fandomhigh | Computers & Fun #5 6/21 Wednesday Afternoon

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computers

Computers & Fun #5 6/21 Wednesday Afternoon - Computer Lab

"Welcome to the internets!" Abby called out happily. "It's a magical land where you can find out anything, be anyone and go anywhere. Due to our bodies need to eat, sleep and defecate; we can't actually live on the internet just yet. But that doesn't stop some of us from trying."

"We're going to get our toes wet this afternoon. You communicate with other people through electronic mail or e-mail." Abby launched into a description of how e-mail works. "As students, you all have Fandom High e-mail addresses. But I want you to go through and create a new email address through a free source such as hotmail, juno or g-mail. I would personally suggest g-mail, it's like the SUV of free email programs."

"Next we're going to talk about security. Sometimes the internet is a scary place, and not just because of the perverts. There's virus, trojan horses, hijackers, hackers..." Abby smiled a little bit there. "And of course, the absolute worst - pop-ups. So I want everyone to check and make sure that they have some from of virus protection on their laptops. There are lots of programs that you can pay to subscribe to, but there are some decent free programs that you can use. Secondly, it's a smart idea to install a firewall of some sort, check and make sure your laptops have those as well."

Abby moved to sit in front of her own computer and started typing rapidly. "Finally we're going to do some emailing. Since you created your email accounts about..." Abby checked her watch. "...ten minutes ago, you've probably already got spam. It's like junk mail, most of it offers things like male enhancement pills, diet plans and ways to make money. Then you'll get the chain email. Usually filled with brightly colored gifs and sappy poems and at the bottom is the obligatory if you don't send this on to all of your friends and back to me then you're a heartless evil person. Believe me, guys, if you start forwarding these on to your address book, you are a heartless evil person."

"Finally we have the most fun part of email, urban legends! Myths perpetuated by the fact that most people are too lazy to go to Snopes. Some of the most famous are the really expensive chocolate cookie, Bill Gates giving a dying kid cash for forwarded emails and my favorite, the emails warning against ordering from manbeef.com, a website that sells human meat. All of them are fake, but people believe them enough to send on the email to everyone else. I want all of you to come up with a fake email and send it to the rest of the class. You can either use an email that's already out there or make up your own!"

[~~wait for ocd please~~ OCD up!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Grab a labcoat and sit down

Willow signed in.

Conner signed in, feeling pretty confident about this class period. Spending all his free time hanging out in a cybercafe last year apparently had its advantages.

Mac signs in and grabs a labcoat.

Bridge signs in.

Zack signed in

Sam signed in.

Ranma signs in and takes a lab coat. He's a bit confused as to why though.

Peter signed in and took a labcoat. He was starting to wonder if he could work a labcoat into his superhero costume because it just made him feel cool.

Okay, not cool. But like a superdork, which is close enough.

Cally signed in.

John grabbed a labcoat and draped it around his neck like a cape. He's got his left-handed keyboard in his sling.

You don't have to actually create a new email address, just make up a name.

Willow already had a gmail of bitterwfan at gmail dot com so she fired that one up. As long as she was there, she checked her messages.

After some careful thought, Bridge decides to make "itsbuttery @ gmail . com" his new email address.

Ethan had set the three of them up with Gmail addresses a while back. Kira was probably still ready to kill him for the login he'd given her, but Conner kind of loved his totallytriassic@gmail.com address.

So he logged in and checked his mail, pleased to find a couple of scans of Trent's latest artwork in his inbox.

Mac already has inumerable email addresses, but it can't hurt to have one more. Now she's now also got justlikeq@ gmail.com

After spending some time wrangling an invite and trying to find a free name, all variations of his name being taken, Zack eventally registered "futuresquint (at) gmail (dot) com".

After a bit of thinking, Sam signed up for 'samnotsammy (at) gmail (dot) com'

Peter went with an address that meant a lot to him: kawalskyispunkd at gmail dot com.

Cally created her own shiny new email. In a wave of bizzare nostalgia, it was simply imissbeka at gmail dot com.

John tapped into hotmail and created another fake account. It's quite possible he was using a Firefox plugin.

"You can delete spam. You can even shunt it to a folder where you don't have to see it. But that's not as fun as this." Abby pulls up a program that turns the cursor into a red target sight and centers it on the spam email. With one click, the screen is lit up with explosions and booming noises. "I've sent you each a copy of the program. Let's see you blow stuff up!"

Willow? Possibly having too much fun with this.

"Take THAT, people who think I need enlargements on body parts I don't have!"

Re: Abby's Spam Expolder

imac-kenzie.livejournal.com - 2006-06-21 16:46 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Abby's Spam Expolder

twohalvesofaphd.livejournal.com - 2006-06-21 16:49 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Abby's Spam Expolder

likethegun - 2006-06-21 19:32 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Abby's Spam Expolder

ranma-sao.livejournal.com - 2006-06-21 21:42 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Abby's Spam Expolder

peter--parker.livejournal.com - 2006-06-22 01:15 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Abby's Spam Expolder

apocalypsesoon.livejournal.com - 2006-06-22 05:58 (UTC) - Expand

Find an email and post it here to share with the class. Will you be drawn into the hoaxes?

Good places to look for emails are About (http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/internet/a/current_netlore.htm), Snopes (http://www.snopes.com/), Hoaxbusters (http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/)

From: Zack Addy <futuresquint@gmail.com>
To: Computing Email List
Subject: Fwd: The Invisible Killer!

The Invisible Killer

Dihydrogen monoxide is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and kills uncounted
thousands of people every year. Most of these deaths are caused by accidental
inhalation of DHMO, but the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide do not end there.
Prolonged exposure to its solid form causes severe tissue damage.
Symptoms of DHMO ingestion can include excessive sweating and urination, and
possibly a bloated feeling, nausea, vomiting and body electrolyte imbalance.
For those who have become dependent, DHMO withdrawal means certain death.

Dihydrogen monoxide:

is also known as hydroxl acid, and is the major component of acid rain.
contributes to the "greenhouse effect."
may cause severe burns.
contributes to the erosion of our natural landscape.
accelerates corrosion and rusting of many metals.
may cause electrical failures and decreased effectiveness of automobile brakes.
has been found in excised tumors of terminal cancer patients.

Contamination Is Reaching Epidemic Proportions!

Quantities of dihydrogen monoxide have been found in almost every stream,
lake, and reservoir in America today. But the pollution is global,
and the contaminant has even been found in Antarctic ice. DHMO has
caused millions of dollars of property damage in the US.

Despite the danger, dihydrogen monoxide is often used:

as an industrial solvent and coolant.
in nuclear power plants.
in the production of styrofoam.
as a fire retardant.
in many forms of cruel animal research.
in the distribution of pesticides. Even after washing, produce remains
contaminated by this chemical.
as an additive in certain "junk-foods" and other food products.

Companies dump waste DHMO into rivers and the ocean, and nothing can be done
to stop them because this practice is still legal. The impact on wildlife is
extreme, and we cannot afford to ignore it any longer!

The American government has refused to ban the production, distribution,
or use of this damaging chemical due to its "importance to the economic
health of this nation." In fact, the navy and other military
organizations are conducting experiments with DHMO, and designing
multi-billion dollar devices to control and utilize it during warfare situations.
Hundreds of military research facilities receive tons of it through a
highly sophisticated underground distribution network.
Many store large quantities for later use.

The Horror Must Be Stopped!

Act NOW to prevent further contamination. Find out more about this dangerous chemical.
What you don't know can hurt you and others throughout the world.

Send this letter to everyone you know and help stop this menace!