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Cyber Anthropology
Study of online culture and culture online.
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    • Doctoral Research: Study of Parental Information Behavior
    • Masters Research: Study of the Fedora Project
    • Undergrad Research: Ethnography of a WoW Guild
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January 30 2014

Cyber Extortion

Diana Internet Internet, security 0

How often do you use your email? Your Twitter / Facebook / other social media accounts? Your cloud apps? What would you do if you lost it all? What is recovering it worth to you?

When we have something of value, it becomes a target. And, the more we entwine our lives with technology, the more valuable those 1s and 0s become to us.

Though cyber extortion is not new, it is interesting how common it is becoming.

The latest attempt I recently read involved the loss of the @N twitter handle, which was facilitated by both PayPal and GoDaddy.

Then there is the case of Hunter Moore who was arrested and indicted by the FBI for his involvement in hacking private email accounts to gain access to explicit pictures that were meant for private use only. While this was not exactly extortion, it was a method of hacking and stealing of personal digital property that was used to shame and make money off of unsuspecting people.

Last year the story making the rounds was about Cryptolocker hijacking people’s data and then requiring money to unlock it and regain access to it.

Then there was of course the great Facebook, Gmail, Twitter hack I wrote about in December.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, rather just one to show the different ways your data can be used against you.

What does this all mean for you? It should heighten your awareness of cyber security and the very real threats that exist out there today. How do we mitigate these threats? We do what we can to protect our data. Following is a simple list of steps you can take immediately to avoid becoming a victim.

  1. Back up your data
  2. This means not only data you physically have access to like your financial documents, family photos/videos, or your music – but also your online presence. Many social networks let you download the entire contents of your user profile. You should also consider redundant backup options such as physical backups and off site backups. Just remember to make sure both are secure.

  3. Use 2-Factor Authentication
  4. Facebook, Gmail, Twitter, Paypal and more utilize 2-factor authentication. My first introduction to this was using an authenticator for my World of Warcraft account, which I opted for as soon as they were made available. I still use 2-factor on that account today. This Life Hacker article has a great rundown of all the places you should enable it. Do it now!

  5. Hide Sensitive Information
  6. While sites may require you to provide a birthday or email address, the also usually give you the ability to keep this information private. Those who need to know the year you were born or your private email address already have that information or can ask for it. There is no need for it to be out in the open for everyone to see. Also, don’t let sites save your credit card information. While it is an added convenience, as the case of @N above demonstrates, it can be used against you. Other advice he offered in his article was to call your institutions and require them to NOT share any of your personal information over the phone. That means birth dates, names, or partial information like last 4 of social or credit cards.

  7. Be Wary of Strangers
  8. This may sound odd as the whole allure of the internet is connecting with strangers. However, if you don’t know someone, you should be very cautious about letting them into any social network circle where they can find out more information about you as this can be used against you.

  9. Be Careful Online
  10. Don’t click on anything you can’t easily identify. Don’t submit information to sites you are not familiar with. Don’t trust things just because they come from people you know. Don’t download things to your computer without some sort of software protection installed.

In summary, treat your digital property much like you would treat your physical property. Follow the Hide Lock Take philosophy. It works for both your email and your car.

December 13 2013

Facebook & Self-Censorship

Diana Internet censorship, data, facebook, privacy 0

Salon recently featured an article (Salon.com) about a study (PDF) that reveals how Facebook monitors self-censorship by tracking everytime we type something, even if we decide not to post it. While it is understandable that people are concerned with this tracking of information that we do not share, I believe it is also important for us to understand that Facebook is not a free service. We pay for the opportunity to use this service by providing our precious data. Therefore, it is Facebook’s goal to gather and retain as much data as possible, even if that data is never explicitly shared.

Though I do not agree with their practices, as I am an advocate for the user and users rights when it comes to their data, I do understand them and contend that it is within their right to do this – even if it is an unsavory practice to perform. As a user, your rights and your power lay solely within the choice to use the product. If you want to retain ownership over your data, sharing it on a service where you provide said data for payment of using the service, is likely not the wisest choice. Keep that in mind when you type anything into any text box anywhere on the web, because as this example proves, that data may be saved even if you hit cancel.

December 5 2013

Facebook, GMail, Twitter, Hackers, 2-Factor Authentication and You

Diana Internet Internet, security 0

Being the 2-factor security person that I am, I know many of you have probably read about Facebook, GMail, and Twitter passwords being hacked. Though you can’t do much about that (other than not have accounts with those services of course), there are steps you can take to keep those accounts secure even if someone else has your password. All that is required is that you have a mobile phone and that you set it up from your computer (I don’t know of a way to do this from the mobile side only).

Facebook:
Facebook users, to enable the 2-factor setting click on the lock icon and click on the link at the bottom that says “See more settings”.

Once there, click on the Security link 2nd from the top on the left.

Then click on Login Approvals.

There you will be given a checkbox to “Require a security code to access my account from unknown browsers”.

You can check that box and then choose which method you use to get your codes. I chose the code generator because that will work even if I only have access to WiFi, whereas receiving a text message may not. I would also at this time generate extra codes just in case you lose your phone. Save them in a place that will be easy to access, so you can get back to your account easily should you need to.

While you’re in the security section I would also suggest you check the active sessions and recognized devices. End activity on anything you don’t recognize. Lastly, setup your trusted contacts. Be sure to choose people who actually use Facebook regularly.

GMail:

GMail users who use their accounts on multiple devices may find this method a bit cumbersome, but it’s only cumbersome to setup. Once it’s done, you don’t have to make any changes unless you get a new device or wish to disable it.

Login to your GMail account and then find the cog icon under your picture on the upper righthand side of your screen and click settings.
Screen Shot 2013-12-05 at 12.41.44 PM

Once there, click Accounts at the top and you will find security settings.
Screen Shot 2013-12-05 at 12.45.46 PM

Clicking Account Recovery Options lets you set up your phone to use to recover your account should you forget your password or to challenge hackers. You can also add a recover email address as well as an alternate email address you can log in with. I would highly suggest doing both.

Clicking Other Google Account Settings will take you to a page that lists all of the settings for your Google identity. If you’ve never been here, I suggest you read it so that you understand more about the way Google views & uses your information. For our purposes today, click on Security from the menu on the left.

From there, scroll down to the bottom to find 2-Factor Authentication and turn it on.
Screen Shot 2013-12-05 at 12.51.47 PM

After you set it up, you will want to create device / application specific passwords for your account so that you can log into your email through your phone, tablet, or other device that doesn’t use 2-factor authentication. You can click on the link visible in the screen shot above to get there.

Pro-Tip, you can use one generated password for all of your devices if you enter it into all of them at the same time. Caution though, if you do that and have to revoke it for some reason (you lose your phone), you’ll end up revoking it for all devices instead of just that one.

Twitter:

Login to Twitter and click the cog icon on the top right hand side of the nav bar.

Then select settings from the menu.

Then select Security and Privacy from the menu on the left.

Then select one of the two login verification options available.
Screen Shot 2013-12-05 at 1.23.50 PM

Hopefully this was helpful to some of you. I know these settings can seem buried and intimidating if you’ve never used them before, but I suggest it is worth it to go through all of this trouble so that you don’t end up losing your digital life to someone else’s malicious activities.

November 13 2013

Censorship Quotes by Literary Authors

Diana Internet, politics censorship, Internet, politics 0

Censorship Quotes by Literary Authors

“I am against censorship. In all forms. Not just for the right of masterpieces — high art — to be scandalous.

But what about pornography (commercial)?
Find the wider context:
notion of voluptuousness à la Bataille?
But what about children? Not even for them? Horror comics, etc.
Why forbid them comics when they can read worse things in the newspapers any day. Napalm bombing in Vietnam, etc.

A just/ discriminating censorship is impossible.”

November 12 2013

Correlation != Causation

Diana research research 0

This:

November 9 2013

The Subversiveness of Elvis Presley

Diana research censorship, dissertation, phd, research 0

“Communist authorities equally understood Elvis’s subversive manner, even as an Army private.When it was announced that Presley was bound for the U.S. base at Friedberg, the East German Communist Party accused the United States of plotting to undermine the morals of Red youth,’ Karal Ann Marling relates. ‘To show that this act of provocation would not be tolerated, party boss Walter Ulbricht ordered the arrest and imprisonment of fifteen teenagers who marched through the streets of Leipzig in 1959 shouting, ‘Long live Elvis Presley!’” (p. 268) 

Cohen, R. D. (1997). The delinquents: Censorship and youth culture in recent US history. History of Education Quarterly, 37(3), 251-270.

November 5 2013

What is your attention being diverted from?

Diana research authority, censorship, gaming, government, research, self-regulation, society 0

“Rather than simply forbidding young people to listen to certain forms of music, read certain books, or see certain movies, many families have abdicated this responsibility to civic action groups and the government. Such a relinquishment of authority over individual lives has led to denunciations of various media forms, calls for self-regulation of individual mediums, and attempts to ban completely some sexually explicit speech.” (791)

”Perhaps even more important than the right of Americans to decide what they wish to read, see, and hear for themselves is the fact that this generation’s purity crusade is diverting national attention away from more important areas. Indeed, many individuals who believe in a government based on popular participation have not yet realized that by devoting so much energy to what is essentially the private business of American citizens, their attention has been successfully diverted from participation in the political and economic planning processes of the nation.” (850)

Interesting that if you consider gaming, specifically violent video games, to be the topic at hand, these conclusions are as relevant today as they were over 20 years ago. 

Blanchard, M. A. (1991). American Urge to Censor: Freedom of Expression Versus the Desire to Sanitize Society—From Anthony Comstock to 2 Live Crew, The. Wm. & Mary L. Rev., 33, 741.

September 16 2013

So, about that dissertation thing

Diana information science, research books, dissertation, phd, procrastination, writing 0

Well, being a PhD candidate means one thing and one thing only – now I have to write a dissertation. While yes I knew this was the next stage in the journey, I am not sure I am adequately prepared. I know that seems silly, I mean I have written a Master’s thesis and all. This one just seems (and is!) so much bigger and more daunting. I’m one of those people where the more daunting something seems the harder it is for me to get going on it. However, once I get going I’m usually FULL STEAM AHEAD! 

Now to just figure out how to get going. One thing I’ve tried so far is to buy a few books on the subject of dissertation writing. Since this particular piece of writing is more traditional than say my past ethnographies, I really have to figure out the ins and outs of it and what is expected of me. While I’m sure there is likely some dissertation writing class offered by the university, I am not local and therefore cannot take advantage of that.

So, this means I need to educate myself on it.

Here are the books I bought:

  1. Writing a Successful Thesis or Dissertation: Tips and Strategies for Students in the Social and Behavioral Sciences 
  2. How To Tame Your PhD (Thesis Whisperer Books)
  3. Authoring a PhD: How to Plan, Draft, Write and Finish a Doctoral Thesis or Dissertation (Palgrave Study Skills)

So far book 1 reads more like I textbook than I would like, but I’ll muddle my way through it anyway. 

Book 2 seems good, but it has a lot of weird typo issues on the Kindle edition. 

Book 3 I have yet to start. I’ll at least finish book 2 first before I try. Book 1 may take a little longer. 

My goal is to have these finished by the end of September as I’d like to try to have my first three chapters written by the end of November so that I can defend my topic before the ends of this semester and hopefully get my IRB application submitted and turned in at the start of Spring (if not just before). This has to be done soon in order for me to start my research portion in January and hopefully be finished with the physical research aspect by end of February. Then analyze the rest of spring and into summer when I hope to finish and then start writing by fall to submit my first draft by the end of that semester or by the beginning of Spring 2015. 

My goal is to graduate May/15. I’ll have finished my phd in 5 years if I can do that. That doesn’t seem so bad in my book. Especially given that I have a full time job and twins! 

August 23 2013

Fedora Research Citation

Diana research Fedora, papers, research 0

You can now cite my Fedora research using this APA citation

Harrelson Hubbard, D. (2013, July). An Exploration of Fedora’s Online Open Source Development Community. Paper presented at the Free Software Workshop, FISL14, Porto Alegre, Brazil. Retrieved from http://softwarelivre.org/wsl/blog/wsl-2013-schedule

You can view it on Scribd.

June 27 2013

International Free Software Workshop Presenter

Diana research Fedora, foss, papers, presentation 0

Hi everyone!

Just a quick update to inform those who follow me due to my work on Fedora. A version of my masters thesis will be presented in Brazil (via video) on July 5th at the International Free Software Workshop.

You can find more information here: http://softwarelivre.org/wsl
I’m in Session 4.

You can find my full paper as submitted here: http://tux.gseis.ucla.edu/WSL2013_papers/Harrelson-fedora03.pdf

There may be edits to this paper as a result of this workshop.

More to come!

Edit: You can now cite my Fedora research using this APA citation

Harrelson Hubbard, D. (2013, July). An Exploration of Fedora’s Online Open Source Development Community. Paper presented at the Free Software Workshop, FISL, Porto Alegre, Brazil. Retrieved from http://softwarelivre.org/wsl/blog/wsl-2013-schedule

June 23 2013

Moving again!

Diana random phd, self reflection 0

Well, this year has been a busy year! I completed my qualification exams (you can read all about that here) in April after preparing for them all semester and since then I have been preparing to move to Hawaii!

I officially cleared out of El Paso Friday and will be hanging out in Dallas for a couple of weeks before I head off to Oahu. I am looking forward to going from the desert to a tropical island. It should be quite a culture shock, one of the things I love as an anthropologist.

All of this is going on as I start work on my dissertation research, which I will talk more about in a future post (let’s just say it has to do with gaming). On that note, my hope is to be able to keep this blog a bit more current once I get settled on the island. I’ll probably post a bit about that process over on Tumblr if you’re interested.

On top of quals and moving, I’m also finally taking the time to work on my web portfolio. I’ll post about that as soon as there is something worth showing there. I’m hoping to pick up some UX/IXD/IA side work as a result. Let me know if you’re interested and I’ll send you a private preview.

So yeah, it’s been a busy year and now you know why this blog has been neglected!

May 9 2013

Gaming – Old School Level Maps Vs. Maps of Today

Diana gaming gaming 0

Remember when maps were cool and you had to figure things out on your own?

May 7 2013

On Getting a PhD

Diana Uncategorized Academics, Grad School, phd 1

Since becoming a PhD candidate* mid-April (hence the long hiatus on this blog) I have been asked multiple times why is it that I am not specifically going into an academic career. I would like to take a moment to respond to this and to address what I believe to be the more pressing issue – that of PhDs in the USA.

PhDs and Academic Work
I am not saying that being an academic is not attractive to me. Nor am I saying that I would not take an academic position were it granted to me. What I am saying is that I have already been in job markets related to my degree for over a decade. In fact, my work experience actually matches if not exceeds my academic experience. This means I look for positions where I can apply both my experience and education rather than just one or the other. To accomplish this, I often go for positions I have never officially held simply because they seem to offer a challenge and the opportunity to learn something new.

So, while I am not against an academic career and would not balk at one if one were to be granted to me, I am also under no illusion that it is the only thing you can do with a PhD. This means I did not enter my program with the thought that an academic career would be my only end-game (and neither should you!). The fact of the matter is academic positions with tenure tracks are few and far between. Most of them seem to be going the way of the dodo bird as those in them retire and not replaced. Additionally, associate professorships are becoming exceedingly competitive for little to no money simply because the supply exceeds the demand.

Then Why Get a PhD?
So, you may ask, if you’re not going into academics – why get a PhD? Speaking from personal experience, I was given the opportunity and money to do so. Secondly, I am one of those busy bodies that always has to be learning something**, so why not put those efforts toward a degree? Thirdly, and I hate that this is partially the case, as a woman in technology I am automatically paid less money and attention. Though a PhD isn’t going to ensure I get more of either one of those, pair it up with my work experience and the words “Cyber Anthropologist” and it does tend to turn a few heads.

Fourthly, I enjoy school. I enjoy the academic world. I love the “ding”*** I get at the end of every semester when my A’s roll in (yes, I am a 4.0 student who works full time). I enjoy learning about new subjects. I enjoy new understandings and light bulbs that go off as a result of my studies. I enjoy finding gaps in current research and knowing that I can fill those gaps and how to do so.

Lastly, I like it. I am good at it. Doing the work and achieving that level of education pleases me. I did it for myself and I am happy that I did. If you can’t be satisfied with doing something because you want to, then why do it?

PhDs and the Job Market
Though those on the PhD track may not find positions in academia, this does not mean we cannot find jobs outside of it. In fact, many of the skills we have gained in working toward the PhD as well as the education itself are perfect opportunities to market ourselves to the public sphere. We, as PhD students, need to learn how to market these things better so that employers can truly understand what it is that sets us apart and what we can bring to the table that others can’t.

That said, rest assured I am under no illusion that I am more qualified or better because I am a PhD candidate. Rather, it’s because I am a PhD candidate that I can back up what I do and how I do it with the reasons why I do it as well as provide other ways it can be done. It is because of my education I know I do not know everything, however, I also know how to figure out what I do not know. It’s the ability to know both how and why, or at least the ability to figure those things out, that has always appealed to me and always will.

Considering a PhD?
For those considering a PhD – if you are not going to continue to contribute to your debt to do it and if you are doing it because it is something you want, which would satisfy you even if you were not addressed as Professor, I say GO FOR IT! Go into it with the understanding that PhDs aren’t only useful for a career in academics. They carry as much value as you give them. So, give it all you have and make it count for you out there in both the public and academic spheres. If you start out that way, you can tailor your education to be as open as possible making you more marketable. To that end, I have always written papers and sought projects outside the world of academics as a part of my academic studies and I suggest you do the same.

Hiring a PhD?
For those who are in the position of hiring someone – don’t let the letters PhD mislead you. Just because someone has these letters on their resume or at the end of their name, it does not mean they are only suited to do academic work. These are true go getters with a heightened sense of autonomy and responsibility for their own work. They have the ability to do independent thought and research, which means if they don’t know the answer or how to do something – you can rest assured they can figure it out. And, last but not least, they are willing to put the work into what ever the project is in order to see it to its completion and will do so by elegantly and diligently overcoming any barrier or impasse that may come their way. Give them a chance, they won’t disappoint you.

A Few Shout Outs:
To my fellow students who have recently completed their quals – congratulations and good luck!

To those in the job market – broaden your scope, the opportunities out there may surprise you!

To those hiring – consider the broader implications of the degree and what it took to get there!

Notes:
*PhD Candidate (aka ABD) – I have completed all of my coursework and passed my qualification exams. I will begin my dissertation research this summer and hope to complete my PhD by 2015 (within 5 years of having started it). You can see my ramblings about this process here.

**Continuous Learning – other learning opportunities on my list at the moment include learning Spanish, bettering my German, learning Piano (I played other instruments in school), and getting back into programming a bit

***Ding – this is part of what I call the “ding effect” (I referred to it in my previous research). It is that sense of accomplishment that people get from playing video games that causes them to want to continue to play the game even if it means doing a lot of the same repetitive tasks over and over again.

– Side note on this for all of you agile people out there, it can end up being very hard to achieve this ding effect in an agile work environment where people continuously work on ongoing projects and that may lead to faster developer / designer burnout. You MUST give your team a ding every once in a while to encourage them to keep going. Otherwise, ongoing projects just end up resembling the ever rotating mouse wheel with no end and no carrot in sight and you will lose your best and brightest over and over again. (Yes – speaking from experience from working on a team that has turned over at least 6 teams over the last 3.5 years.)

April 18 2013

Phd Candidate!

Diana information science dissertation, hawaii, phd, phd candidate, qualification exams, research, writing 0

Well, it’s a go! My committee likes me, they really like me! /silly 

Yep! I passed. All that hard work paid off. I have two different dissertation ideas they were happy with. I’ll try running with the first one, if that doesn’t work I’m glad I have a fall back. 

This summer I’ll be doing a lit review and this fall I’ll start writing. I hope to be done in 2 years. Seems like such a long time from now, but I know it will go by very quickly. 

Now it’s time to pack for Hawaii as we are moving there in about 2 months! 

April 17 2013

I am officially a #PhD Candidate!

Diana grad school gaming, phd, qualification exams, research, writing 0

I was told during my oral defense that my papers were a pleasure to read and that my research proposal would fill an obvious gap in gaming research today!

March 29 2013

And with that, I am done… for now.

Diana grad school masochism, phd, qualification exams, research, writing 0

I have just submitted my #Phd qualification exam answers.

It has been one roller coaster of a week involving many outside distractions and though I have been up about 24 hours now (which included a 10 hour road trip with infants from west Texas to north Texas to visit family for the holiday), the feeling of elation is so great right at this moment that I’m not even sure I could sleep if I tried.

I may not get much opportunity anyway as I’m sure my infant twins will be up in a couple of hours.

Who needs sleep anyway?

I’m sure the ensuing dread of waiting to hear the results will likely keep me up many nights during the next two to three weeks. Oh, and of course working on the oral exam portion as well. Yeah…

March 28 2013

*Twitch*

Diana grad school phd, qualification exams, research, writing 0

Eyes burning, red, and twitching. I of course ended up going off in a totally new and previously unresearched by me direction for one of my qual exam questions which, while it has been exciting to do, has me also doing brand new research to write a paper that is due at 10am the day after tomorrow. Yes, I am a glutton for punishment. Why else would I be going for my PhD? *twitch*

March 28 2013

Just a little reminder…

Diana Internet Internet, research 0

Worlds first #website for your viewing pleasure: http://info.cern.ch/

March 28 2013

Video Game Research

Diana gaming gaming, phd, research 0

Saving this for potential future #research ideas on #gaming:

http://www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/

March 27 2013

One question left to answer!

Diana grad school phd, qualification exams, research, writing 0

Alright, well I have 1 question and a little over 2 days left to answer it as well as go back and edit all of them for grammar, citations, and content. Trying to decide if my page lengths are the result of me being just that bad ass that I can answer them as concisely as I am, or if it’s because I’m not answering them fully enough. /sigh

This has been a very exhausting week. Add to this whole exam process the fact that I have twin infants to care for, a full time job, and we are taking a road trip basically at the same (cause it’s a holiday weekend as well!) and, yeah…

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Diana Harrelson Hubbard

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