Week 14: Clear

           The concept that was most clear to me this week was the topic of advanced storage. In this lecture, we covered RAID0, RAID1, RAID5, and RAID6. RAID, which stands for Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks, is a concept of multiple drives being treated as one. This can increase capacity, speed, reliability, or all three together. RAID0 (striping) involves two or more drives and is extremely fast with no redundancy. It focuses on speed and capacity. If one drive fails, the whole thing fails and all the data is lost. This is less reliable and more dangerous than a single disk drive and also does not cost more per GB. RAID1 (mirroring) uses exactly two disk drives, and each block of data is written to both drives. If one drive fails, the system is still running at full speed and no data is lost. With mirroring, the focus is on reliability, and the cost per GB is doubled. With RAID5, three or more drives are required, and the data blocks are spread across all the drives except for one that is used to protect all the data. "Parity" is calculated and stored on the remaining drive and is recorded as "1" if the sum of the data bits is odd and "0" if the sum of the data bits is even. There is a high read performance like striping. With RAID5, if one drive fails, no data is lost and the system is still running but at a reduced speed. There is a reasonable cost per GB and a capacity of (N-1) drives usable for data. RAID6 has a capacity of (N-2) drives usable for data and a performance similar to RAID5. RAID6 is any type of RAID that can continue to perform in the presence of two concurrent disk failures.
           RAID is important in the business world because computer storage is applicable to every aspect of business. Any work done on a computer has to do with storage, and it is important to decide how to set up a computer so work is not lost. There are serious storage problems such as needing a large storage capacity, needing high performance, or dealing with risks such as hard disk failure. It is important for businesses to assess whether something is temporary storage, which might mean RAID0 is more applicable since it is only temporary, or whether it matters if the data is lost or not. For example, if it is vital that a system be reliable and there is a real concern about losing, for instance, client data, RAID1 would be most appropriate. Therefore, setting up computer storage to fit the needs of the organization is very important in the business environment.
        This website is a RAID tutorial with a description of the different types of RAID. It has a diagram explaining how it works, and below lists the characteristics and advantages of the type of RAID on one side and the disadvantages on the other side. For example, on the first page, there is a diagram explaining RAID0 and below it says that it requires a minimum of two disk drives. On one side, it explains the characteristics and advantages including: simple design, easy implementation, each block of data is writtten to a separate disk drive, no parity calculation, and best performance by spreading I/O load across many channels and drives. It says the disadvantages of RAID0 are that its not fault-tolerant, failure of one drive results in all data being lost, and that it should not be used in mission critical environments. This site is an in-depth look at the topic covered this week in the segment on advanced storage.


Here is a picture showing striping and mirroring:

Works Cited:

http://www.acnc.com/raid.html

http://www.pantherproducts.co.uk/Articles/images/RAID-01.gif

Secure Email Project

I included two screen captures to see the messages in the inbox and also read the messages.

             In this article, a study is discussed that allows technology to be part of the cure in a doctors' offices. This study was published in the medical journal, Health Affairs, and found that doctor visits can be reduced in practices that use electronic health records and secure email messages for communication between physicians and patients. The study focuses on the experience of Kaiser Permanente in Hawaii when it implemented electronic health record, secure email, and a Web portal, which resulted in a decline of patient visits of 26 percent between 2004 to 2007. One of the physicians mentioned, Dr. Liang, describes a face-to-face visit, compared to other modes of health care, as expensive and inconvenient. Obviously, email exchange can only substitute for some types of care like adjusting medications, but these types of visits add up. One advantage is that doctors whose offices are less crowded can spend more time with the patient who do need face-to-face visits. This extra time reduced referrals by up to 30 percent, especially for dermatology and orthopedics. For Kaiser's integrated system, where physicians are salaried and patients are often insured by Kaiser, fewer doctors visits is logical for both physicians and patients. However, Kaiser is an exception because in mainstream medicine, physicans are not paid for answering emails but rather are paid by the visit. Since this is relatively new, there are experiments being conducting about reimbursing online consultations.

Clearly, in this article, patient confidentiality is key for physicians to contact patients, so they can send a secure emails about their health-related question or concern. This security measure plays a key role in this experiment.

Works Cited:

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/10/using-technology-to-skip-the-doctors-office/

Week 13: Clear

           The concept that was most clear to me this week was the topic of unauthorized access and use. Unauthorized access is the risk of someone using your computer or network without permission, while unauthorized use might happen if you gave someone authorized access but they use the computer or its data for unapproved or possibly illegal activity. One example of unauthorized use is an employee using an organization's computer to send personal emails. One measure taken by most organizations to prevent unauthorized access and use is an AUP, a written acceptable use policy that outlines the ways in which the computer and network may and may not be used. Others ways to prevent unauthorized intrusions are to disable file and printer sharing on your Internet connection, use firewalls, and use intrusion detection software. Access controls are security measures used to minimize the chance that a perpetrator intentionally or unintentionally accesses confidential information by defining who can access a computer, when they can access it, and what actions they can take while accessing it. The computer also maintains an audit trail to record successful and unsucessful attempts (which should be investigated to insure they are not intentional breaches of security). Many systems also use a two-phase process of identification, which verifies an individual is a valid user, and authentication, which verifies an individual is the person he or she claims to be. There are three methods that include user names and passwords, possessed objects, and biometric devices. A user name is a unique combination of letters or numbers to identify one specific user while a password is a private combination of chracters that is associated with the user name. Longer passwords provide greater security, and the addition of each character to a password significantly increases the number of possible combinations and the length of time for someone to guess the password. Possessed objects, such as smart cards or keys, must be carried to gain access to a computer or computer facility. They are often used in combination with personal identification numbers (PINs), numeric passwords either assigned to a user or a selected by the user.
            This topic is very important in the business environment because cyber crimes have been on the rise, and if your computer is not properly protected, cyber criminals can access your computer and its data. Protecting your computer is essential because anytime you connect to the Internet, you are at risk of having a cyber criminal hack into your information. For example, at a place like a doctor's office, patient confidentiality is essential. A doctor's office must take every action necessary to prevent unauthorized access and use to prevent patient information from being leaked. This is illegal for patient information to be leaked, so a doctor's office must protect information kept on the computer.
             This website discusses how to prevent unauthorized access, which was the topic covered this week that was most clear to me. It says the need for increased security and prevention of unauthorized access has never been greater than it is today. It says the key ways to enhance security are having a wise choice of programs, using effective security software, having a hardware firewall (router), and using strong passwords. It goes on to say you need to choose your software carefully, particularly your Web brower and email client. You need current anti-virus software, some of which are free for personal use. You need a hardware and software firewall for protection, and you need to check for spyware on your computer. Passwords and encryption are also effective tools if used correctly. This website stresses keeping everything updated, such as antivirus, firewall and anti-spyware security software, because things change so quickly on the Internet. The site says at a bare minimum, weekly updates and scans are vital.


Here is a picture of a password checker I found online that tests the strength of your passwords. As I learned this week, a strong password is very important to prevent unauthorized access and use.

Works Cited:
http://www.russharvey.bc.ca/resources/security.html


http://www.greghughes.net/rant/content/binary/WindowsLiveWriter/Strongpasswordcheckeronline_1330D/image_1.png

VoIP and Video Capture

           I have been using VoIP for years although I have never used Jing before, so I found this project very interesting. I had to use Screencast.com as well to convert the video I made on Jing into a link to post on this blog. Since I have family members out of the country, I have used Skype for a long time to be able to talk to them and see them without paying the fee of a long distance call. I think Skype is a wonderful program that allows people to connect across the world free of charge (if they both have skype) and at a very low cost if you either receive a call from a phone or make a call to a phone. Everyone in my family has Skype, so I called my father on Skype but my brother answered. In this video, we were just catching up for a minute.

Here is the video.

Avatar

            I had never made an avatar before, although I did see the movie Avatar and really enjoyed it. I opened the Doppelme website and began by choosing whether I was female, selecting skin color, and choosing eye color. Then there was a panel on the left side where I could choose my facial expressions, my hair and hair color, my eyewear, hats, tops, bottoms, shoes, extras, accessories, and then set a background. I think my avatar looks alot like me with short, dark hair, light brown eyes, a big smile, jeans, and a long sleeve shirt in my favorite color, green. My favorite place is the beach, so I set a beach background. I really enjoyed making my avatar and going through the many different options for each of the settings on the side.

Works Cited:

http://www.doppelme.com/

<a href="http://www.doppelme.com/?rid=DM434912ZBW"><img src="http://www.doppelme.com/DM434912ZBW/avatar.gif" border=0></a>   



Week 12: Clear

           The topic that was most clear to me this week was the discussion about VoIP. VoIP, which stands for Voice Over IP, is the concept of taking a phone conversation and sending it across the Internet or any other IP network. The way it works is someone speaks into a computer attached microphone, the voice is converted to a compressed digital data stream, the data is transmitted across the IP network, and finally the data is received, converted into sound, and then sent to the audio output device. Two examples of VoIP are Skype and Vonage. You can makeVoIP-to-VoIP calls which are free but require the VoIP hardware and/or software at both ends. You can also make calls from VoIP to PSTN gateways. These allow the VoIP devices to contact phones on the PSTN and norrmally cost a fee. For example, for a single line, skype unlimited costs $30/year in the US and Canada while Skype Out costs $0.02/minute almost anywhere. Vonage costs $14.99 per month or more. Problems with VoIP are the quality of service (QoS). There can be latency issues where there are delays in transmitting data/sound or Internet congestion, both of which lead to problems with audio quality. The most important thing with VoIP is to make sure you have a reliable network.
             VoIP is very important in the business environment because it saves costs by lowering long-distance telephone costs. VoIP has taken communication to a higher level by congregating the functions of a regular telephone into a single system wherein phone calls, faxes, emails, and voicemails can be readily transmitted to any device like a phone. This is very important in business for people working overseas. For example, a traveling businessman can make work calls to a different country without bearing the cost of long distance calls and can manage his/her business when they are not in the office. In addition, transactions can be made without actual, in-person appointments. VoIP is essential in specific telecommunication industries like call centers and other global service centers and allows internation companies to reach across the world with convenience. 
            This website adds to the discussion about VoIP from this week by analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of VoIP. It says that the low cost, portability, and many features of VoIP make it attractive and lists the necessity for electric power, limited number of emergency calls allowed, and sound quality and reliability as problems with VoIP. Continuing about the disadvantages, it goes on to say that a regular phone is kept in service during a blackout wihle with VoIP this is not the case. The site also says that these disadvantages decrease with new innovations and changes in technology. Here is a "VoIP Diagram" from a website listed under Works Cited:          

Works Cited:

http://www.why-switch-to-voip.com/Advantages_Disadvantages_VoIP.html

http://www.syednetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/voip_diagram.png

Database Project

            In this project, I learned some of the basics of using Microsoft Access. I had never used Microsoft Access before and had absolutely no idea what it was even used for. I learned that Microsoft Access was a database program used to create database solutions using tables, queries, forms, or reports for printing. In this project, I learned how to create a new table, add fields to the table, create keys, add descriptions to table fields, enter data into a field, import data into a table, create a query, use the query to add fields and criteria, create and edit a form, work with a form in design view, navigate through records, add new records, create a report, modify a report in design view, use grouping and sorting in a report, and add or modify a heading and footer of a report. Having never used Microsoft Access before, I was unaware of the capabilities of the program or how it differed from Microsoft Excel. From this project, I learned the enormous capabilities of Microsoft Access and the basics of working with a table, form, query, and report. I really enjoyed this project because I know it will be useful in the future. I plan on working in the business world, and I will likely be assigned many projects where this program will be of great use.

          Some of the ways to enhance the functionality of this database are to use the advanced features of Microsoft Access to create a more complex, detailed database. One way that is discussed in last week's database lecture is through working with external data. This might include linking tables, migrating to an SQL server, using an external collection with forms and email, using Web support, or using Microsoft Access as the back-end database for another information system. Implementing a complete information system includes using forms for input and outfut, pulling data from external sources like email, reports for output, support for multiple users, and scalability (how to deal with a database that is too big). Relationships are another one of the big features of Microsoft Access that brings information together. For the most part, relationships match primary keys from one table with an entry in the foreign key of a different table. Relationships prevent redundant data and can be used as a one-to-many relationship, a many-to-many relationship, or a one-to-one relationship. All of these different advanced features of Microsoft Access would increase the functionality of this database.