Social and Ethical Issues (23/05/2008)

Lecture 12

The following were the main points from this weeks lecture,

• Problems from using the Internet
• Plagiarism, security, privacy etc
• Why these problems occur
• Protecting yourself

Tutorial 12

The main points from this weeks tutorial were,

• Protecting yourself from Internet attacks. For example, privacy and security
• Information about the "copyright" system
• Researching about music and the Internet
• Threats of viruses and Trojans etc
  

Week 12 Tasks

In Australia, Copyright protects a wide range of sources accessed in educational institutions. Some of these include,

• Written material - books, articles, essays, websites etc
• Computers - Computer programs
• Artistic work - paintings, drawings, photographs etc

However, Copyright does not cover information, techniques etc. All individuals can access and research material and information from different sources and write about a certain topic. Only when an individual copies the exact wording of someone else's work does Copyright come into place.

Educational Institutions are allowed to copy and use material for "educational instructions" provided the use...

• Does not conflict with normal exploition
• Copying is not made for profit
• Use amount to a special case

Copyright protects a wide range of sources accessed through libraries. These include,

• Libraries are allowed to copy certain Copyright material for clients, collection and for other libraries
• Amendments affecting libraries and the Copyright system came into effect in December 2006
• Can make replacement copies
• A libraries collection has to be available to to public directly or through loans
• Minimise infringement risk be displaying warning signs
• Use Copyright material to maintain an operational library

Copyright laws relating to the use of quotations and extracts include,

• Permission needed usually depends on whether the information wanted is a "substantial part" of where it comes from
• "Substantial part" is determined by whether the information needed is important, essential or distinctive
• There are a few situations where you can use "substantial parts" without any permission
• Special exceptions eg. dealing for criticism or review and dealing for research and study

Websites are Copyright protected in many ways. Some include,

• Each agreement should state each persons responsibilities relating to Copyright and moral rights
• Web designers should have written agreements between themselves and the client
• Whole websites are not protected
• Component parts of a website are protected. For example text, artworks, logos etc
• Owner's permission may be required. For example uploading a website, downloading, scanning, emailing etc

Information used for research or study usually has strict Copyright laws

• If material is used for the purpose of research or study, you can not infringe the Copyright law if you use it fairly
• Do not need to be enrolled in a particular course. You can just study for yourself
• Libraries can copy material if it is to be used for research or study purposes
• For research and study, you are able to copy a whole articles from a magazine or newspaper
• If is it available for purchase, copying all the content of the article is unlikely to be considered as fair and therefore cannot be done

There are many people who don't know the first thing about music and the Internet. There is so much information people should be aware of before downloading and/or buying music off the Internet. Although there are many advantages on downloading from the Internet, there are also many disadvantages to go with it. Below is a lost of what you need to know about music and the Internet.

• Misconception that music which is downloaded is free
• "Free" music means that the artists don't get paid for their music
• New distribution avenues eg. digital downloading, ringtones, webcasting
• Adds value to businesses and services operating online
• Downloaded music is exploited by a number of rights
• Musical work is property contained within any song eg. melody, chorus etc
• Reproduction of musical work consists of operating a downloading service

No matter what you do, your computer is never fully protected from viruses, Trojans and other attacks on privacy and security. You could use every protection software but you can just as easily have you privacy invaded by anything from viruses to computer hackers.

Viruses can easily destroy your computer completely. Although they are only a small piece of software that attach themselves to other programs, they can cause a great amount of damage. For example, a virus attaches to a certain program and everytime you run that program, the virus runs, spreading to more and more programs. You can protect yourself from viruses in many different ways, some of which include,

• Using virus protection software eg. Macro
• Avoid using programs with unknown sources
  
• Never open an email attachment unless you know what it is and who the sender is
• Using a secured operating system
• Using commercial software

Trojan, on the other hand is simply a computer program. However, the program claims to do something (perhaps a game) but it actually causes damage when you run it. Trojans are prone to erasing your hard disc if you try and run a programs containing a Trojan. By using the above steps, you should be able to minimise your risk of receiving a virus.

Your own personal information is not even safe on the Internet. Hackers and people pretending to be someone else are the main causes of attacks on your privacy. People with internet banking are at a disadvantage as hackers can easily gain access to their personal banking details. To help protect yourself from hackers, you should never give out details about any of your personal information. Although you may think the slightest information will not give hackers enough, they will find a way to gain access to your most valuable information.

Reading Summary 1: EFF's Top 12 Ways To Protect Your Online Privacy

There are 12 ways that you are able to protect you online privacy. Below I have listed the top 6 methods in Internet privacy,

• Do not reveal personal information - use pseudonyms, refrain from using your real information eg. email address,
  
• Turn on cookies - shares incoming information to you, only enable on sites that you trust
• Keep a 'clean' email address - posted addresses can easily be tracked by spammers, use pseudonyms or an alternative address
• Don't reveal personal details - for example your full name, employment details, phone numbers etc
• Avoid sending personal emails at work - you may be monitored, could compromise banking details, email address and other information
• Don't click on 'reward prizes' - not real prizes, information entered is easily gathered eg. your name and address etc

Reading Summary 2: Ethics in Computing - Electronic Monitoring

There are many different companies that are able to monitor your privacy on the Internet. Many include monitoring in the workplace, legal issues and other policies

• Workplace privacy
• Technological surveilence
• Monitoring in the workplace
• Through the keyhole: privacy in the workplace
• Workplace privacy? Forget it!
• Epic's

Reading Summary 3: Brown & Michaels - Overview of Intellectual Property

There are three kinds of basic intellectual property protection, including patents, trademarks and copyright. Patents are used when it related to a method of doing something. These include the following,

• Utility Patents - used for inventions
• Plant Patents - used when a new variety of plant is descovered
• Design Patents - used for ornamental items eg. automobiles

Trademarks cover logos or a name of a symbol

• Coca-Cola
• Sounds
• Sequence of notes
• Music
• Fragrances

Copyright covers authorship, composition and art

• Music
• Books
• Paintings
• Computer programs
• Architecture