Can Violent Computer / Video Games Produce Violent Behavior?

Research published in the early 2000 demonstrates that playing violent computer / video games can increase a person's aggressive thoughts, feelings, temper, anxiety, obsession and behavior. Studies by psychologists published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology looked at the effects of violent video games in the lab and in real life. This powerful combination of studies presents persuasive evidence that violent video games do indeed increase aggression in some players.

In the first study the authors surveyed college students concerning their use of computer / video games and their reported aggressive delinquent behaviors in the past. They also measured the personality trait of aggressiveness to see how that related to the other variables. Students who had played more aggressive video games had also engaged in more aggressive delinquent behavior. Trait aggressiveness made this relationship even stronger. The students who spent the most total time playing video games had the lowest academic grades in college.

The second study by the authors looked at the effects of actual video game violence. Subjects were college students who played either a violent video game or a non-violent game. These games had been chosen in a pilot study because they differed only in the degree of violence in the game and not on the amount of physiological arousal that they produced. Following video game play the students took some tests and participated in a "Competitive reaction time task" where they were told that they were playing against another student. They were told that they could blast the other student with a noise if they won, and that they could vary the intensity and duration of the blast.

Students in both groups blasted their opponent longer and louder following trials when they had lost and their opponent had just blasted them. Students who had played Wolfenstein 3D blasted their opponent longer and louder on such trials than students who had played Myst. Female students blasted their opponents longer and louder on all trials than male students.

So, in conclusion we always have a question, are such computer/video games safe.

Don't Risk your PC

Recently I read a very interesting article on PC World on risk associated with downloading music, videos on your PC.

Think you're downloading a new music songs, video? Watch out--that file may be stuffed with pop-ups and adware.

PC World has learned that some Windows Media files on peer-to-peer networks such as Kazaa contain code that can spawn a string of pop-up ads and install adware. They look just like regular songs or short videos in Windows Media format, but launch ads instead of media clips. Ads and adware have a new way to get on your computer--through files that appear to be music and video.

The ads in Overpeer's disguised media files may annoy some users. But malicious agents such as hackers and thieves could exploit the DRM loophole to do far worse. Security experts fear that, for example, criminals could load their own modified media files with keystroke loggers or other software for taking over your PC, and thus steal your passwords or other sensitive information.

According to Microsoft's Caulton, "It's possible that someone could modify [an existing audio] file after it's created to point back to their http server." If that's the case, virus and malware writers would gain a powerful platform for launching their attacks.

Writing the code to infect computers is the easy part, according to Johannes B. Ullrich, the chief technical officer for the SANS Institute's Internet Storm Center, a computer security watchdog group. "With a lot of these Internet Explorer exploits, the big question is how to get people to visit [the site that executes that code]," he says.

Hacked audio files could provide the perfect incentive. The songs we found gave no warning before launching their string of pop-ups, and before being played they gave little or no indication that they were anything but normal WMA files.

Electronic Number Plate RFID Keeps Tabs On Vehicles

A South African RFID design firm now offers Electronic Number Plate RFID technology. iPico Holdings says this technology is now being used in a pilot project in South America.

The technology is being considered for electronic vehicle licensing, traffic and speed control, cross-border traffic control and other applications. The tags can be read at ordinary vehicle speeds.

This s a passive RFID tag, meaning that it does not need to carry batteries (and therefore will likely last for the life of the vehicle). The tag is attached to the windshield during the manufacturing process; any attempt to alter or remove the tag will damage it.

Science fiction fans may recall the Camden speedster, a car that not only went underwater, but would also alter it's license tag while in motion, in order to fool traffic control devices. Not a bad prediction for 1958, when Methuselah's Children was published .

For another look at how people and objects can be tracked with RFID, see China and India May Issue A Billion RFID-Based ID Cards.

Although this RFID technology is interesting and good but it does have its share of drawbacks and disadvantages.

RFID systems can be easily disrupted. Since RFID systems make use of the electromagnetic spectrum (like WiFi networks or cellphones), they are relatively easy to jam using energy at the right frequency. Although this would only be an inconvenience for consumers in stores (longer waits at the checkout), it could be disastrous in other environments where RFID is increasingly used, like hospitals or in the military in the field.

Also, active RFID tags (those that use a battery to increase the range of the system) can be repeatedly interrogated to wear the battery down, disrupting the system.