View
215
Download
0
Category
Preview:
Citation preview
When IT Goes BadFrom Software to Society
Fluency with Information Technology
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 1
INFO100 and CSE100
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
Debugging
IT Fluency
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 2
DebuggingTHE ANTS… THEY'RE IN
MY PANTS!!!
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 3
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 4
But before we begin…
A Historical Note
5
An Amazing Photo
Philadelphia Inquirer, "Your Neighbors" article, 8/13/1957
2012-01-27 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
2012-01-27 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”
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology
DebuggingTHE ANTS… THEY'RE STILL IN MY PANTS!!!
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 8
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
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 9
Your Role as the Debugger
Programming Debugging You are the chief mechanic
Software and Hardware Mechanic Your role is much more limited
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 10
Historically, it was much, much easier for people without technical degrees to perform repairs on home electronics: televisions, radios, etc.
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
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 11
Example: XHTML Validation
We attempt to validate a page We get 24 errors and warnings.. EEK! What do we do?
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 12
Example: XHTML Validation
We attempt to validate a page We get 24 errors and warnings.. EEK!
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 13
Ignore the number of errors
Example: XHTML Validation
First error reported is an <h1> tag
<h1 class="banner>…</h1> We put in the missing quote
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 14
Start with the first occurring error
Example: XHTML Validation
We save and revalidate Only 4 errors and warnings now
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 15
Make a fix and then check
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
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 16
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
... <img src="photo.png" alt="a cute calico cat" />
Only fix multiple errors if certain of cause
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
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 17
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)
2012-01-27
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
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 19
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.
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 20
But I must whine…Why bugs will always occur
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 21
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.2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 22
We Do Our Best
Software engineering Testing before products hit market Upgrades and fixes Risk assessments and failure cost
analyses
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 23
Debugging will always be necessary
When Users Go BadDon't always blame the inventors and engineers
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 24
How IT Goes Bad
Spam Scams Phishing Viruses Trojans Malware Misinformation Pollution
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 25
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
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 26
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.
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 27
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
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 28
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
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
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
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
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
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 33
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
12-34
Scams
Nigerian E-mail Scam
SUBJECT: URGENT RESPONSEDEAR SIRIT 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.
…
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
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 36
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>
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
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
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
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 40
Misinformation
Sometimes it's not the technology but the message Credibility of web pages
Appeal to popularity
Deliberate tampering
Fearmongering
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 41
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
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 42
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
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 43
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
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 44
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
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 45
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.
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 46
Not all IT is BadRight?
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 47
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?
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 48
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
2012-01-27 Katherine Deibel, Fluency in Information Technology 49
Recommended