Luckily for Michals, the embarrassment was affected, part of a stunt for an internet security video he created -- a 30-second clip that earned him second place in the 2007 Computer Security Awareness Video Contest.
"The penis enlargement ad I made myself," Michals joked. "I felt no internet security ad was complete without an ad for penis enlargements."
The national competition was designed to help raise awareness of the security risks that students face on college campuses, and was sponsored by EDUCAUSE, the National Cyber Security Alliance and ResearchChannel. Michals' advertisement was among the 56 videos submitted to the competition.
The second-place prize included $800, money that Michals intends to spend on 3-D animation software. He found out about the contest through his employer at the student computing help desk.
"I'm a film major and I'm interested in computers, so it was a good combination of both my interests." Michals said.
Michals said that his ad took 30 minutes to film and about three days to finish. He was able to film the entire ad by himself in the 1902 Room using a tripod.
"I had to talk to people around me and jokingly make sure that it was okay that I was setting up a tripod and looking weird in the 1902 Room," Michals said. "They didn't seem to mind. Once I broke the awkward silence, it was fine."
Michals said that part of his motivation for making the ad was working at the student computing help desk and dealing with students whose computers had been infected by viruses that they weren't even aware of. He said that he hopes this video shows the viewers the importance of using a firewall and making sure Windows Update is working automatically, for PC users.
Even though computers bought from the school come with the latest anti-viral software installed, Michals said that doesn't prevent students from continuing to catch computer viruses. A computer can only do so much, he said, and cannot prevent its user from clicking on a link that will automatically download viruses.
"Most people don't realize how easy it is to have your computer compromised. [The ad] is a humorous way to show that if someone sends you a link or IM, you shouldn't click it," Michals said.
The ad is available online at www.researchchannel.org/securityvideo2007.
