Should Everyone Learn How to Code?
Should everyone learn how to code? Should everyone learn to write a legal brief? Should everyone learn to give a shot? Should everyone be able to perform an audit? Should everyone learn how to foxtrot?…
Monthly Archives: February 2019
What Happens When a Hacker Steals User Account Information from a Site?
Given how often it seems to occur, we perhaps have grown numb to hearing about how a company’s website got hacked and the perpetrator made off with users’ account information. High-profile breaches such as those…
DNS Hijacking Targets the Internet’s Infrastructure
DNS, or Domain Name Service, is perhaps the most important “convenience” technology on the Internet. “Convenience” probably isn’t the right word, because that implies it’s an optional luxury and not an essential feature. DNS plays…
Vulnerabilities in Password Management Tools Aren’t Very Troubling, But Still …
A new report by independent security consulting firm ISE has revealed vulnerabilities in popular password management tools such as LastPass, KeePass, 1Password, and Dashlane. All four applications were found to leave passwords unencrypted in memory,…
Personalized Scams and How Not To Fall for Them
Most of us have received an email from a supposed Nigerian prince who promises to transfer a life-changing fortune to our account if we simply hand over our banking information to him. While it would…
But When Will I Ever Use This?
When I was an undergraduate Electrical Engineering major, I often wondered, “When will I ever use this?” Whether it was calculating a surface integral, solving a homogeneous differential equation by hand, determining and graphing the…
On the Back of Open Source
Much of today’s Internet runs on innovations created and maintained by developers worldwide working for free. Some of the most popular web servers and browsers, database servers and clients, and network security protocols run entirely…
Back to Basics: Changing the Way the Web Works
A heartwarming animated short was released in 2017. It starts with a boy and a girl. The girl operates a successful lemonade stand. The boy, who obviously has the honey-glows for the girl, watches from…
When Choosing a College Major …
My son is a senior in high school. My wife and I are helping him choose a college and what to study. He has diverse interests, and is particularly intrigued by film and media studies,…
The Importance of Student Clubs to Computer Science Education
Computer Science is a broad field that continues to widen. Opportunities abound for students to turn their interest in computer technology into new innovations and challenging and rewarding careers. The breadth of the field, however,…