Research This - Blog Post Three

Internet researching is one of the most powerful tools at our fingertips. With this power comes the need to have researching skills. With a few basic tips, we can be more effective researchers.

For this week's assignment, I chose "Search Skills." The textbook outlined four research questions, listed below:

(1) What is an open source FTP application that has versions for both Windows and Mac? 

(2) Other than TurboTax, what are two examples of online tax preparation software? 

(3) Find reviews comparing Edge, Chrome, Safari, and Firefox browsers. 

(4) What are the more popular calendar management and task management apps on the Apple App Store or Google Play?

For each, I put the knowledge gained in this chapter to the test.

1) For discovering an open source FTP application that runs on both Windows and Mac, I used the following search criteria: windows +ftp +open source +mac

See the search in action.

Filezilla is a client that reaches multiple OS platforms. It can be used on Windows, Mac, and Linux. 

2) Other examples of tax preparation software lead me to using the following query: Online tax software -TurboTax

See the search in action.

Tax Slayer appears to be one of the cheapest options for online tax filing. 

3) I personally use Chrome and have done so for many years, but if the mood struck me to part ways with Chrome, I would search using the following string: reviews comparing (Edge and Chrome and Safari and Firefox)

See the search in action.

The first result that popped up in the search return agreed with my preference for Chrome, but this was merely bias confirmation. Digital Trends referred to Chrome as the "gold standard." Get Chrome

4) It doesn't get much better than Google's calendar app or does it? To find out, I used the following search pattern: most popular apps (Apple App Store or Google Play) +calendar +task +management

See the search in action.

For calendars, I didn't find anything new that I didn't already know. See a list of the most popular calendar apps. Google calendar is very robust and feature rich. For a To Do list, I don't usually utilize an app. See a list of the most popular To Do list apps. I use the Notes app, that comes automatically with Apple products. I have dipped my toe in the water of Todoist, which seems to be an excellent choice for those individuals that need a more structured To Do list. 

Cybersecurity Blog - The Hacker News

Cybersecurity is a field that should be on the minds of all who utilize technology. Knowing potential and present threats to our security is the greatest asset to keeping our personal data and machines safe. I chose the following blog because it is an aggregate for good information on all things cybersecurity. In a recent post, Mohit Kumar provides info on the new CrossRAT malware and how to see if you are affected by this threat.

Cyber criminals are getting more stealthy and threats are becoming OS agnostic. No one is safe, these days. CrossRAT is nearly undetectable and can allow remote attackers to run executables on your machine. By reading The Hacker News, I hope to stay on the forefront of cybersecurity, learn more about my field, and make myself a more valuable asset to my job.

Wade Queen - ITEC 2215

Greetings All! I am currently majoring in Information Technology, with a concentration in Cybersecurity. Cybersecurity is an aspect of daily technology use that affects all of us. From banking to social media, our personal / private data is very important to us. Big money is made off of this personal data, from marketing and ads, to sales of our information on the "Dark" web. I am very passionate about proactive or offensive cybersecurity and plan to use the knowledge gained from this degree to make a better life for my family.

With offensive cybersecurity, I foresee myself working for either the government directly or through a contracting company, after completion of my degree. I plan to get deep in the weeds of cyber warfare, in an effort to protect our country against cyberthreats from other countries. The biggest threat to our nation, in my opinion, is not physical military attacks, but virtual attacks. These virtual attacks could potentially take out power grids and cause destruction to other aspects of our lives.