Email security and Lists
Oh-My, Oh-My, Oh-My I don't believe it, I found a useful List service, www.gnupg.org. It's a site for open source software that improves the security of electronic communications. Yes, I now subscribe. Subscription was not through that insidious Topica but by stumbling upon the site while searching for useful information.
First observation, posted Wednesday, 4 March.
Now this is the last post for the day, it's a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon and I could be outside enjoying the sun. This supports my First Thoughts about Blogs.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Email part 4
Tracing emails
After reading a post on the Blackboard tracing emails by one of the beautiful people in the NET11 group, I decided to follow this through further and visit the suggested sites, www.learnthenet.com and www.johnru.com. Now I don't trust every site I visit (cynic), so I also my own searches and found similar information on the Australian Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, so I guess email security is a problem. (not another)
Well it opened my eyes. This was one of those things I've been intending to, or as the Aussie's say gonna address for sometime. It would appear the easy way to fix the problem is to encrypt the email, "Encryption-based email software packages use a technique known as public key cryptography to scramble messages so that only the authorised recipient can read them". I must encrypt soon. However, with all the email noise out there I think it would be unlikely that my emails are intercepted unless I'm being singled out.
So putting it to the test I tried to ping an IP address I received from a spam email but had no luck. They must be masking their real IP address.
Not actually sure what this achieved because I'm at a dead end, just thought it was interesting.
After reading a post on the Blackboard tracing emails by one of the beautiful people in the NET11 group, I decided to follow this through further and visit the suggested sites, www.learnthenet.com and www.johnru.com. Now I don't trust every site I visit (cynic), so I also my own searches and found similar information on the Australian Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, so I guess email security is a problem. (not another)
Well it opened my eyes. This was one of those things I've been intending to, or as the Aussie's say gonna address for sometime. It would appear the easy way to fix the problem is to encrypt the email, "Encryption-based email software packages use a technique known as public key cryptography to scramble messages so that only the authorised recipient can read them". I must encrypt soon. However, with all the email noise out there I think it would be unlikely that my emails are intercepted unless I'm being singled out.
So putting it to the test I tried to ping an IP address I received from a spam email but had no luck. They must be masking their real IP address.
Not actually sure what this achieved because I'm at a dead end, just thought it was interesting.
Lists-part 3
No better
Well, I tried again with http://lists.topica.com but had no success. Topica incessantly try to sign members up to there "Featured Favorites" from where I suspect they receive sponsorship.
This whole repeated attack in blanket bombing advertising is one of the main features that drives me away from site like this.
When I was finally able to find a list that half appealed the list was long dead and the messages were years old. (maybe I lead the revival but I doubt it)
Topica is in desperate need of an overhaul and it make me wonder how sites like this survive.
This is where I think I'll leave List and move on.
Well, I tried again with http://lists.topica.com but had no success. Topica incessantly try to sign members up to there "Featured Favorites" from where I suspect they receive sponsorship.
This whole repeated attack in blanket bombing advertising is one of the main features that drives me away from site like this.
When I was finally able to find a list that half appealed the list was long dead and the messages were years old. (maybe I lead the revival but I doubt it)
Topica is in desperate need of an overhaul and it make me wonder how sites like this survive.
This is where I think I'll leave List and move on.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Chat part 4
Jumping into the chat room this morning I meet up with some NET11ers, and they showed me how to embed the meebo chat into my blog. It's so cool!
Have a go it works.
Thanks Bee and Collzz, the beautiful people from NET11
Have a go it works.
Thanks Bee and Collzz, the beautiful people from NET11
Newsgroups-part 2, List part 2
In the Yahoo group there appears to be some confusion over what the difference is from a Newsgroup and a List. So here is a brief outline with supporting links for further reading if you wish.
Newsgroups are similar to discussion groups (Blackboard) or forums where anyone can join a public discussion through subscribing to the service. eg giving your details to the group. The subscriber can either just read the posts from other subscribers or he/she can contribute to the thread (join-in on the discussion).
"A newsgroup is an electronic discussion group consisting of collections of related (also called articles) on a particular topic that are posted to a news server which then distributes them to other participating servers." www.learnthenet.com
Lists can be broken down into two types;
"A mailing list is a collection of names and addresses used by an individual or an organization to send material to multiple recipients." www.encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com
"The key advantage of a mailing list over a newsgroup is that instead of having to go somewhere to read or retrieve postings, messages are automatically delivered to your e-mail box." www.learnthenet.com
Newsgroups are similar to discussion groups (Blackboard) or forums where anyone can join a public discussion through subscribing to the service. eg giving your details to the group. The subscriber can either just read the posts from other subscribers or he/she can contribute to the thread (join-in on the discussion).
"A newsgroup is an electronic discussion group consisting of collections of related (also called articles) on a particular topic that are posted to a news server which then distributes them to other participating servers." www.learnthenet.com
Lists can be broken down into two types;
- discussion lists, similar to newsgroups in that the subscriber can participate in the thread
- announcement list, similar to a newsletter where the information is just one way
"A mailing list is a collection of names and addresses used by an individual or an organization to send material to multiple recipients." www.encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com
"The key advantage of a mailing list over a newsgroup is that instead of having to go somewhere to read or retrieve postings, messages are automatically delivered to your e-mail box." www.learnthenet.com
Ping part 2
I found another use for Ping other than the usual network testing for speed. The Adobe Feed Blog or as Rebecca Blood calls it "Filters" in her book The Weblog Handbook p7 ( I'll reference it better later), which is just a blog containing links to other blogs. In this case the linked blogs have a common theme in the use and promotion of Adobe products. "allows readers to monitor about 2325 different Adobe related weblogs and news sources, all in one place."
Adobe uses the Ping service to receive notifications when the related blogs have posted new blog entries. They claim "instead of waiting for the regularly scheduled update to occur" you can either ping the feed manually by going on to the feed site and using "Ping Adobe Feeds" or if your bloging service supports ping you can set up an automatic call once you have made a new post. "you can configure your weblog to automatically ping Adobe Feeds when you publish new posts"
Well I thought it was interesting.
Adobe uses the Ping service to receive notifications when the related blogs have posted new blog entries. They claim "instead of waiting for the regularly scheduled update to occur" you can either ping the feed manually by going on to the feed site and using "Ping Adobe Feeds" or if your bloging service supports ping you can set up an automatic call once you have made a new post. "you can configure your weblog to automatically ping Adobe Feeds when you publish new posts"
Well I thought it was interesting.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Chat 3–group task
I've now used both ICQ through Meebo and the internetstudies · NetStudy Netizens list group on Yahoo and found both to be useful in different directions.
ICQ is great just to catch up and have an informal "chat" with friends and relatives and keeps the phone costs down. I found it particularly useful just having the browser run in the background with Meebo going and seeing from time-to-time small automatic pop-ups when messages came in. I could react quickly to the messages and continue the conversation unlike email. However the conversations tended to be a bit ephemeral and esoteric, much like talking to one's mates, still a worthy experience. This was a new for me and it's a big YES, I will continue to use this service. The only criticism I have, and it's only small, I couldn't always keep up with the typing and some of the conversation tended get a bit jumbled (thread order was mixed), especially if it's a group session (maybe voice control would be good). Also, I would NOT use this method of communication if I required the message I sent to be kept on record or I required the receiver to action the information and I wanted proof that I had sent the information on.
I found the list group on Yahoo to be a bit cumbersome and slow when I tried to use it in the same manner as a chat room. I quickly came to the conclusion that this service was more to keep groups updated, information that I may like to act on, but more importantly, I could contribute and feel part of the community that it was trying to embrace. I found that the success of the group greatly depends on the contributions and, even at this early stage the group looks likely to fail (not the NET11 unit), but die off into cyberheaven where all the calculators and photocopiers rest in peace and in pieces.
Still, there is a place for this type of asynchronistic communication although I don't see myself keeping up with it as it requires strength of character, perseverance and discipline to continually contribute to such groups. Me, I'm a bit lazzzy (Yes that with 3 z's).
On the other hand the Uni Blackboard messaging system is entirely different again and for communication in another direction. Messages can be posted and then responded to while maintaining the "thread" of the conversation for all to see in the group. This works well in the learning environment as questions are asked and answered and displayed for anyone who has similar questions. (You know the type, the 'frequently asked questions'). It's not for general chatter although people tend to abuse it for this and what happens as a result is the discussion area gets over crowded with pointless banter. People get frustrated if they are search for answers and all they see is a pseudo chat room.
How is it different from the methods I normally use?
As I indicated above, I have only ever used emails up to now for communication over the web—obviously when I was just chatting with email I was abusing it. But now I know differently.
emails uses:
chat rooms use:
Caution
I still have major concerns over the type of people using the chat rooms although I have read somewhere, can't remember where, that the CIA scan these types of services and look for key words to catch terrorists and others. I feel safer that big brother is watching, but it's not me that I worry about, it's my kids.
ICQ is great just to catch up and have an informal "chat" with friends and relatives and keeps the phone costs down. I found it particularly useful just having the browser run in the background with Meebo going and seeing from time-to-time small automatic pop-ups when messages came in. I could react quickly to the messages and continue the conversation unlike email. However the conversations tended to be a bit ephemeral and esoteric, much like talking to one's mates, still a worthy experience. This was a new for me and it's a big YES, I will continue to use this service. The only criticism I have, and it's only small, I couldn't always keep up with the typing and some of the conversation tended get a bit jumbled (thread order was mixed), especially if it's a group session (maybe voice control would be good). Also, I would NOT use this method of communication if I required the message I sent to be kept on record or I required the receiver to action the information and I wanted proof that I had sent the information on.
I found the list group on Yahoo to be a bit cumbersome and slow when I tried to use it in the same manner as a chat room. I quickly came to the conclusion that this service was more to keep groups updated, information that I may like to act on, but more importantly, I could contribute and feel part of the community that it was trying to embrace. I found that the success of the group greatly depends on the contributions and, even at this early stage the group looks likely to fail (not the NET11 unit), but die off into cyberheaven where all the calculators and photocopiers rest in peace and in pieces.
Still, there is a place for this type of asynchronistic communication although I don't see myself keeping up with it as it requires strength of character, perseverance and discipline to continually contribute to such groups. Me, I'm a bit lazzzy (Yes that with 3 z's).
On the other hand the Uni Blackboard messaging system is entirely different again and for communication in another direction. Messages can be posted and then responded to while maintaining the "thread" of the conversation for all to see in the group. This works well in the learning environment as questions are asked and answered and displayed for anyone who has similar questions. (You know the type, the 'frequently asked questions'). It's not for general chatter although people tend to abuse it for this and what happens as a result is the discussion area gets over crowded with pointless banter. People get frustrated if they are search for answers and all they see is a pseudo chat room.
How is it different from the methods I normally use?
As I indicated above, I have only ever used emails up to now for communication over the web—obviously when I was just chatting with email I was abusing it. But now I know differently.
emails uses:
- messages that need to be kept
- messages that require the receiver to action (do something)
- messages for when people are away from the chat room (I wonder if I can access the chat room by mobile)
- messages when I don't want to get caught up in the chat (I can waste a lot of time chatting)
chat rooms use:
- quick and easy talk (honey, I'll be late home tonight)
- no proof of conversation, hopefully! (come down to the pub and play pool with the mates tonight)
- ask questions and receive (correct) answers
- general information that I can use at a later date, "Asynchronous electronic communication is not the opposite of real-time, synchronous communication: rather it describes forms of communication that appear differently 'located in time' depending on the perspective of the sender and receiver."
Caution
I still have major concerns over the type of people using the chat rooms although I have read somewhere, can't remember where, that the CIA scan these types of services and look for key words to catch terrorists and others. I feel safer that big brother is watching, but it's not me that I worry about, it's my kids.
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