Week 14: Muddy - Raid Drives

This weeks lectures were entirely based on web lectures, so we had no readings from the book to support what one was reading. Although the lecture did go through Raid drives it almost made it more confusing. After searching the internet, I came across this website: http://library.creativecow.net/articles/lindeboom_ron/how_raid_works.php. This website was a HUGE help in understanding how Raid drives worked, it provided the information on a more clear and easy to understand basis. It went into the basics of how arrays, raid drives and striping work and are utilized in a computer or network environment.

The website defines a raid drive an array as:

In a RAID system -- which stands for: Redundant Array of Independent Disks -- you can combine multiple single drives into a shared system wherein each drive carries only a part of the overall load. This allows a user to combine multiple lower throughput drives (like low-cost IDE drives) into a system that looks like a single drive to your system and has a total throughput high enough to handle video, etc. This is known as an "array" of drives."

After reading the article I am more confident in my understanding of how a RAID system works. I believe the RAID system was one of the more difficult concepts that was covered this semester. Now that I know the benefits of using a RAID system, I will be looking into incorporating one into my computer.

Secure E-mail Project

To the right is the screen capture of Thunderbird. The top two e-mails are the e-mails from the professor.

A great article regarding e-mail security can be located at this URL:http://www.net-security.org/article.php?id=816&p=2. They gave a great example of Bank of America being fined $10 million when it failed to turn over messaging data to the SEC in March 2004. The article also covers the benefits of physical storage, archiving, and properly backing up critical data. It was interesting to note that the article stated that the e-mail client is the greatest threat to businesses. The article makes an excellent point when it says "organizations must focus their attentions to not only addressing the immediate security threats of the standard mail client from viruses and the like, they also need to invest in strategies for the control of access to mail data via the internet."

Week 13: Muddy - Computer Security Risks

I found week 13's readings and lectures to be one of the more entertaining and knowledgeable readings in the course. After reading and watching the lectures I feel better informed on how to protect my computer and how to properly encrypt a message if necessary. Something I would have liked to seen better covered in lectures was the different type of computer security risks. These include a computer virus, worm, and or Trojan horse. The book does a bit better of a job describing each of the three:

1. Virus - This is a damaging computer program that affects or infects a computer in a bad way by altering how the computer was intended to work without the permission of the owner. Once the virus attacks the computer, it can spread throughout the computer damaging many files and possibly damaging the entire operating system.

2. Worm - A worm is a program that copies itself over and over again. By copying itself repeatedly, it can use of critical resources on a computer causing the computer or even the entire network to shutdown.

3. Trojan Horse - A program that hides within the computer and may look like a legitimate program. A specific condition or action triggers the Trojan horse and puts it into effect. However, in comparison to a worm or virus, a Trojan horse does not replicate itself to other computers.

In the past I have always wondered the difference between a virus, worm and Trojan horse, thankfully I can now differentiate between the three. Over the years, computer users have been suspect to many different kinds of computer security risks that have terrorized and destroyed millions of users data. With modern technology and vasts improvements in anti-virus programs, users now are much better protected from computer attacks then in the past. I believe that our society will never see the end of viruses, worms, or Trojan horses, however with a little self-awareness, users can protect their valuable data and help minimize spreading any type of virus. As technology progresses it will be interesting to see if more or less computer attacks are initiated in the future.

Week 12: Muddy - System Development Cycle

This weeks material was based on information systems development. Although the system development cycle was covered in the lecture, I was still a bit unclear of each of the different processes and exactly what each one was. Here is a brief breakdown of each of the phases:

1. Planning: This phase entails reviewing the project requests and prioritizing all of the requests.

2. Analysis: During this phase one performs a preliminary investigation which includes looking over the current syste, user needs and any possible solution.

3. Design: Acquire hardware and software, then develop the details of the system.

4. Implementation: During this phase, one would develop programs, test the new system, train users and ultimately convert to the new system.

5. Operation, Support, and Security: This includes performing maintenance activities, monitor performance and assessing system security.


Although this was not a difficult concept to grasp, I thought it was easier to understand in the book then the lecture. It is important to understand the cycle so one can effectively go through each step and make sure they are designing the system correctly.

Database Project

Unlike all the previous projects, this project was a complete nightmare. However, I did learn the most during this project as I have never used Microsoft Access before. I learned how to create a table, form, run queries and reports. Learning these different techniques was challenging and time consuming, I felt that many of the videos did not help me with my project. I learned much more then I needed to as I played with many of the different buttons trying to figure out how to properly use access. Learning the query was the most beneficial of everything as it is incredibly easy to sort through information with one simple step. This project taught me the fundamentals of Access and I believe it will be of great help in the future if I am ever required to use it.

To make the database more functional I think the owner could sort each of the id's by zipcode. This will help him sort where all of his members live and help the owner target new areas to prospect. Once he gets more members he can add them via the form button that was created and target additional areas. The owner then could sort how many family and individual membership types are in each of those areas and help upgrade individual memberships to family if available. Thus ultimately generating more profit and more revenue for the company.