Intro Lesson 4-6

• Computers are involved to some extent in almost every aspect of our lives
• • Computer ethics are morally acceptable use ofcomputers
• • Standards or guidelines are important in this industry, because technology changes are outstripping the legal system’s ability to keep up
• • Ethics are standards of moral conduct
• • Ethics are Standards of right and wrong behavior
• • Ethics are A gauge of personal integrity
• • Ethics are The basis of trust and cooperation in

  relationships with others
• • Ethical principals are tools which are used to think through difficult situations.
• • three useful ethical principals:

  An act is ethical if all of society benefits from

  the act. An act is ethical if people are treated as an

  end and not as a means to an end. An act is ethical if it is fair to all parties

  involved.
• • Privacy – responsibility to protect data about individuals
• • Accuracy responsibility of data collectors to authenticate information and ensure its accuracy
• • Property who owns information and software and how can they be sold and exchanged
• • Access responsibility of data collectors to control access and determine what information a person has the right to obtain about others and how the information can be used
• Problems with Large Databases

  
  

  
  

  Spreading information without consentSpreading inaccurate information
• Private Networks - Employers may legally monitor electronic mail, Most online services reserve the right to censor content, These rights lead to contentious issues overproperty rights versus free speech and privacy
• • Most people don’t worry about email privacy on the Web due to illusion of anonymity
• • Web sites often load files on your computer called cookies to record times and pages visited and other personal information
• • Spyware software that tracks your online movements, mines the information stored on your computer, or uses your computer for some task you know nothing about.
• • “Spam” – unsolicited, bulk email
• Illegal software copying (pirating)
• Infringement ofcopyrights bycopying ofpictures

  or text from web pages
• Plagiarism by copying text from other sources

  when original work is expected
• NTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: intangible creations protected by law
• trade secret: intellectual work or products belonging to a business, not in public domain
• COPYRIGHT: Statutory grant protecting intellectual property from copying by others for 28 years
• PATENT: Legal document granting owner exclusive monopoly on an invention for 17 years
• Software developers (or the companies they work for) own their programs.
• Software buyers only own the right to use the software according to the license agreement.
• • Public domain software has no owner and is not protected by copyright law.
• • Public Domain License - It was either created with public funds, or the ownership was forfeited by the creator.
• Public Domain License - Can be copied, sold, and/or modified
• • Public Domain License - Often is of poor quality/unreliable
• Freeware License - copyrighted software that is licensed to be copied and distributed without charge.
• freeware is free, but it’s still under the owner’scontrol.
• A shareware software license allows you to use the software for a trial period, but you must pay a registration fee to the owner for permanent use.
• Purchasing (the right to use) the software may also get you a version with more powerful features and published documentation.
• All Rights Reserved License - May be used by the purchaser according the exact details spelled out in the license agreement.
• All Rights Reserved License - You can’t legally use it--or even possess it-- without the owner’s permission.
• Software Piracy - They rely on whistle-blowers.
• SPA (Software Publishers Association) polices software piracy and mainly targets:

  o Illegal duplicationo Sale of copyrighted softwareo Companies that purchase single copies

  and load the software on multiple

  computers or networks