Writing Assignment #3: Computer and Emerging Trends in Technology

PERSONAL RESEARCH NARRATIVE
By
Institution
Computer and Emerging Trends in Technology
On the onset of the 21st Century, technological trends improved at an alarming trend. We saw the invention of smart phones, powerful computers that are smaller and portable to carrying trade online. In my bewilderment, I became more fascinated with technology and wanted to be part of the people who shall improve it more. In this time, phones became even more common with almost each individual owning one. The use of computers has revolutionized many operations in our normal life; operating lifts, security roadblocks, street lighting, and research operations. The use of technology though comes with many challenges and mitigating them can be more complex and tiresome.
In my studies about technology, I desired to know how certain problems can be solved. The use of smart phones came with its own problems. Apart from using a lot of power and their screens breaking up easily, android applications used in most android phones presented security problems as some steal user information. This is a real security problem at the age of cyber attacks and espionage. This can be even more risky, especially when using smart phones to perform online procurements whereby sensitive financial information might leak. Another problem I encountered in technology was the use of e-commerce systems and how it affects consumer behaviors. The use of smart phones and computers has made it easy to order almost anything from many convenient stores worldwide and the product delivered right to your doorstep. I wanted to know the effectiveness of the e-commerce systems and their future prospectus.
Additionally, the massive use of computers presented questions that computer experts have tried to answer for a long time. The production of complex systems is expensive and time consuming; therefore there is a need to simplify the process to reduce cost. In my quest to know how technology works, I researched about how to design these complex systems through simulation, and the best simulation system to use. I also wanted to know about the appropriate means of allocating file in complex systems and the network types such as RING topology. There are still more areas to explore in the computer aided technology, but these fascinated me the most.
The security of Android applications
I began my research on issues of technology by delving into the world of programming. The fact that 50% of smart phone users in the world use android smart phones was enough to prove that my research would be useful. I found an article by Enck, Octeau, McDaniel, & Chaudhuri in 2011 about android applications security; a highly ignored area. The authors showed in their work that many android applications have security ploys hidden in the source code. This is difficult to unravel for most android phone users who are not bothered by such trivial things. The authors showed that the writing of android applications is in java, compiled in Java bite-code, and finally translated to DEX byte-code. Therefore, to find the security hitch one has to decompile the application back to Java. This is easier since there are many Java applications that are free to get.
Whenever a user installs and android application, the app usually prompts the user to grant the application access to some information (Gommerstadt, & Long, 2012). Some of these are sensitive data that users may not know, the implications it may have on their security. Such may include network access, system tools, development tools, GPS location, and sending message; identify location among other features (Gommerstadt, & Long, 2012). According to Gommerstadt & Long, android applications are made of components such as activity, content provider, service, and broadcast receivers. With these components coupled by the permissions granted to these applications, the apps can easily access personal information, sensitive user devices, and device metadata. According to Gommerstadt & Long (2012), 20% of these applications request personal data while 5% request to make phone calls they would like.
Additionally, Enck et al (2011), decompiled over 1100 free android applications, comprising of 21 million lines of code. They discovered that there is a great evidence of vulnerability of private information that may lead to malicious use of the phone. This astounded me because of the security threat. However, the overhead cost of proving this analysis remained high because of its complexity. However, Google always verifies these applications during their presentation but the security concerns they present are wanting. Enck et al. (2011) mentioned finding technical hurdles such as code recovery, analysis framework and deployment limitations. According to the research findings, I concluded that the app market requires more transparency.
The future of e-commerce
One fascination of technology that bewildered me is the way trade has been reduced to a mere press of a button. The purchase of goods online has redefined marketing and selling of products. According to Gefen (2000), clients used $13 billion to purchase goods online using the credit company Visa services. Amazon and Ebay also sell thousands of products every month to customers who find them convenient for their shopping procedures. As Gefen points out, the reason most people buy online is the growing trust shoppers are having on traders and credit card companies. Many companies are rushing online to provide an alternative shopping option for their clients who may find it difficult to visit their stores.
I researched for the reason behind this upsurge and the technology support...