Assessment Statistics final questions

Question 1	Multiple Choice
	The report below appeared in February 2007. Which of the reasons below is LEAST LIKELY to be a cause of why the attack went unnoticed by Internet users. WASHINGTON — Hackers briefly overwhelmed at least three of the 13 computers that help manage global computer traffic Tuesday in one of the most significant attacks against the Internet since 2002. Experts said the unusually powerful attacks lasted as long as 12 hours but passed largely unnoticed by most computer users, a testament to the resiliency of the Internet. Behind the scenes, computer scientists worldwide raced to cope with enormous volumes of data that threatened to saturate some of the Internet's most vital pipelines. Which reason is the LEAST likely reason the attack went unnoticed.
	Answers Percent Answered DNS information is cached in computers near Internet users, queries don't typically make it to the root servers. 14.286% The 13 root servers are replicated, most in many places, so even if one goes down due to a denial of service attack, its functionality is replicated elsewhere. 14.286% Even if the DNS system slows down, it won't stop. Internet users are used to slow-downs and the DNS slow down wouldn't really have a discernible affect. 16.484% A significant number of users use OpenDNS and other alternative DNS systems --- these alternate systems weren't targeted and thus most people didn't notice when the conventional DNS system stopped working well. 54.945% Unanswered 0%

Question 2	Multiple Choice
	The first Internet worm that spread from machine to machine and slowed down the Internet appeared in 1988. In the Saturday, Dec 06 NY Times an article appeared saying "Security researchers concede that their efforts are largely an exercise in a game of whack-a-mole because botnets that distribute malware like worms, the programs that can move from computer to computer, are still relatively invisible to commercial antivirus software. [Gene Spafford, a computer scientist says] 'In many respects, we are probably worse off than we were 20 years ago because all of the money has been devoted to patching the current problem rather than investing in the redesign of our infrastructure.'" Which of the following is LEAST likely as a reason for why more malware and worms are on the Internet today than were 20 years ago.
	Answers Percent Answered The Internet and the Web host much more e-commerce than was the case 20 years ago so there is more incentive for criminals to launch worms, botnets, and malware today. 2.198% According to Moore's Law computers double in speed roughly every two years so today they are more than 1,000 times faster than they were 20 years ago. 18.681% Far more people use the Internet on a regular basis than was the case twenty years ago so there's much more of an incentive for hackers/criminals to spread malware and worms to take over machines. 4.396% Apple computers were far more widepsread 20 years ago, as a percentage of total-computers online, than they are today and Apple computers are less susceptible to viruses, worms, and malware, so it makes sense that the number of infected computers is increasing rapidly. 73.626% Unanswered 1.099%

Question 3	Multiple Choice
	In one of the readings from the first week of the course Jonathan Zittrain writes: "generative systems are powerful and valuable, not only because they foster the production of useful things like Web browsers, auction sites, and free encyclopedias, but also because they can allow an extraordinary number of people to express themselves in speech, art, or code and to work with other people in ways previously not possible." Which of the following is NOT an example of the kind of generative system Zittrain describes.
	Answers Percent Answered Flickr, a photo-sharing site, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flickr 1.099% Wikipedia, see http://en.wikipedia.org 0% Firefox, an open-source browser 15.385% The online version of the New York Times, see http://www.nytimes.com 83.516% Unanswered 0%

Question 4	Multiple Choice
	In the paper 'Tussle in Cyberspace' from the first week of the course the abstract says: As the Internet has moved from a research curiosity to a recognized component of mainstream society, new requirements have emerged that suggest new design principles, and perhaps suggest that we revisit some old ones. Which of the following is LEAST likely to be one of the design principles that is being revisited and re-examined as outlined in that paper and in our studies this semester.
	Answers Percent Answered In the original Internet, users trusted each other, that's not the case today, the model of trust on the Internet (between users and between machines) should change to reflect changes in the user population. 3.297% Internet Service Providers have incentives to look at the packets broadcast on the Internet for reasons of service, e.g., to provide better service to some packets and for reasons of censorship or legality, e.g., copyright violations. The original Internet used an end-to-end design principle, the network was stupid. As packets are inspected the network becomes 'smarter' and this changes how things work. 1.099% The original purpose of DNS was to associate machines with names so that a name was independent of the machine's location. Today names are used for trademark and advertising, there are far more domain names, and so the entire DNS system has more than one purpose as it did orginally and so changes may be needed. 12.088% In the original Internet most of the users were computer scientists and thus male. Today the gender representation of users on the Internet is equally split between men and women so terminology and practices should change to reflect the changes in gender roles as the Internet becomes more accessible to a wider group. 82.418% Unanswered 1.099%

Question 5	Multiple Choice
	The IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) has created the technical standards that drive the Internet. Which of the following is LEAST likely to be (and in fact is not) a standard created by the IETF?
	Answers Percent Answered The protocol used for sending electronic mail. 8.791% The protocol used for constructing IP packets. 3.297% The Border Gateway Protocol by which large systems share routing tables on the Internet. 5.495% The opensocial protocol used for social networking sites to share information. 82.418% Unanswered 0%

Question 6	Multiple Choice
	Which of the following is NOT an aspect of the Internet and Politics we discussed this semester.
	Answers Percent Answered Electronic and Internet voting. 0% Group polarization or cybercascades: the tendency to find what we agree with online. 8.791% Social networking and finance, e.g., as used by the Obama compaign. 1.099% The increased exposure by Democrats and Republicans to Libertarian- and Green-Party candidates because of Internet radio. 90.11% Unanswered 0%

Question 7	Multiple Choice
	Which of the following is LEAST likely to be part of the sayings, writings, and philosophy of Free Software advocate Richard Stallman.
	Answers Percent Answered The idea of copyright did not exist in ancient times, when authors frequently copied other authors at length in works of non-fiction. This practice was useful, and is the only way many authors' works have survived even in part. 10.989% If programmers deserve to be rewarded for creating innovative programs, by the same token they deserve to be punished if they restrict the use of these programs. 12.088% Fighting patents one by one will never eliminate the danger of software patents, any more than swatting mosquitoes will eliminate malaria. 32.967% I could make money writing code, but since I openly advocate free software I give away all my code or auction it for charity: you must practice what you preach and software should be given away to those that need it, selling software is despicable. 43.956% Unanswered 0%

Question 8	Multiple Choice
	Which of the following is NOT true about patents and the patent system in the United States.
	Answers Percent Answered Patents are enforced by civil law suits, not criminal law suits --- you don't go to jail for violating a patent. 7.692% The US Constitution says "Congress shall have power . . . to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.” 9.89% Software can be patented. 3.297% The US Government will waive the fee for filing a patent if the patent is ultimately not awarded. 79.121% Unanswered 0%

Question 9	Multiple Choice
	Which of the following is NOT part of the DMCA (Digital Millenia Copyright Act).
	Answers Percent Answered The DMCA makes it illegal to provide tools and technologies to circumvent copyright protection. 10.989% The DMCA protects Internet Service Provides and companies like YouTube using a "safe harbor" provision providing the companies follow specific guidelines outlined in the DMCA. 5.495% The DMCA protects song-writers when "non-professional" bands, e.g., groups of students getting together to play, cover a song written by a song-writer. 70.33% The DMCA allows the RIAA to sue p2p users for sharing music illegally. 10.989% Unanswered 2.198%

Question 10	Multiple Choice
	Which of the following is NOT a property of the p2p protocol Bittorrent and the p2p system based on Bittorrent.
	Answers Percent Answered After a file is first introduced into the Bittorrent system subsequent users don't obtain a complete file from one place, rather the file is obtained in pieces from several places. 4.396% The Bittorrent protocol was designed so that clients had to upload parts of files in order to be able to download files, e.g., sharing was encouraged. 8.791% Some universities and other ISPs look for Bittorrent traffic by examining IP headers and may take action, e.g., slow down such packets. 17.582% Bittorrent cannot handle large files (e.g., HD/Blu-ray movies) on its p2p network because re-assembling the pieces of a large file takes too long for typical computers in 2008. 67.033% Unanswered 2.198%