Cyber Attacks are Viral

We have to take cyber attacks seriously for our safety. With any new computer technology that creates new doors for users, there also comes the ability for enemies to pick the locks of those doors. "The Cuckoo's Egg" reveals one of the first major cyber attacks. It was 1986. Because hacking was early in the life of computers and networks, many people, including the FBI, did not realize the abilities hackers had at taking crippling advantage of them. Clifford Stoll understood the danger a hacker was posing on his school network. He used every bit of energy he had to track down and capture the spy that was invading. He borrowed terminals to check every phone line, slept under his desk at night, and even wrote down every keystroke the spy was making. Clifford is a great example for how we can prevent our own cyber attacks. Whether we know very little or a lot about computers and networks, we must take very seriously any attack made on us through our cyber security. If someone has access to our computer, they can have access to much of our life through email, Facebook, and any other records stored on our computer. The most respected companies and the most powerful country in the world are currently becoming immobilized by hackers. The well known and respected Sony Computer Entertainment company had a major cyber attack that paralyzed their company for more then a month. Sony's online service that users were paying for was gone and their personal account information was possibly stolen for thousands of individuals. According to CNN this month, Major FBI websites are being hacked by a group called Anonymous. This directly effects the safety of all Americans. We have to treat these and future cyber attacks as a serious incursion of our safety.

Google is OK at the game of Acquire

Good news and strategy for Google. The Justice Department just allowed Google to buy Motorola Mobility with no strings attached. This allows them to acquire many new patents to help in building new products. Very often large companies like Google will have to fight for acquiring a company because it lessens the competition. In this case Google isn't winning in the game of Monopoly, but is in the game of Acquire. With Mobility's hefty patent portfolio, Google is free to expand and compete in new markets. It will be exciting to see what Google does next with their Midas touch.

The Next Printing Press

The personal computer is revolutionary for family history work. Like the printing press, the computer has transformed documentation by making it easier to store and duplicate records. Elder Russell M. Nelson tells of its current widespread use and our future work to bring us closer to our ancestors.  This is similar to how the printing press brought the bible and Book of Mormon to so many early saints that joined the church. These technologies have brought families closer together through record keeping for centuries now. Now is the time to take advantage of saving family records on personal computers.