Back in 2000, thousands of people worldwide received emails with the subject line of “I love you.”

While that seems like a sweet gesture, when that email was opened, it unleashed the Love Letter virus, a malicious software that overwrote image files on the user’s computer.

This was the first socially engineered computer virus according to www.bksteam.com.

Since that time, many more have been unleashed upon unsuspecting computer and cell phone users, and also have affected credit card holders, said Computer Science Professor Al Heitkamper.

“Every time we turn around, there’s something new,” he said. “You’ve heard of Home Depot (with the credit card hackings), Target, UPS, Goodwill, and the pictures of the celebrities from Apple and iCloud.”

October marks the 11th Annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month, according to www.dhs.gov.

Thinly-veiled propaganda is often confused with actual journalism.

Those who frenzied us to one president’s Iraq invasion told us that questioning that war was despicable and unpatriotic. Television newsmen told us to hate and ridicule anyone reluctant to go to war. We were told the presidency was sacred; that real Americans should shut up and do as they’re told.

Then, they scolded another president when he asked Congress for military support for women and children whose government attacked them in Syria. They told us combat was simply illogical when it meant protecting the innocent. We took that as news.

I was eight years old when the Sept. 11 attacks happened. See, some people belonging to the terrorist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airplanes. Two were crashed into the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon, and a fourth plane heading to Washington DC was brought down in a field in Pennsylvania by some of the brave passengers on board.

None of this was taught to me in school. None of it. My teachers had almost 10 years to tell me about it, and I graduated without a single teacher telling me what the president’s “War on Terror” was. But they sure talked my ear off about the Battle of Saratoga.

I only found out what happened on Sept. 11 because I happened to be curious. I asked my parents.

Police officers are frequently criticized for abusing their authority. It seems as though every week, several new videos are uploaded to YouTube depicting officers of the law behaving unsuitably or physically abusing citizens.

While the majority of police officers join the force with pure intentions, there are still those who misuse their authority and misbehave. And when those few do get caught, it imprints a negative image of police everywhere.

Recently, many police departments from around the country started testing body cameras on their officers. The cameras are typically a small lapel device used to document interactions between police and citizens. Like Big Brother, body cameras are intended to keep an eye out for inappropriate behavior.

In a press conference Aug. 13, Gov. Mary Fallin announced her support for medical marijuana — almost. In a desperate attempt to pander to a growing number of voters who’ve been loudly voicing support for the decriminalization of marijuana, Fallin said she’ll be urging legislators to support the use of non-intoxicating cannabinoid oil or CBD on a “limited, medically supervised, trial only basis,” according to a release from the governor’s office.

CBD is a compound derived from marijuana said to have multiple medicinal benefits without the side effect of being stoned, according to news source kjhr.com. It is commonly administered in liquid form.

Fallin is racing to stay ahead of the curve in which petitions to legalize medical marijuana have already been circulated by the Oklahomans For Health organization.

Sadly all good things, like summer vacation, must come to an end.

Each summer, I take full advantage of having a less stressful school schedule. I stay up later, sleep later, spend more time with friends, binge watch Netflix, and have a more flexible work schedule.

I usually take summer classes, but those don’t compare to the work load in the fall or even spring semesters. The transition between summer and fall always seems to be a rude awakening. I never seem to be ready for school to start, no matter how prepared I try to be.

With the rise of tablets like Kindle, college students can learn more efficiently and not be weighed down by several textbooks. Having this kind of technology can benefit students in numerous ways but this convenience also has flaws.

“As of 2012, only 30 percent of textbook titles are available electronically,” according to tablets-textbooks.procon.org. Many different companies manufacture tablets and most contract with one specific e-book seller. This means “some textbooks may not be sold across all tablets.”

With a lack of textbooks available electronically, students who would rather rely on tablets may be out of luck.

Since 2008, there has been a significant increase in Oklahoma earthquakes. This year alone, we have had around 60 quakes with magnitudes of 2.0 or greater, according to Time.com’s Denver Nicks.

“In 2009 there were 49. In 2010 there were 180. In 2013 there were 291, and so far in 2014, there have been 59-plus and counting,” Nicks reported.

Nicks said earthquake monitor EQ charts show there were between 0 and 11 earthquakes of 2.0 magnitudes or greater in Oklahoma every year between 1990 and 2008.

Many people who enjoy pornography also admit it’s disgusting. But a lot of things are disgusting, such as reruns of “Step By Step.” People tend to make more of a hubbub about porn, which doesn’t make much sense.

It seems like the only real problem people have with watching porn is, it’s gross. This is true. Real sex, however, is far grosser. No one ever got a disease from watching a video.

However, addiction to pornography can lead to sexual impotence, leading to an even bigger addiction as it becomes the only available outlet.

In recent months, concerns regarding sexual assault in the U.S. have drastically increased — and with good reason.

“In the last year, one in 10 teens have reported being physically hurt on purpose by a boyfriend or girlfriend, [and] one in five young women have been sexually assaulted while they’re in college,” according to www.whitehouse.gov/1is2many.

“1 is 2 Many” is an advocacy campaign against sexual assault pioneered by Vice President Joe Biden.