Tech 101 - Episode 1

CourseCast of the Week

Episode 0070, 10/11/2008

Title/Description: Clickjacking, Eye in the Sky, the iPhone generation

Welcome to Course Technology's CourseCast of the week, Episode 70, recorded October 11th, 2008. This is Ken Baldauf bringing you this week's technology news and information. This CourseCast is brought to you by Course Technology. Check out www.cengage.com/coursetechnology for innovative textbooks and creative electronic learning solutions.

Story 1 - Clickjacking

A new Web threat called clickjacking, has caught the attention of much of the Web and information security industry this week. Clickjacking takes advantage of a weakness in Adobe Flash, and subsequently all popular Web browsers, to hijack the user's mouse click to launch malware attacks. An innocent click on a link or image on a page could lead to disastrous results. Clickjacking is a very simple attack that once discovered, any script kid can implement. One way the technique has been used is to take control of Webcams and computer microphones to spy on people. Other forms of clickjacking target user personal information to be used in identity theft. There are many variants of clickjacking that take advantage of different strategies for different types of attacks. Coming up with a solution to the problem will be a challenge.

Adobe has issued a critical threat alert and has provided instructions for how to turn off Flash's access to cameras and microphones at adobe.com/support/security. Users of Firefox are advised to install a plugin called NoScript. Be warned though, the NoScript plugin requires you to approve every script included in Webpages which can be annoying.

Sources: "Web Surfers Face Dangerous New Threat: 'Clickjacking'" [NewsFactor], "Researchers reveal 'clickjacking' attack info" [Computerworld], "Firefox Extension Stymies ‘Clickjacking’ "" [Headline Watch], "Adobe Issues Workaround for Clickjacking Flaw" [Headline Watch]

Story 2 - Eye in the Sky

Satellite images in Google Maps and Google Earth are about to get a lot clearer and more focused. Google's recently launched satellite has begun taking photos of the earth. Orbiting 423 miles above the Earth, the satellite's camera can capture photos of objects as small as 16 inches across. Google reassures those concerned about privacy that the technology does not typically permit the identification of individuals.

Sources: "Yoo-Hoo! Google's Satellite Can See You Much Better" [NewsFactor], "GeoEye satellite to be used by Google releases first image" [Computerworld], Photos available at http://www.geoeye.com/CorpSite/gallery/Default.aspx

Story 3 - The iPhone Generation

A new contender to the iPhone is on its way. Research in Motions's new Blackberry Storm will be available to Verizon customers later this fall. The phone features a soft keyboard - meaning a qwerty keyboard displayed via software, except that, unlike the iPhone, this soft keyboard is actually soft. The Storm uses what it calls a clickable touchscreen; the display actually gives a little as the user's finger presses it and provides a click response. Besides the clickable touchscreen, the Storm has many of the same features as the iPhone: multi-touch, gesture interaction, accelerometer, 3G, GPS, and similar software. Unlike the iPhone, the Storm has a more powerful 3.2 megapixel camera with variable zoom, which also captures video, a slot for a memory card, the ability to use the soft keyboard in landscape orientation, and more robust file management and data editing support.

With the entry of the Storm to the marketplace, all the major carriers now offer iPhone style smartphones. AT&T has the iPhone, Verizon the new Storm, Sprint has the Samsung Instinct, and the HTC Touch Diamond, T-Mobile has the Google Phone, the HTC G1. As predicted, Apple's iPhone has opened the door to a whole new generation of innovative smart phones. Competition is a good, good thing!

The iPhone 3G, by the way, is currently the best selling smartphone, and the second best selling cell phone, second to the RAZR V3.

Sources:"BlackBerry Storm: A new take on touch" [Computerworld], "Dual Carriers Will Storm Market with New BlackBerry" [NewsFactor], "iPhone 3G now the second best-selling US mobile handset" [AppleInsider]

And that brings us to News Briefs.

Mozilla has introduced a plugin for its popular Firefox Web browse called Geode. The plugin identifies the users location based on the Internet connection and IP address and uses that information to provide location-specific information and services. As with most GPS services, privacy issues abound. [NewsFactor]
American Airlines and Delta have announced that they will block sites considered innapropriate for viewing in public for passengers using their soon to come in-air wireless Internet service. While many feel this is a good plan, others feel that issues related to inappropriate Web browsing on planes should be treated like any other inappropriate behavior including reading adult magazines, or viewing adult videos on DVDs. [Ars Technica]
YouTube has begun offering full-length TV shows from CBS. The shows include a mix of old favorites like Star Trek, Young and the Restless, and Beverly Hills 90210.[Reuters]
A new EDUCAUSE survey of roughly one thousand colleges and universities revealed that 15 percent of US schools are providing their students with free music and movie download services in an effort to keep students from downloading illegally. [Ars Technica]
An article in Ars Technica shines light on dramatically falling prices that ISPs pay for Internet bandwidth which casts doubt on the ISP's claim that bandwidth is in short supply, and data packets should be filtered. [Ars Technica]
Are e-textbooks on their way? The University of Texas is conducting a trial in which, rather than purchasing traditional textbooks for $100 a pop, some students will be allowed to download their textbooks over the Web for $25 to $40 a pop. [Ars Technica]
Not surprisingly, nearly 75 percent of students who took part in a recent poll said that Wi-fi wireless Internet on campus helps them get better grades. Perhaps more surprisingly is that 48 percent said that they would give up beer before giving up Wi-fi. [Computerworld]

That's it for this week's CourseCast. Links to this week's stories and many more news and information resources are provided at the CourseCast Web site at http://coursecasts.course.com. E-mail us with your suggestions for the show at course.coursecasts@cengage.com. Until next time, have a great week and be sure to take advantage of the Power -- of Technology!