etc) have become popular venues for malicious programs to use to spread. It is important, if you use one or more of these, to be aware of them and watch for them.

How do they work? IM viruses are designed to spread themselves via the IM program. Once you are infected, they work without you even knowing it is there...sending messages to everyone on your contact list hoping to infect them too. The messages are from your infected account and once they go to a contact they trust the message and click to download files or go to websites, since it's from you. And, in turn, infecting their machine too. Then the process starts all over!

How do you avoid them? (1) NEVER open, accept or download a file in IM from people unless you know they're definitely sending it to you. If you're not currently chatting with them, send them an e-mail or call them to check. If they're not sending anything to you, they're infected. (2) Always keep software, your operating system and IM programs, up-to-date. (3) Have an antivirus program installed and updated. (4) Keep spyware removal programs up-to-date too and run them weekly to find malware.