As we approach March, the Tech team is looking forward to a busy month and our presence at SXSW Interactive. If you are going to be in Austin for the conference, we would love to connect with you. You can reach us at SXSW@purpose.com.
We are excited to share with you the February edition of Geek Out with Purpose. Enjoy!
Articles of interest:
New App Wants To Make Peace Between Trump Supporters and Latinos In an effort to unite Democrats and Republicans, Verona, a new app featuring a Tinder-like design, encourages users to create friendships with people supporting the opposing party. Originally developed to curb the animosity amongst Palestinians and Israelis, the innovative platform allows one to send text messages, images as well as video chats. As stated by creator Matthew Nolan, « We’re trying to increase global empathy. A third of humanity is on the Internet right now. It’s crazy to me that there’s not massive singing and dancing in the streets. »
Apple Is Said To Be Trying To Make It Harder To Hack iPhones As described by the NY Times, Apple has become the center of controversy after confirmation that they are taking measures to protect iPhone users from government surveillance programs. Historically working to ensure the security of their codes against hackers and software bugs, the company is now deemed to be creating significant technical challenges for law enforcement agencies striving to access your online activity. Also serving as a creative marketing ploy, Apple users can feel reassured that the company is continually retooling their products to protect the privacy of their customers.
Virtual Reality Is A Technology, Not A Social Platform After coining Virtual Reality as a Social Platform, Zuckerberg (and his hefty investment in the technology created to provide the modern VR experience) has been under fire from those concerned with the early framing of an infantile technology with broad potential. As GOOD outlines, the incentive for Facebook to become market dominant in the VR space is an alarming notion, particularly when the technology can be used in an array of different forms including use as a therapeutic modality. At such an early stage of public adoption, Zuckerberg’s attempt to brand the technology rising in popularity as his own is an issue worth critical examination.
Tech Tidbit:
In this edition, we are taking a broader look at Malware and preventative measures that can be exercised to protect ourselves from this malicious software.
From recording each of your keystrokes, capturing webcam photos, hijacking all of your secure internet browsing, to holding your files for ransom, Malware is responsible for many large corporate data breaches not limited to Home Depot, Staples and Target. According to the security teams at Symantec and Verizon, ~1 million new malware programs are released every single day!
How do we avoid the installation of malware on our computers? Here is a reminder from our feature on phishing defenses:
– Never click on links within emails or text messages, visit the website manually
– Pay attention to website urls: look for misspellings or different domains (chase.net instead of chase.com)
Additionally:
-Turn off auto-downloading of email attachments, and be careful about the attachments you open
-Do not allow unknown devices to connect to your computer, for example flash drives
-Keep your public folder read-only or inaccessible
-If you use the Google drive Mac app, do not allow public uploads to your drive
-Use an ad blocker
-Major web properties including Yahoo, Forbes, MSN.com, and Daily Mail have served ads primed to infect visitors’ computers with malware.
-If you download free programs, be careful about each window that pops up during installation and what you click
-The top apps on sites such as download.com and download.cnet.com have been found to contain malware
Malware can also be used to recruit your computer into a bot army, which under the direction of hackers can be directed to take websites offline. Next time we’ll take a look at how bots can harm your websites.
Fact:
Following the success of the People’s Climate March in September of 2014, the number of Meetup events focused on climate change have far outpaced anyone’s expectations. The organized gatherings serve as a proxy for Meetup affairs, clearly indicating the profound impact of the march.
And for those celebrating a birthday today….
for Equity & Evidence