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PAGE 4 I THE MEREDITH HERALD | OCTOBER 29, 2008 scjen ECHNOLOGY INTERNET SAFETY EXPERT SPEAKS AT MEREDITH By Julia Houtchings Science and Technology Editor Internet Safety: an area most might think they have covered...but do they really? This exact question is what online safety expert Linda Criddle examined when she spoke in Kresge Auditorium on Wednes day, October 15, at 5 p.m. But for those who were unable to attend, do not think that she simply gave the usual “do’s and don’ts” for online safety we have all heard a dozen times; instead, Criddle provided the audience with a crash course in what can only be described as “How to Think Like a Predator 101.” The first issue Criddle addressed was how and why Internet risks oc cur. This list of explanations includes lack of knowledge, carelessness, unintentional exposure of others (or by others), and flaws in technology. Online predators use all of the good and bad characteristics of this crime medium to their advantage. Criddle Informed the audience that what an online predator might see in a photo or body of text is entirely different than what an ordinary internet user might see. Informing ordinary users of these differences is crucial for ef fective online protection. In her presentation, Criddle used as an example two seemingly in nocent photos that a 15-year-old girl named Brittany had posted on a social networking site profile. The first photo was of Brittany sitting on her front porch and the other of her dad sitting inside the family car parked in front of tlieir house. The uninformed eye might look at these photos and see only the description that I havejust given you. However, predators, Criddle informed us, see much, much more. They see that Brittany’s shoulders are up so high they almost touch her ears - a sure sign that she is shy and unsure of herself. They see the house num ber 101 by the door, which means her house is located on the comer of two streets. They see the hand- railing by the steps - a sign that a disabled or elderly person lives with her family. From Brittany’s clothes and the outside appearance of her house in the background, they can deduce her socio-economic status. But per haps most importantly in the first picture, predators notice the broken plant holder with holiday flowers. Why the broken plant holder? Why would a plant holder be broken? Brittany and her family hide the house key underneath it, and it has broken from constant movement. Pictures can say a thousand words and Brittany has TWO. In the sec ond photo, predators would take no tice of the business across the street from her house and be able to note business hours. From there, they would be able to observe Brittany and her family inconspicuously. They would also detect the street signs at this intersection; if the pred ators only knew her house number at this point, her second picture gave her address away completely. What about the city Brittany lives in? If she did not disclose this informa tion on her profile, her second photo even has city event banners hang ing on the light post, right above the street signs. In merely two photos, 15-year-oId Brittany has uninten tionally revealed her exact address and given full access to anyone that discovers her profile online. Criddle gave the audience well over 15 minutes to observe the two pictures while she continued to talk and, yet, she still had to tease most of these observations out of the au dience. The time it takes for crimi nals, she says, to discover all this information? Approximately 9 min utes. The next time you, or someone you know, post a photo online, think about any revealing qualities the photo might have and also adjust the privacy settings. Criddle stressed that any internet user should not be afraid of posting photos online. Instead, she should simply think about two things: WHAT she is saying online with text and photos and WHO she Is sharing this Information with. As long as in ternet users keep these two ideas in mind, they can dramatically increase their level of online safety. ■ A BLAST FROM THE PAST: TAMAGOTCHIS! By Julia Houtchings Science and Technology Editor Do you remember those handheld virtual pets and people called Tama gotchis? I had two of them once upon a time, but by the time I had worn them to the breaking point, they were no longer to be found in stores. Then, lo and behold, the oth er week I was in Target looking for my three-year-old niece’s birthday present, and guess what I found?! Tamagotchis! I debated for a few weeks over whether I should indulge in my in ner child and buy one. 1 finally de cided the other day that I just had to have one of those cool toys from my childhood, and, although I was a little disappointed about how much they had changed, I was really im pressed with all the cool features that they have now. New Tamagotchi’s are called Tamagotchi Connection, and Ban- dai (the maker) means it. Every Tamagotchi Connection has an Infra-Red Communication function to interact with other Tamagotchi. Plus not only do you get one Tama gotchi, you get a whole family that you raise from the time they hatch. Once they become aduhs, you can marry them via the Infra-Red Com munication function and they start all new Tamagotchi families. Gen erations upon generations can be created while the battery lasts. To interact and play with your Tamagotchi, there are initially four games available: Tama Fans, Pool Play, Tennis, and Safe Box. Play ing games (and winning, of course) earns “Gotchi” points that you can buy extra things with, including new food items, souvenirs, and oth ers. Secret passwords can be found at www.tamatown.com to collect unique Items or get discounts for purchases with your Gotchi points. There are three TV shows that the Tamagotchis can watch; one for TV shopping, one for traveling, which doubles as the “pause mode,” and a dating show where adult Tamag otchis can meet each other and get married. With the Infra-Red Com munication, you can become Tama gotchi friends with your friends who also have Tamagotchi Con nections. I named my Tamagotchi family the Huggs, but my three Tamagotchis are only children, so I have a lot lo look forward to! (And I’m excited, which probably makes me a little bit of a dork, but hey, I like reminiscing.) To get your own Tamagotchi family, find one at Target (where I bought mine) for $14.29. ■
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