Personal Safety, Ethics,
Legal & Social Implications
CSC1720 – Introduction to Internet
Essential Materials
Outline
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Personal Safety
– AUP, Password, Virus, Fraud, Threat
– Software Piracy
– Hoaxes, Legends
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What is Computer Ethics?
Many-to-Many, Anonymity, reproducibility
Ethical Significance
Legal and Social Implications
Final Exam Tips, Statistics
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Personal Safety
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Understand the importance of Acceptable
Use Policies (AUP), passwords and vigilance
online.
Know what kind of online activities violate
copyright, software piracy laws.
Learn how to protect your personal privacy.
Discuss how to separate fact and fiction
when you see warnings and advice on the
Net.
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Acceptable Use Policies
(AUP)
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AUP is a policy that shows the appropriate
us of the Internet.
Your Internet Access privileges will be
cancelled if you violate the rules.
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Illegal use, Harassment
SPAM, E-mail/News Bombing
E-mail/News Forging, impersonation
Copyright, trademark infringement
Network disruptions, unfriendly activity
Distribution of viruses, Inappropriate use of
software (e.g. continuous pinging, … )
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AUP Example – i-cable
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Password Security
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Someone will break into your
university or ISP account, then acquire
the system administrator’s privileges
to destroy the whole system.
A safe password always contains:
– At least six characters (8 preferable)
– Both lowercase and uppercase letters
– At least one numerical character
– At least one “!#$%^&*…”
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Password Tips
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Never tell anyone your password. Ever,
even the system administrator.
Don’t write down your password
where someone else can find it.
Change your password about 1 or 2
months.
Don’t use the same password in many
different places.
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Viruses, Trojans, Worms
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A virus is an executable program that sticks
to another host program. This virus can
replicate itself via files and propagate via
shared floppies or disks.
A Trojan Horse is an executable program
that slips into a system under the guise of
other program. Deception is a key
characteristic of all Trojan horses.
A worm is very similar to a virus, but virus
propagate via floppies or other media, a
worm needs an active network connection.
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Anti-virus tips
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Use antivirus software and update regularly
Keep floppy disk out of the drive, unless it is
actively working on
Disable the Java/JavaScript in the browser
– prevent the attack from malicious applets or
scripts
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Encrypt all files that contain sensitive
information, store them on disk or other
removable media (e.g. ZIP, Tape drive)
Don’t connect your computer to the Internet
longer than necessary
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E-mail Viruses
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Macros Viruses
– Melissa Virus
– Avoiding Macros by using RTF
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Script Attacks
– In 2000, two e-mail attachment attacks
Outlook and Outlook Express users – The
LoveLetter, NewLove viruses
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Shopping Online
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Offer lots of benefits that you cannot
find shopping in a store.
– The shop is always open, 24/7
– Numerous bargains online
– Return policies
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Online shopping does pose some risks,
but you can take precautions to
protect yourself against them.
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Shopping Online Tips
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Use credit cards, but not checks, money
orders, debit cards.
Examine the URL starts with “https://”.
Check for a locked padlock or unbroken key
icon before entering any credit card
information.
Don’t use same password in all your ecommerce accounts.
Save a copy of all purchase orders and the
confirmation numbers of the records.
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Protect Your Privacy
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Invasion of privacy
– Imagine a man following you all day, taking
notes, jotting down how much time you spend
on the phone and to whom you talk, recording
which stores you visit and which items you
purchase, then he sells these information to
anyone wants it.
– It can happen if the web page is programmed to
collect information.
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When you visit the page, which link you click, how long
you spend on the web page, etc…
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Protect Your Privacy
What
kind of
information can
be collected? Try
this
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Internet SCAMs
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A trick or a deception deliberately
practiced to get unlawful gain.
– Loss money
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National Fraud Information Center
– Help consumers distinguish between
legitimate and fraudulent promotions in
the Internet
– Report the suspected fraud on the Net.
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National Fraud
Information Center
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Libel and Lawsuits
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Libel is any written or pictorial statement
that damages a person or organization.
A person who disseminates information that
is deemed harmful to a company can be
target of a lawsuit even that information is
accurate.
All digital information can be reproduced
and distributed easily on the Net.
– You can’t be sure that your private email
remains private – think twice before send out.
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Defamation case study:
Yahoo!
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In the summer of 2000, the union of
Jewish students and the International
League Against Racism and AntiSemitism filed a suit against Yahoo! In
the French courts: Buy and Sell Nazi
memorabilia on its auction sites.
– The sale of such items is not illegal in the
US, but not in EU states.
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Threats
In April 1999, they killed
12 fellow students and
Teacher.
There is no evidence that
they intended to carry out
their threats in the chat
Room.
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Information War &
Digital Crime
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In 1989, Kevin Mitnick, who was convicted of
stealing software from Digital Equipment
Corp. (DEC).
Information warfare may take the form of
propaganda, espionage (commercial or
political), or even target n websites
– such as DDoS, happened with Yahoo! And Amazon
in 2000
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Digital crime is often associated with viruses.
(still remember Robert Morris (Worm)?
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Surveillance?
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“Computerization has a tremendous
potential for destructive invasion of
privacy …” – Marry Williams.
– Most people using any form of
communication will assume that anything
they transmit will remain confidential.
– Phone taps may be established to locate
criminals.
– What will happen in the Internet?
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Harassment
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Another potential problem for Internet
Users.
Offensive materials on the Web should
not bring to workplace.
An employee who receives an email
that contains religiously, or sexually, or
racially offensive jokes, should not
forwards this email to the coworkers.
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Software Piracy
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Piracy – Not Privacy!
Public Domain – no copyright, can be freely copied,
distributed.
Freeware – has copyright, can be copied and distributed
without payment, but donation may be needed.
Shareware – copyrighted, can be distributed without payment,
but payment is expected in use.
Licensed software – copyrighted, payment is prior to use.
If the software costs money, but you are using it in violation
of the user agreement  stolen the software
Criminal and civil law violation.
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Copyright Infringements
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Duplication or distribution of
commercial software.
Unauthorized use of people’s invention
Owner has the right to exclude people
from using, making, selling, importing
his products/software.
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Hoaxes and Legends
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Don’t be Naïve
– You cannot believe everything you read,
especially on the Internet.
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Internet is very effective to propagate
misinformation that alarm people and
generate panic.
You can visit “Urban Legends” if you
are not sure something on the Net is
right or not.
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10 worst Hoaxes - CNN
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10. Let the Good Times Roll
9. Help a Sick Child
8. Bill Gates Reaches Out to You
7. Dial 809 for Trouble
6. Money Nonsense in Nigeria
5. Save Big Bird
4. The $250 Cookie Recipe
3. Deodorant Endangers Your Health?
2. Last Photo From the World Trade Center Deck?
1. Next Time, Just Say "I Don't Know"
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Internet Ethics
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The Robert Morris Case
– Release the “worm” in 1988.
– The whole network was clogged with the worm.
– 3 years’ probation, fined $10,000, 400 hours of
community service.
– Someone said that the worm has alerted the
vulnerability of the systems.
– Different opinions said he should/shouldn’t go to
jail.
– What is your opinion?
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Case 2: The Melissa Virus
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In 1999, David Smith created the
Melissa virus.
Post on the newsgroup “Alt.Sex” and
said the attachment contained a list of
pass codes of Pornographic website.
Infected million of computers and
caused over $80 million damages.
What is your opinion for his act?
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Case 3: Credit Card
Extortion
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A 19-year-old Russian involved in the illegal
use of credit cards in 1997.
Steal 300,000 credit card numbers from an
online music store.
Extort $100,000 for the stolen information.
Several thousand visitors had downloaded
over 25,000 credit card numbers.
What is your opinion for this act?
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Three morally significant
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When compared to face-to-face
communication, Internet provides
– Global, Many-to-Many communication
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Interactive comm. with speed and ease.
– Facilitates anonymity
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No one knows your name, how you feel…
– Provides reproducibility
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Electronic information can be easily copied
and there is no loss of value in reproduction.
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Ethical Significance
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Many-to-Many scope
– That means the individuals can use very
little effort to
Disrupt, steal,
 Cause property damage, snoop,
 Harass, stalk, extort, defame, …
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– Its enormous benefits brings people
together and shorten the geographic
space and distance.
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Ethical Significance
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Anonymity
– Individuals do not have to take risks for being
seen as they act and interact.
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Difficult to catch criminals who act anonymity.
You don’t know the source of the information.
It is difficult to gage the trustworthiness of the
information.
– On the other hand, consider the race, gender
and physical appearance are removed for an
online course
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Would it be more fair for the teacher to evaluate
student’s performance?
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Ethical Significance
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Reproducibility
– Privacy and property rights issues arise.
– Facilitates the words and documents to
be forwarded to infinite number of people
or sites.
– If you receive a document from someone
via the Net, can you be sure the
document is sent/written by its claimed
sender?
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Legal and Social
Implications
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Internet offers great riches, but also pose
threats.
Remember the right between legal (created
by law) and human rights.
Facilitates unmediated many-to-many
communication, and access to a diversity of
online resources.
Facilitates the formation of new associations
across the geographical limitation.
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Cyber-Feminism
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The relationship of women with technology
has often been perceived as a problematic
one?
Although most inventors and engineers
associated with the computer revolution has
been men, women have been also involved
with computers since their inception.
Reference: http://www.wise-women.org/
– Many good online tutorials from a group of
women.
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Cyber-Space: Virtual
Reality (VR)
Ref: http://sulu.npl.co.uk/netshare/guest/recursive/demo.html
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Final Exam
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Date: TBA
Time: TBA
Venue: TBA
Coverage:
– Lecture 1 – 15,
– Lab and tutorial exercises,
– Newsgroup
– Open notes (but not open book!!!)
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References
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Yahoo!
Duke
Safe Shopping Online Tips
ScamBuster
Online Harassment
Computer Ethics
Computer Ethics – D. G. Johnson
The End.
Thank you for taking CSC1720!
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