The 3 Little Pigs in Cyber Space

Building Your House for Privacy and Safety

Caylen TichenorOconee RESA

Versions of the Three Little Pigs

• The Story of the Three Little Pigs (England).

• The Three Little Pigs (England).

• The Awful Fate of Mr. Wolf (African-American, Joel Chandler Harris).

• The Story of the Pigs (African-American, Joel Chandler Harris).

• The Three Goslings (Italy).

Three Little Pigs, The PC VersionOnce there were three little pigs who lived together in mutual respect and in harmony with their environment. Using materials that were indigenous to the area, they each built a beautiful houses. One pig built a house of straw, one a house of sticks, and one a house of dung, clay, and creeper vines shaped into bricks and baked in a small kiln. When they were finished, the pigs were satisfied with their work and settled back to live in peace and self-determination. But their idyll was soon shattered. One day, along came big, bad wolf with expansionist ideas. He saw the pigs and grew very hungry, in both a physical and an ideological sense. When the pigs saw the wolf, they ran into the house of straw. The wolf ran up to the house and banged on the door, shouting, "Little pigs, little pigs, let me in!" The pigs shouted back, "Your gunboat tactics hold no fear for pigs defending their homes and culture." But the wolf wasn't to be denied what he thought was his manifest destiny. So he huffed and puffed and blew down the house of straw. The frightened pigs ran to the house of sticks, with the wolf in hot pursuit. Where the house of straw had stood, other wolves bought up the land and started a banana plantation.

SOMERSET PA (AP) -- A. Wolf took the stand today in his own defense. This shocked and stunned the media who predicted that he would not testify in the brutal double murder trial. A. Wolf is accused of killing (and eating) The First Little Pig, and The Second Little Pig. This criminal trial is expected to be followed by a civil trial to be brought by the surviving Third Little Pig. The case has been characterized as a media circus.His testimony is transcribed below:"Everybody knows the story of the Three Little Pigs. Or at least they think they do. But I'll let you in on a little secret. Nobody knows the real story, because nobody has ever heard my side of the story. I'm Alexander T. Wolf. You can call me Al. I don't know how this whole Big Bad Wolf thing got started, but it's all wrong. Maybe it's because of our diet. Hey, it's not my fault wolves eat cute little animals like bunnies and sheep and pigs. That's just the way we are. If cheeseburgers were cute, folks would probably think you were Big and Bad too. But like I was saying, the whole big bad wolf thing is all wrong. The real story is about a sneeze and a cup of sugar

"THE THREE LITTLE PIGS"PLEASURE PRINCIPLE VERSUS REALITY PRINCIPLEFrom: The Uses of Enchantment, The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Talesby Bruno Bettelheim, Vintage Books, NY, 1975The myth of Hercules deals with the choice between following the pleasure principle or the reality principle in life. So, likewise, does the fairy story of "The Three Little Pigs."

Listen out there! We're George and Harriet Miller! We just dropped in on the pigs for coffee! We're coming out!...We don't want trouble!"

Privacy Wolves

• Viruses and worms• Trojan horses• Web bugs• Web spying and

spoofing*• Malicious programs and

spyware*• Port scanning• War Dialing• Password Cracking

Privacy Wolves

• Denial of services• Computer hijacking• Identity theft* • “Statistical research”*

The Pigs

• Little Pig #1– Either is ignorant or

unafraid of wolves.– Has attitude that

“wolves aren’t interested in me”

– Takes little if any precaution against wolves.

– Unknowingly puts other little pigs in danger

The Little Pigs

• Little Pig #2– Knows about wolves.– Deep down doesn’t

think they’re the target of wolves.

– Takes some precautions when they think about it.

– Are prone to believe hoaxes about wolves.

The Little Pigs

• Little Pig #3– Is very aware of wolves– Can tell the difference

between a real and fake wolf.– May be viewed as unfriendly

or suspicious by other little pigs.– Viewed as uncooperative by wolves.

Three levels of information

• Essential – “must have” information in order to complete transactions.

• Important – Information you deem necessary to share with others

• Private – Information not needed to complete the transaction or to be shared.

and

Governmental Wolves

• The Patriot Act – Search and Seizure issues.– Monitoring issues– Information gathering issues.

Privacy Facts and Figures

• As of last count, there were 3,530 million personal files in all federal agencies.– That’s an average of 15 files per man, woman

and child in the U.S. – ¾ of the data is held by 5 agencies:

• Health and Human Services• Treasury• Education• Defense• Commerce

Statistical Research includes

• Registration forms (online and paper)

• Surveys

• Drawings

• Warranty cards

• Any form that requires “private” information or that is used for more than one purpose.

However

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3

Even straw and stick houses can have some level of privacy.

Three Levels of Privacy

• Level I – Opt out early and often– Don’t use office equipment

for personal purposes– Don’t surf personal sites at

work– Use a fake or junk email

account– Remain unlisted– Keep personal information

personal

Three Levels of Privacy

• Level I (cont.)– Be anti social when

necessary– Tell off telemarketers– Check your credit

report annually. – Cancel any unused

credit cards– Use passwords– Use them well

Three Levels of Privacy

• Level I (cont.)– Keep your personal

email and professional email separate.

– Remember that email is considered a public record and is subject to open records laws.

Three Levels of Privacy

• Level II– Close the preview pane in your email

program.– Use software that detects “spy ware”

installed by “free” applications.– Install a firewall. – Don’t open attachments from unknown

sources. (or sometimes known sources).

– Ask to be removed from online directories.

– Set your browser to reject third party cookies.

Three Levels of Privacy

• Level II (cont.)– Unsubscribe carefully.– Get de-listed from the DMA

member’s list. – Disapprove credit offers.– List just your phone

number in the phone book. – Read privacy policies when

you give out information.– Use temporary accounts

for specific projects.

Three Levels of Privacy

• Level III– Scramble your messages

with tools such as PGPfreeware or Sigba.

– Lock your files.– Protect your plastic. Use a

low limit credit card for online purchases.

– Let your data grow old. (and obsolete)

– Never reveal important information over wireless phones.

– Use a P.O. Box

Responsibilities and Restrictions

• You may have to give “non-essential” information out if:– You are involved in a credit/check transaction – The information is “directory information”.– The information is required by your immediate

or top level supervisor for a specific purpose.

- You wish to patronize a business or transact business over the web.

Recommended tools for building a brick house

• Virus protection – Norton AntiVirus 2002.

• Cookie Manager – Limited Software Cookie Crusher 2.6

• Firewall- Zone Lab’s ZoneAlarm 3

• All-in-one Solution- Norton Internet Security 2002

– Recommended by PCWorld June 2002

A Final Thought

• The first Maxim of worldly wisdom, constant Dissimulation may be good or evil…If it means only a constant concealment from others … as others have not a right to know it is not only lawful but commendable – because when these are …divulged, our enemies may avail themselves of the Knowledge of them. – John Adams

Sources

• Smith, Robert Ellis Ben Franklin’s Web Site, Privacy Journal 2000.

• PC Basics Vol. 1 No. 4

• PC Magazine July 2002

• Scholastic Administrator Spring 2002

• “Who’s Watching You Online?” PC Upgrade Vol. 9 No. 6