Macbeth Essays (790 words) - Characters In Macbeth,

Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth In this play Macbeth portrays a man in position doing the usual, searching for more power. Macbeth is a young prosperous, ambitious man that is out to fulfill a prophecy. Maybe he is a little too ambitious. At first he wasnt the murderous type. His wife Lady Macbeth was pretty much behind the whole thing. She convinced him that he should kill King Duncan so he could claim the throne. It might be his character but it doesnt truly come out till he has Banquo killed. It appears that he doesnt really care what happens to his friends. He first kills King Duncan and then to cover up his crime he must lower himself even more to kill his close friend Banquo. It makes no sense how someone could possibly kill someone close to them just because they might threaten your position and power in the world. One question that comes to mind is that if Lady Macbeth hadnt been there would Macbeth have committed the murders. She had a lot of influence in this man. For someone to murder somebody be cause they were told to would be blind obedience and they are still responsible no matter what. All the killing must get to Macbeth in some way or another. Macbeth seems like a good person but he is driven by power and wealth pretty much like most people in the world now days. In this can be seen the downward cycle of his life into destruction due to his lack of character. Instead of being driven on conviction he was driven by power, wealth, and the influence of evil people around him. Macbeth who started out to be a man of honor and integrity was destroyed and corrupted by his major flaw ambition and influenced deeply by his wife Lady Macbeth. Even though he ends up conscience-stricken he ends up in utter degradation in order to cover up his sins. This section talks about the effects drinking has on a person. Macduff: What three things does drink especially pro- voke? Porter: Marry, sir, nose-painting, sleep, and urine. Lechery, sir, it provokes and unprovokes; it provokes the desi re, but it takes away the performance: therefore much drink may be said to be an equivocator with lechery: it makes him and it mars him; it sets him on and it takes him off; it persuades him and disheartens him; makes him stand to and not stand to; in conclusion, equivocates him in a sleep, and giving him the lie, leaves him. This section is basically telling some different things that can happen to you when you are drunk. Specifically three things are mentioned. First of all it provokes the desire, but it takes away the performance. Second it makes him and it mars him. Third it persuades him and disheartens him. The verses that will be compared with this passage will be found in Proverbs. The first one is Proverbs 23:29-30 and it says, Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? Who hath babbling? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes? Both passages tell you what the effects of liquor are and caution you of it. The next passage I chose is Proverbs 23:35, it says `they hit me, you will say, `but Im not hurt! They beat me, but I dont feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink? When someone drinks they loose any real common sense they have. For example someone can forget where he or she are or whom they are with or even what they are doing in that particular place. The last verse that will be used in this comparison will be Proverbs 23:32. It says, In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. No matter how much what kind of liquor you drinks it will still be harmful to you. Gods word warns us that all liquor will eventually be harmful. Drinking can separate you from your family. It can cause you to be violent when you it is not necessary to be violent. It can make you sick, like a headache, stomachache, or it can make you

Essay Topics That Will Help You Learn How to Write a Best Argumentative Essay

Essay Topics That Will Help You Learn How to Write a Best Argumentative EssayKnowing how to write a best argumentative essay is one of the keys to landing the best jobs in our economy. Most students are taught about writing skills, but very few are taught about essay topics that are quite effective in conveying and supporting a particular point of view. The answer to this question is simple: you must study the right type of topic for your subject. If you don't, the job you want will probably be located in another city or state!Before you can start writing your best argumentative essay, you need to get an idea of the kinds of topics that are out there. The fact of the matter is that no matter what type of career you may have, employers will not choose a topic that will embarrass them or make them look bad. When you go looking for your best argumentative essay topics, you will find that most are unsolicited by professionals within the area in which you want to work. They are always in need of talented writers to help them with their projects.Essays are made up of three parts - your topic, a beginning of an argument, and a conclusion. In order to get started on your project, you must find the topic. There are many types of topics to choose from, including -The easiest and fastest way to learn the differences between essay topics and learning how to write a best argumentative essay is to use e-books. These e-books are large in size and cover all of the topics that are important to students in their studies. In addition, they contain exercises that are designed to make sure that you are well prepared before writing your assignment.These e-books that provide essay topics include everything that you will need to know to write the perfect essay. You will find lots of examples of each topic to get you started. You will also have access to articles, TV news reports, and other related resources as you move along in your research and writing.Finding essay topics can be cha llenging at times. The truth is that the two ways to do it are different. Some employers prefer to have the essay focus on something that will not embarrass them, and therefore have written all of the material to go with that specific topic. This is definitely the more traditional way to write and create an essay.If you would like to find essay topics that would fit your skill set, then you should look for essay topics that are completely informational and provide plenty of factual information. This will allow you to come up with a strong point of view that will inform the reader of the viewpoint you have. This style is going to be more effective if you are writing from personal experience rather than making generalizations or general statements.So, the next time you are looking for essay topics, consider an essay topic that will not embarrass you or make you look bad. You may want to consider writing for the topics of special education, advertising, government agencies, scientific research, health care, or legal research. Whatever you decide to write about, be sure to remember that you must get an idea of the topics that are out there.

Nation of Islam Essay Example

Nation of Islam Essay Example Nation of Islam Essay Nation of Islam Essay Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in Omaha. Nebraska in 1925. He was born to a curate male parent that was a protagonist of Black Nationalist Movement leader Marcus Garvey. which resulted in Malcolm sing favoritism and racial hate from an early age. His male parent was killed and his place burned when Malcolm was immature. and Malcolm was jailed in his early mid-twentiess after several quarrels with the jurisprudence following his father’s decease. He joined the State of Islam in piece in prison. and when he was paroled in 1952 he was named the national spokesman for the Nation of Islam. Malcolm X was an vocal. articulate. magnetic adult male that used telecasting. wireless. and every other signifier of media available to convey the Nation’s message. He preached for hawkish stance in the black community and for equal rights for African Americans. by any agencies necessary . This firm stance and hawkish attitude made some see Malcolm as a menace and he was followed under FBI surveillance until he was assassinated in 1965. He used his personal appeal and his steadfast beliefs to do the message of the Nation of Islam good known in America and to convey the issue of African American rights to the head of American consciousness. His mission subsequently transformed from contending for African American rights to contending for equal human rights for every race. and he enforced the same hawkish stance with his new message. Mahatma Gandhi was a human rights leader like Malcolm X but he delivered his message in a really different manner. Born Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. he was given the name Mahatma because it means. great soul . He was born in British-ruled India and practiced jurisprudence in South Africa which was besides ruled by Britain. While in South Africa he began a twenty-year run for Indian freedom. Alternatively of X’s activist. nonmoving attack. Gandhi practiced and taught the rules of non-violent opposition. He believed it was more honorable to be jailed for one’s cause than to make force. He besides practiced fasting as a manner of conveying his message of peace and non-violence. He returned to India after twenty old ages and became the leader of the Indian Nationalist Movement. After India was declared independent in 1947. it was divided into India and Pakistan and the two states rioted against one another. Gandhi began a fast to promote the leaders to halt combat. After he fasted for five yearss. the combat stopped and the states were at peace until Gandhi was assassinated shortly after. Until his decease. Gandhi epitomized his message to. Be the alteration you want to see in the world . He saw no value in force. and thought that the message of non-violence as a manner of protest could convey tolerance. peace and integrity more efficaciously than any violent act could. Despite the alteration in his topographic point of abode and the political clime of his state he stayed true to his message of peace and integrity.

2200+ SAT Scorers Should You Retake the New SAT for a Perfect 1600

2200+ SAT Scorers Should You Retake the New SAT for a Perfect 1600 SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Did you recently get your SAT scores back and do, well, amazing? If you got above a 2200, you should proud – you’re in the top 2% of test scorers. In fact, you’re in the top 1% with a score of 2220 and up. (For the New SAT, any score higher than 1480 is likely to put you in the top 1%, but we will have to wait a few months for percentile data.) But if you’re a perfectionist, you might be wondering, "Since I did so well, shouldn't I try to retake the SAT for a perfect 1600?" We will help you decide if an SAT retake is right for you. Where Are You Applying? The main thing to consider when deciding to retake the SAT is where you want to apply for college. If you’re planning on attending a local university or a school that’s not super-selective, your score is already more than fine and you shouldn’t worry about retaking the test. (Your high SAT score will likely be important for merit scholarships, which we will discuss below.) However, if you’re applying to ultra-selective schools – think the Ivy Leagues, Stanford, or MIT – a retake might be worth it. We'll explore the reasons why below. Most Selective Schools (Top 15) If you’re aiming for top schools, it’s worth it to get to a 2300 (or about 1530 on the New SAT) or higher. But once you’re past 2300/1530, any score increases won’t dramatically improve your chances of admission, so you should focus on the rest of your application. So if you have a 2360, don’t worry about retaking the SAT. If you have a 2200, and want to apply to top schools, consider retaking it to get above the 1530 threshold. Our rule of thumb is this:try to aim for the 75th percentile of the school's SAT score ranges.Because the admission rate is so low at these selective schools, getting a higher score can raise your chance of success. In terms of percentiles, 2220 and higher puts you in the top 1% of scorers in the nation, as we discussed above. However, the higher your composite score, the rarer it is, helping you stand out in the admissions process. If your score is between 2200 – 2300, more students earn that score each year, above 20,000 nationally. But if you get a 2300 and higher, only about 8,800 other students have such a high score. If you’re 2350 and higher, only 3000 other students are on your level. So the higher your score, the more you will stand out in a very competitive applicant pool, because fewer applicants will have a score as high as yours. (Again, we don't have data yet for the New SAT, but if the basic principle will likely remain the same: the higher your SAT score, the rarer it will be.) This is especially important for top colleges, whose admitted students have incredibly high SAT scores. How do we know this? Colleges release data about their admissions cycles, including the average SAT scores of applicants. They release the middle 50% score range – the SAT scores that the middle 50% of applicants had. You want to pay attention to the numbers at the top of the ranges.With a score at the top of that middle 50% range, you've scored higher than 75% of successful applicants. A score in that range will put you towards the top of the applicant pool in terms of test scores, rather than in the middle or the lower end. Being towards the top of the pool increases your chances of admission, while being within range but closer to the bottom makes your admission less likely. Let’s take a look at the middle 50% ranges for some ultra-selective colleges to see just how competitive they are. Note: these middle 50% ranges still use old SAT scores (scores out of 2400), since the most recent group of applicants only had the old SAT available. It will be at least a year before colleges are able to include the new SAT in their admissions data. Because of this, focus on the Math and Reading sections to estimate a target new SAT composite score goal for each school. Stanford SAT Critical Reading 680-780 SAT Math 700-790 SAT Writing 690-790 Source: Stanford Common Data Set As you can see, if you have section scores in the high 700s (which would give you a 2300/1570 or higher composite), you have scores in line with their top admitted students. Getting to the top of the pool is crucial to stand out in Stanford’s application process. Just over 5% of their applicants got in last year. Obviously, even a perfect score won’t guarantee admission, as Stanford turns away perfect scorers every year. But, the higher your score, the less likely you are to get put aside. Harvard SAT Critical Reading: 700-800 SAT Math: 710-800 SAT Writing: 710-800 Source: Harvard Common Data Set Note that for Harvard, since the middle 50% ranges are basically between 700 and 800, the top 25% of their admitted students have perfect 800s. Section scores in the high 700s or 800 will put you in line with their top admits, and thus make your application very competitive. Basically, the closer to a perfect 1600 you get, the more competitive you will be. Yale SAT Critical Reading: 720-800 SAT Math: 710-800 SAT Writing: 710-790 Source: Yale Fact Sheet Similar to Harvard and Stanford, Yale’s middle 50% ranges are very impressive. The closer to 800 your section scores are, the closer to the top of Yale’s applicant pool you will be, and the more competitive you will become. MIT SAT Critical Reading: 690-790 SAT Math: 750-800 SAT Writing: 700-790 Source: MIT Admissions Statistics Note that for MIT, their math score range is especially high. 75% of the admits have a 750 or higher math score. This means that if your math score is 750 or lower, it would be wise to retake the SAT and aim for a perfect 800 in math, or as close as possible. If your composite is 2300 but with a lower math score (for example 800 Critical Reading, 800 Writing, 700 Math), you should definitely retake the SAT for a higher math score. Princeton SAT Critical Reading: 690-790 SAT Math: 710-800 SAT Writing: 710-790 Source: Princeton Admission Statistics Princeton has similar ranges to Harvard, Stanford, and Yale. They also list statistics for the admit rate of applicants with different score ranges: 2300-2400 Admit Rate: 14.5% 2100-2290 Admit Rate: 8.1% So while Princeton is still very competitive even with a 2300+ SAT, note that your chances of admission almost double if you have a 2300 or higher versus the next step down, 2100-2290. So if you're in the 2100-2290 range, it could be worth it to retake the SAT and aim for at least a 1530. Selective Schools (Top 15-50) If you're aiming for selective but not top 15 schools, a 2200 or higher is already towards the top of the applicant pool, and you likely shouldn't worry about retaking the SAT. We have listed some examples below of middle 50% ranges for these schools to give you an idea of where your score stands. You can look up this data for any school you are interested in by searching â€Å"[Name of College/University] Common Data Set.† University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) SAT Composite: 1930-2250 Source: UCLA Freshmen Profile 2015 Tufts SAT Critical Reading: 680-760 SAT Math: 680-760 SAT Writing: 690-760 Source: Tufts Common Data Set University of Virginia SAT Critical Reading: 620-720 SAT Math: 630-740 SAT Writing: 620-720 Source: University of Virginia Common Data Set Georgetown SAT Critical Reading: 660-760 SAT Math: 660-760 SAT Writing: Not considered Source: Georgetown Common Data Set For all of these schools, note that if your section scores are in the low to mid 700s, which you likely have if your composite is 2200+, you are well within range for admission. If your composite is 2250, with an average of 750 per section, you have about the same score as the top 25% of admitted students. So if you got a 2200 or higher SAT score and you’re not aiming for the most selective colleges, don’t worry about retaking it. Your odds of admission are already strong for selective colleges. Instead, focus on the rest of your application. Consider Scholarships Another factor in deciding to retake the SAT is scholarships. Many scholarships, both private and University-sponsored ones, use SAT scores as cut-offs. So your SAT score could be important not just for admission, but for paying for college – especially at large universities and state schools. Your SAT score can translate into thousands of dollars to pay for college. In many cases, the higher your SAT score, the higher your merit scholarship will be. Check out our post on merit scholarships for more info. For large, full-ride scholarships with separate applications, the higher your SAT score is, the better. Some state universities have scholarships that are as difficult to get as getting into a top college. If you’re aiming for that sort of scholarship, retaking the SAT to be above 2300 would be smart, but once you hit 2300, it’s unlikely a score increase would dramatically improve your chances. Also consider your individual subject scores. Many scholarships consider just Math and Critical Reading. If you got 800s in those and, say, a 700 in writing (for a 2300 total), you are more than good to go for those scholarships. However, if your score breakdown was Math 680, CR 800, Writing 800, that below-700 math score could possibly cost you a higher scholarship, depending on the school. If there is a scholarship that has an ultra-high cut-off at one of your top choice schools, consider taking the SAT again. If not, focus on making sure the rest of your application is strong, as many merit scholarships consider your whole application. Action Step Look up schools you are interested in to see what type of merit scholarships they have. Chances are your SAT is already high enough for their scholarship cut-offs, and you should focus on keeping your GPA and/or class rank high. (For a guide on how to search for merit scholarships, see our automatic scholarships article.) Is It Worth The Time To Try Again? Another important consideration if you’re thinking of retaking the SAT is if you have enough time to commit to a retake. You’ll have to study and practice for your second time. You definitely shouldn’t just walk in and retake it – you’ll likely make the same mistakes and get a similar score, or even a lower one. You need to study carefully, identify the weak spots that caused you to miss points the first time, and work to be as close to perfect as possible. In addition, you'll have to learn all about the New SAT and how to study for the redesigned test. This could come at the expense of other things important to your application, like extracurriculars, or essays if you are in your senior fall. If you manage to get a 1600 but submit a sub-par essay, your overall chances of admission will not increase very much. Also, remember your transcript and GPA are another very important piece of your application. As Yale says on their undergraduate admissions website, â€Å"The admissions committee is primarily concerned with what kind of Yale student you will be. So it is very important that we see a high level (or an improving degree) of rigor and success throughout your high school years. This includes your senior year. If you wish to make your application among the most competitive, you must take a challenging senior program and continue to excel in it.† Translation: taking tough courses and doing well matters, especially senior year. If your GPA drops because you were studying for an SAT retake, you could hurt your chances, even if you end up with a higher SAT score. Bottom line? Think carefully about your schedule and other commitments before deciding to retake the SAT. What If Your Score Decreases? Although you’re hoping for the best-case scenario of retaking the SAT and getting a higher score, you need to think about what your application will look like with a second, lower score – which is well within the range of possibility. Some students score lower on their second try on the SAT, even with studying. This could be because they psych themselves out – for example, finding errors in the writing section when the answer is â€Å"No Error,† or triple-checking one math problem, causing them to run out of time on another. Remember, if you’re at a 2300, you only have 100 points to gain, but many more potential points to lose. Colleges will look at your highest scores, but in some cases they request that you send all scores to them – which means they will have an effect on your application and chances. As an example, Stanford requires you to send all scores: â€Å"Official scores from all test dates must be sent to Stanford directly from the ACT or the College Board (the reporting agency for the SAT) or both if the applicant has taken the ACT and the SAT. Applicants may not use the College Board's Score Choice feature or "hide" any scores with either testing agency.† Yale has a similar policy. However, some schools do allow Score Choice – an option that allows you to send only your highest SAT scores. For example, â€Å"You are free to use the College Board’s Score Choice option and/or the similar option offered by ACT when applying toHarvard.† Princeton and MIT accept Score Choice as well. Action Step Look up your top-choice schools and see if they accept Score Choice or not. If they don’t, keep in mind retaking the SAT and getting a lower score could affect your chances of admission. Also Consider Subject Tests Another factor to consider is SAT Subject Tests. Many top tier schools either require them or heavily recommend them. Getting high subject test scores will also be important for admission to top schools. If you already have a strong SAT score, it might be worth your time to focus on getting strong SAT subject test scores to round out your application. Bottom Line If your score is above a 2300, you should not worry about retaking the SAT, even if you’re aiming for top schools. One exception is if you have math score below 750 and you are aiming for admission to top engineering schools like MIT or CalTech. If you have a score between 2200-2300, it would make sense to retake the SAT if you are applying to the very top schools. If you’re not applying to top schools, check to see if any merit scholarships at schools you are applying for have SAT cut-offs or averages higher than your score. If not, don’t worry about retaking the SAT, and start working on the rest of your application. What’s Next? We mentioned taking SAT subject tests. Learn about what kinds of scores you need for the Ivy League as well as which colleges officially require them. If you decide to go for a retake, definitely read our guide by our 2400 full-scorer about getting a perfect SAT score. These are the principles you’ll need to get to the perfect score. You should also read our complete guide to the New SAT to understand the changes the test will undergo in March 2016. Learn more about SAT percentiles and where you stand based on your current scores. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points?We have the industry's leading SAT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and SAT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so you get the most effective prep possible. Check out our 5-day free trial today:

Reading critically and interpreting literature Term Paper

Reading critically and interpreting literature - Term Paper Example The Yellow Wallpaper, published in 1892 and written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, charts a young woman's development into deep depression, enabled by her well-intentioned but misguided husband, who is a doctor. The main character, who remains nameless (but may be called Jane, as a reference at the very end of the story, and she will be referred to as such in this essay at times), struggles against the popular contemporary concept of the 'rest cure,' a 'medical' treatment for the â€Å"temporary nervous depression – a slight hysterical tendency† (Perkins Gilman) which nineteenth-century women were frequently diagnosed with. Her gender- and educational-based fight is against the system, represented by her husband, for a cure which is catered to her own wants and needs rather than a blanket treatment which oppresses her and worsens her condition. Yukio Mishima's 1966 Patriotism also focuses on a woman's struggle, although his is a very different perspective. Written in the third person, unlike The Yellow Wallpaper which is from the main character's point of view, Patriotism records the evening of a happily married couple's suicide pact, in grim and gory detail. Reiko and her husband reduce their world to their small house, decrease the world's population to just themselves, and then struggle wordlessly against their own concepts of a peaceful death, both mentally and physically. Their passive acceptance of a frightening situation, a reflection of Mishima's complicated feelings on contemporary Japanese morality, resists the classification of a 'struggle,' and a critic is forced to admit that the story's struggle is deeper than vocalization. It appears that it is a tract against suicide, but the author's deep-seated, somewhat twisted love for his country, and the fact that he also chose to commit seppuku, is difficult to reconcile with the repellent nature of this amazingly-written story. Mishima was also an ardent supporter of the samurai honor code. L ike the narrator of The Yellow Wallpaper, Reiko's struggle is both gender- and educationally-based, although her experience is more totally a reflection of Mishima's internal problems rather than a struggle of her own. This essay will show how setting, tone and irony in The Yellow Wallpaper and Patriotism reveal the struggles enacted through their main women characters, and how these stories reflect their author's respective fears. The setting of The Yellow Wallpaper becomes the focus of Jane's struggle against her husband's medical and frankly misogynistic beliefs. It is is the most important motif of the story, in that the narrator believes that the cause of her descent into madness is the wallpaper – its colour, pattern and even its smell. The narrator and her husband have taken â€Å"ancestral halls† (Perkins Gilman) as their summer holiday home; the â€Å"place has been empty for years† (Perkins Gilman) and as such, presumably, is old and run-down. Jane is enclosed in the large room at the top of the house, even though she fervently expressed a desire to stay in one of the rooms downstairs. The old, â€Å"atrocious† (Perkins Gilman) yellow room both entraps her and symbolizes that entrapment: John coerces her to stay alone in the room, on the basis of his educational and emotional authority, against her will. Just as the protagonist cannot overcome him, nor can she fight against the mores of the society which dismisses her

Decolonization in West Africa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Decolonization in West Africa - Essay Example The integration of nationalism was critical to the expression of hatred or dislike, as well as hostility against the foreign rule. It was vital to express these hostilities by individuals’ conscious of their national hood. The rise and development of African Nationalism were because of the internal and external factors. The internal factors were prevalent in Africa, thus massive or enormous contribution to the growth of patriotism in Africa. Some of these factors include colonial exploitation, roles of the African elites, the creation of imperialism, starring role of ex-soldiers, the influence of WACU, and formation or generation of civil entities.On the other hand, certain external factors such as the starring influence of Pan-African institutions, the US influence, implications of the UN, and effects of the WWII on African ex-soldiers did play critical roles in the rapid growth of African patriotism. These factors were essential in ensuring that African Nationalism was adequ ate in influencing the journey of African nations toward the achievement or realization of independence against the foreign or colonial rule. There were three critical approaches toward achievement of independence. That is through the integration of peaceful approach, war, and revolution. These approaches were vital in gaining independence from the colonial rule. In the first approach, a peaceful approach focused on the integration of peaceful protests, which were slow and steady toward winning the race to create change or realize independence.

The Basics Of Trapdoor Hacking Information Technology Essay

The Basics Of Trapdoor Hacking Information Technology Essay For a programmer, trap doors make sense. If the programmer needs to modify the program sometime in the future, he can use the trap door instead of having to go through all of the normal, customer-directed protocols just to make the change. Trap doors should be closed or eliminated in the final version of the program after all testing is complete, but, intentionally or unintentionally, some are left in place. Other trap doors may be introduced by error and only later discovered by crackers who are roaming around, looking for a way into system programs and files. Typical trap doors use such system features as debugging tools, program exits that transfer control to privileged areas of memory, undocumented application calls and parameters, and many others. Trap doors make obvious sense to expert computer criminals as well, whether they are malicious programmers or crackers. Trap doors are an easy way to get into a system or to gain access to privileged information or to introduce viruses or other unauthorized programs into the system. Cases In 1993 and 1994, an unknown group of computer criminals repetitively broke into systems on the Internet using passwords captured by password sniffers. Once on the system, they exploited software flaws to gain privileged access. They installed modified login and network programs that allowed them reentry even if the original passwords were changed. In 1996, Philip Myers described the insertion and exploitation of back doors as subversion in his MSc thesis at the Naval Postgraduate School.   He pointed out that subversion, unlike penetration attacks, can begin at any phase of the system development life cycle, including design, implementation, distribution, installation and production. Donn B. Parker described interesting back-door cases in some papers (no longer available) from the 1990s.   For example, a programmer discovered a back door left in a FORTRAN compiler by the writers of the compiler. This section of code allowed execution to jump from a regular program file to code stored in a data file. The criminal used the back door to steal computer processing time from a service bureau so he could execute his own code at other users expense.   In another case, remote users from Detroit used back doors in the operating system of a Florida timesharing service to find passwords that allowed unauthorized and unpaid access to proprietary data and programs. Even the US government has attempted to insert back doors in code. In September 1997, Congress proposed legislation to ban domestic US encryption unless the algorithm included a back door allowing decryption on demand by law enforcement authorities moved famed Ron Rivest to satire.   The famed co-inventor of the Public Key Cryptosystem and founder of RSA Data Security Inc. pointed out that some people believe the Bible contains secret messages and codes, so the proposed law would ban the Bible. More recently, devices using the Palm operating system (PalmOS) were discovered to have no effective security despite the password function.   Apparently developer tools supplied by Palm allow a back-door conduit into the supposedly locked data. Dumpster Diving What is Dumpster Diving? Dumpster diving is a name given to a very simple type of security attack, which is scavenging through materials that have been thrown away, as shown below. This type of attack isnt illegal in any obvious way. If papers are thrown away, it means that nobody wants them, right? Dumpster diving also isnt unique only to computer facilities. All kinds of sensitive information ends up in the trash, and industrial spies through the years have used this method to get information about their competitors. http://oreilly.com/catalog/crime/chapter/f_02_01.gif Dumpster Diving in Process There is another type of computer-related trash that we might not consider. In the system itself are files that have been deleted, but that havent actually been erased from the system. Computers and users used only to save data, not destroying it, and sometimes some data is saved that shouldnt be saved. Electronic trashing is easy because of the way that systems typically delete data. Usually, deleting a file, a disk, or a tape doesnt actually delete data, but simply rewrites a header record. Using MS-DOS, for example, a file can be deleted via the DEL command, however, someone else can retrieve the contents of the file simply by running UNDELETE. System utilities are available that make it easy to retrieve files that may seem to be completely gone. Although there are methods for truly erasing files and magnetic media, most users who work on large systems do not take the time to erase disks and tapes when they are finished with them. They may discard old disks and tapes with data still on them. They simply write the new data over the old data already on the tape. Because the new data may not be the same length as the old, there may be sensitive data left for those skilled enough to find it. It is far safer to explicitly write over storage media and memory contents with random data and to degauss magnetic tapes. Cases One computer company in Texas that does business with a number of oil companies noticed that whenever a certain company asked them to mount a temporary storage (scratch) tape on the tape drive, the read-tape light would always come on before the write-tape light. The ingenious oil company was scavenging the tape for information that might have been put on it by competitors that used the tape before them. Trashing can have deadly consequences. When some old Department of Justice computers were sold off, they had on their disks information on the whereabouts of witnesses in the Federal Witness Protection Program. Although the data had been deleted, it had not been completely erased from the disk. The DOJ was able to get back some of the computers, but not all, and was forced to relocate the compromised families as a result. In 1991, spies posed as garbage collectors outside of a U.S. defense contractor executives home, dug through trash cans looking for information. One of the collectors was actually Frances consul general and claimed he was collecting fill for a hole in his yard. Upon investigation, the FBI determined that this operation was part of a French secret-searching mission, aimed at finding U.S. military or scientific information. Then in 1999, two key members of a group called the Phonemasters were convicted of theft and possession of unauthorized access devices and unauthorized access to a federal interest computer. This international group of cyber criminals had allegedly penetrated the computer systems of MCI, Sprint, ATT, Equifax and the National Crime Information Center. The Phonemasters skills had enabled them to download hundreds of calling card numbers and distribute them to organized crime groups around the world. Part of their method included dumpster diving and collecting old phone books and system manuals. These tools, combined with social engineering, led to the attacks on the mentioned systems. In 2000, in a widely publicized case, the CEO of Oracle, Larry Ellison, hired private investigators to dig through corporate dumpsters at Microsoft. This was an effort aimed at finding information about Microsofts possible development of grassroots organizations to support its side in an anti-trust lawsuit. One of the investigators unsuccessfully tried to pay off a member of the janitorial service in exchange for the garbage of one of these organizations. Ellison held that his actions were a civic duty, to uncover Microsofts secret funding of such groups, but his opponents assert that the incident was distasteful and scandalous. Microsoft complained that various organizations allied to it have been victimized by industrial espionage agents who attempted to steal documents from trash bins. The organizations include the Association for Competitive Technology in Washington, D.C., the Independent Institute in Oakland, California, and Citizens for a Sound Economy, another Washington D.C. based entity. Microsoft said, We have sort of always known that our competitors have been actively engaged in trying to define us, and sort of attack us. But these revelations are particularly concerning and really show the lengths to which theyre willing to go to attack Microsoft. Saying he was exercising a civic duty, Oracle chairman and founder Lawrence J. Ellison defended his company of suggestions that Oracles behavior was Nixonian when it hired private detectives to scrutinize organizations that supported Microsofts side in the antitrust suit brought against it by the government. The investigators went through trash from those organizations in attempts to find information that would show that the organizations were controlled by Microsoft. Ellison, who, like his nemesis Bill Gates at Microsoft, is a billionaire, said, All we did was to try to take information that was hidden and bring it into the light, and added: We will ship our garbage to Microsoft, and they can go through it. We believe in full disclosure. The only thing more disturbing than Oracles behavior is their ongoing attempt to justify these actions, Microsoft said in a statement. Mr. Ellison now appears to acknowledge that he was personally aware of and personally authorized the broad overall strategy of a covert operation against a variety of trade associations. During the year 2001, industrial espionage came to light concerning the shampoo market between fierce competitors Proctor Gamble and Unilever. Private Investigators hired by Proctor Gamble sifted through garbage bins outside of the Unilever corporation, succeeding in gathering viable information about market analysis, predictions and future products.[16] Upon legal action by Unilever, the two corporations settled out-of-court, because these actions broke Proctor Gambles internal policy on information gathering. Logic Bombs What is a Logic Bomb? Logic bombs are small programs or sections of a program triggered by some event such as a certain date or time, a certain percentage of disk space filled, the removal of a file, and so on. For example, a programmer could establish a logic bomb to delete critical sections of code if she is terminated from the company. Logic bombs are most commonly installed by insiders with access to the system. Logic bombs are a malicious programming code that is inserted into a network system or a single computer for the purpose of deleting data or creating other malicious acts on a specified date. A logic bomb works similar to a time bomb because it can be set to go off at a specific date. A logic bomb does not distribute malicious codes until the specified date is reached. How Logic Bombs Work Logic bombs are created by criminals who are well-versed in computer programming and are generally used to perform acts with malicious intent that threaten network security. The criminal acts include setting a virus to be released into a network system or PC at a specified date or other actions such as deleting or corrupting data and completely reformatting a computer hard drive. A logic bomb works through a code that is inserted into existing software on a network or in a computer where it will lie dormant until a specific event occurs such as a date or time or other command from the computer programmer. When the bomb finally releases the code it can delete files, send confidential information to unauthorized parties, wipe out databases, and disable a network for a period of days. Why a Logic Bomb is Used A logic bomb can be used by a disgruntled employee or other IT personnel that has the knowledge of how to program a logic bomb to threaten network security. Other than targeting a specific computer or network system, a logic bomb can also be used to demand money for software by creating a code that makes the software application into a trial version. After a specific period of time the user must pay a specified sum of money to continue to use the software. Logic bombs can also be used for blackmail and if the demand is not met, the logic bomb will detonate into a computer system or network to destroy data and perform other malicious acts that are included in the command codes. Logic bombs are fairly easy to create if you have a lot of knowledge in computer programming and they do not replicate like other malicious programs. For this reason, logic bombs are usually targeted to specific victims and will not spread to unintended victims. A logic bomb can be rather difficult to detect, however you can take security measures such as constantly monitoring the network system for any suspicious activity, using antivirus applications and other scanning programs that can detect any new activity in the data on a network system. The scanning systems should also monitor the entire network and the individual computers connected to the network. Cases A former system administrator for UBS PaineWebber, Roger Duronio, was charged in a New Jersey federal court on charges of sabotaging two-thirds of the companys computer systems. His alleged motive was to undermine the companys stock price and make a bunch of money in the process. He is alleged to have shorted over 30,000 shares of UBS stock prior to unleashing his attack which means the potential was there to make 30,000 times the amount by which the stock dropped when the media got wind of the attacks. In a recent stock manipulation case involving Emulex, shares fell 50 percent. Based on the trading range of UBS PaineWebber stock at the time of Duronios alleged attack, it is reasonable to say his profits could have exceeded half a million dollars. The flaw in Duronios alleged scheme was the obviously unexpected ability of UBS PaineWebber to prevent news of the attack getting out. This was quite a feat on the companys part because the logic bombs activated on about 1,000 of its nearly 1,500 computers and the malicious programs did actually delete files. Indeed, the company says attack cost it $3 million. In the end, the federal grand jury charged Duronio with one count of securities fraud and one count of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Duronio was hit with up to 20 years in prison and fines of more than $1.25 million. In September 1990, Donald Burleson, a programmer at the Fort Worth-based insurance company, USPA, was fired for allegedly being quarrelsome and difficult to work with. Two days later, approximately 168,000 vital records erased themselves from the companys computers. Burleson was caught after investigators went back through several years worth of system files and found that, two years before he was fired, Burleson had planted a logic bomb that lay dormant until he triggered it on the day of his dismissal. Burleson became the first person in America to be convicted of harmful access to a computer. In early 2009, Timothy Allen Lloyd was sentenced to 41 months in prison for leaving behind malicious programs that deleted critical data from the servers of Omega Engineering, a high-tech measurement company that claimed the cost of the attack was $10 million. According to a report in the National Computer Security Association section on CompuServe, the Orlando Sentinel reported in January 1992 that a computer programmer was fined $5,000 for leaving a logic bomb at General Dynamics. His intention was to return after his program had erased critical data and get paid lots of money to fix the problem. In 1995, a disgruntled computer security officer at an insurance brokerage firm in Texas set up a complex series of Job Control Language (JCL) and RPG programs described later as trip wires and time bombs. For example, a routine data retrieval function was modified to cause the IBM System/38 midrange computer to power down. Another routine was programmed to erase random sections of main memory, change its own name, and reset itself to execute a month later.