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Chapter 5 Exercises

Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Principles of MIS

© 2005 by Jerry Post
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
  1. Find information on two biometric devices. Identify the costs and the steps required to install them. Can they be used for identification over the Internet?
  2. Find and download a free trial copy of a personal intrusion detection system, and install it on a PC connected to the Internet full time (school connection, DSL, or cable modem). Let the system run for a few days and record how many potential attacks it records.
  3. Search the Internet for tools that might be used to attack computers. Do not download them! Do not attempt to use them! Just list the sites and a brief description of the tools.
  4. Obtain a tool that searches for spyware and check your computer. If you have permission on a public machine (lab or library), run the tool on it. Write a brief report of any problems you found.
  5. Use the Windows Task Manager to list all of the active processes on your computer. Search the Internet to identify the purpose of each process.
  6. Assume you have a server with about 120 gigabytes of data. Identify the hardware and software you could use to make backups. Be sure to specify the price and estimate the amount of time it will take to backup the data.
  7. Identify a tool (hardware or software) that provides VPN security. Briefly describe it and estimate the costs for implementing it at a company with 50 employees who want to access the company’s servers while traveling.

    8. Technology Toolbox

  8. Install a digital security certificate on your computer and send a digitally-signed message to your instructor.
  9. Read the information on the Thawte website about how users can be authenticated (Web of Trust). Briefly explain how the system works. Do you think this is a secure and reliable system?
  10. Research the current status of the U.S. Post Office EPM mail system. Explain what it does and how it is different from encrypted e-mail.
  11. If you have the appropriate network permissions, or using your own computer, create the Marketing group and three users on your computer. Create a folder and set the permissions so the Marketing group can access the files in the folder. Add your instructor to the group and include a test file that he or she can read.
  12. Check the security permissions on your computer—particularly the My Documents folder (or wherever you store most of your files). Is the folder secure or should you set different permissions?

    13. Teamwork

  13. Get a copy of PGP (or sign up for a free e-mail encryption key at Thwate). Write an e-mail message and send an encrypted copy to the other members of your team.
  14. Create a subdirectory on a computer that enables you to set access rights. Select a user or group and set permissions so members of that group can read the data but cannot change it. All other users (except yourself) cannot read the data.
  15. Conduct a small survey of students (not in your MIS class). Find out how often they back up their data, the last time they updated their operating systems, and how many of them have been infected by a virus in the last 6, 12, and 24 months.
  16. Your B2C company needs a privacy policy for data collected on the site. Remember that if you violate the policy, you could be fined. Have each person find a privacy policy. Compare the policies by matching sections and provisions. Use the combined results to create a new policy.
  17. Create a simple chart in a spreadsheet and encrypt it. Send a version to each person on your team using a different password/key so they can add a couple rows of data and return it. Combine the results into one spreadsheet. Comment on any problems you encountered.
  18. Each person should save a small Word document and encrypt it with a password. Exchange files with others in the group and see if you can guess the passwords to open the file. At least one person should pick a relatively easy password.

    19. Rolling Thunder Database

  19. What privacy problems might exist at Rolling Thunder? What rules or procedures should you enact to avoid problems? Write a privacy statement for the company.
  20. If Rolling Thunder Bicycles adds an Internet site to order bicycles and deal with customers, what security procedures should be implemented to protect the data?
  21. Research the costs and steps involved in setting up a secure Web server for Rolling Thunder that can be used to sell bicycles over the Internet.
  22. Write a disaster plan for Rolling Thunder. Identify how the backup tapes will be handled and the type of system you will need if a natural disaster hits.