Tech tip(s) of the week: Security

Let me start by warning you that this is a long post. That’s only because it includes instructions and information that we all NEED to know and practice.

I don’t mean to scare y’all, but there are bad people out there.

Even on the internet.

Especially on the internet, where it’s easy to hide behind nicknames, and anonymous logins, not to mention pose as somebody else – such as banks, organizations, Nigerian generals… heck, even UPS!

Here are ten things you can do to protect yourself from scammers and malware (e.g., viruses, worms, adware, spyware, etc.)

1.      Do NOT open attachments. Especially from people you don’t know. More than that, be careful when opening emails. There are obvious emails that you know you shouldn’t open, however what about the ones you get from people you know? What if your friend has a virus and it is spreading itself through emails or on Facebook? I’m pretty sure you’ve seen the Facebook post about the “free iPad” or the silly video of you. These are designed to get you curious enough to click on them, but before you do, think about the possible consequences. An email or post cannot be important enough to risk getting a virus. Delete the email and send a fresh email to your friend asking them if they actually did send you the email. It is better to be safe than sorry.

2.      Do NOT download files from websites. There is no 100% sure way of knowing what you are downloading. The file can appear to be named like the file you want, however it could be anything. Most of the time, this is how a virus is unleashed, it usually seems like a harmless, familiar object. This includes songs. Don’t be the next virus victim, nor the next RIAA target.

3.      Scan your downloaded files before you open and install them. Okay, you ask, what about things that you are sure are safe to download? After downloading the file/s, let your anti-virus program scan them first. These downloaded files are, by default, set to go to the “Downloads” folder. Go there, right-click on your downloaded file, then click, “Scan with (insert name of anti-virus program here).” More on anti-virus programs later.

4.      Turn on Windows Firewall. Example instructions below:

1.  Open Windows Firewall by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking Security, and then clicking Windows Firewall.

2.       Click Turn Windows Firewall on or off.  If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

3.       Click On (recommended), and then click OK.

If you want the firewall to block everything, including the programs selected on the Exceptions tab, select the Block all incoming connections check box.

Retrieved from http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Turn-Windows-Firewall-on-or-off

Windows Vista and Windows 7

To turn on Automatic Updates yourself, follow these steps:

1.     Click Start, type Windows update in the search box, and then click Windows Update in the Programs list.

2.     In the left pane, click Change settings.

3.     Select the option that you want.

4.     Under Recommended updates, select the Give me recommended updates the same way I receive important updates or Include recommended updates when downloading, installing, or notifying me about updates check box, and then click OK.

Windows XP

To turn on Automatic Updates yourself, follow these steps:

1.     Click Start, click Run, type sysdm.cpl, and then press ENTER.

2.     Click the Automatic Updates tab, and then click to select one of the following options. We recommend that you select the Automatic (recommended) Automatically download recommended updates for my computer and install them option.

o    Automatic (recommended) Automatically download recommended updates for my computer and install them

If you select this option, Windows recognizes when you are online and uses your Internet connection to find updates on the Windows Update Web site or on the Microsoft Update Web site that apply to your computer. Updates are downloaded automatically in the background, and you are not notified or interrupted during this process. An icon appears in the notification area of your taskbar when the updates are being downloaded. You can point to the icon to view the download status. When the download is complete, you receive another message in the notification area so that you can review the updates that are scheduled for installation.

§  Click to select the day and time for scheduled updates to download and install. You can schedule Automatic Updates for any time of day. However, your computer must be on at the scheduled time for updates to be installed.

§  You can choose to install the updates as soon as they are finished downloading. To do this, click the download message (or update icon), and then click Install. If you choose not to install the updates when they finish downloading, Windows starts the installation on your set schedule.

o    Download updates for me, but let me choose when to install them

If you select this option, Windows recognizes when you are online and uses your Internet connection to automatically download updates from the Windows Update Web site or from the Microsoft Update Web site. An icon appears in the notification area of your taskbar when the updates are being downloaded. You can point to the icon to view the download status. When the download is complete, you receive another message in the notification area so that you can review the updates that are scheduled for installation.

§  When you want to install the downloaded update, click the message (or update icon), and then click Install to install the update.

§  If you do not want to install a downloaded update, click Details, and then click to clear the check box next to that update to decline it.

o    Notify me but don't automatically download or install them

If you select this option, Windows recognizes when you are online and uses your Internet connection to search for downloads from the Windows Update Web site or from the Microsoft Update Web site. An Automatic Updates icon and message appear in the notification area of your taskbar when new updates are available to download or to install.

§  Click the icon or message to view the updates. If you do not want to download a selected update, click to clear the check box next to that update to decline it. Click Start Download to download the selected updates. The Automatic Updates icon remains in the notification area of your taskbar while the updates are being downloaded. You can point to the icon to view the download status.

§  When the download is complete, you receive another message in the notification area stating that the updates are ready to install. Click the Automatic Updates icon or the message, and then click Install to install the updates.

6.      When surfing the internet avoid websites that contain illegal music and software downloads, sexual references, free screensavers, serial numbers, etc. I am pretty sure you get the picture. If you go to these sites you are asking for it. Also, when shopping or banking online, look for “https” or a padlock that typically indicates that the transaction is secure. As with anything, this is not 100% fool-proof.

7.      Download and install Microsoft Security Essentials. It’s a free, fast, and simple antivirus/anti-malware program. Microsoft makes Windows. They should know their stuff, right? Get it from http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security_essentials/default.aspx  

Oh, did I mention that it’s free?

8.      Download and install Malicious Software Removal Tool. It’s another free and simple tool that they put out to get rid of the worst of the biggest viruses. Microsoft makes Windows. They should know their stuff, right? Get it from http://www.microsoft.com/security/pc-security/malware-removal.aspx

Again, did I mention that it’s free?

9.      After downloading Microsoft Security Essentials and Malicious Software Removal Tool, run them. Not only that, set them to run automatically every single day. I let them perform a “Full scan” on my home computers every night when I’m done using them. I recommend that you do the same thing.

10.  Clear your browsing history periodically. To do that on Internet Explorer (IE), click “Tools” > Delete Browing History >  “Delete All” > check “Also delete files and settings stored by add-ons” > click “Yes.” Newer versions of IE will have the “Safety” button where “Delete Browing History” is. This will also help your browser run faster as it gets rid of cookies (files stored by your browser to “remember” what websites look like).

For other browsers such as Google Chrome (my favorite and I strongly encourage you to look into using it), Firefox (my second favorite), Safari, Opera, etc., ping me and I’ll be more than glad to help you.

The internet is a wonderful place. As a matter of fact, I rank it among the top three inventions of all time. It is the only totally democratic (some argue anarchistic) place in the entire world. As with any place though, bad guys exist. I hope this email helps you start becoming more aware and proactively protecting yourselves and your computer. Don’t let the few bad guys and a few bad experiences stop you from learning, creating, interacting, and doing business online.

Happy computing! =D

The next time I returned somebody circled my response –with a red Sharpie (the nerve!) and wrote, “Who wrote this and why?” I looked at the other responses and noticed that I was singled out. I didn’t have the time and frankly, I was livid that I knew if I wrote anything in that instance I would have melted the laminated cardboard with effusive expletives and accusatory assertions. I turned around and walked away, knowing that I would respond next time with a much cooler head.

As my luck would have it, the board was wiped clean the next day. I have tried to ignore it and move on, but it’s been bothering me since then. Yesterday, one thought gnawed at me: Temple Grandin and Anne Sullivan (Macy) don’t deserve it.

So, dear schmuck, here goes my justification that my heroes so richly deserve but you don’t:

1. Anne Sullivan Macy-Helen Keller wouldn’t have been who she is/was as we know her without Anne Sullivan’s patience, persistence, and perspicacity. Enough said? Good.

2. Temple Grandin-Despite her autism, Temple has earned a B.A. in Psychology, a Master of Science in Animal Science, and a Ph.D. in Animal Science. She has not only been a strong advocate for humane livestock handling, she has also engineered devices that over half of all cattle in the United States go through and corporations from Cargill to McDonald’s proudly use. Her resume alone puts all of us in the entire GISD to shame: http://www.grandin.com/professional.resume.html.

These two outstanding individuals have actually done a lot for civilization and in making the world a better place — not just with literature, theories, and providing entertainment. How about you? What have you contributed to  society? I bet you’re perfectly normal. No disorders (Mental, perhaps? Or emotional?), no disabilities… and yet, I bet you don’t have an excuse for being mediocre. Just another one among us who are merely passing by, an anonymous Earthling. I know I am, but I dare not question who you look up to. I can do that if you ask me to, though. Maybe not as lucid, modest, and patient as I can be behind a computer, though.

Did I answer the question to your satisfaction? Never mind. Frankly, I don’t give a damn about your opinion. I did it for my heroes Anne and Temple, and the rest of the world — not you.

But I was calm and serene until probably 3 steps before looking down from the door. When I did, I was like, “Let’s do this!” The free-fall was amazing, with the air violently pressing against your face and you can see everything as if you were Superman (more on that later). Then all of a sudden, the instructor flipped us (still getting used to say “us” as if we were a couple engaging in an intimate dance while hurtling down from the sky) over on our bellies and proceeded to spin rapidly — as if we were a spinning top — first clockwise, after which I gave a thumbs-up, which in my mind was, “I’m OK now that it’s over.” But before I even finished forming those words in my mind, he spun counter-clockwise, and at this point it felt like my brain was being scrambled like an egg, so I frantically gave two thumbs up. Without saying a word, it felt as if he was gonna spin again so I panicked and gave two thumbs down. He stopped. I think he understands. Skydiving hand signals should probably be part of the orientation. Maybe the guy with the most awesome beard in the orientation video can show us some ways we can communicate with the instructor without resorting to slapping, head-butting, or kicking him in the nuts.

After that he pulled the cord at 7,000 feet and — I don’t know how to describe it — it felt like somebody yanked you from a lethal free-fall (is there any other kind?). The descent slowed down significantly at this point. The thoughts that occurred to me range from, “This is amazing,” “I’m actually doing this,” “WOW,” “It’s nice up here,” “So this is what flying feels like,” to “Shit, I gotta do Superman!” and so I do it. I stretched out my right hand, at the end of which is a balled fist, and my left hand right by my side, in a balled fist as well. I could get used to that. The flying superhero part, I mean. I have never had a doubt when answering the immortal question, “What superpower would you prefer to have, given the choice and opportunity?” But now that I’ve experienced it first-hand, I am more certain. My wife and sister-in-law had a good laugh after I told them about this, because they say I’m such a dork that I’d be the only one who thought about doing that. Of course I know they’re wrong.

At about 5,000 feet (of course I couldn’t have seen his altimeter so I pulled that number out of my ass — figuratively, of course), we floated as if a leaf from a tree — a very tall tree, maybe Jack’s beanstalk — and the instructor did the maneuvers swiftly but deftly, left, then right, then left, then right, you get it, in a series of turns and yanks, until we were directly atop the landing site. We talked the entire duration of the parachuted descent… what my favorite part was, to which I said, “This slow descent,” and I volunteered that the worst part was the spinning — to which he chuckled, “I thought you liked that!” Good thing he understood what the two thumbs down meant. He has jumped 4400 times — just a little bit more than me, he assured. He has jumped in the Philippines (at the airport, probably for some airshow or event of that nature). I say that skydiving must never get old — and he agreed, maybe not so patronizingly. He has not tried skyboarding or skysurfing because it’s old school, that “people don’t do that anymore.” That was probably the response that shocked me to this day. Well, pardon me, Mr. Extreme.

Right before the landing he told me to lift my legs and touch the ground at the right time so I won’t slide on my rear… which I did, clearing my doubts about my eye-foot coordination (I was always better at handling one thing at a time — eye-hand and eye-foot — but never anything like drumming. I suck at the drums on Rockband.) Bitin ako. Ang bilis. My adrenaline was still coursing through my blood as I get up and take off the harness. I think it’s safe to say that it was one of the high points of my life. No pun intended.

As high stakes testing and accountability, economic pressures, and budgetary constraints force teachers and administrators to look for alternative teaching and learning methods or modalities, online learning is one thing to consider. Even as online learning becomes more prevalent than it is today, we, as educators, need to be prepared to design lessons for that – as with any – environment. Its distinct advantages such as the ability to reach a greater number of students than might fit in a classroom at any given time regardless of their location (thus decreasing the cost of delivery of instruction) and the ability to employ multimedia for differentiating instruction (i.e., visual learners can take advantage of visual material, auditory learners can use audio material, those with dual learning styles, etc.), and besides, children nowadays are exposed to multimedia and expect the same for any interaction they engage in. If educators are trained in designing and implementing online learning, students would have more options for learning experiences, and they would have the flexibility and the freedom to learn at their own pace and in their own learning styles.

How will you professionally use your course that you designed?
The course that I designed can be used for educator professional development, and I intend to do just that if and when I become an instructional technologist. As it stands, all I can do is to submit it and if approved, it will be a part of summer professional development courses offered by the district. I will promote and implement more online professional development courses to not only give teachers the chance to engage in personal enrichment and career advancement, but also to help them keep up to date with the current issues and skills in this constantly-evolving field.

Will you integrate online learning in your role as a teacher/staff developer?
As previously stated, I will promote and implement online professional development – as part of or integrated with personal learning networks that are currently implemented in the district (although done quite haphazardly). As a teacher, I also plan to integrate online learning but only to supplement and/or complement classroom instruction as most of my students do not have access to a computer at home021 or their parents do not take them to the library.

What questions do you still have about online learning?
The questions I have about online learning are aplenty. First, how practical and feasible is this in low socio-economic areas? Granted, connected computers are – or if not yet would be – available in schools, but online learning at home (not just for homework, but also for truant students and/or the homebound) is still the best-use case scenario. One cannot make online learning mandatory for financial reasons. Another question is how to monitor and enforce task compliance (not just task completion. Much like the GoCourse player that keeps track of progress and performance, is this an option available in systems like Schoology, Moodle, and the like?

What will you do with this new learning?
I will apply this in my current position and in the job that I intend to pursue – as an instructional technologist. Apart from online learning, I also intend to use the “backwards design” model as put forth by Wiggins & McTighe (2005). Planning lessons with the end in mind and deciding exactly what it is that we want our students to achieve is quite possibly the best practice. Teaching should not be about “covering the material” and assigning activities; we should continually reflect on our goals and objectives and focus on the six facets of understanding (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). Moreover, assignments should be interactive, authentic or performance-based, and require active participation. This process may be time-consuming, but this practice is ingrained in Special Education anyway. In the end, the benefits of staff and/or students’ increased understanding makes it all worth it.

Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design (Expanded Second Edition), Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

“Dear Education”

“Dear education: I am your child, an offspring of wild thoughts entangled with knots and photos of poorer countries, people sleeping on cots. I am the series of words ordered to make enough sense to partly understand the past tense; I am a present poet of no specific dazzling hero heroics. These pages in my corporate friendly text book do no good to me, I am like Socrates, I seek knowledge through my own means enlightened conversation, dreams, books, meditation. I am the raised hand waiting patiently for the teacher to hear my answer, so answer me this teacher, why must I wait for you to hear me?

“I will blurt out senseless answers to answerless equations, learn the ways of other nations through cultural vibrations which sink deep into the solitude of my sleep, and speak very loudly for the hungry, the weak. This week is next week’s memory of repetitive cycles and styles, hair cuts and new shoes, no new thought on the newest news, yo, I learn out of pure bliss of learning, in me is a yearning to continue turning in and out of realizations.

“Dear math, your certainty scares me. I am uncertain that algebra will aid me, for I refuse you, it is so clearly absent in me. I will make up my own numbers, and number them none through no more, no more comes right after when can I, can you is before will you, will I keep going? Going is nowhere if everyday you are where you were, where you were is where I could be. Could you please tell me why I must learn this uncertain certainty? Certainly you can understand that I am no average man and thus trust that I will soak in passing thought while these formulas for fractions gather dust. I need not geometry, for nature doesn’t produce your so called square, your man made perfections and imperfections. Sections of rock are not measured; they are felt and seen, in real life not square screens. I have seen this in my dreams… and I remember in the morning, there is no math in waking, math is taking me from wisdom and forcing me to understand mere riddles.

“Dear grades; Why do you try to cut me like a cookie and shape me to a mold? As if to then be sold to another institution of being told what to think and how to arrange this ink on my notebook surface, scribbling flight without the gift of wings. I do admit that you do teach me the potency of further potential somehow essential for a good job, to spend my time gathering money to exchange for my right to own anything. I should be taught but not graded, there is no reason, we are all as inconstant as the seasons.

“How does one grade the slow hover of leaves braking away from treetops tossed into fate filled gravitational landing spots? I have graded politicians and cops, judges, CEO’s, American Idols. This system has failed and cannot continue in its current direction; it must be re-thought and re-taught so that maybe somehow people in this world will actually seek understanding between one another.

“I will recite my right to recite my voice by choice of creating sound for others to listen to and ignore till they stoop so low in ignorance that their brains land with a Thud on the floor.., I have a fist full of forgiveness, to forgive what I forget. And pave a path for truth to flow which is diminishing, yet, it is all too much. Much is all too well, and as long as there is hope for heaven there is a need for hell. My mellow moon is melancholy.

“If I could express the spirit, I would rise above lies and find the truth for all to hear it and know the reasons why…why we still have not found our place, our place as intellectual apes.

“Dear students of “acting like your [sic] paying attention”; learn if you choose to, do as you want to and let me entangle thoughts with knots while reason looses [sic] value, and slowly rots. You lend yourselves to faulty fictions and contradictions only audible when nobody wants to listen. So listen now, now you listen to me, for I too have a need to say what’s right when right is wrong and life is blinding me.

“Dear education; I am your child.”