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Showing posts from April, 2022

"If a person has control over any function, it can also be used to control the computer"(week 14)

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  "If a person has control over any function, it can also be used to control the computer" img url: https://media.istockphoto.com/vectors/the-red-fishing-hook-is-stealing-password-on-a-laptop-vector-id1173707516?k=20&m=1173707516&s=170667a&w=0&h=XOJ7iaSoLUmupXMpm1r-PSGGEAUdAdBrzZ4-O29mvdI= Last year, Laxman Muthiyah, a security researcher, found out that it was possible for any attacker to assign themselves admin privileges for any Facebook page they desired. [1] The operation was done through Broken Access Control, which happens when access permissions are misconfigured by the attacker allowing them to gain access to functions they are not supposed to have. [2] With this access they may delete, modify, or copy, different data, files, and account information amongst other things. The opportunity of Broken Access Control to take place relies completely on how securely designed and coded the webpage or application is. In Facebook’s case, it was a flaw in th

Comparing Linux Distros (Week 13)

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  Comparing Linux Distros Ubuntu vs Fedora Linux is an operating system created by a Finnish student named Linus Torvalds on September 17 1991. Linus was heavily inspired by GNU and especially with the use of Mr Richard Stallman’s GNU C compiler without which Linux would not have existed at all. However a little credit has to be given to Mr Andrew Tanenbaum for the creation of the Minix kernel through which Mr Torvalds learnt everything he needed to build Linux in the beginning. However, Minix’s license only restricted it to be used for educational purpose thus forcing the shift to GNU[1]. It is also by far the most successful open source brand towering over every other open-source brand in the world. It was important for Linux to be open source, it is one of the reasons why it is so reliable and has so few reliabilities. Thousands of developers review and develop Linux code, it was also meant to be brilliant under such potent and profound perusal. img url: https://eacetodev.files.wo

Hacker Ethic In The Modern World (week 12)

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  Hacker Ethic In The Modern World [1] According to Wikipedia, hacking in terms of Hacker culture is “ a subculture of individuals who enjoy the intellectual challenge of creatively overcoming the limitations of software systems to achieve novel and clever outcomes. The act of engaging in activities such as programming or other media in a spirit of playfulness and exploration is termed hacking.”[1] img url: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Glider.svg/1024px-Glider.svg.png I believe that the true definition of “Hacker Culture” in the true sense of the word “Hacker” is a very beautiful and inclusive definition that sparks a lot of positivity and optimism in my mind, to question the future and to actually solve problems in this world is a very comforting thought to imagine. To see the world as a giant problem waiting to be solved is a very beautiful and romanticised, maybe perhaps even the right way to see the world. Technology has changed the lives of so many

Censorship And Privacy (week 11)

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  Censorship And Privacy Censorship according to Wikipedia is the suppression of speech, public communication or other information. It is usually done when the material in question is considered harmful, sensitive or inconvenient[2]. Censorship has been successful in the preventing the propagation of harmful child pornography and to control the ever-increasing efforts to unveil national secrets. It is clear that censorship has a clear need and has a legitimate reason to exist. However, it can be incredibly easy to misuse or mishandle as the definition of “obscenity” is very loose and is mostly subjective. It is very hard to draw that line and have it be completely concrete. img url: https://live.staticflickr.com/4625/26250258608_fd4301df00_b.jpg An example of blatant and rampant censorship can be observed on the political portion of Twitter. Twitter has grown the last ten years to be one of the biggest social media websites in existence. It’s popularity has attracted all sorts of p