CHAPTER 13 Computers in Society: Today
College Degrees and/or Certification The growing field of information technology has spawned many specialties, which some say are not adequately addressed within the higher education community. Employers are not only looking for well-educated people they are looking for specific skills. One way that a potential candidate can show an employer that he/she has the skills is to seek certification in that skill. There are now over 300 information technology certification exams (for example, for a specific programming language or network operating system) that may not fit within college degree programs. Having a particular information technology certification does not reduce the importance of a college degree over the long term. It simply tells a prospective employer that you have demonstrated knowledge in a particular area. Some employers are will to pay a premium for certain IT certifications because they can save in training expenses.
Theft of Identity Last year approximately 750,000 people had their identities stolen. Identity thieves have found a new source of information in the Internet. They are able to compile profiles more easily that enabled them to open bogus accounts in support of various fraud schemes. Ultimately, the accountÕs namesake is associated with the fraudulent activity. On average, it takes a victim 2 years and he/she spends about $1000 and a solid month of work to clear his/her name. Typically victims are not responsible for unauthorized credit card expenses; however, there may be expenses associated with attorney's fees, lost wages, and so on.
Spam Update Brightmail, an e-mail filtering company, has observed a 500 percent increase in spam over the past year. Will we be able to find our legitimate e-mail among the spam after next year?
Computer Monitor Revisited Computer monitoring is becoming more sophisticated and the issue remains a matter of controversy in millions of businesses. Privacy advocates continue to be concerned about privacy issues while management is concerned that employees focus on the job they were hired to do. WinWhatWhere Investigator is software that monitors and reports virtually all computer activity, including e-mail, chat room conversations, instant messages, Internet sites visited, and so on. Knowledge workers may be unaware that the software works in the background recording and time-stamping information and keystrokes that can provide an accurate picture of usage on monitored computers. The program can monitor all activity or monitor only selected programs.