Ethical

Leaks of information from websites such as Facebook and Twitter have affected the way society communicates and thinks because as an example, how can we trust things that have been leaked on the Internet compared to the truth? We take the government phone hacking as truth but how can we be sure for certain there isn’t more to the overall story.

Another example of internet leaks would be someone exploiting source code to the public. Source code is a pre-released product stored on an FTP server waiting to be sold and released to the public but before it is, someone has hacked it and 'leaked' it out to the public for free.

The last leak I would like to tell you about is email leaking. An email due to be sent 2 weeks before the Copenhagen Summit in November 2009 was leaked around the internet before its due date so everyone knew what the subjects were going to be about and caused a lot of anger between the summit leaders.

Internet Tracking:

How can we be sure that someone isn’t tracking us from the internet with no real way of being able to see unless we call our internet provider and ask them to tell us who is connected via our IP address? That makes anyone scared and worried when browsing the internet as it causes a lot of people to misjudge ordering from the web etc.

Some people choose to mask their IP address for a small fee as to protect vital and confidential business information or just to be doubley sure they aren't being tracked. Tor-Privoxy is the solution for this.

Reference: http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/internet101/f/anonymous_surf.htm

Many people in society have to suffer not having a computer either through not getting paid enough or having a low income disability. This is unfair as they are missing out on the vital parts of everyday life such as reading up on events happening and doing online shopping. Older people are being made to go out into town to buy their shopping, ask yourself this question: would you make an elderly relative go into the supermarket unattended? well the government seems to think this is the case and so don't make any effort in creating opportunities for the elderly to have access to the internet. Some companies are creating ad-supported free internet access for the disabled and elderly. This makes at least a chance to improve what the government doesn't. Another option is participating in a free sponsorship program with the reward being free internet access.

There really is such a thing as free computers for low income families needing assistance. It's not a myth, it's not a scam, it's a reality.

Reference: http://www.infobarrel.com/Free_Computers_For_Low_Income_Families

This is just one of the reassuring quotes from infobarrel. They explain how low income families can obtain a computer for no charge with schemes such as CRC and Freecycle. Kids can do homework and older adults and teenagers can look for work or get the skills needed to create a small business online.

Legal

The 1998 Data Protection Act was passed by Parliament to control the way information is handled and to give legal rights to people who have information stored about them.

Other European Union countries have passed similar laws as often information is held in more than one country.

Reference: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/ict/legal/0dataprotectionactrev1.shtml

The Data Protection Act is a law designed to protect personal data stored on computers or in a paper filing system. During the second half of the 20th century, organisations, businesses and the government started to use computers to store information about their customers, clients and staff. So things such as names, addresses, contact information, employment history, medical conditions, convictions and credit history. 

If a member of staff takes some information or doesn't keep it confidential without the right consent then the company or the persons details who have bin exploited can sue the company and press charges on the exploiter so the person in charge of the company must ensure that no personal data is passed around.

One of the ways consent can be confirmed to transfer information is for instance when a phone company hands a debt over to a debt reinforcement firm for recovery.

The person in charge of enforcing these rules is called the Information Commissioner. The person in charge of the data is called the Data Controller and the person who has their data stored somewhere is called the Data Subject.

As a simple example, if you found out the NHS passed your medical history to another business without your consent, would you be happy?

Any company that wishes to store personal information within its business must first apply to with the Information Commissioner. Data Controllers must declare that the information is stored and what it is stored for to the Data Subjects before anything is stored. This is recorded in the register. Some of the entrys in the register could include names and addresses, discription of what it is being stored for and what they are going to use the information for.

The Computer Misuse Act (1990)

This was passed by Parliament and made three new offences:

1.   Accessing computer material without permission, eg looking at someone else's files.

2.   Accessing computer material without permission with intent to commit further criminal offences, eg hacking into the bank's computer and wanting to increase the amount in your account.

3.   Altering computer data without permission, eg writing a virus to destroy someone else's data, or actually changing the money in an account.

Reference: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/ict/legal/1dataandcomputermisuserev2.shtml

The Computer Misuse Act is the law put in place to prevent people using computers in the wrong way or for the use of bad things such as applying viruses and hacking. It has affected IT on a mass scale now compared to 20 years ago where viruses were on a minimal scale. An example of where it has helped is the closing of child-abusive chat rooms. Chat rooms had paedophiles in which asked personal information before meeting them. So The Computer Misuse Act enforces the protection of young ones on the internet. Another example of computer misuse is email spam. Email spam is emails that haven't been sent by someone you don't know or from a source that isn't trusted, trying to get your credentials from you.

The Computer Misuse Act is a big law containing sub laws. Some of the sub laws are The Data Protection Act and Copyright Law.

Copyright law

The prevention of software piracy:

When you buy software, copyright law forbids you from:

• giving a copy to a friend
• making a copy and then selling it
• using the software on a network (unless the licence allows it)
• renting the software without the permission of the copyright holder

The law that governs copyright in the UK is called the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act is the law set in place to defend any of the above. It has the effect on IT by a much more reliable sales figure. This is because instead of people copying or using a friends copy of a game, they will have to buy it themselves hence increasing sales for the game company.


The CDPA protects artistic works, sound recordings and films with the duration of being able to copy one set to 70 years after the above was released.


So in simpler terms, if I created an edited picture for my website, I can copyright it within the law so no one else but me can use it and if they do, they can be sued or even be sentenced to time in prison.

Economic

People are expected to be available 24/7 nowadays. For instance, if someone messages you by text message and you don’t reply, many people class it as being rude.

A good way to explain this is Blackberries using the Blackberry messenger service. It is a live service in which you can contact someone else on their Blackberry instantly.

IT has changed the way we work on a daily basis. We can now work on computers at home and still do the same job you would in the company’s office. It can be cost effective as no travel costs are involved in working from home which is a good point. The bad point about this would be the fact that some resources needed to work are stored in the company’s office and working from home disallows the worker to reach them unless they have a copy.

IT allows a company to electronically figure out work shifts and timetables for the working day. It also calculates and determines if there are any mistakes to avoid collisions of shifts or departments to work in etc.

With the use of search engines and online directories, sourcing products from other countries has been made much easier and time saving. For instance, getting resources for a textiles company from France is as easy as locating their website and placing an order electronically.

IT has made a huge impact in less fortunate countries economy such as India and China. IT allowed them to set up small businesses and eventually progress to something big with wages coming in for all their staff, which wouldn’t be possible without features such as the Internet.

With the evolution of the IT industry many companies are choosing to switch to machines to take the places of workers to do the job. In many cases this can make the production process much quicker and a lot cheaper but isn’t good for workers families as it can make them behind in bill payments and less money for shopping or luxuries.

Setting up a business using the Internet has made it possible for many small businesses around the world. IT made this possible because of not having to advertise in newspapers or go around handing out leaflets etc. Using the Internet, small businesses have listed their contact information on websites such as Facebook and Twitter so that people can see and spread around friends.

Using the Internet, companies big or small can track their sales records and marketing from their website. When someone makes a payment, it tracks into a log saved on the company owner’s website making it visible to the owner. A prime example of this would be websites such as Ebay, Amazon, LastMinute, iTunes and GoCompare.

The websites listed above have made less money stable people a bit better off as the cost of selling and buying on the websites are nowhere near the cost of setting up a website and paying rental fees for servers and domains.

Social

How Facebook, MSN, Twitter and other social networking websites have affected our friendships: 

In some ways, the use of social networking has increased friendships by the use of 'instant' contact. When you are at home and your friends cannot be with you, users can log onto websites such as Facebook and message them.

In other thoughts, the use of social networking can make people very lazy as they prefer to come straight home from school or college and speak through websites rather than meeting up and speaking together outside.

How new on-line communities join people together (including those in remote locations):

With the use of Voice over Internet Phones and software such as Skype, Windows Live Call and Facebook VC, many people who live in different countries such as family or friends can contact you quickly, cheaply and effortlessly.

As the Internet doesn't just effect a specific area, people all around the world can use the mass network to other parts of it in different countries.

People who share the same interests or hobbies can connect together through websites or forums.

The effect of this would be somewhat good because you can communicate with family but bad as people will become addicted to Internet communication.

Effect on Video Games:

Many people being young or old play games such as World of Warcraft, Rift and Steam online games. This can be extremely bad as it is easy to become addicted and lose track of daily life.

Many online video games contain violence which is bad for young children and teenagers as they affect the way the mind works in situations that are heated.

A 2001 study found that exposure to violent video games causes at least a temporary increase in aggression and that this exposure correlates with aggression in the real world.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_controversy

Video games are also a nice resort of relaxation as it is a good to lie back for a while.

Internet Addiction:

Some people choose to sit on the Internet for too long and cause themselves injury like muscle strain and back ache. Stories have told that some people stay online for 12 hours at a time.

Video games have a huge impact on Internet addiction as games are ever changing so there is no shortage of things to do in the virtual world.

Housebound, Disabilities and Busy Days:

People that have any of the above can’t always get out for a particular reason. So they can order shopping, read books and just generally browse without the stress of having to go out into town to get the things that are needed all from the Internet.

Sometimes it is logical to look for a specific item before going into the shop to browse. Such as if you know it is a busy shop, you can look for the specific item before going to get it. This would reduce the amount of stress and time you are in the shop.

Smarter Training Limited - Introduction

The target audience of this blog is the IT staff at Northampton College that are undergoing our Smarter Training Limited training.

The purpose of this blog is outlining the impact of IT on individuals, communities and society. It is also that the people doing our course can get an Investors in People award.