Izabelle's IS101 Introduction Blog Post

Hello, my name is Izabelle Vison. I'm a student at the College of Southern Nevada, pursuing my Associates in Business, specifically for Accounting. This blog post is for my IS101 - Information Systems class. I hope by completing this class I can learn about how to navigate through the internet in a professional way, how to use excel, and pass my exams.

My first impression of my IS101 class was that it was overwhelming. This class presents many challenges that I have not faced in my schooling so far. The assignments are very intricate, personally they take me very long to finish. It's difficult to juggle this class with the job that I have, where I have to go to and from work and home during the day. I've also never had a professor that interacts with the students outside of class as much, which is something to be grateful for, but for me it's very nerve-racking. Maybe it's nerve-racking because I'm not used to it, I'm not sure. The class is generous with beneficial information for your future. So, even though this class doesn't function in a way I prefer, I'm stepping out of my comfort zone and finishing it to the end.

The skill I chose from Labsim is 1.4.12 - Encryption and Authentication Facts. From this section in Labsim I learned that you can tell if a URL is secure or not by looking at the HTTPS. HTTP means Hypertext Transfer Protocol, which is a protocol used to transfer data between the browser and the website itself. When the website has just HTTP, that mean the data is non-encrypted plain text, you should never enter your information on websites that just have HTTP in the URL. By using TLS or Transport Layer Security, the HTTP is now visibly HTTPS which means Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. This means that the data is now both transmitted and encrypted. Encryption means that the data gets scrambled for people who don't have the correct key code, so it can keep your user specific information safe. For WIFI, the most secure encryption right now is WPA2 (WIFI Protected Access 2), be sure not to use the previous WPA and to keep the firmware up to date. Authentication is the process in which a computer asks the user to prove they are who they claim to be. While usernames and passwords are the most common form of authentication, there is also bio authentication. Bio authentication includes facial scans, finger print readers, vocal recognition, and more. One of the most important things you can have is a good password, some key aspects to having a good password is having 12 or more mixed characters including capitalized letters, numbers, and symbols. Make sure to keep the accurate password in a safe place to access later, and memorize it the best you can.

I'm still exploring other schooling options to see what I am proficient in so I can be successful and comfortable in the future. I hope people are able to be patient with me while I figure out how I would like my future to go.