Study Guide
1. Hoax
A hoax is false, deliberately
deceptive information.
Internet hoaxes and chain
letters are e-mail messages written with one purpose; to be sent to everyone you
know. The messages they contain are usually untrue. A few of the sympathy
messages do describe a real situation but that situation was resolved years
ago so the message is not valid and has not been valid for many years. Hoax
messages try to get you to pass them on to everyone you know using several
different methods of social engineering. Most of the hoax messages play on
your need to help other people. (Computer Incident Advisory Capability, U.S. Dept. of
Energy)
2.
How to Recognize a Hoax
According to CIAC
there are two known factors that make a hoax successful, they are:
1. Technical sounding language
2. Credibility by association
If the warning uses the proper
technical jargon, most individuals, including technologically savvy
individuals, tend to believe the warning is real.
Credibility by association
refers to who sent the warning.
3. Critical Evaluation of Resources on the Internet
According to the University
of Alberta, unlike most books and journal articles, which undergo a peer
review process prior to publication, anyone can publish anything on the
Internet. For that reason, it is imperative to critically evaluate all
information taken from resources on the Internet.
There are 5 evaluation
criterion:
1. Scope
and Subject Matter
2. Authority
3. Currency
and Completeness
4. Design
5. Ease
of Use
4.
Social Engineering on the Internet
Social engineering is the creative mixing of
truth, half-truths, or lies in order to extract information from you or
encourage you to take a particular action. It happens every minute of every
day in a variety of ways.
Social engineering skill is often colloquially
referred to as good advertising, spin doctoring, or "hacking the
wetware." Successful social engineering ploys do everything from luring
you into divulging your credit card number over the phone, cajoling your boss
into giving you a raise, or persuading you to buy a particular product or
service. When social engineering is practiced with malicious intent, it's
referred to as scamming or pulling a mark, and in the worst cases it is a
federal offense. (Miyake, Jon. Computing News)
5. Urban
Legends
Urban legends are popular
narratives alleged to be true, transmitted from person to person by oral or
written communication (including fax and email). Said stories always involve some
combination of outlandish, humiliating, humorous, terrifying, or supernatural
events which always happened to someone else. For credibility, the teller of
an urban legend relies on good storytelling and the citing of an
"authoritative" word-of-mouth source (typically "a friend of a
friend”) rather than verifiable facts. And sometimes, but not always, there’s
a moral to the story, e.g.: “behave yourself, or bad things will happen.”
Urban legends are a type of
folklore the traditions, stories, and beliefs of "the folk"
ordinary people. So, one way to differentiate between urban legends and other
types of narratives is by examining where they come from and how they are
spread. Legends are rarely traceable to a single source, e.g. a book or a television
show in fact, most often they seem to spring from nowhere. And again, urban
legends are primarily spread person to person, not through the media or other
institutional forms of communication. That's why no two versions of an urban
legend are ever exactly alike there are as many variants of a story as there
are tellers. (David Emery, About.com)
5.
Folklore
Folklore is an often unsupported
notion, story, or saying that is widely circulated.
Folklore and folklife
(including traditional arts, belief, traditional ways of work and leisure,
adornment and celebrations) are cultural ways in which a group maintains and
passes on a shared way of life. This "group identity" may be
defined by age, gender, ethnicity, avocation, region, occupation, religion,
socioeconomic niche, or any other basis of association. (nyfolklore.org)
6. What
is Slacktivism?
According
to Snopes.com Slacktivism is the search for the ultimate feel-good that
derives from having come to society's rescue without actually getting one's
hands dirty, volunteering any of one's time, or opening one's wallet.
Slacktivism
is formed out of the words slacker and activism, and describes people who are
activists but who do not engage in much physical activity to further their
cause. "Slactivists", as they are called,
may also be referred to as “armchair activists” or “latte-activists” and are
derided for a lack of "commitment to the cause" or "being willing to take the extra step". Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, 2005.
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