I had heard of Ted Talks in passing but never truly knew what the site encompassed. The homework assignment for one of my classes this week was to pick any Ted Talks presentation, watch it and then write a blog about it. I went into this assignment less than enthused, however, I can now say that I have fallen in love with Ted Talks. While watching this and other Ted Talks videos, I was so engaged that I actually felt as though I was attending the conference.
The presentation I chose to review for this blog was entitled ‘Everyday cybercrime -- and what you can do about it’ by James Lyne. Lyne stayed true to the title of his presentation, by covering various types of cybercrime and providing a few helpful tips. This 17 minute presentation opened my eyes, made my jaw drop and caused me immediately double check my computer and iPhone security settings.
Lyne started the presentation with a short introduction and a joke, he then grabbed the audience’s attention by displaying some scary statistics and dispelling the myth about porn sites and viruses. With one line he had the audience hooked; ‘statistically speaking if you only visit porn sites you’re safer’. Throughout the presentation Lyne kept the presentation moving at a swift pace, I had to pause the video several times to finish my notes. He kept the audience's interest by displaying a plethora of photos, videos, screenshots and even a demonstration on how quick an attack can occur.
Between the slides and Lyne’s insertion of humor, the presentation was impossible to turn off. He wrapped up his presentation by asking the audience to think about ‘how much we are trading off convenience for privacy and security’. Lyne then left with a compelling plea to the audience to be aware, do the basics, step up their security. It sure worked because that's the first thing I did when the presentation ended.
