The day began at 8:30 AM with a Diversity Networking Breakfast at the Nittany Lion Inn.  At 11:00 AM, hundreds of students began to flock to the halls of the IST building, clad in professional attire, eagerly waiting to speak with the corporate representatives. This also marked the beginning of the first set of mock interview sessions.  The mock interviews were run in half hour slots by corporate representatives who volunteered their time to interview students.  These mock interviews enabled students to obtain valuable feedback regarding their interviewing skills. At 1:00 PM, Creamy Ice Cream was served on the 2nd floor.  A half hour later, the second set of mock interviews began.

At 4:00 PM, the Pro-Expo wrapped up its successful day. Numerous students were able to come out and interact with many well-regarded companies. This was an enriching experience for both parties. Next year, the Pro Expo will continue to grow and provide students with chances to network with corporate representatives.

Next, we ate breakfast in one of the eighteen eateries that are located within the Googleplex campus. After breakfast, we walked to the main meeting room where all of the day’s magic was going to take place. Lee began by presenting some opening remarks regarding the competition and history of Google. This was followed by presentations by Google employees on the functions of their various departments. Here, we learned about the top-secret methods (sorry, I can’t mention them here) that Google uses in order to stay on top of the industry. Before heading to lunch, we discussed the competition in greater detail, received our prize, and learned what it is like to work at Google.

After lunch, we toured the campus. The overall atmosphere at Google was overwhelming. Outside, there was T-Rex statue and employees playing volleyball. Inside, people we playing Pool, and a spaceship was hanging from the ceiling. As we walked, it was easy to see why Google is rated the number one place to work. Our tour guide noted, “I have been here for 4 years and I still pinch myself every morning.” After the tour, it was time for our wonderful experience to draw to a close. Overall, engaging in the Google Online Marketing Challenge was a fantastic opportunity. If you would like to have a chance to take part in the amazing experience, I suggest that you sign up for IST 402 in Spring 2009 under Prof. Jim Jansen.

Google Chrome

By Bradley Shively

Chrome is developer jargon for the parts of your web browser that reside outside of the actual page that you are viewing.  This includes the back and forward buttons, the status bar displayed below the page, and the address bar.  When Google set out to build their new browser, they wanted to change the way that people interact with the internet, and especially web applications.  This meant getting the browser out of the user’s way, so that he or she could focus on the task at hand, rather than the tool being used to perform the task.  Choosing to name their browser Chrome, therefore, was ironic, as one of the major interface improvements that is presented in the software is that it features much less chrome than its competitors.

Google Chrome is based on the open source Webkit browser engine.  Webkit, which is also the core of Apple’s Safari browser, is known for being leaner and faster than other competing web browsers.  The most notable advantage is Webkit’s enhanced performance on JavaScript-intensive tasks.  Since the majority of web applications employ AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML – the code that allows your Facebook status to be updated and your Gmail messages to be deleted without reloading the page), these types of sites often perform better in Webkit than in browsers based on other technologies.

While building on the Webkit foundation was a great start in improving the web application experience, Google wanted to push the envelope further with Chrome.  To do this, they had to tackle the design and implementation of a JavaScript engine in a way that no one had ever done before.  Google contracted the V8 Team, based out of Denmark, to build an entirely new JavaScript virtual machine (VM).  The V8 team specializes in developing highly efficient, custom VMs.  With the improved performance of the V8 JavaScript engine, web applications feel more like their desktop counterparts because the delay in response is greatly reduced; the apps simply have more “zip.”

If Internet Explorer is the Model T, and Firefox is a modern luxury sedan with all the bells and whistles (extensions), then Chrome is arguably the hybrid prototype: the first step towards a whole new experience on the information superhighway. Google has once again found a way to redefine what others have done, and improve upon the existing methods along the way.

Most of the benefits gained by using Chrome would likely go unnoticed by a typical internet user, or at best might be summarized as “it doesn’t crash as much.”  In addition, some features may even, at first, be perceived as setbacks.  However, these improvements represent innovative design changes that will improve the overall user experience at only a minor cost to the user’s resource overhead.

For example, individual tabs are initialized as separate processes.  Unlike in other browsers, if a website causes the tab to lockup, or a web application crashes, only that individual tab is lost.  A small sacrifice is made in terms of memory usage; the overall memory footprint size increased. These separate processes also serve an additional function.  When all the tabs are bundled into one large memory space, sections of this space can become fragmented as tabs are created and closed.  This is due to inefficient garbage collection by the browser, as well as other factors.  This situation is analogous to a large box packed with objects.  Removing a few objects will free up some space inside the box for new items, but not as efficiently (in terms as space) as unpacking the box entirely and repacking it.  In Chrome, each tab represents its own small box.  Closing the tab destroys the entire space, and creating a new tab creates a new, fresh space.  This drastically reduces memory fragmentation.

There are some significant changes to the user interface as well.  The “search bar,” common to IE and Firefox, has been consolidated and merged with the address bar.  Many reviewers have already referred to the multipurpose address bar introduced in Firefox 3 as the “everything bar.”  Google has taken this concept a step further, embedding several layers of functionality into what they refer to as the OmniBar.  Additionally, improved blacklisting of malware sites is also included in Chrome.

However, some privacy concerns have been raised by Chrome.  Chrome features search term completion in the OmniBar.  For example, typing “penn state” results in the suggested search term “penn state football,” among others.  Essentially, every keystroke you type in the OmniBar is transmitted to Google for evaluation.  This includes URLs, such as when you type in the address of your online banking website or other secure sites that you visit regularly.  Some feel that this allows Google to have excessive access to your surfing habits outside of the Google network.  Some security professionals have gone so far as to call the OmniBar a “key logger.”  There have also been concerns raised regarding the fact that Chrome constantly “phones home” to download malware blacklist updates, even when the actual browser is not open or in use.

A few additional interesting features have also been added to Chrome.  First, the browser features a Smart Search Capture.  This looks at the pages that you use, such as Amazon, eBay, and others, and adds their built-in search boxes directly to your browser.  Here, if you search for several items on Amazon.com, Chrome will intelligently grab the location of the Amazon search box and allow you to perform Amazon queries without having to visit the main Amazon page.  Furthermore, it adds sites that you frequently visit to a homepage that consists of links to your most-visited pages, letting you easily launch these into new tabs when you first open Chrome.  Since this list is generated based on page visits, it also allows you determine which sites you truly visit most frequently.

Chrome also features an “Incognito” mode, which essentially operates in a session mode that retains no traces once the browser has been closed.  This is useful for preventing pages and cookies from being added to your browsing history and cache.  This same functionality can be achieved in Firefox using the Stealther add-on.  This brings up one of the major pitfalls of Chrome: lack of extensibility.  Chrome does not currently support “add-ons” like Firefox, so users that depend on a large collection plug-ins in order to enhance their daily browsing experience may find Chrome to be disappointing.

Measuring the true level of adoption achieved by Chrome is difficult.  While Google has a widespread audience, the current beta of the browser is targeted primarily at the tech-savvy crowd.  After one month of availability, ArsTechnica published statistics that showed that approximately 7% of their traffic utilized Google’s experimental browser.  However, this is clearly a tech-oriented site.  Other estimates place a more general audience adoption rate at somewhere around 1%.

Many have asked why Google created their own browser.  At the time that Chrome was launched, Google released a comic book-style document that explained their reasoning.  Suffice to say, they have a vested interest in improving the web application experience.  Google’s main products are web applications.  Google search, e-mail, calendars, and finance all rely on the inner workings of the user’s browser.  By improving the performance and display of online content, Google hopes to improve the user’s web application experience enough to encourage people to migrate to cloud computing solutions in place of their office suites, e-mail programs, and similar software packages.  Essentially, Google created Chrome in order to show Firefox and Internet Explorer developers the possibilities of improving web browsing technology, in hopes that these developers would adopt techniques to improve JavaScript performance, make web applications more reliable and stable, and increase the end user’s experience.

Overall, I find the innovations in Google Chrome to be a collection of interesting tools and tricks that improve the user’s experience.  However, I personally employ a large number of Firefox extensions in order to improve my daily browsing experience.  These include ad suppression plug-ins, custom skinning for Gmail, integration of my online task management with Gmail and Google Calendar, and many others.  While I certainly hope that the development teams of both Firefox and Internet Explorer follow Chrome’s lead, at present, I do not think that switching to Chrome is a realistic option for most users.

There is a new breed of drug hitting the streets.

This new drug does not come in a capsule and cannot be contained in a glass bottle.  This drug is something more complex; it consists of one part technology, one part hardware and three parts human interaction.  When combined in just the right proportions, the mixture forms what we humans like to call The Internet.

This technological wonder drug goes by a number of names such as the “Net” or the “World Wide Web.”  It can’t get you high or even give you a buzz, but the excessive use of the Internet can cause intense side effects, such as a diminished social life, broken relationships, carpel tunnel syndrome, and even deadly blood clots.  Living a desk-bound lifestyle of MySpace surfing, AIM chatting and YouTube watching can have a profound effect on a person’s mental and physical state, just like many drugs found on the streets.

Media addiction is not a new notion.  The concept of media addiction dates back to the early days of TV and video games.  The Internet has caused a mass revolution in human interaction.  The days of sending letters, now called “snail mail,” and reading from paperback books are rapidly coming to a close.  With the introduction of portable devices like the iPhone and Blackberry, it is possible for someone to be constantly connected to a network of millions of computers.  E-mails appear instantly, shopping can be done with the click of a mouse, and people can have a relationship without ever meeting one another face-to-face.

While the Internet has made many important and fascinating contributions to the information age, care must still be taken when experimenting with this new drug.  As David Smith of The Guardian, wrote: “A primary case study is South Korea, which has the greatest use of broadband in the world.  Block points out that 10 people died from blood clots from remaining seated for long periods in internet cafés.  [...]  The government estimates that around 210,000 South Korean children are [addicted] and in need of treatment.”  The notion that people may be surfing the web until death is frightening.

While writing this article, I checked Facebook 2 times, responded to over 5 emails, and talked to 4 friends.  This is a classic example of multitasking, and it is often how people operate while using a computer to do work.  The purpose of this article is not to suggest the elimination of the Internet; in today’s society, it is clear that we truly cannot operate without its presence.

In summary, it is important to have a life outside of your connected world.  Go for a walk outside, and talk to people face-to-face – it can do wonders for your social life.  The Internet can bring prosperity, productivity, knowledge, and happiness, but like anything else, it needs to be used in moderation.  Life is too short to spend in front of a screen watching 1’s and 0’s fly by.  To that end, I leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Eleanor Roosevelt:

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste it, to experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”

Penn State’s ITS department has recently expanded their efforts to upgrade the university’s wireless infrastructure. Currently, students and faculty have to suffer through the arduous process of using a CiscoVPN Client in order to establish a secure connection with Penn State’s Wi-Fi network.  The new system, dubbed Wireless 2.0, merely requires that users enter their Penn State User ID and password. According to the ITS information page, this next generation Wireless infrastructure now offers access points in the following locations:

1. Willard Building- Entire building, as well as the outside area between Schwab and Carnegie
2. Life Sciences Building – In six classrooms on the ground floor (#9 through #14)
3. Telecommunications Building – Entire building
4. Thomas Building- 1st and 2nd Floors, as well as the outside plaza area between Thomas and Ritenour
5. Business Building – Entire Building and adjacent outdoor areas
6. Ag. Science and Industries – General purpose classrooms and portions of the ground, 1st, 2nd, and 4th floors
7. Food Science Building – Entire building and Creamery outdoor seating area
8. Forest Resources Building – Entire building and adjacent outdoor areas

Prior to being expanded to the above locations, the Wireless 2.0 system was tested on Services Road, near the Blue Band Building and IM Fields. By shedding the VPN client, users can expect to see far less connection issues. Under the new system, the time that it takes to connect to the networks has decreased dramatically – from about a minute (using the VPN client) to nearly instantaneously. In addition, Wi-Fi coverage between buildings has also been improved.  The SSID uses 802.1x (EAP-TTLS-PAP) with WPA-TKIP encryption.  Here, it is nice to see that Penn State is utilizing this type of security, as WEP security is highly vulnerable to attack.

For instructions on how to get connected, visit this page (PSU Access ID Required). The setup process is simple: select your platform, click submit, and follow the well-written and clearly illustrated instructions.  Because this new wireless platform does not utilize VPN, many additional platforms are supported, including Linux, 64-bit Windows, Apple iPhone and iPod Touch, and other generic platforms.

Once you have installed the new client, search for the SSID (name of the Wi-Fi network) “psu” in your wireless connections menu. Select “psu” and input your Penn State Access ID and password when prompted to do so. Keep in mind that the legacy VPN network is named “pennstate” andthat this older network cannot be used withthis new configuration. In some places on campus, both SSIDs may appear.

I have tried the Wireless 2.0 system from my 32-bit Vista laptop as well as my iPod Touch. Both devices were able to connect with ease, and the connection was always strong. This was a welcome surprise, especially after the difficulty associated with connecting iPhones and iPod Touch after OS 2.0 offered VPN connectivity. Even though that problem has been resolved, it is nice to see that this new system will be able to support a multitude of devices in the future.

ITS is very interested in obtaining feedback regarding this new system. They are currently encouraging all students with an Access ID number to try out and use this new connection scheme. Click here to visit the feedback form.

Leave your comments regarding your experience with this new system. If you find another location on campus that offers the “psu” SSID, please let us know.

Steve Sharer is a SRA/IST undergraduate student in the College of IST. He serves as the corporate relations officer of the Security and Risk Analysis Club and plays the trumpet in the world renown Penn State Marching Blue Band. Steve runs Digital Frontier, a hybrid blog about technology, security and Penn State. He also created and maintains Volunteer @ Penn State – a unified resource for volunteer events in and around the Penn State community.

Another year has begun at Penn State University, and this year the Security and Risk Analysis Club will be creating and presenting a Community Outreach Project.  Here, representatives from the SRA club will give presentations at high schools on the topic of Social Networking, Security, and Privacy.  Many high school students know about MySpace and Facebook, but are unaware of the issues that are associated with these websites.  While this is a serious topic, we are designing a fun and interactive presentation with videos and humor.  This presentation will also be used in order to promote the IST and SRA majors.

Currently, three teams of four to five students are working on creating presentations that they believe will be informative and fun.  the SRA club plans on giving the first presentation sometime around Thanksgiving Break.  Caroline Furey, the president of SRA Club and also a member of one of the Community Outreach teams, plans on returning to her high school, Upper Darby High School in Drexel Hill, PA, once the presentation has been verified and approved by Dean Supon, Erica Garner, and Gerry Santoro.

Each presentation will probably feature 2 to 3 presenters, with each one responsible for presenting a different sub-topic.  The overall presentation will last around thirty minutes.  With two to three speakers at each event, students will be able to learn about the security issues that are associated with social networking websites from a variety of perspectives.  Hopefully, these presentations will help to educate high school students and increase the popularity of the SRA and IST majors.