Blog Entry 7.1: IS Security

            In at least 8-10 sentences, explain how your company can be threatened by the 5  most common threats to information systems security.  Then explain how you can safeguard your information system from exposure to these threats.  Be sure to relate your discussion specifically to your company’s proposed information system.

 

•     In IS Security the 5 most common threats are Accidents & Natural Disasters, Employees & Consultants, Links to Outside Business Contacts, Outsiders/Hackers, and Viruses.  Accidents & Natural disasters can be threatened by this because if a natural disaster happens it can destroy all of our customer data for good.  The only safeguard that can help with this is backing up our information.  The next one Employees & Consultants can effect our Pharmacy because they have access to electronic files within our organization.  The safeguard for this would be Access Control Software, which is used to keep stored information secured.  Links to Outside Business contacts could be dangerous to the health of our company because our electronic information could be at risk when we send it between businesses.  The safeguards for this would be Firewalls & VPN.  Firewalls will add an extra level of security so our information is not easily taken.  VPN or Virtual Private Network does pretty much the same thing as a firewall, it adds extra security.  Next we have Outsiders/Hackers.  These individuals penetrate neworks and computers in order to snoop for information or cause damage.  In our case, this is a very bad thing if someone is trying to get a hold of another persons medical records.  The way to stop this is by having IDs.  Having IDs would limit the amount of people who were allowed in our secured areas.  Lastly Viruses or destructive programs that disrupt the normal functioning of computers.  In our case viruses can make it so our systems don't work which could easily put us out of business if we couldn't access our customers files.  The safeguard for viruses could be a firewall.  This would provide extra security for our information. 

Blog Entry 6.1- Web 2.0

—Explain in 5-8 sentences explaining how your company could utilize the Web 2.0 Pillars.  Name and define the pillars, then explain them in relation to your company.

         The 3 Pillars of Web 2.0 are Utilizing the Web As a Platform, Harnessing Collective Intelligence, Leveraging Data, and Implementing Innovative Web Capabilities.  By utilizing the web as a platform our business can use peer-to-peer technology to standardize how we access the web.  By harnessing collective intelligence we allow users to contribute to improve our content.  For example we could have a pharmacy forum where individuals go and make suggestions about different medicines.  By leveraging the data our business is successful because of its knowledge of medicines and products. Our company can implement innovative web capabilities to keep our business ahead of the game.  For example adding a Pharmacy Hot line we can make sure that customers are updated on our new and upcoming medicines and products.

Blog Entry 5.3

Explain how your company would use an intranet to offer services to its employees.  Use the terms extranet, VPN, firewall, client, server, and internet in your 3-5 sentence discussion.

         My company (Pharmacy) would use intranet to offer services to our employees by providing them with quality e-training, easily streamlined information and the sharing of files.  Like extranet, intranet also consists of a private network.  Protected by the Virtual Private Network or VPN and firewalls our intranet is highly protected.  All of the clients that we will be working with wil have to travel through all of our security before reaching our server. 

Blog Entry 4.4

Explain your ERD using the following terms : entity, attributes, attribute types, record, data types, database tables, and relationships

     My Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD) shown above shows how the Pharmacy is broken up.  Each entity has its own set of attributes.  Attributes are individual pieces of information about an entity.  The type of attribute in the database is known as the data type.  A collection of attributes in an ERD are known as records.  All of these are located on a database table.  This is where the collection of related data is stored in order to facilitate searches. 

Blog Entry 5.2

• ¨Explain how your company would use an extranet to do business with another business.  Use the terms extranet, VPN, firewall, client, server, and internet in your 3-5 sentence discussion.
  
   
   
             The diagram above is an extranet diagram.  Extranet enables 2 or more firms to use the internet to do business through use of VPN and firewall technologies.  VPN or Virtual Private Network is used to ensure transmission of proprietary information.  The Firewall or the gatekeeper is used to authenticate users and provide security.  In extranet the client must travel through the firewall and VPN to get to the server.  My company (the Pharmacy) can benefit from using the extranet because there is no special training needed and it reduces the number of misunderstandings.   

Blog Entry 4.3 - Packet Switching Technology

—Upload this image to your blog.  (Copy found in the folder on Angel)

 

—With a 5-10 sentence paragraph describe what is happening in this image.  Use the following terms : Router, client, server, IP address, IP datagram, packets, concurrent data transmission, TCP, IP, Packet-Switching Technology.  [Explain what is being sent and how]

      The diagram above is called packet-switching technology.  Messages are being divided into packets and sent between a client or clients to a server or servers.  IP and TCP are both involved in this process.  IP forwards the Packets from node to node (Routers).  TCP or Transmission control Protocol breaks information into packets.  The IP Datagram is a data packet that conforms to the IP specifications.  It also relies on the IP address.  The IP address is a unique address that is assigned to computers and routher.


   

Blog 5.1

CVS
Rule 1:  The Web site should offer something unique.  (4)

• I like the color scheme of this website.  It even has a sideshow to show the new products and upcoming sales.

 Rule 2:  The Web site must be aesthetically pleasing (4)

•  The CVS website is not crowded and has enough space so that the user is able to find what they are looking for without having a huge problem.  Also the color scheme of the website makes the website relaxing and less stressful to the user. 

Rule 3: The Web site must be easy to use and fast (5)

•  The Web site moves at a very good rate.  The traffic rate for the cvs.com website in the U.S is 780.  The average load time for this site is 1.34 seconds. 

Rule 4: The Web site must motivate people to visit, to stay, and to return (4)

•  This website would motivate people to visit, stay and return because it is constantly changing.  The sideshow has a different item being advertised daily.

Rule 5: You must advertise your presence on the Web (5)

•  The CVS website is advertised on over 2,000 different sites.  Also you can find links for this site on Google and Yahoo. 

Rule 6: You should learn from your Web site. (4)

• Most of the pages on this website are appealing to the user.  None of the pages would make a customer want to leave and never come back. 

Blog Entry 4.2 - A Basic Network

—Got to gliffy.com and draw a basic network.  Upload your diagram to your blog entry.

—Write a 5-10 sentence paragraph explaining your diagram using the following terms : server, client, transmission medium, protocols, digitizing, wireless media, cable media and bandwidth.

      The more advanced microprocessor on the left which stores more memory than the others is called the server.  The workstations or PC's on the right are called clients.  They are the ones that request services.  To send data between the server and clients you need what is called transmission data.  Transmission data is the physical pathway for sending data.  There are two ways you can do this through either wired or wireless connections.  Protocols are the rules used to dictate the communication between them.  The amount of capacity allowed between the server and client is bandwidth. 

Blog Entry 4.1 - IFS H/W Infrastructure

     The image above is showing how information is translated into binary code so the computer can manipulate and store the information.  The image starts off with the computer showing the word "HELLO" on the monitor.  It then goes on to show how the computer changes this word into 8-bit binary code (American Standard Code For Information Interchange) or ASCII.  Once this is finished it is stored inside of the computers system unit and is stored inside of the registers.  The reason the computer cannot just read the word "HELLO" as H-E-L-L-O is because the computer can only understand on or off, therefore the computer must use its machine language of 1's and 0's in order to understand.  The process of inputting something in your computer starts with the person using an input technology (keyboard, mouse etc.) to key something into the computer.  Next, the computer will use processing technologies (ALU, Control Unit and Registers) in order to break down the information that has been given. The ALU or Arithmetic Logic Unit is used to do all of the Arithmetic aspects on the information.  The Control Unit is to schedule when things in the computer need to take place.  The Registers are used for internal memory inside the computer.  Lastly, the information is converted to output technology and is shown or heard on an output device (Monitor, Printer, Speaker).

Blog Entry 2.1: Global Picture Sharing: Flickr

-Read the case study at the end of the chapter about Flickr.com

-Explain the Services
-List the enablers

1.  Flickr is one of the easiest and most popular photo sharing websites online.  This website makes it capable for individuals all around the world to upload pictures of events that they attend so that other people who were not at the event can witness what happened.

3 Enablers of Flickr are

• Uploading- This enabler is the most important to this website.  The reason that uploading is most important is because without it Flickr would not be an online photo sharing website.  Uploading allows individuals to put pictures on the internet for others to see.

• In-Forming - With the use of this enabler individuals would be able to use popular search engines such as; Google, Yahoo and Bing in order to find pictures that others had put on the internet.  

• Steroids - In the 21st century modern technology is making it easier for individuals to take pictures and immediately have the option to post pictures in a blog or on a website (i.e Facebook or Photobucket).

Blog Entry 1.3: Organizational Chart

 

     My Organizational Chart is broken into the various branches within an information system.  This positions include, but are not limited to; Support, Development, and Maintenance.

     The job roles that I chose as being the most important were Chief Information Officer (CIO), Computer Programmer, Database Administrator (DBA), and Information Systems Auditor.  The CIO is the highest-ranking information systems manager, therefore being the most important.  The computer programmer would be the person who makes sure that all of the systems are up and running correctly.  The DBA is responsible for managing the database and database management software that our company will use.  The information systems auditor supervises the testing of our internal information systems.  These are the jobs that I would consider the most important for our business. 

Blog Entry 2.2 - Automobile Industry

Summary

     Globalization is taking over the automobile industry.  The "flattening" of the world is resulting in a decrease in national markets and even causing some products to disappear entirely.  In the 1990's there were 3 attempts to create the "world car."  Between Honda, Ford, and GM none of these brands could sell as well as they wanted in North America, Asia and Europe.  The reason for this is that everyone in the world does not want the same thing in their cars.  The world car may be developed but only after the world becomes more globalized.




1.  How is Globalization 3.0 fueling change in the auto industry?

•  Globalization 3.0 fueling changed the auto industry because the world is becoming more homogeneous.  Distinctions between national markets are fading and some products are disappearing entirely. 

2.  Examine how cultural differences make it difficult to create a world car.

• Cultural differences make it difficult to create a world car because different places around the world are focused on various things in their vehicles.  For example some areas like small cars compared to bigger cars.  Also the price of gasoline differs around the world, therefore the "world car" cannot be fuel efficient everywhere.

Blog Entry 3.2: Building A Business Case

1. Give three types of arguments for why your company's decision maker should decide to implement your proposed information system changes.
2. Use arguments based on Faith, Fear, and Fact.

Fact (intelligent system) - By introducing the intelligent system to our company we are now able to increase the speed of organizing our medicine by double our previous rate. 

Faith (Functional Area Information System) - Although we may not be able to support using this information system very well, we feel that by implementing the functional area information system we will be able to make it easier for customers to be able to pick up their medicine in a quick and timely fashion...just trust us.

Fear (Transaction Processing System) - This information system is crucial in continuing our business.  If we do not implement this transaction processing system soon our competition will run us out of business...It's either now or never.

Blog Entry 3.1: Value Chain Analysis

Order Medicine - (Supply Chain Management)  This Information System allows us to to communicate with our suppliers for medicine and supplies we need in order to run our business.

Make a list of patients... - (Functional area information systems) This Information System is for supporting the activities within our business, such as, making the list of patients.

Organize Medicine - (Intelligent System)  Thus Information System enhances what humans would usually do for our business in order to provide a faster pace in our business. 

Bag up Medicine for Customer - (Manual)  This process would still be done by a human.

Customer Pays - (Transaction Processing) - This Information System is something that we will use day-to-day in order to have our customers pay for their medicine and for our business to stay organized. 

Human Resources-

Computer Technicians - This Support Function helps us by making sure that our computers are working so that we are able to keep our medicine and customers organized.

Blog Entry 1.2

Name 3 things you would want to track data for in tour company.  Explain how the data can be defined as data, information, knowledge and wisdom.

 1.

• Data: Customers

• Information
• Customer Code ( i.e 2468)
• Name
• Phone Number
• Gender
• Method of Payment
• Address
• Products
• Knowledge
• 2-468 => Bart Smith

• Wisdom
• Type of medicine they need
• When they come to pick up Meds
• How much medicine they need

2.

• Data: Medicine

• Information
• Name
• Item Code (i.e 123456)
• Amount of Med
• Side Effects
• Knowledge
•  12-3456 => Ibupofen

• Wisdom
• Who the medicine belongs to
• How much of that medicine there is
• The side effects of that medicine

3.

• Data: Employees

• Information
• Name
• Employee Code (i.e 3691)
• Salary
• Work Hours
• Total Hours Worked
• Knowledge
• 36-91 => Janice Smith
• Wisdom
• Who worked how many hours
• How much that person gets paid
• That persons work hours
• The name of that person

Blog Entry 1.1: Fictional Company Introduction

1.
 Name: PharmaChoice
 Size: Worldwide
 Location: Ferrum, VA
 # of Employees:  280,000






2.  How do they do business/ Make money
   We here at PharmaChoice try to conduct the most organized and easy business around.  With over 280,000 employees we are able to have very fast and accurate transactions.