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Ethics is a set of moral principles that govern the behavior of an individual or group of people. Computer ethics is the application of moral principles to the use of computers and the Internet. Examples include intellectual property rights, privacy policies, and online etiquette, or " netiquette".

Computers make it easy to duplicate and redistribute digital content. However, it is ethical to respect copyright guidelines. When using software, it is important to understand and follow the license agreement, or SLA. Using commercial software without paying for a license is considered piracy and is a violation of computer ethics. Hacking, or gaining unauthorized access to a computer system, is also an unethical way to use computers.

As technology advances, computers and the Internet have an increasing impact on society. Therefore, computer ethics must be part of the discussion whenever creating new technologies. A modern example is how artificial intelligence affects existing jobs and human communication. When computer ethics is part of the conversation, it helps ensure new technologies positively affect society.

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Ethics is a set of moral principles that govern the behavior of an individual or group of people. Computer ethics is the application of moral principles to the use of computers and the Internet. Examples include intellectual property rights, privacy policies, and online etiquette, or " netiquette".

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Computer Ethics Institute's Ten Commandments, which are as follows:

•Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people.

•Thou shalt not interfere with other people's computer work.

•Thou shalt not snoop around in other people's computer files.

•Thou shalt not use a computer to steal.

•Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness.
•Thou shalt not copy or use proprietary software for which you have not paid.

•Thou shalt not use other people's computer resources without authorization or proper compensation.

•Thou shalt not appropriate other people's intellectual output.

•Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the program you are writing or the system you are designing.

•Thou shalt always use a computer in ways that ensure consideration and respect for your fellow humans.

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Computer Ethics

Ethics deals with placing a " value" on acts according to whether they are " good" or " bad ". Every society has its rules about whether certain acts are ethical or not. These rules have been established as a result of consensus in society and are often written into laws.

When computers first began to be used in society at large, the absence of ethical standards about their use and related issues caused some problems. However, as their use became widespread in every facet of our lives, discussions in computer ethics resulted in some kind of a consensus. Today, many of these rules have been formulated as laws, either national or international. Computer crimes and computer fraud are now common terms. There are laws against them, and everyone is responsible for knowing what constitutes computer crime and computer fraud.

The Ten Commandments of computer ethics have been defined by the Computer Ethics Institute. Here is our interpretation of them:

1) Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people: If it is unethical to harm people by making a bomb, for example, it is equally bad to write a program that handles the timing of the bomb. Or, to put it more simply, if it is bad to steal and destroy other people's books and notebooks, it is equally bad to access and destroy their files.

2) Thou shalt not interfere with other people's computer work: Computer viruses are small programs that disrupt other people's computer work by destroying their files, taking huge amounts of computer time or memory, or by simply displaying annoying messages. Generating and consciously spreading computer viruses is unethical.

3) Thou shalt not snoop around in other people's files: Reading other people's e-mail messages is as bad as opening and reading their letters: This is invading their privacy. Obtaining other people's non-public files should be judged the same way as breaking into their rooms and stealing their documents. Text documents on the Internet may be protected by encryption.

4) Thou shalt not use a computer to steal: Using a computer to break into the accounts of a company or a bank and transferring money should be judged the same way as robbery. It is illegal and there are strict laws against it.

5) Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness: The Internet can spread untruth as fast as it can spread truth. Putting out false "information" to the world is bad. For instance, spreading false rumors about a person or false propaganda about historical events is wrong.

6) Thou shalt not use or copy software for which you have not paid: Software is an intellectual product. In that way, it is like a book: Obtaining illegal copies of copyrighted software is as bad as photocopying a copyrighted book. There are laws against both. Information about the copyright owner can be embedded by a process called watermarking into pictures in the digital format.

7) Thou shalt not use other people's computer resources without authorization: Multiuser systems use user id's and passwords to enforce their memory and time allocations, and to safeguard information. You should not try to bypass this authorization system. Hacking a system to break and bypass the authorization is unethical.

8) Thou shalt not appropriate other people's intellectual output: For example, the programs you write for the projects assigned in this course are your own intellectual output. Copying somebody else's program without proper authorization is software piracy and is unethical. Intellectual property is a form of ownership, and may be protected by copyright laws.

9) Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the program you write: You have to think about computer issues in a more general social framework: Can the program you write be used in a way that is harmful to society? For example, if you are working for an animation house, and are producing animated films for children, you are responsible for their contents. Do the animations include scenes that can be harmful to children? In the United States, the Communications Decency Act was an attempt by lawmakers to ban certain types of content from Internet websites to protect young children from harmful material. That law was struck down because it violated the free speech principles in that country's constitution. The discussion, of course, is going on.

10) Thou shalt use a computer in ways that show consideration and respect: Just like public buses or banks, people using computer communications systems may find themselves in situations where there is some form of queuing and you have to wait for your turn and generally be nice to other people in the environment. The fact that you cannot see the people you are interacting with does not mean that you can be rude to them.

See http://www.ccsr.cms.dmu.ac.uk/resources/professionalism/codes/cei_command_com.html for further comments on the ten commandments.

ADDITIONAL READING:
The following email message was sent to the instructor as a response to the ten commandments mentioned in this page:

Your 10 commandments contradict the hacking

communities constitution:

right to free speech in cyber space.

of worry when pertaining to oppressive governments

that control cyber space.

space to set a clear example as to how a functioning

element of society can prosper with equal rights and

free speech to all.

is used to test the integrity of networks that hold

and safe guard our valuable information.

community that do not respect democracy should be

social elements of all world societies can be achieved

on the computer and in cyber space.

are instruments that can achieve three crucial goals:

exploits of systems that store the individual_s

information.

body in the world community, where people of all

nations and cultures can express their ideas and

beliefs has to how our world politics should be

social or political class or party in cyber space.

internet is a clear example as to how many races,

cultures, and peoples can communicate freely and

without friction or conflict.

capitalism.

no government should adopt commercial or priced

software for it shows that a government may be biased

to something that does not prompt the general welfare

of the technology market and slows or stops the

innovation of other smaller company_s products.

the better placement of man kind and the environment

world community should respect these principles and

ideas released in this constitution.

Written by the hacking group Xanatomy.

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Computer Ethics Ethics deals with placing a " value" on acts according to whether they are " good" or " bad ". Every society has its rules about whether certain acts are ethical or not. These rules have been established as a result of consensus in society and are often written into laws.

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An editable PowerPoint lesson presentation

Editable revision handouts

A glossary which covers the key terminologies of the module

Topic mindmaps for visualising the key concepts

Printable flashcards to help students engage active recall and confidence-based repetition

A quiz with accompanying answer key to test knowledge and understanding of the module

A-Level Ethical Issues (16-18 years)

An editable PowerPoint lesson presentation

Editable revision handouts

A glossary which covers the key terminologies of the module

Topic mindmaps for visualising the key concepts

Printable flashcards to help students engage active recall and confidence-based repetition

A quiz with accompanying answer key to test knowledge and understanding of the module

What are Ethics?

Ethics are a structure of standards and practices that influence how people lead their lives. It is not strictly implemented to follow these ethics, but it is basically for the benefit of everyone that we do.

Ethics are unlike laws that legally mandate what is right or wrong. Ethics illustrate society's views about what is right and what is wrong.

Computer Ethics

Computer ethics are a set of moral standards that govern the use of computers. It is society's views about the use of computers, both hardware and software. Privacy concerns, intellectual property rights and effects on the society are some of the common issues of computer ethics.

Privacy Concerns

Hacking - is unlawful intrusion into a computer or a network. A hacker can intrude through the security levels of a computer system or network and can acquire unauthorised access to other computers.

Malware - means malicious software which is created to impair a computer system. Common malware are viruses, spyware, worms and trojan horses. A virus can delete files from a hard drive while a spyware can collect data from a computer.

Data Protection - also known as information privacy or data privacy is the process of safeguarding data which intends to influence a balance between individual privacy rights while still authorising data to be used for business purposes.

Anonymity - is a way of keeping a user's identity masked through various applications.

Intellectual Property Rights

Copyright - is a form of intellectual property that gives proprietary publication, distribution and usage rights for the author. This means that whatever idea the author created cannot be employed or disseminated by anyone else without the permission of the author.

Plagiarism - is an act of copying and publishing another person's work without proper citation. It's like stealing someone else's work and releasing it as your own work.

Cracking - is a way of breaking into a system by getting past the security features of the system. It's a way of skipping the registration and authentication steps when installing a software.

Software License - allows the use of digital material by following the license agreement. Ownership remains with the original copyright owner, users are just granted licenses to use the material based on the agreement.

Effects on Society

Jobs - Some jobs have been abolished while some jobs have become simpler as computers have taken over companies and businesses. Things can now be done in just one click whereas before it takes multiple steps to perform a task. This change may be considered unethical as it limits the skills of the employees.
There are also ethical concerns on health and safety of employees getting sick from constant sitting, staring at computer screens and typing on the keyboard or clicking on the mouse.

Environmental Impact - Environment has been affected by computers and the internet since so much time spent using computers increases energy usage which in turn increases the emission of greenhouse gases.
There are ways where we can save energy like limiting computer time and turning off the computer or putting on sleep mode when not in use. Buying energy efficient computers with Energy Star label can also help save the environment.

Social Impact - Computers and the internet help people stay in touch with family and friends. Social media has been very popular nowadays.

Computer gaming influenced society both positively and negatively. Positive effects are improved hand-eye coordination, stress relief and improved strategic thinking. Negative effects are addiction of gamers, isolation from the real world and exposure to violence.

Computer technology helps the government in improving services to its citizens. Advanced database can hold huge data being collected and analysed by the government.

Computer technology aids businesses by automating processes, reports and analysis.

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Computer Ethics | Ethics, Laws, Definition & Privacy

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An editable PowerPoint lesson presentation Editable revision handouts A glossary which covers the key terminologies of the module Topic mindmaps for visualising the key concepts Printable flashcards to help students engage active recall and confidence-based repetition A quiz with accompanying answer key to test knowledge and understanding of the module

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 legal and ethical issues with computers 

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 legal and ethical issues with computers 

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- Illegal File Downloading

- Spyware
- Identity Theft
- Keystroke Logging
- Cyberbullying

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Global Dimensions of Intellectual Property Rights in Science and Technology

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- Easily coping by modern technology
- Cybersquatting: register domain names for famous trademarks or company names, buy the domain name for a large sum of money
-  copy a program without paying for it

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As technological developments multiply around the globe-even as the patenting of human genes comes under serious discussion-nations, companies, and researchers find themselves in conflict over intellectual property rights (IPRs). Now, an international group of experts presents the first multidisciplinary look at IPRs in an age of explosive growth in science and technology.

This thought-provoking volume offers an update on current international IPR negotiations and includes case studies on software, computer chips, optoelectronics, and biotechnology-areas characterized by high development cost and easy reproducibility. The volume covers these and other issues:

Modern economic theory as a basis for approaching international IPRs.

U.S. intellectual property practices versus those in Japan, India, the European Community, and the developing and newly industrializing countries.

Trends in science and technology and how they affect IPRs.

Pros and cons of a uniform international IPRs regime versus a system reflecting national differences.

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Read "Global Dimensions of Intellectual Property Rights in Science and Technology" at NAP.edu

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As technological developments multiply around the globe-even as the patenting of human genes comes under serious discussion-nations, companies, and researchers find themselves in conflict over intellectual property rights (IPRs). Now, an international group of experts presents the first multidisciplinary look at IPRs in an age of explosive growth in science and technology.

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- Computer incidents are so prevalent: computer users share login IDs and passwords, Network era, increased reliance on commercial software with known vulnerabilities -> attack on information system, takes advantage of system vulnerability,.... Eg. Zero-day attack
- Hacking, online scams
- Fraud, Sabotage, Information theft, Forgery

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ABSTRACT

The new information and communication technologies bring many benefits to society, but they also create new social and ethical problems - such as software theft, invasions of privacy, hacking and the creation of viruses. Computer-assisted crime is one of the most serious and its apparent growth in recent years demonstrates clearly how new technologies create new opportunities for criminal activity. The available evidence on the nature and extent of computer crime is reviewed, together with the available data on participation. Techniques for improving computer security are then discussed and the appropriate lessons drawn.

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COMPUTER CRIME: NEW PROBLEM FOR THE INFORMATION SOCIETY

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ABSTRACT The new information and communication technologies bring many benefits to society, but they also create new social and ethical problems - such as software theft, invasions of privacy, hacking and the creation of viruses. Computer-assisted crime is one of the most serious and its apparent growth in recent years demonstrates clearly how new technologies create new opportunities for criminal activity.

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-  Uncontrolled information, malicous
-  Free expression on the forum, blog, facebook, ...
- Anonymity on the internet: expression of opinions by people who do not reveal their identity. In the wrong hands, it can be a tool to commit illegal or unethical activities: slander, smear,...
- Obscene and defamation speech: sending threatening private messages over the Internet to a person, libel directed at a particular person,... => false, harms another person (financial nature);
- Freedom of speech on the Internet is complicated by ease by which children can access Internet ( dangerous information, pornography, ...)
- Pornography: More than 4.2 million porn Web sites are accessible

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Op-Ed Contributor

DO machines speak? If so, do they have a constitutional right to free speech?

This may sound like a fanciful question, a matter of philosophy or science fiction. But it's become a real issue with important consequences.

In today's world, we have delegated many of our daily decisions to computers. On the drive to work, a GPS device suggests the best route; at your desk, Microsoft Word guesses at your misspellings, and Facebook recommends new friends. In the past few years, the suggestion has been made that when computers make such choices they are "speaking," and enjoy the protections of the First Amendment.

This is a bad idea that threatens the government's ability to oversee companies and protect consumers.

The argument that machines speak was first made in the context of Internet search. In 2003, in a civil suit brought by a firm dissatisfied with the ranking of Google's search results, Google asserted that its search results were constitutionally protected speech. (In an unpublished opinion, the court ruled in Google's favor.) And this year, facing increasing federal scrutiny, Google commissioned Eugene Volokh, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, to draft a much broader and more elaborate version of the same argument. As Professor Volokh declares in his paper: "Google, Microsoft's Bing, Yahoo! Search, and other search engines are speakers."

To a non-lawyer the position may sound bizarre, but here is the logic. Take a newspaper advice columnist like Ann Landers: surely her answers to readers' questions were a form of speech. Likewise, when you turn to Google with a question, the search engine must decide, at that moment, what "answers" to give, and in what order to put those answers. If such answers are speech, then any government efforts to regulate Google, like any efforts to bowdlerize Ann Landers, must be examined as censorship.

Image

Credit... Graham Roumieu

And that's where theory hits reality. Consider that Google has attracted attention from both antitrust and consumer protection officials after accusations that it has used its dominance in search to hinder competitors and in some instances has not made clear the line between advertisement and results. Consider that the "decisions" made by Facebook's computers may involve widely sharing your private information; or that the recommendations made by online markets like Amazon could one day serve as a means for disadvantaging competing publishers. Ordinarily, such practices could violate laws meant to protect consumers. But if we call computerized decisions "speech," the judiciary must consider these laws as potential censorship, making the First Amendment, for these companies, a formidable anti-regulatory tool.

Is there a compelling argument that computerized decisions should be considered speech? As a matter of legal logic, there is some similarity among Google, Ann Landers, Socrates and other providers of answers. But if you look more closely, the comparison falters. Socrates was a man who died for his views; computer programs are utilitarian instruments meant to serve us. Protecting a computer's "speech" is only indirectly related to the purposes of the First Amendment, which is intended to protect actual humans against the evil of state censorship. The First Amendment has wandered far from its purposes when it is recruited to protect commercial automatons from regulatory scrutiny.

It is true that the First Amendment has been stretched to protect commercial speech (like advertisements) as well as, more controversially, political expenditures made by corporations. But commercial speech has always been granted limited protection. And while the issue of corporate speech is debatable, campaign expenditures are at least a part of the political system, the core concern of the First Amendment.

The line can be easily drawn: as a general rule, nonhuman or automated choices should not be granted the full protection of the First Amendment, and often should not be considered "speech" at all. (Where a human does make a specific choice about specific content, the question is different.)

Defenders of Google's position have argued that since humans programmed the computers that are "speaking," the computers have speech rights as if by digital inheritance. But the fact that a programmer has the First Amendment right to program pretty much anything he likes doesn't mean his creation is thereby endowed with his constitutional rights. Doctor Frankenstein's monster could walk and talk, but that didn't qualify him to vote in the doctor's place.

Computers make trillions of invisible decisions each day; the possibility that each decision could be protected speech should give us pause. To Google's credit, while it has claimed First Amendment rights for its search results, it has never formally asserted that it has the constitutional right to ignore privacy or antitrust laws. As a nation we must hesitate before allowing the higher principles of the Bill of Rights to become little more than lowly tools of commercial advantage. To give computers the rights intended for humans is to elevate our machines above ourselves.

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Opinion | Free Speech for Computers? (Published 2012)

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Op-Ed Contributor DO machines speak? If so, do they have a constitutional right to free speech? This may sound like a fanciful question, a matter of philosophy or science fiction. But it's become a real issue with important consequences. In today's world, we have delegated many of our daily decisions to computers.

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- Diminish individual privacy( Surveillance cameras
GPS systems, ...)
- Customer information business, collect user data
- The accuracy of information
- Identify theft : form of fraud
- A number of laws have been enacted that affect a person’s privacy particularly in the areas of financial and health records, protection ,...

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Privacy and Information Technology (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

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Discussions about privacy are intertwined with the use of technology.
The publication that began the debate about privacy in the Western
world was occasioned by the introduction of the newspaper printing
press and photography. Samuel D. Warren and Louis Brandeis wrote their
article on privacy in the…

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Copyright – is a form of intellectual property that gives proprietary publication, distribution and usage rights for the author. This means that whatever idea the author created cannot be employed or disseminated by anyone else without the permission of the author.

Plagiarism – is an act of copying and publishing another person’s work without proper citation. It’s like stealing someone else’s work and releasing it as your own work.

Cracking – is a way of breaking into a system by getting past the security features of the system. It’s a way of skipping the registration and authentication steps when installing a software.

Software License – allows the use of digital material by following the license agreement. Ownership remains with the original copyright owner, users are just granted licenses to use the material based on the agreement.

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1. Introduction
2. Problems when using computer
3. Why we need to understand ethical issues

4. Computer ethics issues: crime, intellectual property
5. Ethics of ICT Organizations
6. Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics

7. Conclude

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There is a multitude of reasons why more and more companies choose to outsource some of their tasks. The primary reason is its cost-effectiveness, but access to a larger talent pool and general efficiency driven by the ability to focus on your primary goals also play major roles.

No wonder that according to Statista, the global market size of outsourced services in 2019 was $92.5 billion. However, if outsourcing were that flawless and did not pose any risks, we would not discuss the problems in outsourcing implementations. What are the most common problems you will face when outsourcing a task to a vendor, and how to avoid them?

Experts Name the Top 10 Problems of Outsourcing

Based on our in-depth experience, we have prepared a list of the top 10 problems that you might face when outsourcing your projects and how to avoid or overcome them.

Problem #1: Lack of Experience with Outsourcing

When you first start working with someone or at something, it might be overwhelming. You are not familiar with best practices, common concepts, the workflow. To convey your vision to another group of people, especially someone you have never worked with before, is a difficult task that should not be underestimated.
Solution: choose an experienced vendor.
An experienced vendor will walk you through the process, help you avoid the bottlenecks, and mitigate possible risks. They will help you define requirements, go through the discovery stage, and find the best people for the job. But at the end of the day, it is essential to remember that outsourcing is risky, and if it's a risk you are willing to take, the right provider will be there to support you at every step.

Problem #2: Lack of Expertise with The Outsourced Task

Another problem with outsourcing is a lack of competence. When you do not have enough expertise in JavaScript software development or Big Data analytics and delegate these tasks to a third-party service, you probably will not be able to assess the results of their work adequately. Without having a clear understanding of the differences in technologies and solutions, you are at risk of mis-hiring or misjudging.
Solution: fill the knowledge gap.
The most important part of avoiding this pitfall is setting clear performance standards for the project. You may want to hire someone in-house who would define requirements for tasks and monitor the vendor's work more accurately. If you can't afford another worker on your staff, be sure to find a vendor who will be knowledgeable and trustworthy enough to help you understand the workflow and results.

Problem #3: Poor Cost Estimate

Although we did say that outsourcing will save you a good portion of your budget, it may go south if not thoroughly planned. And you can't estimate costs without establishing precise requirements, timelines, resources, etc. This brings us to one of the most challenging issues with outsourcing - calculating an accurate cost estimation.
Solution: set clear project requirements
If you are having trouble defining the exact set of requirements for the project, find an experienced firm or individual freelance workers who can help you with this task. Ask as many questions as you can think of to determine how the pricing model works to avoid unexpected charges. Explain your budget limitations to the vendor to minimize misunderstandings in the future.

Problem #4: Choosing the Right Vendor

Among other problems of outsourcing, you might face difficulty looking for a vendor of the right size. A small outsourcing company will leave you no room for growth as it will not easily scale up or down. An enterprise-sized outsourcing firm might take a less personal approach and charge you too much for your project.

Solution: find the middle ground.
Take a step back and objectively assess your company: its size, number of employees, growth potential, revenue, brand awareness, etc. Do not go for a large outsourcing company if you are still in the startup phase. The money you would spend on it would be enough to cover a paycheck of an in-house specialist. At the same time, don't choose the cheapest vendor on the market since it poses a greater risk of getting poor results.

Problem #5: Lack of Cultural Context

If you have never worked in a culturally diverse team, you might not realize it, but the cultural context and the national differences matter. Although diversity is proved to drive innovation and financial results in the long-term, in the beginning, it might lead to miscommunications and misunderstandings. On top of that, since you will be reaching out to the global market, you might have to get used to working with people from different time zones.
Solution: don't underestimate the significance of cultural differences.
This solution to the outsourcing problem goes in both ways: you could organize diversity awareness training programs for your staff as well as convey your values and norms to freelancers. Additionally, be sure to build clear communication channels and organize regular calls to bring everyone on the same page.

Problem #6: Contractual and Legal Processes

Unlike the in-house hiring process, the outsourcing legal process is not as standardized and depends a lot on the vendor's location. From country to country, you might need to sign various additional papers that are not part of your location's legal process. The outsourcing issues begin after the contracts have been signed and the work has started - small misunderstandings in the agreement might lead to serious outcomes that poison the entire dynamic between you and your vendor.
Solution: be scrupulous and exhaustive when it comes to legalese.
Be sure to prepare an NDA for the outsourcing company to sign as well as other regulation documents if needed. Discuss every possible part of the process, including situations where your vendor fails to perform or messes up something, and do not forget to cover the security issues. Your contract should entail clauses about compensation, working conditions, freelancer's responsibilities, ownership information, and other relevant things.

Problem #7: Poor Knowledge Transfer

Poor knowledge transfer delves into two outsourcing problems: the first one is from your perspective, the other is from the vendor's point of view.

You might experience a negative outcome when dealing with the project results after the relationship with the vendor has been terminated. If they did not keep clear documentation, you might stumble upon some features or scripts unclear to you. On the other hand, if the vendor inherits an ongoing project from you with no transparent knowledge transfer procedure, they might fail to meet your expectations.
Solution: keep clear and extensive documentation.
Make sure to create a detailed knowledge transfer plan: the features, technology, code logic. Your vendor should be able to grasp the project just by going through your documented regulations. If it is not enough, organize calls or meetings, if possible, with the outsourcing company, your DevOps specialists, QA automation engineers, and developers to discuss hidden pitfalls and answer all the questions your vendor might have.

Problem #8: Poor Team Management and Communication

It might sound like a broken record, but communication is the key to success. You might think that you are being understood the way you planned, but people come from different backgrounds, educations, experiences and will have their own perceptions. If you do not wish to be misinterpreted and agree that an adequate communication level will smooth many rough edges, here are our solutions to outsourcing jobs.

Solution: implement continuous communication.
Make sure to make communication an important part of the workflow - integrate calls, feedback loops, and other communication techniques into your project schedule. If possible, you can also visit each other's offices to have in-person meetings that facilitate better understanding and increase the level of empathy. Finally, use project management tools like JIRA and Trello to be in-sync with each other and create a shared GitHub board to share technical processes.

Problem #9: Finding a Trustworthy Vendor

One of the most common reasons for outsourcing gone wrong is partnering up with an unsuitable agency. We have mentioned several times the importance of tracking a trustworthy vendor. But what does it really mean? How do you tell one from another?
Solution: do your due diligence.
Sometimes the information you will find online is highly inconsistent where one website will have solely positive reviews and another a bunch of negative comments. Check reliable resources like Clutch, TopDevelopers, DesignRush, and visit vendors' homepages to read about their cases and experience.

Problem #10: Selecting the Appropriate Outsourcing Approach

There are three common outsourcing models:

Time and material model;

Fixed-price contracts;

Dedicated development teams.

Depending on your goals, requirements, scope, duration, budget, and other criteria, you may choose one of the models. How do you choose?
Solution: read our tips below.

The fixed price modelrequires you, as a client, to provide the full list of requirements for the project, in other words, scope, and set the exact deadline & budget. Unfortunately, due to the inflexibility, outsourcing teams are sometimes forced to drop a few features to make it in time. Or it might shift the opposite way, and you will have to pay extra fees for developers' work because of unexpected changes.

The time and material model is an approach better suited for long-term partnerships and allows for changes on-the-go. With this model, you pay only for the features that have actually been added and avoid extra costs and poor results.

Dedicated development teams are basically extra workers on your team that fill in a knowledge gap. Instead of completely delegating your project, you will still be in charge and have more short-term experts on your team.

Golden Rules to Avoid Problems of Outsourcing

Let's revisit all the tips above:

Keep track of the documentation

Establish direct communication channels

Be aware of cultural differences

Always conduct thorough research before deciding on a vendor

Clearly define requirements, duration, and costs of the project

Make sure you understand the risks and find the company that you trust.

Conclusion

If outsourcing is new to you, you probably will face some challenges first, which is why it is so important to choose an agency that you can trust. A reliable outsourcing vendor is a company with enough cases that prove their expertise, positive feedback from their clients, and a devoted team of professionals who will be there to walk you through each step.

Techmagic is a web app development company that focuses on JavaScript app development, AWS, and Serverless. Our mission is to build you a dedicated team of experts and deliver the best product.

We have worked with many technologies in the book - Node.JS, TypeScript, Angular, Swift, Kotlin, and others. If you feel like you need a trustworthy agency to fill some skill or knowledge gaps, contact our team of specialists who will be happy to answer your questions and help you at every step of the outsourcing process.

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Top 10 Problems of Outsourcing And How to Avoid Them | TechMagic.co

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What are the most common problems of outsourcing and how to mitigate them? Experts name 10 issues they face with outsourcing and the best solutions.

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What Is a Trojan Horse? Trojan Virus and Malware Explained | Fortinet

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What Is a Trojan Horse? Trojan Virus and Malware Explained | Fortinet

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What Is a Trojan Horse Virus?

A Trojan horse is a type of malware that downloads onto a computer disguised as a legitimate program. A Trojan horse is so-called due to its delivery method, which typically sees an attacker use social engineering to hide malicious code within legitimate software. However, unlike computer viruses or worms, a Trojan does not self-replicate, so it needs to be installed by a valid user.

A simple way to answer the question " what is Trojan" is it is a type of malware that typically gets hidden as an attachment in an email or a free-to-download file, then transfers onto the user's device. Once downloaded, the malicious code will execute the task the attacker designed it for, such as gain backdoor access to corporate systems, spy on users' online activity, or steal sensitive data.

Indications of a Trojan being active on a device include unusual activity such as computer settings being changed unexpectedly.

History of the Trojan Horse

The original story of the Trojan horse can be found in the Aeneid by Virgil and the Odyssey by Homer. In the story, the enemies of the city of Troy were able to get inside the city gates using a horse they pretended was a gift. The soldiers hid inside the huge wooden horse and once inside, they climbed out and let the other soldiers in.

There are a few elements of the story that make the term "Trojan horse" an appropriate name for these types of cyberattacks:

The Trojan horse was a unique solution to the target's defenses. In the original story, the attackers had laid siege to the city for 10 years and hadn't succeeded in defeating it. The Trojan horse gave them the access they had been wanting for a decade. A Trojan virus, similarly, can be a good way to get behind an otherwise tight set of defenses.

The Trojan horse appeared to be a legitimate gift. In a similar vein, a Trojan virus looks like legitimate software.

The soldiers in the Trojan horse controlled the city's defense system. With a Trojan virus, the malware takes control of your computer, potentially leaving it vulnerable to other "invaders."

How Do Trojans Work?

Unlike computer viruses, a Trojan horse cannot manifest by itself, so it needs a user to download the server side of the application for it to work. This means the executable (.exe) file should be implemented and the program installed for the Trojan to attack a device's system.

A Trojan virus spreads through legitimate-looking emails and files attached to emails, which are spammed to reach the inboxes of as many people as possible. When the email is opened and the malicious attachment is downloaded, the Trojan server will install and automatically run every time the infected device is turned on.

Devices can also be infected by a Trojan through social engineering tactics, which cyber criminals use to coerce users into downloading a malicious application. The malicious file could be hidden in banner advertisements, pop-up advertisements, or links on websites.

A computer infected by Trojan malware can also spread it to other computers. A cyber criminal turns the device into a zombie computer, which means they have remote control of it without the user knowing. Hackers can then use the zombie computer to continue sharing malware across a network of devices, known as a botnet.

For example, a user might receive an email from someone they know, which includes an attachment that also looks legitimate. However, the attachment contains malicious code that executes and installs the Trojan on their device. The user often will not know anything untoward has occurred, as their computer may continue to work normally with no signs of it having been infected.

The malware will reside undetected until the user takes a certain action, such as visiting a certain website or banking app. This will activate the malicious code, and the Trojan will carry out the hacker's desired action. Depending on the type of Trojan and how it was created, the malware may delete itself, return to being dormant, or remain active on the device.

Trojans can also attack and infect smartphones and tablets using a strand of mobile malware. This could occur through the attacker redirecting traffic to a device connected to a Wi-Fi network and then using it to launch cyberattacks.

Most Common Types of Trojan Malware

There are many types of Trojan horse viruses that cyber criminals use to carry out different actions and different attack methods. The most common types of Trojan used include:

1. Backdoor Trojan: A backdoor Trojan enables an attacker to gain remote access to a computer and take control of it using a backdoor. This enables the malicious actor to do whatever they want on the device, such as deleting files, rebooting the computer, stealing data, or uploading malware. A backdoor Trojan is frequently used to create a botnet through a network of zombie computers.

2. Banker Trojan: A banker Trojan is designed to target users' banking accounts and financial information. It attempts to steal account data for credit and debit cards, e-payment systems, and online banking systems.

3. Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) Trojan: These Trojan programs carry out attacks that overload a network with traffic. It will send multiple requests from a computer or a group of computers to overwhelm a target web address and cause a denial of service.

4. Downloader Trojan: A downloader Trojan targets a computer that has already been infected by malware, then downloads and installs more malicious programs to it. This could be additional Trojans or other types of malware like adware.

5. Exploit Trojan: An exploit malware program contains code or data that takes advantage of specific vulnerabilities within an application or computer system. The cyber criminal will target users through a method like a phishing attack, then use the code in the program to exploit a known vulnerability.

6. Fake antivirus Trojan: A fake antivirus Trojan simulates the actions of legitimate antivirus software. The Trojan is designed to detect and remove threats like a regular antivirus program, then extort money from users for removing threats that may be nonexistent.

7. Game-thief Trojan: A game-thief Trojan is specifically designed to steal user account information from people playing online games.

8. Instant messaging (IM) Trojan: This type of Trojan targets IM services to steal users' logins and passwords. It targets popular messaging platforms such as AOL Instant Messenger, ICQ, MSN Messenger, Skype, and Yahoo Pager.

9. Infostealer Trojan: This malware can either be used to install Trojans or prevent the user from detecting the existence of a malicious program. The components of infostealer Trojans can make it difficult for antivirus systems to discover them in scans.

10. Mailfinder Trojan: A mailfinder Trojan aims to harvest and steal email addresses that have been stored on a computer.

11. Ransom Trojan: Ransom Trojans seek to impair a computer's performance or block data on the device so that the user can no longer access or use it. The attacker will then hold the user or organization ransom until they pay a ransom fee to undo the device damage or unlock the affected data.

12. Remote access Trojan: Similar to a backdoor Trojan, this strand of malware gives the attacker full control of a user's computer. The cyber criminal maintains access to the device through a remote network connection, which they use to steal information or spy on a user.

13. Rootkit Trojan: A rootkit is a type of malware that conceals itself on a user's computer. Its purpose is to stop malicious programs from being detected, which enables malware to remain active on an infected computer for a longer period.

14. Short message service (SMS) Trojan: An SMS Trojan infects mobile devices and is capable of sending and intercepting text messages. This includes sending messages to premium-rate phone numbers, which increases the costs on a user's phone bill.

15. Spy Trojan: Spy Trojans are designed to sit on a user's computer and spy on their activity. This includes logging their keyboard actions, taking screenshots, accessing the applications they use, and tracking login data.

16. SUNBURST: The SUNBURST trojan virus was released on numerous SolarWinds Orion Platform. Victims were compromised by trojanized versions of a legitimate SolarWinds digitally signed file named: SolarWinds.Orion.Core.BusinessLayer.dll. The trojanized file is a backdoor. Once on a target machine, it remains dormant for a two-week period and will then retrieve commands that allow it to transfer, execute, perform reconnaissance, reboot and halt system services. Communication occurs over http to predetermined URI's.

How To Recognize a Trojan Virus

A Trojan horse virus can often remain on a device for months without the user knowing their computer has been infected. However, telltale signs of the presence of a Trojan include computer settings suddenly changing, a loss in computer performance, or unusual activity taking place. The best way to recognize a Trojan is to search a device using a Trojan scanner or malware-removal software.

How To Protect Yourself from Trojan Viruses

A Trojan horse virus can often remain on a device for months without the user knowing their computer has been infected. However, telltale signs of the presence of a Trojan include computer settings suddenly changing, a loss in computer performance, or unusual activity taking place. The best way to recognize a Trojan is to search a device using a Trojan scanner or malware-removal software.

Examples of Trojan Horse Virus Attacks

Trojan attacks have been responsible for causing major damage by infecting computers and stealing user data. Well-known examples of Trojans include:

1. Rakhni Trojan: The Rakhni Trojan delivers ransomware or a cryptojacker tool-which enables an attacker to use a device to mine cryptocurrency-to infect devices.

2. Tiny Banker: Tiny Banker enables hackers to steal users' financial details. It was discovered when it infected at least 20 U.S. banks.

3. Zeus or Zbot: Zeus is a toolkit that targets financial services and enables hackers to build their own Trojan malware. The source code uses techniques like form grabbing and keystroke logging to steal user credentials and financial details.

How Fortinet Can Help

The Fortinet antivirus services. leverage the power of the FortiGuard Labs Global Threat Intelligence system. In the span of a minute, FortiGuard eliminates, on average, 95,000 malware programs. FortiGuard does this by incorporating knowledge of the different types of viruses within the global threat landscape. Countermeasures are engineered to neutralize each type of threat, and then they are automatically enacted by FortiGuard, thereby protecting the networks under the FortiGuard umbrella.

The FortiGuard antivirus protection system comes with FortiGate, FortiSandbox, FortiMail, FortiWeb, FortiCache, and FortiClient.

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What Is a Trojan Horse? Trojan Virus and Malware Explained | Fortinet

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A Trojan horse virus is a type of malware that disguises itself within legitimate applications and software. Discover how Trojans work and how the Fortinet Antivirus solution can prevent Trojan attacks and protect users from the latest spyware, threats, and viruses.

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- Act of using email, message to try to get the recipient to reveal personal data and lead users to counterfeit Web sites

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- Act of using email, message to try to get the recipient to reveal personal data and lead users to counterfeit Web sites

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What is a phishing attack

Phishing is a type of social engineering attack often used to steal user data, including login credentials and credit card numbers. It occurs when an attacker, masquerading as a trusted entity, dupes a victim into opening an email, instant message, or text message. The recipient is then tricked into clicking a malicious link, which can lead to the installation of malware, the freezing of the system as part of a ransomware attack or the revealing of sensitive information.

An attack can have devastating results. For individuals, this includes unauthorized purchases, the stealing of funds, or identify theft.

Moreover, phishing is often used to gain a foothold in corporate or governmental networks as a part of a larger attack, such as an advanced persistent threat (APT) event. In this latter scenario, employees are compromised in order to bypass security perimeters, distribute malware inside a closed environment, or gain privileged access to secured data.

An organization succumbing to such an attack typically sustains severe financial losses in addition to declining market share, reputation, and consumer trust. Depending on scope, a phishing attempt might escalate into a security incident from which a business will have a difficult time recovering.

Phishing attack examples

The following illustrates a common phishing scam attempt:

A spoofed email ostensibly from myuniversity.edu is mass-distributed to as many faculty members as possible.

The email claims that the user's password is about to expire. Instructions are given to go to myuniversity.edu/renewal to renew their password within 24 hours.

Several things can occur by clicking the link. For example:

The user is redirected to myuniversity.edurenewal.com, a bogus page appearing exactly like the real renewal page, where both new and existing passwords are requested. The attacker, monitoring the page, hijacks the original password to gain access to secured areas on the university network.

The user is sent to the actual password renewal page. However, while being redirected, a malicious script activates in the background to hijack the user's session cookie. This results in a reflected XSS attack, giving the perpetrator privileged access to the university network.

Phishing techniques

Email phishing scams

Email phishing is a numbers game. An attacker sending out thousands of fraudulent messages can net significant information and sums of money, even if only a small percentage of recipients fall for the scam. As seen above, there are some techniques attackers use to increase their success rates.

For one, they will go to great lengths in designing phishing messages to mimic actual emails from a spoofed organization. Using the same phrasing, typefaces, logos, and signatures makes the messages appear legitimate.

In addition, attackers will usually try to push users into action by creating a sense of urgency. For example, as previously shown, an email could threaten account expiration and place the recipient on a timer. Applying such pressure causes the user to be less diligent and more prone to error.

Lastly, links inside messages resemble their legitimate counterparts, but typically have a misspelled domain name or extra subdomains. In the above example, the myuniversity.edu/renewal URL was changed to myuniversity.edurenewal.com. Similarities between the two addresses offer the impression of a secure link, making the recipient less aware that an attack is taking place.

Spear phishing

Spear phishing targets a specific person or enterprise, as opposed to random application users. It's a more in-depth version of phishing that requires special knowledge about an organization, including its power structure.

An attack might play out as follows:

1. A perpetrator researches names of employees within an organization's marketing department and gains access to the latest project invoices.

2. Posing as the marketing director, the attacker emails a departmental project manager (PM) using a subject line that reads, Updated invoice for Q3 campaigns. The text, style, and included logo duplicate the organization's standard email template.

3. A link in the email redirects to a password-protected internal document, which is in actuality a spoofed version of a stolen invoice.

4. The PM is requested to log in to view the document. The attacker steals his credentials, gaining full access to sensitive areas within the organization's network.

By providing an attacker with valid login credentials, spear phishing is an effective method for executing the first stage of an APT.

How to prevent phishing

Phishing attack protection requires steps be taken by both users and enterprises.

For users, vigilance is key. A spoofed message often contains subtle mistakes that expose its true identity. These can include spelling mistakes or changes to domain names, as seen in the earlier URL example. Users should also stop and think about why they're even receiving such an email.

For enterprises, a number of steps can be taken to mitigate both phishing and spear phishing attacks:

Two-factor authentication (2FA) is the most effective method for countering phishing attacks, as it adds an extra verification layer when logging in to sensitive applications. 2FA relies on users having two things: something they know, such as a password and user name, and something they have, such as their smartphones. Even when employees are compromised, 2FA prevents the use of their compromised credentials, since these alone are insufficient to gain entry.

In addition to using 2FA, organizations should enforce strict password management policies. For example, employees should be required to frequently change their passwords and to not be allowed to reuse a password for multiple applications.

Educational campaigns can also help diminish the threat of phishing attacks by enforcing secure practices, such as not clicking on external email links.

Phishing protection from Imperva

Imperva offers a combination of access management and web application security solutions to counter phishing attempts:

Imperva Login Protect lets you deploy 2FA protection for URL addresses in your website or web application. This includes addresses having URL parameters or AJAX pages, where 2FA protection is normally harder to implement. The solution can be deployed in seconds with just a few clicks of a mouse. It doesn't require any hardware or software installation and enables easy management of user roles and privileges directly from your Imperva dashboard.

Working within the cloud, Imperva Web Application Firewall (WAF) blocks malicious requests at the edge of your network. This includes preventing malware injection attempts by compromised insiders in addition to reflected XSS attacks deriving from a phishing episode.

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What is phishing | Attack techniques & scam examples | Imperva

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Phishing is a type of social engineering attack often used to steal user data, including login credentials and credit card numbers. It occurs when an attacker, masquerading as a trusted entity, dupes a victim into opening an email, instant message, or text message.

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- Abuse of email systems to send unsolicited email to large numbers of people to:+ Low-cost commercial advertising for products+ Marketing- Completely automated public turing test to tell computers and humans

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- Abuse of email systems to send unsolicited email to large numbers of people to:+ Low-cost commercial advertising for products+ Marketing- Completely automated public turing test to tell computers and humans

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What comes to mind when you think of spam? Miracle pills from Internet pharmacies, requests for money from "princes" of other countries, or perhaps the food, Spam? This article is all about spam with a lowercase "s." While many people enjoy the food Spam, no one wants to be tricked into losing money or downloading malware because of the other kind of spam.

Spam is annoying, but it's also a threat. While many of us might think we're savvy enough to recognize any form of it, spammers regularly update their methods and messages to trick potential victims. The reality is that we're all constantly under attack from cybercriminals and the proof is in your inbox.

So read on to learn what spam is, how to recognize it, and how to protect yourself against it.

Spam definition

Spam is any kind of unwanted, unsolicited digital communication that gets sent out in bulk. Often spam is sent via email, but it can also be distributed via text messages, phone calls, or social media.

What does spam stand for?

Spam is not an acronym for a computer threat, although some have been proposed (stupid pointless annoying malware, for instance). The inspiration for using the term "spam" to describe mass unwanted messages is a Monty Python skit in which the actors declare that everyone must eat the food Spam, whether they want it or not. Similarly, everyone with an email address must unfortunately be bothered by spam messages, whether we like it or not.

If you're interested in the origins of spam in greater detail, see the history of spam section below.

Types of spam

Spammers use many forms of communication to bulk-send their unwanted messages. Some of these are marketing messages peddling unsolicited goods. Other types of spam messages can spread malware, trick you into divulging personal information, or scare you into thinking you need to pay to get out of trouble.

Email spam filters catch many of these types of messages, and phone carriers often warn you of a "spam risk" from unknown callers. Whether via email, text, phone, or social media, some spam messages do get through, and you want to be able to recognize them and avoid these threats. Below are several types of spam to look out for.

Phishing emails

Phishing emails are a type of spam cybercriminals send to many people, hoping to "hook" a few people. Phishing emails trick victims into giving up sensitive information like website logins or credit card information.

Adam Kujawa, Director of Malwarebytes Labs, says of phishing emails: "Phishing is the simplest kind of cyberattack and, at the same time, the most dangerous and effective. That is because it attacks the most vulnerable and powerful computer on the planet: the human mind."

Email spoofing

Spoofed emails mimic, or spoof, an email from a legitimate sender, and ask you to take some sort of action. Well-executed spoofs will contain familiar branding and content, often from a large well-known company such as PayPal or Apple. Common email spoofing spam messages include:

A request for payment of an outstanding invoice

A request to reset your password or verify your account

Verification of purchases you didn't make

Request for updated billing information

Tech support scams

In a tech support scam, the spam message indicates that you have a technical problem and you should contact tech support by calling the phone number or clicking a link in the message. Like email spoofing, these types of spam often say they are from a large technology company like Microsoft or a cybersecurity company like Malwarebytes.

If you think you have a technical issue or malware on your computer, tablet, or smartphone, you should always go to the official website of the company you want to call for tech support to find the legitimate contact information. Remote tech support often involves remote access to your computer to help you, and you don't want to accidentally give that access to a tech support scammer.

Current event scams

Hot topics in the news can be used in spam messages to get your attention. In 2020 when the world was facing the Covid-19 pandemic and there was an increase in work-from-home jobs, some scammers sent spam messages promising remote jobs that paid in Bitcoin. During the same year, another popular spam topic was related to offering financial relief for small businesses, but the scammers ultimately asked for bank account details. News headlines can be catchy, but beware of them in regards to potential spam messages.

Advance-fee scams

This type of spam is likely familiar to anyone who has been using email since the 90s or 2000s. Sometimes called "Nigerian prince" emails as that was the purported message sender for many years, this type of spam promises a financial reward if you first provide a cash advance. The sender typically indicates that this cash advance is some sort of processing fee or earnest money to unlock the larger sum, but once you pay, they disappear. To make it more personal, a similar type of scam involves the sender pretending to be a family member that is in trouble and needs money, but if you pay, unfortunately the outcome is the same.

Malspam

Short for "malware spam" or "malicious spam," malspam is a spam message that delivers malware to your device. Unsuspecting readers who click on a link or open an email attachment end up with some type of malware including ransomware, Trojans, bots, info-stealers, cryptominers, spyware, and keyloggers. A common delivery method is to include malicious scripts in an attachment of a familiar type like a Word document, PDF file, or PowerPoint presentation. Once the attachment is opened, the scripts run and retrieve the malware payload.

Spam calls and spam texts

Have you ever received a robocall? That's call spam. A text message from an unknown sender urging you to click an unknown link? That's referred to as text message spam or "smishing," a combination of SMS and phishing.

If you're receiving spam calls and texts on your Android or iPhone, most major carriers give you an option to report spam. Blocking numbers is another way to combat mobile spam. In the US, you can add your phone number to the National Do Not Call Registry to try to cut down on the amount of unwanted sales calls you receive, but you should still be alert to scammers who ignore the list.

How can I stop spam?

While it may not be possible to avoid spam altogether, there are steps you can take to help protect yourself against falling for a scam or getting phished from a spam message:

Learn to spot phishing

All of us can fall victim to phishing attacks. We may be in a rush and click a malicious link without realizing. If a new type of phishing attack comes out, we may not readily recognize it. To protect yourself, learn to check for some key signs that a spam message isn't just annoying-it's a phishing attempt:

1. Sender's email address: If an email from a company is legitimate, the sender's email address should match the domain for the company they claim to represent. Sometimes these are obvious, like example@abkljzr09348.biz, but other times the changes are less noticeable, like example@paypa1.com instead of paypal.com.

2. Missing personal information: If you are a customer, the company should have your information and will likely address you by your first name. A missing personal greeting alone isn't enough to spot a phishing email, but it's one thing to look for, especially in messages that say they are from a company with whom you do business. Receiving an email that says your account has been locked or you owe money is cause to worry, and sometimes we rush to click a link in order to fix the problem. If it's phishing, that's exactly what the sender wants, so be careful and check if the email is generic or addressed specifically to you.

3. Links: Beware of all links, including buttons in an email. If you get a message from a company with whom you have an account, it's wise to log in to your account to see if there is a message there rather than just clicking the link in the message without verifying first. You can contact the company to ask if a suspicious message is legitimate or not. If you have any doubts about a message, don't click any links.

4. Grammatical errors: We all make them, but a company sending out legitimate messages probably won't have a lot of punctuation errors, poor grammar, and spelling mistakes. These can be another red flag to indicate that the email could be suspect.

5. Too-good-to-be-true offers: Many phishing messages pretend to be from large, well-known companies, hoping to ensnare readers who happen to do business with the company. Other phishing attempts offer something for free like cash or a desirable prize. The saying is often true that if something sounds too good to be true it probably is, and this can be a warning that a spam message is trying to get something from you, rather than give you something.

6. Attachments: Unless you are expecting an email with attachments, always be wary before opening or downloading them. Using anti-malware software can help by scanning files that you download for malware.

You can read even more about phishing emails and how to spot them on the Malwarebytes Labs blog.

Report spam

Email providers have gotten pretty good at filtering out spam, but when messages make it through to your inbox, you can report them. This is true for spam calls and text messages, as many carriers give you the ability to report spam as well. You can also choose to block the sender, often in the same step as reporting the message.

Reporting spam can help your email provider or phone service carrier get better at detecting spam. If legitimate emails get sent to your spam filter, you can report that they should not be marked as spam, and that also provides useful information on what should not be filtered. Another helpful step is to add senders you want to hear from to your contacts list proactively.

Use two factor-authentication (2FA)

With two-factor or multi-factor authentication, even if your username and password are compromised via a phishing attack, cybercriminals won't be able to get around the additional authentication requirements tied to your account. Additional authentication factors include secret questions or verification codes sent to your phone via text message.

Install cybersecurity

In the event that you click a bad link or download malware sent to you via spam, good cybersecurity software will recognize the malware and shut it down before it can do any damage to your system or network. With products for home and business, Malwarebytes has got you covered wherever technology takes you.

Recent news on spam

History of spam

The history of spam starts in 1864, over a hundred years before the Internet, with a telegram sent en masse to a number of British politicians. In a prescient sign of things to come, the telegram was an advertisement for teeth whitening.

The first example of an unsolicited email dates back to 1978 and the precursor to the Internet-ARPANET. This proto-Internet spam was an advertisement for a new model of computer from Digital Equipment Corporation. It worked-people bought the computers.

By the 1980s, people came together on regional online communities, called bulletin boards (BBSes), run by hobbyists on their home servers. On a typical BBS, users were able to share files, post notices, and exchange messages. During heated online exchanges, users would type the word "spam" over and over again to drown each other out. This was done in reference to a Monty Python sketch from 1970 in which a husband and wife eating at a working-class café find that almost everything on the menu contains Spam. As the wife argues with the waitress over the preponderance of Spam on the menu, a chorus of Vikings drowns out the conversation with a song about Spam.

The use of the word "spam" in this context, i.e. loud annoying messaging, caught on-to the chagrin of Hormel Foods, the maker of Spam.

Over on Usenet, a precursor to the Internet that functions much like today's Internet forums, "spam" was used to refer to excessive multiple posting across multiple forums and threads. The earliest Usenet spam included a fundamentalist religious tract, a political rant about the Armenian Genocide, and an advertisement for green card legal services.

Spam didn't start in earnest until the rise of the Internet and instant email communication in the early 90s. Spam reached epidemic proportions with hundreds of billions of spam emails overwhelming our inboxes.

In 1999, Melissa, the first virus that spread via macro-enabled Word documents attached to emails was let loose upon the digital world. It spread by ransacking victims' contact lists and spamming itself to everyone the victim knew. In the end, Melissa caused $80 million in damages, according to the FBI.

Without any anti-spam legislation in place, professional spammers rose to prominence, including the self-proclaimed "Spam King" Sanford Wallace. True to his nickname, Wallace was at one time the biggest sender of spam emails and social media spam on sites like Myspace and Facebook.

It wasn't until the early 2000s that governments around the world started to get serious about regulating spam. Notably, all member countries of the European Union and the United Kingdom have laws in place that restrict spam. Likewise, in 2003 the United States put a set of laws in place cheekily called the CAN-SPAM Act (once again, Hormel just can't get a break). These laws, in the US and abroad, place restrictions on the content, sending behavior, and unsubscribe compliance of all email.

At the same time, top email providers Microsoft and Google worked hard to improve spam filtering technology. Bill Gates famously predicted spam would disappear by 2006.

Under these laws a rogue's gallery of spammers, including the Spam King, were arrested, prosecuted and jailed for foisting penny stocks, fake watches and questionable drugs on us. In 2016 Sanford Wallace was convicted, sentenced to 30 months in prison, and ordered to pay hundreds of thousands in restitution for sending millions of spam messages on Facebook.

And yet spam is still a thing. Sorry, Bill.

In spite of the best efforts of legislators, law enforcement and technology companies, we're still fighting the scourge of unwanted, malicious email and other digital communication. The fact of the matter is that the business of spam requires little effort on behalf of spammers, few spammers actually go to jail, and there's lots of money to be made.

In a joint study on spam between University of California, Berkeley, and University of California, San Diego, researchers observed a zombie botnet in action and found the operators of the botnet sent out 350 million emails over the course of a month. Out of these hundreds of millions of emails the spammers netted 28 sales. This a conversion rate of .00001 percent. That being said, if the spammers continued to send out spam at that rate, they would pull in 3.5 million dollars in the span of a year.

So what, exactly, are the types of spam that continue to fill our inboxes to the brim and what can we do about it?

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What is Spam? | Definition & Types of Spam

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What comes to mind when you think of spam? Miracle pills from Internet pharmacies, requests for money from "princes" of other countries, or perhaps the food, Spam? This article is all about spam with a lowercase "s." While many people enjoy the food Spam, no one wants to be tricked into losing money or downloading malware because of the other kind of spam.

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- Harmful programs, reside in active memory of a computer and duplicate themselves- Can propagate without human intervention- Lost data and programs, lost productivity

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Computer Worm Examples

Computer worms have caused billions of dollars in damages over the past decade. Today, the Stuxnet, Duqu, and Flame computer worms continue to make headlines as a new breed of malware: computer worms designed for cyber warfare.

The Stuxnet virus is a computer worm discovered in June 2010. Stuxnet was created by the United States and Israel, targeting Iran's Uranium Enrichment Program. Stuxnet was created as part of a top-secret cyber war program codenamed "Olympic Games." The computer worm crashed 984 centrifuges at Iranian nuclear power plants between 2008 and 2012, setting back nuclear weapon production capabilities in Iran by about two years.

The Duqu computer worm was discovered in September 2011 and is believed to be linked to the Stuxnet virus. Duqu and Stuxnet operate very similarly and were both created by governments to target nuclear production in Iran. Rather than being used to disrupt the production of nuclear weapons, Duqu was used for stealing information. Some versions of Duqu did include a payload capable of deleting files from the host's computer.

The Flame virus was discovered in 2012 and is regarded as one of the most sophisticated computer worms ever found. Flame's code shares many similarities with the Stuxnet code, and Flame, like Stuxnet, was designed as part of a government-sponsored cyber program. While the Stuxnet computer worm was designed to sabotage nuclear weapon production, Flame is believed to have been created purely for cyber spying. Flame has infected thousands of computers since its deployment, mostly in Iran and other Middle Eastern countries.

Protecting yourself from Computer Worms

There are several best practices users can follow to protect their computers from worms. Following these steps will not only decrease the risk of infection, but also provide for easier detection and computer worm removal.

Keep the computers' operating system and software up-to-date with vendor-issued security releases. These updates often contain security patches designed to protect computers from newly discovered worms.

Avoid opening emails that you don't recognize or expect, as many computer worms spread via email.

Refrain from opening attachments and clicking on links from untrusted/unfamiliar sources.

Run a firewall and antivirus software to be further protected from computer worms. Software firewalls will keep the computer protected from unauthorized access. Choose an antivirus program that includes download scanning functionality (to detect malicious content in email and web downloads) as well as malware removal tools.

Symptoms of a Computer Worm

Users should be familiar with the symptoms of a computer worm so that they can quickly recognize infections and begin the process of computer worm removal. Here are some of the typical symptoms of a computer worm:

Slow computer performance

Freezing/crashing

Programs opening and running automatically

Irregular web browser performance

Unusual computer behavior (messages, images, sounds, etc)

Firewall warnings

Missing/modified files

Appearance of strange/unintended desktop files or icons

Operating system errors and system error messages

Emails sent to contacts without the user's knowledge

While other issues can cause these symptoms, the appearance of multiple symptoms from this list or the repeated occurrence of certain symptoms usually indicates that the computer has been infected with a worm.

Computer Worm Removal

There are several steps that should be taken for computer worm removal. It is important to disconnect the computer from the internet and any local area networks before taking any other actions for worm removal. In order to prevent spreading of the worm, use a non-infected computer to download any updates or programs required and then install them on the infected machine via an external storage device. Once the computer is disconnected:

Check that all antivirus signatures are up-to-date.

Scan the computer with antivirus software.

If the scan detects a computer worm or other malware, use the software to remove malware and clean or delete infected files. A scan that detects no malware is usually indicative that symptoms are being caused by hardware or software problems.

Check that the computer's operating system is up-to-date and all software and applications have current patches installed.

If a worm is difficult to remove, check online for specific computer worm removal utilities.

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Computer Worms Malware Overview | Veracode

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Computer worms have caused billions of dollars in damages over the past decade. Today, the Stuxnet, Duqu, and Flame computer worms continue to make headlines as a new breed of malware: computer worms designed for cyber warfare. The Stuxnet virus is a computer worm discovered in June 2010.

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- Pieces of programming code- Usually disguised as something else and attached to files- Cause unexpected and undesirable behavior- Spread by actions of the “infected” computer user (download, e-mail, visit a infected web,...)

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- Pieces of programming code- Usually disguised as something else and attached to files- Cause unexpected and undesirable behavior- Spread by actions of the “infected” computer user (download, e-mail, visit a infected web,...)

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" The computer can't tell you the emotional story. It can give you the exact mathematical design, but what's missing is the eyebrows."
Frank Zappa, Musician

Green computing (also sometimes referred to as green IT, green ICT or ICT sustainability) can be defined as the practice of eco-friendly and sustainable IT processes and appliances.

This can mean to reduce the energy demand, to avoid or at least to reduce the use of hazardous materials or to recycle as good as possible in order to minimize waste production.

Even though green computing is still a niche market, it will become much more popular in the future since we have to solve our global environmental problems somehow.

Although green IT implies many advantages, it also has some downsides.

In this article, the pros and cons of green computing are shown.

1. Green computing can save money in the long run

2. More sophisticated recycling processes

3. Green computing may strengthen the brand of companies

4. Positive impact on our flora and fauna

One important advantage of green computing is that it can enable companies to save plenty of energy over time.

Processes are still not optimized yet in many companies and the room for energy savings is enormous.

Green IT can be a great way to achieve a more energy-efficient computer environment since it aims to make IT-processes more efficient, which in turn implies less energy consumption.

Since servers all over the world consume vast amounts of energy, it is crucial to reduce the global energy consumption of computer systems in order to decrease our global demand for energy to improve our ecological footprint.

Since plenty of energy can be saved by companies by engaging in green IT systems, it also implies significant financial upsides in the long run.

Thus, companies should not be intimidated by the high upfront costs for a green IT framework.

Companies should rather look at the long-term financial gains they could gain from switching from conventional to green computing practices.

Another major part of green computing is to make old computers and other devices more suitable for recycling.

This can include separating electronic waste in a sophisticated manner.

It can also mean to use more biodegradable materials instead of plastics in order to make the waste from electronic devices more eco-friendly.

Thus, by setting up green IT infrastructures, companies all over the world may be able to improve their recycling processes.

Since we as humanity produce excessive amounts of waste on a daily basis, it is also crucial to reduce our waste production whenever possible.

Companies can contribute to less waste by adopting green IT processes since more electronic waste will be suitable for recycling and less waste has to be disposed of in landfills or burned.

Moreover, green computing not also aims to improve recycling, it also has the goal to reduce waste production in the first place.

For instance, this can mean that computers and other hardware items are used longer.

It can also mean that less paper is used in the office in order to reduce paper waste.

All those measures can greatly reduce the overall amount of waste companies produce on a global scale, which can vastly reduce the negative effect on our environment.

Another benefit of green IT is that it also allows us to reduce the resource depletion problem.

At our current state, we as humanity consume excessive amounts of fossil resources.

However, at one point in time in the near future, we may run out of those resources, which may result in increasing prices and many other issues.

Thus, it is crucial to save our natural resources.

Companies can do so by engaging in green computing since less hardware has to be used and therefore, also fewer fossil resources will be used for production purposes.

The production of IT hardware also implies significant pollution of many sorts.

For instance, in the production processes of material goods, plenty of harmful gases are emitted into the air, which contributes to air pollution, smog and particle pollution.

Moreover, since part of the electronic waste will end up in landfills, harmful substances that are contained in this waste may pollute the soil and will eventually end up in the groundwater.

Thus, in order to reduce those pollution issues related to conventional computing, green computing may be a great way to mitigate the pollution problem to a certain extent.

In the production processes related to computers and other hardware, large amounts of greenhouse gases are emitted into the atmosphere.

Through the emission of those gases, the global warming issue will be exacerbated.

Therefore, it is crucial to introduce green computing practices in order to use our computers and other devices longer so that fewer hardware components have to be produced and the amount of greenhouse gases that are emitted into our atmosphere can be lowered.

Through green computing, all kinds of hardware components can also be used much more efficiently.

For instance, this could mean that employees share a computer or get shared access to several services and servers.

Through those measures, hardware components can be used in a more efficient manner and the overall number of computer devices in companies can be reduced.

In general, green computing aims to make all sorts of IT processes more sustainable.

In all areas that are related to IT, companies aim to reduce their negative environmental impact in order to assure a livable future for the next generations.

Thus, green computing is a great way for companies to contribute their part to ensure a bright future for all of us.

The increasing popularity of green computing also puts pressure on the whole IT industry.

If more and more companies switch to more sustainable IT-infrastructures, other companies may feel the pressure to do so as well in order to improve their image.

Therefore, green computing may speed up the process of the whole IT industry to switch from conventional to eco-friendlier computing processes in a rather short period of time, which in turn would greatly benefit our environmental system.

Depending on the country you live in, there are sometimes quite low safety standards for electronic devices and customers may be at risk to suffer from health issues related to those electronic items.

For instance, in some electronic devices, mercury or other harmful substances may be used, which may be quite harmful if those devices break and customers get in touch with those substances.

Green IT can also help to reduce those problems since companies engaging in green computing practices try to avoid the use of those harmful substances in their production processes.

Companies who engage in green computing often also try to improve the overall working conditions in their factories in order to improve their overall image.

In turn, this may improve the working conditions of many employees, which may be treated better and in turn, their overall quality of life may increase significantly.

Teleworking is also another interesting component that can be regarded to be linked to the introduction of green computing infrastructures.

With teleworking, employees do no longer have to commute to work.

Instead, they can work from home, which gives employees engaging in teleworking many important advantages.

Among others, those employees do no longer have to commute to work, which lowers carbon dioxide emissions and reduces the global warming issue.

Thus, teleworking related to green commuting can also significantly improve our environmental footprint.

In general, since the awareness of people regarding going green has increased significantly over the past decade, companies often want to improve their image in this regard.

Therefore, green computing can be a great way for companies to strengthen their brand.

For instance, customers may be more eager to buy from companies that engage in green computing since they want to support those companies instead of companies that are solely profit-maximizing and do not care about our environment at all.

Thus, green IT can also strengthen the market position of companies all over the world.

Due to a reduction in overall pollution levels that are implied by green computing, also many animals and plants can greatly benefit from this development.

For instance, with less pollution, the natural living conditions of the local flora and fauna can be preserved.

Moreover, if global warming can be slowed down due to the use of green computing systems, also the endangered species problem can be reduced to a certain extent.

Many technologies aren't actually that green

Although there are many chances related to green computing, the use of green IT infrastructures also implies some problems.

For instance, one downside of green computing is that the initial setup of those IT systems can be quite costly.

Switching from old conventional IT systems to new eco-friendly systems often requires plenty of planning, programming and bug fixing.

All this can be quite time-consuming and the costs for introducing green computing systems can be enormous.

Thus, even though companies may be able to save plenty of energy and money in the long run, some companies may refrain from the transition to green IT due to those high upfront costs and efforts.

For the transition to green computing systems, seasoned industry experts are needed in order to avoid downtimes and other technical issues.

Many things can go wrong through the transition to new IT-systems and experts are needed to monitor this transition process.

However, those experts are quite rare and also cost plenty of money, which may further reduce the incentive for companies to use green IT infrastructure.

Since the switch to green IT systems can be quite costly, introducing those systems may also conflict with short-term profit maximization goals.

For instance, if the board of directors is paid based on the short-term performance of their company, they will likely refuse from switching to green IT systems since this switch may be quite costly in the short run and may negatively affect the salary of the board members.

Thus, even though it might be beneficial for the firm in the long run due to energy savings, short-term incentives of decision-makers may prevent the expansion of green technologies in the IT sector.

Another problem with green computing is that it may slow down whole computer networks if it is not set up properly.

In extreme cases, the productivity of employees may be reduced dramatically due to slow computers, which may seriously hurt the profits of firms.

Thus, it is crucial to consult industry experts in this field in order to avoid those unpleasant surprises and to make green computing sustainable in the long run.

Since our technological progress advances at high speeds, chances are that IT systems that are currently state-of-the-art may be outdated soon.

The same is true when it comes to green computing.

Companies may fear that if they switch to green IT systems right now, they may have to switch to newer systems in just a few years again.

This insecurity may prevent many firms to switch to green computing.

Whether firms engage in green computing or not also significantly depends on the preferences and the moods of the board and other leading staff members.

For instance, if many people who do not care about our environment at all are in those leading roles, chances are that the company will not switch to green computing simply due to the preferences of a few stubborn people.

Moreover, many people may also not be aware of the problem that conventional computing implies for our environment.

Thus, if the general public is not aware of this problem, profit-maximizing companies may also not take action in this direction since they do not see too many advantages for them.

Therefore, as long as the awareness of the general public regarding green computing is rather low, only few companies may take efforts to switch to those green IT systems.

Since green IT aims to optimize processes in order to reduce energy demand and hardware use, employees in companies who engage in green computing may also have to share computers or other electronic devices.

However, this sharing of devices may make the company more vulnerable to safety issues like hacking.

Thus, there may also be serious security concerns regarding green computing and suitable measures have to be taken by companies in order to mitigate those issues.

Since the upfront costs for green computing are significant, many small businesses may not be able or willing to switch to green IT systems and may rather rely on their old ones instead.

Thus, the high upfront costs may prevent many small firms from engaging in this kind of technology, even though they might want to make a positive environmental impact, but are not able to afford those high initial costs.

Not only the initial setup of green computing systems is challenging, also the maintenance can be difficult, time-consuming and costly.

IT systems have to be maintained and updated on a regular basis in order to close security gaps or to improve the efficiency of processes.

Since the technology regarding green IT is rather new and develops at a rapid speed, chances are that the maintenance efforts will be especially high for green computing systems.

Since people like going green in order to feel better, many companies try to pretend a green behavior in order to strengthen their brand and to use their image to increase their market share and their revenue.

However, many companies who claim to be green aren't actually that green and the green image is often exploited.

Thus, there should be strict regulations in place that prevent companies from making misleading claims regarding the eco-friendliness of their computer systems when they aren't actually that green.

Energy savings

High upfront costs

Less greenhouse gas emissions

Knowledge of industry experts required

Less pollution

May conflict with short-term profit maximization

Mitigation of resource depletion

Significant maintenance

Waste reduction

Technological progress may develop too fast

More sophisticated recycling

Not suitable for many small businesses

Sustainable IT processes

Safety issues

Teleworking

Hacking problems

Efficient hardware use

May slow down IT systems

Positive impact on animals and plants

Missing acceptance of the board of directors

Green computing is quite an interesting approach to the setup of IT-systems.

Although it is not quite popular yet, green computing will play a major role in order to mitigate our environmental problems in the long run.

Thus, companies may take the opportunity right now to switch to green IT-systems in order to get a competitive advantage over their competitors and to strengthen their brand.
Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_computing https://www.techopedia.com/definition/14753/green-computing https://www.pugetsound.edu/about/offices-services/technology-services/green-computing/ About the author
My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people of all ages about our environmental problems and how everyone can make a contribution to mitigate these issues.

As I went to university and got my Master's degree in Economics, I did plenty of research in the field of Development Economics.

After finishing university, I traveled around the world. From this time on, I wanted to make a contribution to ensure a livable future for the next generations in every part of our beautiful planet.

Wanna make a contribution to save our environment? Share it!

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26 Major Pros & Cons Of Green Computing - E&C

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" The computer can't tell you the emotional story. It can give you the exact mathematical design, but what's missing is the eyebrows." Frank Zappa, Musician Green computing (also sometimes referred to as green IT, green ICT or ICT sustainability) can be defined as the practice of eco-friendly and sustainable IT processes and appliances.

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Rootkit: What Is a Rootkit, Scanners, Detection and Removal Software

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Rootkit: What Is a Rootkit, Scanners, Detection and Removal Software

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Rootkit: What Is a Rootkit, Scanners, Detection and Removal Software

What Is a Rootkit?

A rootkit is a clandestine computer program designed to provide continued privileged access to a computer while actively hiding its presence. The term rootkit is a connection of the two words "root" and "kit." Originally, a rootkit was a collection of tools that enabled administrator-level access to a computer or network. Root refers to the Admin account on Unix and Linux systems, and kit refers to the software components that implement the tool. Today rootkits are generally associated with malware - such as Trojans, worms, viruses - that conceal their existence and actions from users and other system processes.

What Can a Rootkit Do?

A rootkit allows someone to maintain command and control over a computer without the computer user/owner knowing about it. Once a rootkit has been installed, the controller of the rootkit has the ability to remotely execute files and change system configurations on the host machine. A rootkit on an infected computer can also access log files and spy on the legitimate computer owner's usage.

Rootkit Detection

It is difficult to detect rootkits. There are no commercial products available that can find and remove all known and unknown rootkits. There are various ways to look for a rootkit on an infected machine. Detection methods include behavioral-based methods (e.g., looking for strange behavior on a computer system), signature scanning and memory dump analysis. Often, the only option to remove a rootkit is to completely rebuild the compromised system.

Rootkit Protection

Many rootkits penetrate computer systems by piggybacking with software you trust or with a virus. You can safeguard your system from rootkits by ensuring it is kept patched against known vulnerabilities. This includes patches of your OS, applications and up-to-date virus definitions. Don't accept files or open email file attachments from unknown sources. Be careful when installing software and carefully read the end-user license agreements.

Well-Known Rootkit Examples

Lane Davis and Steven Dake - wrote the earliest known rootkit in the early 1990s.

NTRootkit - one of the first malicious rootkits targeted at Windows OS.

HackerDefender - this early Trojan altered/augmented the OS at a very low level of functions calls.

Machiavelli - the first rootkit targeting Mac OS X appeared in 2009. This rootkit creates hidden system calls and kernel threads.

Greek wiretapping - in 2004/05, intruders installed a rootkit that targeted Ericsson's AXE PBX.

Zeus, first identified in July 2007, is a Trojan horse that steals banking information by man-in-the-browser keystroke logging and form grabbing.

Stuxnet - the first known rootkit for industrial control systems

Flame - a computer malware discovered in 2012 that attacks computers running Windows OS. It can record audio, screenshots, keyboard activity and network traffic.

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Rootkit: What is a Rootkit and How to Detect It | Veracode

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A rootkit is a clandestine computer program designed to provide continued privileged access to a computer while actively hiding its presence. The term rootkit is a connection of the two words "root" and "kit." Originally, a rootkit was a collection of tools that enabled administrator-level access to a computer or network.

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Computer Ethnics are about:
1. Difference scenarios related to Computing Ethics
2. Ethics
3. Introduction to Computer Ethics
4. Ethics of Computing from end-user / personal perspective
5. Computer Ethics from professional perspective
6. CE from organizational and business perspective
7. CE from socio-technical perspective

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Why we need to understand computer ethics

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Why we need to understand computer ethics

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Importance Of Computer Ethics

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Ethics are the moral values that stop you from doing anything that is not legal and that does not harm or damage anyone else's work, or interests. Ethics are something that are embittered in us from childhood. Actually, Computer ethics are nothing but how we use our personal morals and ethics while using the computer for various purposes.

They consist of all the rules that we would apply to not misuse any information that is not ours to use or to access any data that is not owned by us. With issues like cyber crimes, plagiarism, hacking, and password thefts, it has become important to know the importance of computer ethics to be able to create a safe computer-based environment.

Computer ethics essentially protect individuals online from predation: they prevent the breach of privacy, identify theft, interference with work, and unlawful use of proprietary software, among other events. Computer ethics govern the behavior of users online and date back to 1992. These ethics govern the social, financial, and legal uses of computers worldwide.

New computing technology is very powerful and malleable and computers can be programmed to perform a wide range of functions that can carry out various and diverse applications in our society. Communication that depends on computer technology has grown radically through well-known use of the internet, cell phones, and positioning systems. Computer ethics has grown dramatically to issues in most activities within society including military, government, law, education, and business because computing has become united in society. Through its extensive growing computer ethics is the acreage of activated ethics that affects and intersects around all added branches of applied ethics.

Prevents Misuse of Personal Information - Computers have made the world come closer, be it personally or professionally! Most of us find it more convenient to shop online rather than going out. For this, we are asked to give out our personal information like name, date of birth, and most importantly, our 'credit card information'! Ask yourself, if we know that people don't follow computer ethics everywhere, would we feel safe to give out all this information? On the contrary, if we have read their privacy policies and know that they abide by the cyber laws and computer ethics, we know for a fact that our personal information will not be misused.

Prevents Theft of Intellectual Property - What is intellectual property? Well, unlike physical forms of properties like a car or house, intellectual property refers to the property created by the mind! The internet consists of various intellectual properties which include works of various researchers, writers, song artists, and so on. Without the presence of computer ethics, the work created by the intellect of one person can be easily copied and plagiarized by someone else. Imagine how we would feel if our poetry has been copied and publicized under someone else's name? Now, do we know what following computer ethics and privacy policies is important?

Prevents Loss of Various Jobs in the field of Software Development - There are thousands of people globally that are working in companies that develop computer programs and software. However, if we find out a way to get this software without having to pay the price, most of us would prefer piracy overpaying, right? Have you ever wondered how this can cost the employees working in these companies their job? The general mentality of most of the people downloading software illegally is that these companies are very rich and it really wouldn't affect them, even if it does, who cares? However, the point to be kept in mind is, what if the one who had to pay the price is someone close to us. Imagine, there are thousands of people getting involved in unethical downloads and distribution. In fact, a report reveals that a significant number of people prefer never to pay for software and get involved in piracy!

Keeps us from being Unethical! - It's not that we need to follow computer ethics to show others. However, by following these ethics, we would know what we need to do to be a responsible user and keep ourselves from getting into trouble by being unethical. Trouble? Well, yes, there are various laws that can put us behind bars if we are caught violating the privacy policies and norms of individual websites.

Makes our Computer a Better and Safe place to be At - Our computer is not just an electronic device for communication, it is our data store, our photo album, our work recorder, our social network, our calculator and what not..., it is what we are! If we get involved in downloading information or accessing portals that we are not allowed to, we are opening the doors of various issues and threats like viruses and Trojans that can illegally enter our system and crash it completely! On the other hand, if our system is used in the way it is supposed to, we are creating a safer and a better atmosphere wherein we can rest assured that our work and our personal information is absolutely safe and secure.

The code of computer ethics also called the Ten Commandments, instructs users to not harass other users, use computers to spy or use computers to gain access to private information. It is a part of practical philosophy concerned with how computing professionals should make decisions regarding professional and social conduct. Ethics prevent the taking of intellectual information without compensation and prevent users from using computing resources without compensation or authorization. The ethics also mandate the use of machines in a manner considerate and respectful of others.

Actually, Computer ethics are something that cannot be imposed on us, it is rather something that should be followed out of our own will and desire. The way we use the computer to access information speaks a lot about us and our ethical values. What would we do if we get our colleague's password? Would we ask him or her to change it since we accidentally found out, or would we try to get some information that we are not supposed to? There are two kinds of people in this world, one who follow the rules and respect them at the same time, and the others who don't really care. Should we care about the ethics involved in becoming a responsible citizen? We decide! Nevertheless, if we are caught, rest assured the authorities won't care about us as well!
Information Sources:

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Ethics are the moral values that stop you from doing anything that is not legal and that does not harm or damage anyone else's work, or interests. Ethics are something that are embittered in us from childhood. Actually, Computer ethics are nothing but how we use our personal morals and ethics while using the computer for various purposes.

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I think we should divide the presentation into 3 parts because we don't have too much time
My opinion is:
- arising issues when using computer
- from those problems we refer to the computer ethics concept
- professional ethics with computer professionals

what do you think? It's ok?

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arising issues when using computer