TOOLS

TOOLS

     

      Adobe Dreamweaver is a web design and development application that provides a visual WYSIWYG editor (colloquially referred to as WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET) and a standard code editor with features such as syntax highlighting, code completion, and code collapsing as well as more sophisticated features such as real-time syntax checking and code introspection for generating code hints so as to assist the user in writing any code.Adobe Dreamweaver is available for both OS X and Windows.

     The Design view allows rapid layout design and code generation as it allows users to quickly create and manipulate the layout elements of HTML.Dreamweaver features an integrated browser for previewing developed webpages in the its's own preview pane in addition to allowing content to be opened web browsers installed locally.

     Dreamweaver can also use third-party "Extensions" to extend core functionality of the application, which any web developer can code (mostly in HTML and JavaScript). Dreamweaver is supported by a large community of developers who make various extensions available (both commercial and free) for most web development tasks from simple rollover effects to full-featured shopping carts.

     Dreamweaver, like any other HTML editors, edits all of the files locally then uploads them to the remote web server using FTP, SFTP, or WebDAV protocols. Dreamweaver CS4 now also supports the Subversion (SVN) control system.

REFERENCES

Retrieved may 16th 2014 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Dreamweaver#Features

Retrieved may 16th 2014 from http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/software/detail-page/B003B32A88-1.jpg.

BIG DATA

BIG DATA

     The term "Big Data" was coined by Haseeb Budhani,  "Big Data" caught on quickly as a blanket term for any collection of data sets so large in terms of size and complex that they become difficult to process using available database management tools or data processing applications.

     The challenges of big data include capture, curation, storage, search, sharing, transfer, analysis and visualization of the data.

     Big Data usually has data sets of sizes beyond the ability of commonly used software tools to capture, curate, manage, and process the data within a acceptable time.Big data sizes are a constantly moving up, as of 2013, a single data set  ranging from a few dozen terabytes to many petabytes of data.

     The challenges for big data include capture, curation, storage, search, sharing, transfer, analysis and visualization. The trend to larger data sets is due to the additional information that can be derivable from analysis of a single large set of related data, as compared to separate sets that are smaller with the same total amount of data, allowing correlations to be found to "spot business trends, determine quality of research, prevent diseases, link legal citations, combat crime, and determine real-time roadway traffic conditions.

     Today's data comes from multiple sources. And it is still an difficult to link, match, cleanse and transform data across systems. However, it is necessary to connect and correlate relationships, hierarchies and multiple data linkages or your data can quickly spiral out of control.

REFERENCES:

Retrieved on may 15th http://www.alphasixcorp.com/

Retrieved on may 15th http://www.sas.com/en_us/insights/big-data/what-is-big-data.html

BETA TESTING

BETA TESTING

     Beta testing can be considered to be a form of external user acceptance testing.The software is released to a group of people so that further testing can be done to ensure that the product has no faults or bugs.Beta versions are also sometimes made available to the public to facilitate in the increase of the feedback maximum number of future users.

     Generally a release notes file is included with each beta version. Release notes reveal certain information about the product like:

•  version number of the product,
•  technical requirements for the machine that is to be used for testing,
• the list of changes from the previous version, and,
• descriptions of known problems about the product.

     A beta version is NOT the final version of the product and hence the developer of the product does not ensure an absence of errors that could disrupt the computer's operation which could result in data loss.

     Consequently, beta testers use the beta version at their own risk and the manufacturing company has no responsibility for any consequences that may arise out of the use of the beta version.

References

Retrieved may 11th 2014 from http://www.kaspersky.com/downloads/beta_testing

Retrieved may 11th 2014 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_testing.

BLOGS

BLOG

     A blog is a short form of the expression weblog,it's a discussion or informational website thats published on the internet.Blogs contain discreet entries called "posts",that are sorted in reverse chronological order i.e, the latest post appears first.

     A majority of the blogs are interactive, they allow visitors to leave comments for feedback and even message each other using GUI widgets present on the blogs, this interactivity is what distinguishes blogs from traditional static websites found on the internet.

     Blogging can also be seen as another form of social networking In the sense that the bloggers do not only produce content to post on their blogs, but also at the same time build social relationships with their readers of their blogs and also other bloggers.

     There also exist some high-readership blogs that do not allow readers to leave comments, primary example being  "Daring Fireball".Most blogs provide commentary on a subject; some function as personal online diaries; while some others work more as an online brand advertising platform of a particular individual or company.

    A typical blog is a combination of  text, images, and links to Web pages,other blogs and other media related to the blog's topic.The popularity of many blogs can be credited to their ability to facilitate readers to leave comments in an interactive format.

According to critics,Blogger(owned by Google) is the most popular blogging service being used today,as on survey conducted in Feb,2011.Blogs may contain content of any area ranging from arts,business data,entertainment,fashion medicine,politics to weather world.

TYPES

     Blogs are classified not only based on content but also in the way the content is delivered or presented.Some major types of blogs are:

Personal blogs

     A personal blog is one that contains ongoing dairy or a commentary by a single person.

Microblogging

     Microblogging serves as a portable communication mode that makes users feel spontaneous and has been successful in capturing the public imagination.

Corporate and organizational blogs

     Blogs that are used internally by organizations to serve the purpose of enhancing the culture and communication  in a corporation or used externally for brand promotion and public relations  are called corporate blogs.

By media type

      A blog that is made of videos is called a vlog, one containing links is called a link blog, a site containing a collection of sketches and images is called a sketch blog and one comprising photos is called a photo blog.

By device

     Blogs can also be classified by the type of device used to compose it. A blog constructed using a mobile device like a mobile phone or PDA can be called a moblog.

Reverse blog

     A Reverse Blog is one which is composed by multiple users rather than a single blogger. This system exhibits the characteristics of a blog, along with the writing of several authors. 

REFERENCES

retrieved april18th 2014 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog

retrieved april18th 2014 from http://www.ericastrawberrykane.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/

     

USABILITY TESTING

USABILITY TESTING

     Usability testing is a type of technique used in user-centered interaction mode to evaluate the pro's and con's of  a product by testing it on users.It gives direct feedback on how real users use the system.

     Usability testing usually involves in determining how well people can use the product.both qualitative testing and usability testing are used in combination in Usability testing,to better understand users' perceptions, in combination with their actions.

     Setting up a usability test involves in the creation of a scenario, where the user performs a list of tasks using the product while makers watch and take feedback.

     Hallway testing  is a general method for usability testing. Instead of using an, trained group of testers, just five to six random people are selected and  are brought in to test the product, or service.

     Expert review is another common method of usability testing. As the name indicates, this method relies on bringing in experts mostly from companies that are specialized in usability testing to evaluate and give feedback on the usability of a product. 

     A Heuristic evaluation or Usability Audit is the evaluation of an interface by one or more Human Factor experts.Evaluators measure the usability, efficiency, effectiveness of the interface based on the principles of usability.

  

     On similar lines of expert reviews, automated expert reviews provide usability testing but through the use of programs which have good heuristics The main advantage regarding this is,although they  might not provide as much detail from people, they are more quick and consistent. 

The numbers of users that might be required for usability testing is generally given by the mathematical formula

where p is the probability of one subject identifying a specific problem and n the number of subjects or test sessions. 

REFERENCES:

retrieved april 18th 2014 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usability_testing

retrieved april 18th 2014 from http://www.limina-ao.com/

retrieved april 18th 2014 from http://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/usability-testing.html

QR CODES

QR CODES

     QR Code is an abbreviation for Quick Response Code.They are primarily used  used to transmit a piece of information.The reason why they are more useful than a standard barcode is in their ability to store much more data, including website links, geographical coordinates, images and text.The other key feature of QR Codes is that they instead of requiring a  hand-held scanner to scan them, most of the modern day cell phones can scan them using their cameras.

DESIGN

     In contrast the one dimensional QR codes that were designed to be used with hand held Scanners,QR codes are designed in such a way that they can be detected using a 2-dimensional digital image scanner and then by using a programmed processor digitally analyze them.The processor identifies all of the distinctive squares at the corners of a QR code, using a smaller square (or multiple squares) near the fourth corner to normalize the image for size, orientation and establish the angle for viewing.

USES

QR Codes were originally designed for industrial use.Expansion of technology led them to be gradually adopted into consumer advertising.QR codes have applications in various fields.

URL's

     

      An advertisement viewer needs only to reach for his or her phone and scan the QR Code rather than remembering it and risk forgetting it.It would benefit both the advertiser and the customer.

CODE PAYMENTS

     

      Bank account information or credit card information,can be saved using QR codes,they also can be modified in such a way that they work with specific payment applications. 

WEBSITE LOGIN

     QR codes can be used to log in into websites: a QR Code is shown on the login page on a computer screen, and when a registered user scans it with a verified smartphone, they will automatically be logged in on the computer. The user Authentication part in this, is performed by the smartphone which contacts the server and verifies credentials. 

SOFTWARE

    Software for scanning QR Codes is widely available.Specific applications are made available for every kind of mobile operating system by their manufactures in their respective application stores.

RISKS

     Though QR codes are extremely useful,they also come with their own set of risks and disadvantages.

• The only form of executable data that can be stored in an QR code is an URL,The URL's may contain links to malicious websites,which may pose a threat to the user's security.
• When an QR code application is downloaded they ask for various permissions,including read,write permissions.Then the application might read the Sensitive user data present in the device and transmit the data without the users knowledge.

     Although QR Codes come with inherent risks,when used well they can be a great aid in advertising and information Storage.

REFERENCES:

     retrieved april 18, 2014 from http://www.csoonline.com/article/2133890/mobile-security/the-dangers-of-qr-codes-for-security.html

retrieved april 18,2014 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code

     

     

     

CYBER SECURITY

     Cyber security also known as computer security is a term that refers to information security of computers and networks. Computer security is a critical aspect in any industry, which operates on computer systems. With the computer virus alone contributing to losses of about $67 Billion a year, the demand for better computer security has risen immensely.

     There are as many as 28 types of threats currently in the computer world. While some are only mildly annoying some pose a serious threat to information and its security. Some of them are virus, Trojans, Spyware, Scare ware, Wabbits, Botnet,etc. 

     There are various mechanisms that provide security against such threats, they are:

FIREWALL

     A firewall has a predefined rule set, based on the rule set they control the incoming and
outgoing traffic by analyzing the data packets. Most of the personal computer have a software- based firewall, which protects them from threats of the public Internet. A firewall performs its functions in the network layer of the OSI model. The basic working of a firewall can be best illustrated using the diagram below: 

                           
                                                             
                                                               ANTIVIRUS

   
     Antivirus is a piece of software that performs 3 major functions of prevention, detection and

removal of malicious computer programs. Although the name Antivirus can be misleading, they also offer protection against malware such as worms, rootkits, backdoors,etc.


There are primarily three ways that antivirus performs its functions: 

     Signature based detection is the most common of them, the antivirus software has a predefined database of known virus signatures, it compares the contents of a file to its database, if a match is found it prompts that the program or file is malicious.

     More sophisticated antivirus use the heuristic analysis to identify new kinds of malware or slight modifications of existing malware. This kind of approach involves wildcards that allow the scanner to detect viruses even if they are padded with extra,meaningless code .

     The 3^rd approach is a slightly modified version of the heuristic approach, It follows the principle of file emulation. It involves the execution of a program in virtual environment and then logging the actions of the program. Based on the logged actions the antivirus seamlessly carries on the appropriate disinfecting action, if the file is infected.

     There are also various other security software like Anti Spyware and a combination package of a firewall, antivirus and an Anti Spyware manufactured by big-name antivirus software companies that provide protection against malware.All the security software though provide good protection,also consume lots of system resources which can affect the overall system performance

All these kind of software along with monitoring of the web by government agencies,would provide protection for private and public information so that they cannot be mis used  and thereby aid in preserving data integrity.

                                                                  References: 

Retrieved March 7th from http://www.dhs.gov/topic/cybersecurity 
Retrieved March 7th from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_security 
Retrieved March 7th from http://www.zen.co.uk/blog/cyber-security/