Re: Congradulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today must be my lucky day! As I’m scrolling through my email, I have a few from the professor saying we have a new message posted on C Tools, a couple of Fastweb.com updates, and hysterical photoshopped picture of Sarah Palin on the cover of Vogue Magazine. After I get through those, I seeded through all the junk mail (Facebook updates, Messages from Lyceum) I get to one with a header that says “Re: Congradulations, you are a winner!” Of course this is a contest that I had no idea I entered, nor did I know what I won! But that doesn’t matter, i did! As I click on the email, I realize something is strange. The “Department of Prizes” of the British Lottery states that I’ve won a brand new Bentley and all I need to do to get it is send my phone number (so the department can contact me), name (so they know what to call me), and my social security number. When there wasn’t a space for me to put my address, I was a bit cautious on whether or not I should give them that private information, but who cares! I just won a Bentley!

After sending some of my most personal information to “London”, I notice another email. It is from Amy and the tagline says simply “Hey!” This catches my interest quickly. Do I know an Amy, and if so, why is she sending me a message saying “Hey!”? Why is her email address “Amy@Yaho.com? I dig deep in my memory bank and remember, I did know an Amy back in my sophomore year of High School. She was kind of cute too! Maybe she is trying to get back in contact with me, we did exchange pleasantries all of 5 times through 2 whole years of schooling. I think about the winks that she might have shot me and it gets me all jittery. I cant wait to see what she had to say! I click on the email, and it takes about 20 seconds to load on my cable modem (kind of strange, but whatever… Amy’s hot!) In the message it says “hey cutie” with a clip art heart next to it. She wants to meet up but doesn’t know my phone number or social security number. What she needs my social security number for is beyond me, but I’ve wanted her since we worked next to each other (in different groups of course) in biology lab! I then look up just to realize she sent the same message to 50 other people. I wonder if they all answered the email.

Of course, no one would really fall for these fictitious scenarios, but most phishing links are not as novice as mine. According to Jagatic et al, “Phishing is a form of deception in which an attacker attempts to fraudulently acquire sensitive information from a victim by impersonating a trustworthy entity.” The fact that 25,000 people report being victims of phishing every month according to Anti - Phishing Working Group can prove one of three things, people are too careless with the emails they choose to open simply because of a few phrases or email address that look legit, phishers are getting better at exploiting the vulnerabilities of society by coercing them with key words and phrases, or both. The common factor in the two is that the way attack emails are worded play a large role in how successful phishers can be. So what are these words and phrases and why how do they work so well?

According to Science Direct, Mcafee says that many the top 10 headers for phishing in 2007 were as follows

1. Paypal Member
2. Dear Paypal Member
3. Paypal Notification
4. Attention Paypal Member
5. Paypal Member Notification
6. Update Your Account
7. Fifth Third Bank - urgent notification from Protection Department
8. Important information for Fifth Third Bank customers
9. Important Bank Mail
10. Fifth Third Bank : please read this message.
Other banks that were hit heavy in 2007 were Citibank, Bank of America, and VolksBank.

The top five attack mechanisms all involve the notorious Paypal. With the trend of eBay and online shopping on the rise - 75% of online Americans believe that online shopping is convenient - there is no wonder why phishers would target Paypal customers(Pew/Internet). And, as implied by Dan Llett, since Paypal has an estimated 123 million users, the phishers have a large pool of cash carp to chose from. With technology changing all the time, the possibility of Paypal actually needing updates to your membership information is very plausible, and phishers know this.

Another theme to most attacks seem to be banks, and with good reason. Once you have been redirected to the phishers dummy site, you show that you are willing to give up you PIN number, routing number, social security number, and many other things necessary do unlocking your banking needs. The simple fact that these messages seem to be “important” or “urgent” tricks the online bankers into believing the hype. These messages could be about someone hacking onto their account and stealing their life savings!

In conclusion, we should revert back to the original thesis at hand. The phishers use words like protect, urgent, and real bank names to trick people into graciously handing over their money via e-mail. Think about it, what better way is there to get into someone’s bank account than by telling them you are trying to protect them from people trying to get into their bank account? The Better Business Bureau, insurance agencies, the Internal Revenue Services, collection agencies, or anything having to do with online money may be exploited by the phishers of today. Because we sometimes misjudge the dark side of internet financial predators, we can be easily persuaded to give up personal information. In most cases, the phish are oblivious to the fact that they are being taken for a ride until it is entirely too late. With all that said, congratulations! If I could just obtain your Pin Number and social security number, you too can become a victim of a crime that generates astronomical amounts of money from innocent people. Your savings will be drained dry and you will most likely find that many purchases will be made that you have no recollection of, but don’t worry, your Bentley will be shipped to you in 5-7 business days.

What Is Hip Hop

The question of “What is Hip Hop” has been up for debate over the last few years. Many feel that the form of art is fading away, similar to disco. Some feel that it is thriving and influencing people at a rate never seen before. The main reason for these differences in opinion is the simple fact that people feel the need to classify everything. Hip-hop breaks every rule of classification however. There is no way to label hip-hop as one thing. It is an abstract mix of music, dancing, fashion, and an overall way of life.

            Hip-hop is fashion. Weather you are obsessed with necklaces, rings, and watches, or a sneaker head, hip-hop has its place in the fashion world. It has completely altered the way people dress, changing what was the norm, but always looking ahead. The fashion in the hip-hop world has always been about standing out, and nothing does it quite like hip-hop does.

 

            Hip-hop is music. The art of music is as old as hills, but hip-hop has taken its own approach on the subject. It is a clever mix of cadencies, styles, rhymes, and lyrics that all blend together over different sounds, rhythms, and breaks in the beat. A unique sound that evolved form spoken word and has flourished into its own sound

            Hip-hop is dancing. Once the beat is on, you feel it pulsating through the body until one cannot help but to get up and move. Hip-hop has that effect on people. It is a string of carefully structured movements, which still seem to be abstract and free spirited. It is about having fun without worries of being judged by others because it does not fit what traditional dance should be. Weather its popping and locking as in break dancing, or snapping and rolling, as in snap dancing, it is all still hip-hop.

           

            Hip-hop is a lifestyle. One can see it in the way a person walks and talks. The verbiage, the hand gestures, the swagger, all of these concepts are touched when living this life. It is waking up in the morning to Mosel beats, walking to class with Lil Ze in your headphones; it is talking to friends about who is better. Luda or Busta. All off these things go into the lifestyle of hip-hop.

            Hip-hop is “fresh”, “dope”, “fly”, “wassup”, and many other things. It’s the walk, talk, look, and sound. It is the way one carries them self and the way one has fun. It is laughing, crying, joy, anger, rage and relaxation all rolled up into one huge ball. Most importantly, hip-hop is whatever one wants or needs it to be.

What Is The Look Of....

In the beginning, hip hop was a thing of fun and excitement. This new art form was used for negroes to express themselves through lyric, dance, and dress. The key that seprerated Hip Hop from the mainstream media was the fact that nothing like it had ever been seen. Colors, rhythems, and style had not been seen with this magnitude since Jazz! As of recently however, most feel the culture is dying. People use the excuse that the artform has been "dumbed down" with bad dancing, sloppy dress, and all around laziness music. They say that hip hop just isent what it used to be.

But is that not the whole point of hip hop? Times have changed and the ways of old are not attractive to this new age of Hip Hoppers. Just because people dont agree with the ways of the new, does not mean the art itself is dying. The whole point of Hip Hop is to stand out of whatever is going on and do what is not being done by others. The expression is still shown through the music and dancing, just not how it used to be. And this is what i plan to show with my video. My goal is to show the paralells between the practicies of the past, and the wave of the future.