Putting together this map was a lot of fun.  I had a couple of issues because I wasn’t using the proper application to create the map with layers.  I was using the map application instead of Google Earth.  After figuring out with application I needed to use to get this map put together the rest was pretty easy.  Placing the map on top of the other map and making sure that everything aligned did present a bit of a challenge especially since some main terrain features had changed or they just might not have been drawn with the accuracy of using a satellite.

I found this old map from 1863 of Fredericksburg, Virginia.  Once I had the layer on the map I quickly noticed that there were some terrain features that were different and some parts of the maps were not matching up with the satellite view from Google Earth.  This exercise was fun and finding old maps of an area that I am familiar was very interesting.

Here is the map that I created.  Once the layer was inserted it was interesting to see that I could not keep the original ratio of the map while increasing the size of the map.  It was a bit of a challenge at first trying to get the layer to a similar size of the area that the map was covering.  After some pulling of the corners and rotating the layer a few hundred times I feel that I got the layer on top of Google Earth’s view as close as possible.  The only feature that I would change when adjusting the layer is having the option to lock the ratio of the map that has been inserted until you get it to the size that you wanted, then you can push and pull the corners as you desire.

This American Historical Review was unlike any other that I have read.  The read itself was not difficult to get through but the amount of digital information that was linked to this particular historical review was a little over whelming.  There was so much information to look at and there was what seemed to be an abundant amount of sources that was referenced to support the arguments that were being made.

If I was going to to use this historical review to write a paper I would want to check the authenticity of the references to ensure that the information that was being provided was authentic and true.  The section Methods was in my opinion, the most important section of this historical review that tied into what we are currently doing in this class.  It was interesting to read about how the use of digital mapping with historical content was tied together to create all of the information that was in this website.  The digital material that was provided by this historical review gave a great visual representation of the central argument that this review was making.  I think that it was essential that this review have the section Methods to provide the readers with some knowledge of how to interpret the digital maps that were provided and how the historical information played a key part in making the maps.

Reading this historical review was a great experience and it really shed some light on the use of digital materials to drive home an argument.

Here is a look at what my hunting trip will look like this season.

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=206938126096777955840.0004cc36f83eac5ffa810&msa=0&ll=38.261367,-77.719345&spn=0.390882,0.85556

The following screen shots are not interactive but they show the route of the trip that I will be taking this hunting season.

So now that I have disclosed my hunting area I hope that I don’t find someone in the area that I am looking forward to hunting.

I wanted to tie every marker together to  show the actual route that I was taking but I could not figure out how to tie them all together.  Overall it was interesting putting this map together.

Here is the chart that I created.

chart.googleapis.com/chart?chf=a,s,000000|bg,s,E8F4F7|c,s,FFFF88&chxr=0,13.333,93.333|1,1946.667,2005.333&chxs=0,000000,9.833,1,lt,000000|1,000000,9.167,0.667,lt,000000&chxtc=0,10&chxt=y,x&chs=434×300&cht=lc&chco=0000FF,80C65A,FF0000,000000&chd=s:Ybdimtususmmnppssmln,XUUZYTOOJQVYYYcccY,QTWYdeZVUUQRPPRWYeed,WXbjefdbbjleebe&chdl=Chocolate|Hard+Candy|Gummies|Licorice&chls=2,10,0|3,10,0|1.1,19,0|2.667,7,0&chma=|10,2&chm=r,E0E0E0,0,0.133,0.833&chtt=Favorite+Candy&chts=3E2222,11.5

So creating this chart was a lot of fun.  I tried to make it as complicated as possible to make use of as many tools as possible.  I tried switching through the different types of charts but with the information that I plugged in the bar graph was not working too well.  The information that was provided is not accurate.  Here is what it looked like when I was putting it together.

The hardest process of putting together this chart together was figuring out what information I wanted to display.

Personal security is very important and there are a few things that you should always keep in mind.

• How vulnerable is your computer when connected to a public network?
• Are your passwords strong enough to withstand being hacked by someone who is trying to hack you?
• Do you use the same password for all of the different accounts that you access on the internet?
• What safety precautions have you taken to keep your personal information secured on your computer?
• Is there anyone else who has access to your personal information that can compromise your personal information or computer?
• Do you have any accounts that are linked together?

These are some of the questions that I asked myself when doing my self assessment of my personal security.  After asking myself some of these questions and taking a good look at my personal security there was only one area where I need to do a better job.  I use the same password for almost all of the accounts that I access.  The only good thing about the password that I use is that it is 12 characters long.  I use a combination of upper and lower letters to include a number.  I am pretty confident that anyone trying to hack my password would have an extremely difficult time figuring out.  The biggest drawback to having just one password for everything that I use is, if my password were to get compromised then every account that I access through the internet will be at the mercy of that hacker.  This is a risk that I have endured for as far back as I can remember.  I am confident that my password is solid.

I have answered my own questions with great confidence that I have taken the precautionary measures to secure both my personal information and computer from being vulnerable to hackers.  I also have other computers that I am responsible for in my home.  I have a private network in my home which gives all of the computers in my home access to the internet and access to shared information from a shared external hard drive.  I am the administrator of my personal network and I am the only one with the password to access my private network.  Unfortunately the password for my network is also the same for all of my other accounts.  I believe that the strength of my password gives my the confidence to use it without feeling that it will ever get compromised.

I use the following software to secure and to protect all of the computers in my home.  I have been using this software for many years and it has proven to be the best that I have used.  This software has many features and the parental controls make it very easy to control the websites that your children or other computers in your network are accessing on the internet.  I am the administrator on all of the computers in my home.  When my kids try to access a website that they do not have permission to access, they either do not try to access it or they ask me for permission to access it.  They only get permission after I have visited the website and ensured that it is age appropriate for them.  I also look for links to other website that might put their computers at risk.  Another feature that is very nice to have is the web surfing feature that scans the websites that you are trying to visit for potential treats and this gives you a peace of mind that the sites that you are visiting are safe.  This is a feature that protects my kids from potential risks when surfing the web.

I feel that I have the right software to protect all of the computers in my home. I taken every precaution to secure my personal information and those of all of the computers in my home.  I am also the administrator for the private network in my home and I am the only one in my home with the password.  My wife does know the password but she only knows it in case something were to happen to me.  My wife does not have a clue on how to troubleshoot our home network or how to troubleshoot any of our computers.  Whenever there is an issue with any of our computers or even the home network I always get a phone call about how to fix the problem.  Most of the time I can guide my wife to fix the problem but there have been a couple of times when it just had to wait until I got home.  The only issue that does need to be addressed with my personal security is the password that I have used for several years now.  I am not sure if I will ever change it because I have used it for several years with no issues.  I am fully aware of the risk that I can be in if my password were to be compromised but I feel confident that my password will not get compromised.

This story is one that too often occurs these days.  It is just tragic what happen to the gentleman in this story.  I could only image what it would feel like to be violated in the manner that Matt Honan was.  Just as Matt felt most deeply hurt by the photographs that he lost, I think that losing the photographs would have impacted me in the same manner.  My wife and I have almost 57,000 photos that we have taken digitally and several hundreds more in actual photos.  I have backed up all of our photos unto a few external hard drives.  I feel lucky for never being a victim of being hacked and having my digital life taken over and I hope that it never happens to me.

I was blown away by the fact that Phobia was easily able to hack into Matt’s digital life using some of the most popular giants in the digital world.   You would think that it would be a little more difficult to hack into someone’s email address, I Cloud, or whatever else is gets hacked.  It is true that with a little of the right information you get access to a lot of things.  I have been hesitant to link accounts and to get involved with sites such as Twitter but I know that there are many people out there in the world who just can’t get enough of these types of sites.  In my opinion when your life revolves around the digital world you become vulnerable to being hacked unless you practice security measures that would make you a hard target for someone who is looking to hack someone just because.

I also believe that it is important to back up your personal computer and important digital content, regardless of what it might be, on a regular basis to ensure that you know that if ever you were to become a victim of being hacked, you have your digital life backed up in a safe place.  I think that it is important that people who spend a lot of time on their computers plugged into the internet that they should ensure that they have security measures in place to protect them from threats.

Unfortunately Matt, like others who have been victims of similar hacks would like to go back and back up their digital life.  What is interesting about this article is that Phobia explained the method that he used to hack into Matt’s digital life and how he was able to do it with ease.  The companies that allowed this to happen should be embarrassed; they should look at their security measures and make them more stringent.  Another interesting thing about this article was that Matt agreed not to press charges in exchange for the knowledge of how he hacked.  It was interesting to hear that Phobia felt bad about what had happened to Matt after the fact.  It did not seem to matter to Phobia as he was hacking Matt’s digital life.  Hopefully Matt learned a very hard lesson.

Matt has done a great thing by telling his story of how he got hacked.  I definitely took a lot from this article and interestingly enough I was not aware of how easily someone can take over your digital life if someone really wanted to.  The key important factor about this article is assessing your digital life as it is now and determining if your digital life is at risk of being hacked.  The other important lesson from the experience that Matt had is to not assume that your digital life is safe.  You are always at risk of being hacked but it is the security measures that you implement before that will make you less of a target of being hacked.