Project 3 ~ Access Nation

The movie was about a crime that was organized but was also solved using the use of technology, specifically computer technology. It was about a murderer who stalked his prey, and was able to find out all his prey’s action through the use of a “computer worm” that was handed out to the murderer by an organization, access nation, which helps provide normal people of information regarding anyone they want to know about on.


The issue in this movie is whether it was possible or not to be able to stalk someone using computer technology and the answer is yes. It is very much possible and is currently happening to a lot of people nowadays. Cases about people losing money from their bank, increase in debts in credit cards, and stalkers which receives access of you through sniffed information exists. This is made possible due to computer malware that was specially designed to do a certain programmed thing to track whatever it is that you are doing in your computer. Such malware are worms, viruses, Trojans, and key loggers.


What a worm does is it’s a program that self replicates itself by sending emails to people in your MS outlook address books, or disrupt bandwidth, disrupt a website by using your computer as host for spam. It is originally built to help rather than disrupt or destroy. It was actually originally made to help machine run more efficiently. A virus is similar to a worm. Only that it does not self-replicate itself but attaches itself to a program in your system, crash your system, and if not, does harm to your computer. A Trojan is also a malware, but masks itself as a useful application but actually downloads viruses, worms, other more Trojans, and key loggers.


A key logger is a program that records every keystroke that you type in your computer. It may record bank passwords, credit card information, and any other private information that you would like to keep just for yourself. Manually, a key logger program can be installed and viewed manually by the person who installed it. Many of the hack cases of credit cards, bank accounts, and game accounts is because of key loggers. In stalking, a key logger is used to record chat logs of a stalker’s pray such that when a person types using his keyboard a date and a place he/she wants to go to, a key logger is able to log it and possibly, automatically send it to an email or another computer. If installed manually, it may be downloaded freely from hacking websites and the like. On the other hand, it can also be configured to install itself remotely when packed together with malware, which is what the murderer in the movie did.


The thing about the Magic Lantern is also real. The Magic Lantern is a key logging software program developed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Magic Lantern can be installed remotely through email attachments or exploiting common OS vulnerabilities just like what I described in the previous paragraph.


Another issue in the movie is whether a company, like access nation, which sells information to normal people, exists. The answer is yes but they only exist in the black market. No legal company should have the right to sell the privacy of others if it is not about terrorism and the like. Just as what had happened to the movie, the act of doing so is dangerous and will surely compromise lives of a lot of people. Also, as what was shown in the movie, all things that the client do will be a responsibility of the company as to why no one risks on going on such business.





______________Sources:

Worm, Virus, Trojan
http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/2004/virus.asp

Computer Worm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_worm

Info about Keylogger
http://www.en.articlesgratuits.com/keylogger-someones-watching-you- id423.php

Keylogger worm
http://www.albany.edu/its/alarm_alert_121605-01.htm

Magic Lantern – FBI Trojan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Lantern_(software)