tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68034115784861587002024-03-13T07:14:47.350-07:00What's New With Laurie?Laurie Gillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14059511748646220766noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803411578486158700.post-84116915163451962272012-06-03T13:08:00.002-07:002012-06-03T13:08:48.480-07:00Information Security Management - News You Can UseGreetings All!<br />
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It is hard to believe that my Information Security Management class is over today. In looking back at my postings in my blog for this class the past 11 weeks, I chose a variety of topics and wanted to use different ones each week that were related to Information Technology. I wanted this experience to be fun and exciting and also wanted this to be a great learning experience for me as well.<br />
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Most of the material that I blogged on was from various newsworthy sources/websites that were provided as a link to use for this class. Sometimes, I would search on my own for interesting topics to write about.<br />
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To recap, the topic headings in Information Technology - News You Can Use I wrote about In <em>What's New With Laurie</em> were the following:<br />
<ul>
<li>Voting on the Internet - Is it Safe?</li>
<li>What is this World Coming to? Is it Full of Double Standards?</li>
<li>You May Change Your Password - a pet's Name, the Month, or a Favorite Movie Just Isn't Enough!</li>
<li>Watch our for the FBI!</li>
<li>The Newest Technology Trend for the Ladies-- the iPhone-carrying Bra!</li>
<li>Did you Ever Regret Posting Things About Yourself on <em>Facebook </em>thst You Realized May Come Back to Haunt You?</li>
<li>Do You Ever Run Out of Ideas for a Gift to Your Mother on Her Special Day?</li>
<li>Online Crowdsourcing Game tha Helps Diagnose Infectious Diseases Such as Milaria!</li>
<li>Chicago's 2012 NATO Summit </li>
<li>The Stupid Things that People do on <em>Facebook </em>and how They can Fix Them!</li>
</ul>
Please visit <em>What's New With Laurie </em>for future posts. This class, as well as others I have taken in the past, has motivated me to continue blogging. It is a great way to share useful information with others and it helps you build your writing and communication skills. A win-win situation for all!<br />
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Good luck to everyone from this class and maybe we will cross paths in the future!<br />
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Bye for now-<br />
<br />
Laurie<br />
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<br />Laurie Gillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14059511748646220766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803411578486158700.post-88499355187706436612012-05-27T22:33:00.001-07:002012-05-27T22:33:37.832-07:00Information Security Management - News You Can UseGreetings!<br />
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I was just reading about the stupid things that people do on <i>Facebook</i> and how they can fix them.<br />
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<i>Facebook</i> is a social networking site that people have chosen to share their lives with. Unfortunately, the social media site can be a constant source of annoyance, embarrassment, and trouble if the wrong decision.<br />
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The following is a list of stupid things that people do on <i>Facebook</i>:<br />
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<li>You don't regularly audit your approved apps.</li>
<li>You don't filter your news feeds.</li>
<li>You don't manage your privacy settings.</li>
<li>You complain about <i>Facebook </i>features you hate but don't fix them.</li>
<li>You friend everybody.</li>
<li>You let <i>Facebook </i>spam your email inbox with notifications.</li>
<li>Your password is insecure.</li>
<li>You let <i>Facebook </i>track you.</li>
<li>You keep falling for scams.</li>
<li>You share too many personal photos that may be used against you later.</li>
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The good news is that you can get <i>Facebook </i>under control. Here are some suggestions:</div>
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<li>Visit <b>your app settings page </b>and you will be presented with apps you are using. Go through the list and delete anything that you don't recognize or ant anymore.</li>
<li>If you have a friend who posts crap to your news feed, you can tell <i>Facebook</i> to filter out anywhere from some to all of the posts.</li>
<li>Managing <i>Facebook </i>privacy is hard to do. Go to Social Fishing-- this extension works on practically every web browser and gets rid of anything you hate. One example is to turn off chat bar-- always show <i>Facebook </i>message in boxes. Another example is to prevent <i>Facebook </i>from auto-loading posts-- filter out messages you don't want to see. Last, turn off the timeline (for yourself).</li>
<li>Many people have too many friends lists and they are too difficult to manage. A solution would be to send a message to all your friends to let them know that you are cleaning house.</li>
<li>People spend too much time on <i>Facebook</i>, and it might get in the way of getting other things done. You can quit <i>Facebook</i> without actually quitting <i>Facebook.</i> You can disable a lot of the features and lock down privacy settings. This way, you can still use <i>Facebook, </i>but can avoid it at times.</li>
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Interesting tips for the <i>Facebook </i>user... good luck and be careful out there!</div>
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Until next time...</div>
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Bye for now,</div>
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Laurie</div>
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</div>Laurie Gillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14059511748646220766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803411578486158700.post-75800184283090914342012-05-20T16:12:00.000-07:002012-05-20T16:12:25.445-07:00Information Security Management - News You Can Use<strong>NATO SUMMIT </strong><br />
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Greetings All-<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiK5rGpL6hfChJSazIrB8ZYZ0WRGaDFanf7T91GYZisMTfY7lCoAo9OGRF1yWgCWh9OTa2Ip3PQSD1z5DHVKlMbSaZ51QKvGXgJ0gZNohOeR29XBiGo0wF9neWZwft4HilPtIALQYUKl30/s1600/NATO-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiK5rGpL6hfChJSazIrB8ZYZ0WRGaDFanf7T91GYZisMTfY7lCoAo9OGRF1yWgCWh9OTa2Ip3PQSD1z5DHVKlMbSaZ51QKvGXgJ0gZNohOeR29XBiGo0wF9neWZwft4HilPtIALQYUKl30/s320/NATO-2.jpg" width="320" /></a>NATO Media Headquarters<br />
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(Photo provided by Chicago Sun Times)</div>
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This weekend through Monday is the 2012 NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Summit, will be bringing in leaders from all over the world, to McCormick Place in Chicago. I was reading in an article on eWeek.com that Cyber-Threats are posing challenges during the NATO Conference. Security experts expect WiFi freeloaders, man-in-the-middle attacks and targeted attacks against those working at the Chicago site during the Summit.<br />
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Cyber security headaches include attackers targeting laptops and smartphones, as well as WiFi freeloaders piggybacking off of WiFi Signals, security experts told the <em>Chicago Sun-Times. </em>The Sun-Times also reported that Internet, wireless voice and even electrical outages might occur, and that all Chicagoans may want to back up their data. In fact, most businesses may even close for the business day on Monday to avoid any disruptions from the NATO Summit, as well as for the safety and security of their employees.</div>
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There have been several protesters throughout the city over the weekend and Chicago Police have beefed up security, including some of the force in full riot gear, especially at the end of the NATO protest march today, in 91 degrees weather in Chicago.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvAVQ7tUDY62zmSOkpU9e7p3ZI2pHVyvV886N0s7Sd4gX7NoqbayTXxCLyDIELknb7gTTqPufoDRjzBn87UT4iH7zyzQc4f-Ttu8wigQVK-IO4LY7FIncJznYh40f_6JpVH2P0fuTDTUG9/s1600/NATO+Security.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvAVQ7tUDY62zmSOkpU9e7p3ZI2pHVyvV886N0s7Sd4gX7NoqbayTXxCLyDIELknb7gTTqPufoDRjzBn87UT4iH7zyzQc4f-Ttu8wigQVK-IO4LY7FIncJznYh40f_6JpVH2P0fuTDTUG9/s320/NATO+Security.jpg" width="320" /></a>Chicago Police at the end of the NATO Protest March</div>
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(Photo provided by Chicago Sun-Times)</div>
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If you are in Chicago this weekend - BE SAFE!</div>
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Until next time...</div>
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Bye for now,</div>
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Laurie</div>
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<br /></div>Laurie Gillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14059511748646220766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803411578486158700.post-13700167555160685322012-05-13T14:10:00.002-07:002012-05-13T14:10:50.829-07:00Information Security Management - News You can Use<div style="text-align: center;">
TO ALL THE MOTHERS IN THE WORLD- HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoq1qY8r6bbl3as9V8dEsnFySXn4tgYVO46BVlo8XwlrW-aUeDuYd5Mr7uCkgX0Wy_IxMD46oeJHH9tPqyzGdo3fZQkGaFu0ZjjV41R3o0kod77m_smMAJZ_eTJ1Atga9fvk83PQRo9ZsY/s1600/md3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dba="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoq1qY8r6bbl3as9V8dEsnFySXn4tgYVO46BVlo8XwlrW-aUeDuYd5Mr7uCkgX0Wy_IxMD46oeJHH9tPqyzGdo3fZQkGaFu0ZjjV41R3o0kod77m_smMAJZ_eTJ1Atga9fvk83PQRo9ZsY/s320/md3.jpg" width="242" /></a></div>
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Do you ever run out of ideas for a gift to give to your mother on her special day? Flowers are great but get boring after a while. Here are five great Mother's Day gifts under $100 that I think mom would appreciate (especially the "Techy" mom):</div>
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<strong>ChicBuds - </strong>Most earbuds are basic black or white-- now you can buy them to match mom's sense of style and color coordination. You can now get earbuds in "blue graffiti", "pink leopard", and "zebra stripes" and they come with a flat, tangle-free cord. The also come with three gel-tip sizes to get the best possible fit. Chicbuds are priced at $29.99 each.</div>
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<strong>Apple TV or Roku LT - </strong>The Apple TV or the Roku LT are diminutive boxes that plug in to almost any TV and stream video from various services such as Netflix to instantly watch special selected videos. Both boxes are excellent, but the Apple TV has better AirPlay capabilities. For example, mom can beam snapshots and videos from her phone to the TV. However, Roku boxes support Amazon instant Video and Hulu Plus, which together offer more viewing options than iTunes alone. The Apple TV costs $99.00 each and the Roku LT costs $49.99 each.</div>
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<strong>Amazon Kindle Touch or Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch - </strong>The Amazon Kindle Touch is $99.00 each and has received four stars and is also an Editor's Choice from CNET. The Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch was just reduced to $79.00 each in honor of Mother's Day, and also received four stars and an Editor's Choice.</div>
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<strong>Fitbit Ultra - </strong>Is your mom trying to get into shape? The Fitbit Ultra is one of the first gadgets that can actually help her get started. This clip-on activity tracker measures just about anything: steps taken, stairs climbed, distance traveled, and calories burned. It can even monitor sleep patterns. The real fun is that mom can track all of her stats online or in the companion Android/iOS apps. It even syncs with popular apps like "Lose It" and "RunKeeper." </div>
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<strong>Creative D100 Bluetooth Speaker -</strong> If your mom has a smartphone or a tablet, she probably enjoys listening to her playlists, podcasts, Pandora and more. The beauty of a Bluetooth speaker is that it can go just about anywhere that mom goes, and it can play any audio she wants to hear. There are many Bluetooth speakers to choose from, many priced under $100.00 each.</div>
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Happy shopping and Happy Mother's Day!</div>
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Until next time...</div>
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Bye for now,</div>
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Laurie</div>Laurie Gillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14059511748646220766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803411578486158700.post-32968310531705924512012-05-06T15:15:00.000-07:002012-05-06T15:15:03.133-07:00Information Security Management - News You Can UseGreetings!<br />
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Today I was reading an article on <em>computerworld.com </em>that talked about an online "crowdsourcing game" that helps diagnose infectious diseases such as malaria.<br />
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This game is designed to let players help doctors all over the world speed the process of distinguishing malaria-infected red blood cells from healthy ones. Researchers are hoping that the users of this game can help areas like sub-Saharan Africa, where malaria accounts for 20% of all childhood deaths. This disease, however, affects 210 million people annually worldwide, and accounts for almost 40% of all hospitalizations throughout Africa. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaURYmnEDOO7crgk8ewTedJKq_yrCJp3lC2sr0MaWrc9510kinIzSs2S2YbQm9ktGq7ajAEp85S29ylRVWnlVxeOWvFvqTrBFhhQ9e-lTK4FAxkuDd_8gWhwcbjnYnb1QTSpHHFKuzy_py/s1600/gamephoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" mea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaURYmnEDOO7crgk8ewTedJKq_yrCJp3lC2sr0MaWrc9510kinIzSs2S2YbQm9ktGq7ajAEp85S29ylRVWnlVxeOWvFvqTrBFhhQ9e-lTK4FAxkuDd_8gWhwcbjnYnb1QTSpHHFKuzy_py/s320/gamephoto.jpg" width="320" /></a>(Photo Courtesy of <em>Computerworld</em>)</div>
The "crowdsourcing game" (shown above) is free to play, and works off of the assumption that large groups of non-experts can be trained to recognize microscopic images of infectious disease cells with the accuracy of trained pathologists. The game was created by researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and the Applied Science and David Geffen School of Medicine, and can be played on any computer device ranging from cell phones to personal computers, and can be played anywhere around the world.<br />
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<em>Computerworld </em>reported that "the idea of this game is to use crowds to collectively get a better pathologic analysis of microscopic images, which could be applicable to various telemedicine solutions." Before playing the game, each player is given a brief online tutorial and an explanation of what malaria-infected red blood cells typically look like using sample images (shown below). Then the player goes through the game and is shown multiple digital frames of red blood cell images. The player can use a tool that looks like a syringe that will kill the infected cells one-by-one and use another tool that collects the remaining cells that are healthy in the frame.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdinEUutZP3h59Lc9eeuxBY-Lxe-FNQwwMuS2WvULxVOgMZkItmQTEMiPmGv1vZlMDN8q6WKui6iDRoagDp_R0GLGltgmMXigg5BFwvIuxlyP4sjU10CHO5pf1kDbOwuyU2c7u8rRMhD9v/s1600/OzcanGameSourcing2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" mea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdinEUutZP3h59Lc9eeuxBY-Lxe-FNQwwMuS2WvULxVOgMZkItmQTEMiPmGv1vZlMDN8q6WKui6iDRoagDp_R0GLGltgmMXigg5BFwvIuxlyP4sjU10CHO5pf1kDbOwuyU2c7u8rRMhD9v/s320/OzcanGameSourcing2.jpg" width="320" /></a>(Photo Courtesy of <em>Computerworld</em>)<br />
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Typically, malaria is diagnosed by a trained pathologist through a conventional light microscope, and this time-consuming process can overwhelm researchers. The new "crowdsourcing game" is a platform that could be adapted for a variety of other biomedical and environmental tasks.<br />
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How impressive!<br />
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Until next time...<br />
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Bye for now,<br />
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Laurie<br />
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<br />Laurie Gillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14059511748646220766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803411578486158700.post-32222304666057452852012-04-29T17:10:00.000-07:002012-04-29T17:10:06.298-07:00Information Security Management - News You Can UseThe Newest Technology Trend for the Ladies... the iPhone-carrying Bra!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKUBySyoBhY8Xdl52DfsuDw0W9673cD1WoHbqWSlssxb9p0_F4a5K2xKXQwfODNT6LzA9Z-ry0gvSGccQHQgcRFVdb3irNRmxNcww8SXSZEspbQxErp87G32pnIzArOeZW4tA_0sOPMOij/s1600/carousel-item-3_610x406.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKUBySyoBhY8Xdl52DfsuDw0W9673cD1WoHbqWSlssxb9p0_F4a5K2xKXQwfODNT6LzA9Z-ry0gvSGccQHQgcRFVdb3irNRmxNcww8SXSZEspbQxErp87G32pnIzArOeZW4tA_0sOPMOij/s320/carousel-item-3_610x406.jpg" width="320" /></a>(photo credit: Joeybra)</div>
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I was reading an article today about this new bra that can carry an iPhone, which was named the <em>JoeyBra</em>, as in baby kangaroo because it has pouches, and created by two entrepreneurial business students at the University of Washington who saw potential growth in the pocketed bra market, as reported in the news. Here is how they described this product on their website <a href="http://www.joeybra.com/">http://www.joeybra.com</a>:<br />
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<em>JoeyBra</em> was created for women who are constantly on the go and struggle to find a place to put they ID, keys, or phones. From the two female student's own personal experience, they know that women hate taking their purses to dances, bars, or dance clubs. Leaving these items at home can pose a safety risk, but with <em>JoeyBra </em>women will never have to worry losing or damaging their valuables again.<br />
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The college juniors claim that the bra with pockets can hold an iPhone, along with an ID, credit cards, and even keys, regardless of your bust size. How great is that!<br />
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What's next-- jockey shorts with a pocket for the guys?<br />
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Until next time...<br />
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Bye for now,<br />
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Laurie<br />
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<br />Laurie Gillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14059511748646220766noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803411578486158700.post-24700194174108840652012-04-22T16:35:00.001-07:002012-04-22T16:35:41.827-07:00Information Security Management - News You Can UseWatch out for the FBI!<br />
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I was just reading today that the World Wide Web could vanish for a lot of people this July, according to the FBI. If your computer is infected with the <strong>DNSChanger </strong>virus, you better take care of it; otherwise you may lose your internet connection if you don't take the necessary steps to diagnose and disinfect your computer.<br />
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This problem is related to malware and it is called <strong>DNSChanger. </strong>It was discovered back in 2007 and it has infected millions of computers worldwide. In simple terms, when you type a Web address into your browser, your computer contacts DNS (Domain Name System) servers to find out the numerical Internet Protocol (IP) address of the site you are trying to reach, and then takes you there. <strong>DNSChanger </strong>messed with an infected machine's settings and directed it to rogue servers set up by a crime ring-- servers that handed out addresses to whatever sites the ring chose. These crooks were international cyberbandits that hijacked millions of computers. <br />
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Late last year, the FBI disrupted this operation and seized the rogue servers. However, since so many infected computers relied on those servers to reach the Internet, the agent opted not to shut them down and instead convert them to legitimate DNS machines. Running these machines costs the government money; therefore, they are being switched off in July. If your computer is infected with <strong>DNSChanger</strong>, then you will loose your access the the Web.<br />
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To learn more about <strong>DNSChanger </strong>and to find out if your computer is infected, you can visit the FBI's website at <a href="http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/20ll/november/malware_110911">http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/20ll/november/malware_110911</a>.<br />
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Also, always remember to install anti-virus software on your computer as a safety precaution.<br />
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Until next time...<br />
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Bye for now,<br />
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Laurie<br />Laurie Gillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14059511748646220766noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803411578486158700.post-64094726938932053232012-04-15T13:47:00.000-07:002012-04-15T13:47:45.365-07:00Information Security Management - News You Can UseYou may want to change that password... a pet's name, the month, or a favorite movie just isn't enough!<br />
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I was just reading an article in <em>ITworld Today </em>that weak passwords are still the downfall of enterprise security. You may have read about a recent data breach that exposed Social Security numbers fo more than 255,000 people in Utah-- an incident that was a result of weak and default passwords. The breach, involved a Medicaid server at the Utah Department of Health, and resulted from a configuration errror at the authentication layer of the server hosting the compromised data, according to state IT officials.<br />
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Many security analysts believe that the breached server was using a default administrative password or an easily guessable one, and attackers took advantage of the error and were able to bypass the perimeter-netowork-application-level security controls that IT administrators had put in place to protect the data on the server.<br />
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These mistakes are surprisingly common and could easily be avoided by putting in passwords that are not easy to figure out.<br />
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<em>Verizon </em>released a report last month that showed that attacks exploiting weak passwords are still endemic in the retail and hospitality industries. Attackers can still go to a vendor's site, get a client list and click on those clients that have a default or guessable username-password combination. It was also reported by <em>Verizon</em> that "these are relatively easy attacks that require little in-depth knowledge or creativity."<br />
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People who use the same password for multiple accounts is also a huge issue. So... next time you are adding or changing a password...you may want to think twice about the password that you choose.<br />
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Until next time...<br />
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Bye for now,<br />
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LaurieLaurie Gillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14059511748646220766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803411578486158700.post-59190777423784613252012-04-09T12:23:00.000-07:002012-04-09T12:23:23.049-07:00Information Security Management - News You Can UseWhat is this world coming to? Is it full of double standards?<br />
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I just read in the news this week, as reported by the Chinese state-run news agency, Xinhua, that a 17-year-old boy in China received 22,000 yuan (nearly $3,500) for his kidney so he could buy a new Apple iPhone and iPad. Five people were charged for taking the teen's kidney, in return for offering him cash so that he could buy these products. <br />
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The 17-year-old boy now suffers from renal deficiency. That is the price he paid for wanting the latest and greatest of today's technology products. The boy was from one of the poorest areas of China, Anhui, the city that actually makes the iPhone and iPad. However, most of the residents in this city cannot afford to purchase either of these high technology products.<br />
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This alleged crime was discovered after the boy's mother found him using these Apple products, and he admitted to selling his kidney to purchase them.<br />
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What does this all mean? It means that the poor people are exposed to these high technology products and work very hard to keep up with the production demand; however, they can't even afford to buy these hard earned products because they have no money. Is this a double standard or what?<br />
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Until next time...<br />
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Bye for now,<br />
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LaurieLaurie Gillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14059511748646220766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803411578486158700.post-86575716218938262092012-04-01T17:10:00.000-07:002012-04-01T17:10:24.554-07:00Voting on the Internet -- Is it Safe?With the November presidential election coming up, there is a lot of controversy over whether voting on the Internet is safe. The main issue is the cyberattacks. I read an article in CNET News that 33 states now permit some form of Internet ballot casting. However, a senior cybersecurity adviser at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security warned today that online voting programs will make the country's election process vulnerable to cyberattacks.<br />
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The 33 states that allow completed ballots to be sent via the Web, is typically through e-mail and e-fax. The people that mainly vote using this cyber-feature are people in the military and those living overseas. The debate about whether to go forward with online voting has become a huge issue now that the 2012 election season is here. <br />
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Some computer security experts say that Internet ballot casting is years away, while others push for online voting so that all Unites States citizens are able to choose a candidate no matter where they are in the world.<br />
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One common concern is that the individual ballots would be tampered with if online voting is completely opened up.<br />
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This focus on Internet voting comes at a time when the U.S. government is increasingly trying to strengthen its cybersecurity, so there is a lot of controversy. <br />
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What are your thoughts-- do you think that Internet Ballot Casting should be allowed?<br />
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Until next time...<br />
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Bye for now,<br />
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LaurieLaurie Gillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14059511748646220766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803411578486158700.post-50695905895789074232012-03-25T16:11:00.000-07:002012-03-25T16:11:02.855-07:00Information Security Management - News You Can UseDid you ever regret posting things about yourself on <em>Facebook </em>that you realized may come back to haunt you?<br />
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Yesterday I found an article and it was a message from <em>Facebook</em> saying "Don't reveal your password to snooping employers." I always thought that employers had the right to look up any personal information on their employees, including <em>Facebook</em> and most social networking sites. <em>Facebook </em>advises their account users to "just say no" if an employer ever requests access to an employee's <em>Facebook </em>account.<br />
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As a result of this statement made by <em>Facebook, </em>there were growing number of complaints from employers. To make their position very clear, <em>Facebook </em>published a post yesterday, entitled "Protecting Your Passwords and Your Privacy," communicating that they undermine both the security and the privacy of their user's and their user's friends<em>. Facebook</em> mentions that employers could face legal issues as a result of their "snooping." That is why <em>Facebook </em>has certain guidelines that protects user's private information and communications.<br />
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Erin Egan, Chief Privacy Officer of Policy for <em>Facebook </em>continued to address this issue and referenced <em>Facebook's </em>Statement of Rights and Responsibilities to remind user's that they are protected by <em>Facebook </em>under the Right of Privacy Act.<br />
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What's your opinion? Do you think employers have a right to snoop? Do they have a right to ask for your password to access your account? Has social networking gotten out of hand?<br />
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Until next time...<br />
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Bye for now,<br />
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LaurieLaurie Gillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14059511748646220766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803411578486158700.post-27497524078201648242011-08-16T21:16:00.000-07:002011-08-16T21:16:02.285-07:00Ethics & Decision Making Class - Final Thoughts<br />
And now-- the time has come...<br />
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Ethics & Decision Making was a great class! It certainly helped to have a great professor that made the class fun and interesting. The professor allowed us to be creative and express ourselves so that we could study and research many ethics and decision making points from a whole different perspective.<br />
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As we end this course, I feel confident that I can identify major ethical issues in business and be able to look at different levels of ethical conduct and have a good feeling about understanding business ethics in the workplace.<br />
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The two books we studied in this class were <em>The Seven Layers of Integrity </em>(George P. Jones and June Ferrill, Ph.D.) and <em>Judgment in Managerial Decision Making </em>(Max H. Bazerman and Don A. Moore). These books provided an abundance of key information that helped me meet my own personal objective of looking at ways to apply ethics and decision-making processes in the workplace, and recommend strategies on how to communicate effectively on this topic in an organization.<br />
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Finally, I enjoyed using the software, Photo Story 3, to create my own commercial on <em>Ethics and Fair Housing in Real Estate,</em>as well as my final research paper on this topic that was presented to my class. <br />
I am confident about what I have learned in this class and look forward to moving on to the Fall term classes in this Masters Degree program at Bellevue University.<br />
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Until next time...<br />
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Bye for now,<br />
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LaurieLaurie Gillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14059511748646220766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803411578486158700.post-71339485830204692552011-08-02T23:09:00.000-07:002011-08-02T23:09:10.925-07:00My Learning Journal - Ethics & Decision MakingMy Ethics and Decision Making class just finished the book, <em>Judgment in Managerial Decision Making, </em>by Max H. Bazerman and Don A. Moore, 2009.<br />
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Some of the areas in this book that stood out for me was learning about <em>Bounded Awareness. </em>Bounded Awareness is what people have that prevents them from noticing or focusing on useful, observable, and relevant data. I feel that tis is not good, because important information is left outside the awareness of most decision makers and useful information will remain out of focus for the decision maker.<br />
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An example of Bounded Awareness that I can remember was when I had experienced the Chicago Flood Disaster of 1992 that hit the underground tunnel sysem in the Chicago loop. This major disaster affected my company and we were forced to evacuate our building because we had no power and our sub-basement and basement levels of the building was flooded. We had to relocate or business to alterbate office space on the other side of the loop. Because I was the Facilities Manager for the company, I was involved with some of the major decision making with management during this memorable event.<br />
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The whole process thatI went through personally and professionally brought back many emotions that I had gone through, and I remember every detail as if it happened yesterday. This was a situation that started out to be a Negative Bounded Awareness and eventually turned into a Positive Bounded Awareness once people were able to give input and come up with the right solution. They made decisions that resolved some of the issues associated with this disaster, keeping in mind that it was for the good of the company's best interest.<br />
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Another section of the book I found interesting was on <em>Negotiating. </em>Negotiating is when two or more parties need to reach a joint decision but have difference preferences, they they negotiate. I learned that there is a <em>Decision-Analytic Approach to Negotiations.</em> That is, each party's interests and the relative importance of these interests provide the foundatin for thinking analytically about a negotiation. I also learned about <em>Claiming </em>and <em>Creating Value in Negotiation, </em>as well as what tools you need for creating value in negotiating.<br />
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This section in the book on Negotiating brought back many memories if my experiences with negotiating early on in my vareer in Facilities Management. I have had to negotiate different plans and ideas to implement that would continuously improve the services that the department would offer the company. I also would negotiate with manage management the purchasing of cost-effective items that would save the company money in the long run and would be a good investment. Something else I was very proud of was negotiating the need for the company to implement a Fire and Life Safety program that would train and encourage employees to participate and enhance the safety and security awareness level in the company. All of these components that were implemented in he companies I worked for were made possible as a result of negotiation a decision making.<br />
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<em>Judgment in Managerial Decisin Making </em>is an excellent book and a gret tool for learning or improving your judgment and decision making techniques, as well as learning about or enhancing your negotiation techniques. This book also creates many ideas for opportunities to make better decisions.<br />
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Bye for now-<br />
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LaurieLaurie Gillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14059511748646220766noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803411578486158700.post-20935472625453898092011-07-05T19:20:00.000-07:002011-07-05T19:20:28.346-07:00Journal Entry for Ethics & Decision Making Class-MMC640As we end week 4 of this class, I am happy to say that we have finished reading the book, <em>The Seven Layers of Integrity</em>, by George P. Jones and June Ferrill, Ph.D. This book gave me a clear understanding of what ethical behavior is and how the Seven Layers of Integrity is used as a learning tool and a decision-making mechanism. Learning about and relating various ethical issues to my everyday life, especially with my job or prior jobs, helped me put things into perspective and aided me in understanding more about business ethics in a corporate culture and how it ties in with human behavior in a business environment.<br />
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Week 3 of this class focused on Relationships and Values and doing the assignment was a real eye opener for me. I was forced to go through all of the emotions and feelings, both personally and professionally, as a result of the Enron scandal. Our assignment was to watch a video documentary called, <em>Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, </em>as well as read an article called, "Enron Scandal At-a-Glance." We were required to write an essay examining Enron from the perspective of the <em>Seven Layers of Integrity,</em>and choose which layers seemed most important to the case and which layers were less important. We also were required to include a visual aid in our essay that related to what we wrote about.<br />
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I must say that after I watched the video and read several articles about this scandal, I was outraged all over again-- this time more angry though, which I know came out in my writing of the essay. Even after almost 10 years since the Enron Scandal took place, I found myself still getting emotional and upset over it. So this was kind of like "therapy" for me to express myself and write about it in this class.<br />
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You see, at the time of the Enron scandal, I was employed as a manager at the Chicago headquarters of Arthur Andersen and had worked there for almost 10 years. Andersen was Enron's auditor and the Firm was convicted on March 15, 2001 for obstructing justice relating to the Enron case. As a result of this conviction, Andersen was forced to close their doors and 29,000 employees lost their jobs, including mine.<br />
I was devastated when this happened and could not believe it, because Arthur Andersen was a great company to work for and, from my perspective, was all about being professional and having a code of ethics to follow and was very proud to work for one of the Big Four accounting firms in the world.<br />
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When you work so hard to accomplish and achieve your personal and professinal goals and something like this happens that you have no control over, it does affect you deeply and can change your life forever. One thing that I learned from all of this, is that you can never take anything for granted or think that you will never change your career path, especially if you love your job, because one day you have it and the next day it could be gone. The Enron-Arthur Arthursen case will go down in history- like the sinking of the Titanic! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2O08YocUegQiGhyphenhyphenFjudrtuZOedVGELmTKhXTzRpNrIOEe4YjIJwq0Rx3SwieYZlAHYb5murAutUbzVN4sT1qXe1e8IGtH_PCYmv5UWd0TegGogRnF5yTj2aRmVLBn-fnzs60hhOmCfJ7Y/s1600/enron-andersen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2O08YocUegQiGhyphenhyphenFjudrtuZOedVGELmTKhXTzRpNrIOEe4YjIJwq0Rx3SwieYZlAHYb5murAutUbzVN4sT1qXe1e8IGtH_PCYmv5UWd0TegGogRnF5yTj2aRmVLBn-fnzs60hhOmCfJ7Y/s1600/enron-andersen.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Bye for now-<br />
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LaurieLaurie Gillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14059511748646220766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803411578486158700.post-28937952678319361132011-06-21T20:53:00.000-07:002011-06-21T20:53:58.202-07:00My Learning Journal - Ethics & Decision MakingI am a business professional with over 30 years of work experience in management and I feel that I have developed my skills in communications, especially in the workplace. That is why I am working hard to complete a Masters Degree in Managerial Communication at Bellevue University. I am thrilled to be taking this course because, even though I am somewhat experienced, I feel that I still have a lot to learn, especially in Business Ethics and Decision Making. <br />
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As I reflect back to a couple of weeks ago when I began this course, I remember how excited I was to start learning and was thrilled to start reading our textbook, <em>The Seven Layers of Integrity,</em> by George P. Jones and June Ferrill, Ph.D. I especially have been enjoying weekly Professor Artz' Video Overview, Thought for the Week, and the Image for the Week. This technique is such a creative way to get the students to really think about ethics and puts things into perspective. Plus it's a lot of fun!<br />
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For the Main Discussion Posting, I like the fact that students can choose one of many questions to answer and write about each week. I think that each one of us can relate to at least one question and can relate it to our current job, which allows us to write freely and elaborate if we need to. It is such a great learning experience when the students can interact with each other and give feedback to each other's weekly posts. Also, this class is designed to encourage students to give constructive criticism, yet be supportive and encouraging to each other, and I appreciate all the feedback I can get.<br />
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My expectations in this class is to relate my own business experiences with others and be able to identify major ethical issues and understand why and how to deal with them. I would hope to continue analyzing various cases regarding ethical conduct and what the outcome would be, as well as identifying and knowing what to do when their are problems in ethical decision-making. Most of all, I hope to gain knowledge on how to effectively recommend commuication strategies in all aspects of ethical decision-making.<br />
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I enjoy writing in a blog because it allows me to get my thoughts in order and to keep track of my progress as I move along in this class. I also enjoy sharing information with others and feel that this is a great communication tool to do just that!<br />
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-Bye for now<br />
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LaurieLaurie Gillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14059511748646220766noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803411578486158700.post-48425325672305435832011-05-24T22:15:00.000-07:002011-05-24T22:31:40.395-07:00Reflection of the Processes of Electronic Group InteractionsI had a geat experience with all of the interactive technologies for my group work and this class. The tools were user-friendly and worked very well for me. These tools are great for an online class and especially for me as a student that needs flexibility. I especially enjoyed the Wiki Tool and I liked using the Discussions tool reviewing our readings, sharing experiences, and interacting with my fellow classmates. I felt that these tools were designed to give valuable feedback and constructive criticism from the classmates or the instructor, which is designed to allow students to improve their thought process, as well as writing and communication skills in order to move forward in the class, as well as future classes. <br />
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The one tool that I would have liked to have used was a Virtual Blackboard, where we could have a live chat on a particular topic of discussion and could interact live with everyone in the class. When I was working on my undergraduate degree, I had a couple of classes online that required a live chat classroom and it was a lot of fun and a great learning experience to be able to interact "live" with the other students in the class, as well as the instructor. You could share files live and give and receive immediate responses.<br />
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These online classes work very well for me and I wouldn't do it any other way. Part of the success of these tools is that they are easy to use and work very well for electronic group interactions. I also learned a lot about the value of social networking and even enjoyed creating this wonderful blog which now belongs to me, and I will be able to keep going with it whenever I want. Technology is a beautiful thing!<br />
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By for now- <br />
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LaurieLaurie Gillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14059511748646220766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803411578486158700.post-79910979968534497762011-03-28T21:23:00.000-07:002011-03-28T21:23:29.004-07:00-The POST Method for People, Objectives, Strategy, and Technology within the Real Estate Market-<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">I work for a major Real Estate company and my role is the Director of Agent Services. In addition to several administrative management functions, one of my primary job responsibilities is to educate, recommend and assist all Real Estate Agents in my office with their Real Estate businesses, including promotional marketing, advertising, business solutions, client management and information technology training on all programs provided by the company for Realtors to maintain and advance their Real Estate business.</div><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><br />
</div><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">In using the four step planning process, <em>POST</em>, I am ready to assemble a plan for building a foundation of groundswell thinking where I work. Since the Real Estate Agents are independent contractors and can be very competitive, an office blog would be an excellent way to bring them together as a team in the office to share common goals, strategies, successes, and all other information that would be helpful to anyone in the Real Estate business.</div><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><br />
</div><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Let's break it down:</div><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><br />
</div><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><strong>People:</strong> The Real Estate Agents are the internal customers. They are already computer saavy and use social networks for personal and business use, as well as interact with potential customers & existing clients. The are already using Real Estate software programs for managing their business in the Real Estate market. Each Realtor has an Agent Profile Sheet that promotes their education, designations, qualifications, professional experience and much more. </div><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><br />
</div><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><strong>Objectives: </strong>To motivate and empower our Real Estate Agents by helping them identify and discuss areas for improvement, set personal goals, team goals, and objectives, as well as implement roundtable discussions based on client feedback, and conduct training sessions for Agents to enhance their Real Estate business. This would not only satisfy clients, but would meet or exceed the business goals of the company.</div><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><br />
</div><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><strong>Strategy:</strong> By setting up this office blog, the Management, Office Staff, and Agents would have an opportunity to continuously correspond and post valuable information on the blog, especially when it can sometimes be difficult to get everyone together in the office for meetings and special training sessions. A blog is a great way to get out valuable information to everyone in our office and they can read or comment on their own time. Communicating internally is a great way to build a communication network providing valuable resources to everyone!</div><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><br />
</div><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><strong>Technology:</strong> Internal Blog</div><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><br />
</div><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Bye for now-</div><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><br />
</div><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Laurie</div>Laurie Gillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14059511748646220766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803411578486158700.post-51330794462860086262011-03-21T16:54:00.000-07:002011-03-21T16:54:35.036-07:00Laurie's IntroductionHello-<br />
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Let me introduce myself. My name is Laurie Giller and I live in Bourbonnais, Illinois. I am a recent graduate from the College of Arts and Sciences at Governors State University. This past summer, I received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a Concentration in Business Management. I am currently enrolled in the Master of Arts in Managerial Communication program at Bellevue University and my goal is to graduate in approximately 18 months. I have over 30 years of professional work experience in the Facilities and Operations Management field and have worked for several large corporations over the years. For the past five years, I have been working for a major Real Estate company near my home, since I have returned to school. I have been married to my husband for almost 20 years and have two stepchildren and two children living at home. I know that this online degree program will allow me the flexibility I need to work full time, manage my family and volunteer for community service activities. Once I received my Masters Degree, I would like to find a job in the Communications field and move forward in my career.<br />
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Bye for now-<br />
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LaurieLaurie Gillerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14059511748646220766noreply@blogger.com0