Vocabulary

fair and square – honestly

it can’t hurt – it’s probably a good idea

Task 3. Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F) in relation to the information in the text. If you feel a statement is false, change it to make it true.

1. Viruses cannot be spread through a computer network, only via flash drives transported from computer to computer.

2. The virus will spread as soon as you put the infected flash drive in your PC.

3. The infector works by interfering in some way with the normal use of your computer.

4. The detonator in Lehigh works by altering what you see on your screen.

5. Most viruses spread through pirated games.

6. You should run an antivirus program every time you use your computer.

7. There are not very many viruses in circulation.

8. Virus shields are more effective than virus scanners.

Task 4. These are answers to questions about the text. Write the questions.

1. Two, one that infects and one that does the damage.

2. By interfering in some way with the normal use of the computer.

3. After it has infected four copies of COMMAND.COM.

4. Every time you access a hard disk subdirectory or a flash drive containing COMMAND.COM.

5. Yes, by using your common sense and by occasionally scanning for them.

Unit 2. Hackers

Start-up

Try to answer these questions.

1. Who or what is a hacker?

2. What is computer security?

3. How many ways can you think of to make the data in a computer secure?

4. What are some common motivations for computer crime?

Reading 1.

The First Hackers

(1) The first “hackers” were students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who belonged to the TMRC (Tech Model Railroad Club). Some of the members really built model trains. But many were more interested in the wires and circuits underneath the track platform. Spending hours at TMRC creating better cir­cuitry was called “a mere hack”. Those members who were interes­ted in creating innovative, stylistic, and technically clever circuits called themselves (with pride) hackers.

(2) During the spring of 1959, a new course was offered at MIT, a freshman programming class. Soon the hackers of the railroad club were spending days, hours, and nights hacking away at their com­puter, an IBM 704. Instead of creating a better circuit, their hack became creating faster, more efficient program — with the least number of lines of code. Eventually they formed a group and cre­ated the first set of hacker’s rules, called the Hacker’s Ethic.

(3) Steven Levy, in his book Hackers, presented the rules:

Rule 1: Access to computers — and anything, which might teach you, something about the way the world works — should be unlimited and total.

Rule 2: All information should be free.

Rule 3: Mistrust authority — promote decentralization.

Rule 4: Hackers should be judged by their hacking, not bogus criteria such as degrees, race, or position.

Rule 5: You can create art and beauty on a computer.

Rule 6: Computers can change your life for the better.

These rules made programming at MIT's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory a challenging, all encompassing endeavor. Just for the exhilaration of programming, students in the AI Lab would write a new program to perform even the smallest tasks. The program would be made available to others who would try to perform the same task with fewer instructions. The act of making the computer work more elegantly was, to a bonafide hacker, awe-inspiring.

Hackers were given free reign on the computer by two AI Lab professors, “Uncle” John McCarthy and Marvin Minsky, who realized that hacking created new insights. Over the years, the AI Lab created many innovations: LIFE, a game about survival; LISP, a new kind of programming language; the first computer chess game; The CAVE, the first computer adventure; and SPACEWAR, the first video game.

Task 1. True or false?

1. The first hackers were interested in railroad circuitry.

2. The first hackers studied at MIT.

3. The point of a hacker’s work was to create a faster and smaller code.

4. Hackers had their own Ethic Code.

5. TMRC stands for Toy Machinery Railroad Car.

6. Hackers sabotaged the work of the AI Lab.

7. An elegant computer was, to a real hacker, awe-inspiring.

8. At AI Lab hackers wrote a computer program for every other task.

9. Hackers were quite prolific in innovations.

10. Hackers were given free reign on the two AI Lab professors.

Task 2. Put the proper words into sentences:

bonafide, insights, innovation, ethic, instructions, exhilaration, endeavor, awe-inspiring, encompass, freshmen, authority, bogus, mistrust.

1. Decentralization results in ... to the chief.

2. Holding the door for a lady is the question of...

3. This still life isn't Picasso’s; it's a...

4. The report you've presented doesn't ... some of the problems.

5. If you can survive both in the jungle and the desert, a ... Indian you are.

6. The ... in how hardware works is obligatory for a good programmer.

7. Each ... is another step to a new technological revolution.

8. In 1961 the Soviet Scientists’ ... to conquer the space was a success.

9. ... without any reason proves one's carelessness.

10. Iron grip boss expects you to carry out all his ...

11. Annually MIT gains over 5000 ...

12. ... should cause ... terror in your heart.

Task 3. Listening. Listen to Steve, a computer technician, and Richard, the office manager at a language institute, talking about computer security.

As you listen to the conversation, answer the following questions.

1. What is the problem with the computer system at the language institute?

2. What would someone need to connect his/her PC to the office network?

3. What are the disadvantages of security passwords, according to Steve and Richard?

4. How does the 'smart' card work? Is it safe?

5. How much do you think Steve and Richard know about security systems?

Task 4. Steve and Richard must decide what to do. What advice would you give them? In groups or pairs, note down the advantages and disadvantages of the possible solutions. Think about safety, cost, and ease of use. Try to decide on the best solution.

Reading 2.