Week 3: Practical 2
For Practical 2, we were required to conduct research on a a topic chosen from a list of given topics. I chose "Discuss the usage of 2-Factor Authentication in the banking industry". Here are my links:
Personal/Subject-based:
http://2factor.blogspot.com/
Personal/Subject-based:
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/10/us_regulators_r.html
Organisational/Subject-based:
http://www.dsssasia.com/htmdocs/products/a_server/a_server_overview.htm
Subject-based:
http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/tip/0,289483,sid14_gci1168308,00.html
Each of these websites have security in general as the chief topic. However, the way that the information is presented in is slightly different by the different "owners". Personal websites are usually written in the manner in which the writer is most comfortable in, sometimes including emotions. Organisational websites are more objective, with neutral words preferred over emotional words. However, this is not true in the case of companies promoting their products.
Last but not least, there are the subject-based websites, Such websites are usually concerned with specific areas of focus. These websites can also overlap with personal and organisational websites.
Through this exercise, it is clear that websites may vary sharply. Prior to this, I had no idea that websites could be categorized in this manner, and indeed, I have gained much from this exercise. By knowing the category a website belongs to, Internet users can make a more informed choice about the accuracy of the information that they are viewing.
With all of the differences, it can sometimes be difficult to pick out which categories a website might belong to. However, with a keen eye for detail, anyone can soon tell one website from another. And this is the lesson to be learnt from this week's lab session.
