Ethics and

Computers

What Is Ethics?

Ethics Ethics are Moral Values

Principles that guide right and wrong behavior. People learn what is ethical

according to their . . .

Community or

Society Professional or

School setting

Individual

Standards

Ethics are Not . . . Laws that have a penalty

Detailed instructions for every possible situation

Flexible and changing depending on each person or situation

Where Did You Get Your Ethics?

• parents • siblings • friends • school • media • society • religion • culture

How Do Ethics Relate To

Rules? Ethics are guiding principles.

Rules are specific and tell you what is right and wrong.

◦When you break a rule or choose to be unethical there are always and will always be consequences and punishments.

◦Rules teach and clarify what behavior is not acceptable.

What are Laws?

Laws are regulations passed and enforced by city, state and federal governments

Are Laws the Same As Ethics?

If not, how are they different?

Is it Legal and Ethical?

Can something be:

◦ Legal and Unethical?

◦ Illegal and Ethical?

◦ Illegal and Unethical?

◦ Legal and Ethical?

One Aspect That Helps

Define Your Character? What you do when no one

is watching.

The concept of character can imply a variety of attributes including:

the existence or lack of virtues such as integrity, courage, fortitude, honesty, and loyalty, or of good behaviors or habits.

Cyber Ethics

Appropriate Electronic Behavior

Why Do People Use the

Internet to Commit Crime?

People tend to feel invisible online

They feel capable of doing things they might not normally do in person or in public

They can commit crime in the comfort of their own home

They assume there are no witnesses

What is Copyright?

Copyright

Copyright is the rights possessed by the owner of information or resources.

Copyright gives the owner the right to:

copy distribute use sell display lease perform rent

Is It Copyrighted?

A book you read for

English class

A drawing your sister

does for your mom

A picture a

photographer takes A piece of music A sculpture in a

museum A software program

like Microsoft Excel A movie you see at a

theater

Your brother’s wedding

video What else can be

copyrighted?

What is Copyrighted? Any original work is copyrighted once it’s in

tangible form. (not an idea)

◦ You can’t copyright thoughts ideas or facts. But, once something it is recorded, it is copyrighted.

If something is registered with the US Copyright Office, you’ll see this symbol ©.

◦ But, this is not required to "own" the copyright. Some people think it's legal to copy software that doesn't have a copyright notice or © symbol or otherwise, but that's not true.

Copyright cont’d Is it okay to copy something that

doesn’t have the © symbol on it?

◦ NO! You still need the permission of the owner.

Remember, any original work in tangible form is automatically protected by copyright.

The © symbol only means that it is registered with the Copyright office.

◦ Copyright lasts for a certain time period after which the work is said to enter the public domain.

Public Domain

These are works that are not covered by intellectual property rights

◦ if the intellectual property rights have expired [1]

◦ and/or if the intellectual property rights are forfeited or unclaimed.[2]

Examples:

◦ The English language

◦ The Works of Shakespeare

Fair Use A doctrine in U. S. copyright law that allows limited

use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the rights holders, such as for commentary, criticism, news reporting, research, teaching, or scholarship.

To use the work it must be justified under this four-factor balancing test. ◦ Purpose and Character of the Use

What is the intent in using the work? Is it to benefit the public or for personal profit, or commercial use?

◦ Nature of the copyrighted work

◦ The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole.

◦ The effect it has upon the copyrighted works value.

What are Software

Licenses?

Software Licenses

A legal contract that defines the ways in which you may use a computer program

When you purchase software for the computer, you’re not buying the software itself, but the right to use it (also called a license).

Software Licenses:

Four Types

Public Domain

Freeware

Shareware

All Rights Reserved

Freeware or Open Source

•A freeware software license grants recipients the rights to modify and redistribute the software, which would otherwise be prohibited by copyright law and is really what copyright is all about.

•You get the software for free or sometimes for a small fee.

Often considered Public Domain

Proprietary or Regular

You can purchase, use, and install the full version of software on one or sometimes more computers, but ownership of each copy remains with the software publisher.

Shareware or Trial

You can use the proprietary software on a

trial basis and purchase it at the end of the

trial period. (Some features may be disabled until you

purchase the full version.)

End-User License

Agreement (EULA)

2.1 General Use. You may install and use one copy of the Software

on up to the Permitted Number of your compatible Computers.

I Agree When you install the program, you agree to abide

by the EULA, a legally-binding contract.

Copyright Infringement

- Piracy Stealing intellectual property

Making illegal copies of CDs, movies, software, pictures, etc. is called Piracy.

Piracy is a federal crime with serious penalties.

Conviction of a FIRST offense can result in a fine up to $250,000 and a jail sentence of up to five years.

Vandalism

Attempts to harm or destroy data or hardware of another user, agency, or network

You can be prosecuted to the full extent of the law

Nuisance or Harassment

Definition: Use of a computer or computer network to communicate obscene, vulgar, profane, lewd, lascivious, or indecent language, or make any suggestion or proposal of an obscene nature, or threaten any illegal or immoral act.

It doesn’t matter if your intention was to be funny or friendly or something else. If the person you contact through the Internet is uncomfortable, it’s illegal

Cyber Bullying Definition: “When somebody is repeatedly

'tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed, or otherwise targeted' by another person using text messaging, e-mail, instant messaging or any other type of communication technology."

It can be as simple as continuing to send e-mail to someone who has said they want no contact with the sender

But it may also include threats, sexual remarks, hate speech, and ganging up on victims by making them the subject of ridicule and posting false statements as fact aimed at humiliation.

Cyber Bullying Kids report being mean to each other online

beginning as young as 2nd grade.

According to research, boys initiate mean online activity earlier than girls do.

However, by middle school, girls are more likely to engage in cyber bullying than boys do.

Cyberstalking

Definition: Using the Internet or other electronic means to stalk or harass an individual, a group of individuals, or an organization.

Cyberstalking Cyberstalkers meet or target their victims

using search engines, online forums, bulletin and discussion boards, chat rooms, and more recently, through online communities such as MySpace; Facebook; Bebo; Friendster; and Indymedia, a media outlet known for self-publishing.

They may engage in live chat harassment or flaming or they may send electronic viruses and unsolicited e-mails.[11] Victims of cyberstalking may not even know that they are being stalked.

Computer Hacking or

Security Cracking A hacker is a person

who breaks into computers and computer networks either for profit or motivated by the challenge [12]

Plagiarism: Why Should I

Cite Electronic Sources?

Plagiarism “Use or close imitation of the language and

thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work.” [1]

People who create “intellectual property” need to be given credit for their efforts

This applies to: ◦ music ◦ writing ◦ art ◦ designs ◦ ideas

Citing Electronic Sources

Is it okay to use other people’s information without giving them credit?

No. Give credit where credit is due!

Citing Sources

You are allowed to paraphrase or quote if you don’t change the meaning, but you must give proper credit to the author. (Create a References or Works Cited page).

What is an AUP?

Acceptable Use Policy

An Acceptable Use Policy or AUP is a policy that is established by the computer owners regarding acceptable use of that computer.

Purpose of an AUP

Set of Rules applied by the owner/manager of a network, website, or a large computer system that restrict the ways in which the network site or system may be used.

UHS’s AUP

UHS has an Acceptable Use Policy.

You and your parent/guardian signed the AUP

giving you access to the Internet and school’s

computers.

What Did I Agree To?

1. Acceptable Use of the School Computers/Internet

2. Ethical Conduct

What Did I Agree To?

Specific “Dos” Use computers for school-related assignments

Follow basic netiquette

Specific “Don’ts” Do not access chat rooms, personal email, or Instant Messenger

Do not access or distribute inappropriate materials (pornography, obscene, or threatening material)

Do not engage in illegal activities

Do not change settings/configuration of computer

Acceptable Use Policy

Computer use is a privilege, not a right. ◦ Remember, you did not buy the computer

you use at school.

◦ You can lose your computer privileges if you misuse them.

What is Private and

Public Information?

Public vs. Private Info.

Public Information

◦ Information that can be used without permission.

Private Information

◦ Information that cannot be used without your permission.

Public or Private?

Public Private

Full Name

Phone Number Home Address

Grades Medical Records

Is It Ethical?

April April found some great

information on the Internet for her report. She only paraphrased a small amount of the material and doesn’t want to cite the source. Is this ethical?

NO! This is called plagiarism. You have to give credit where it’s due.

Tyler

Tyler likes his friend Bill’s computer game. Tyler borrows it from Bill to install it on Tyler’s computer at home. Is this ethical?

No! Most software license agreements allow software to be installed on only one computer at a time.

Todd

Todd copied images off of a freeware clip art site to put on his own homepage. Is it ethical?

Yes! But Todd should see if the site requires anything. Some ask that you provide a link back to their clip art site.

Lynn

Lynn downloaded some songs for free from U2s latest CD from a file-sharing server on the Internet. Is it ethical?

No, Downloading copyrighted material without permission/purchasing it is unethical and illegal.

Rick Rick got a list of

written ideas for a new computer program from his coworker, Jason. Jason gave Rick permission to share the ideas at a company meeting. Is it ethical?

YES. Rick had Jason’s

permission to use the

information.

• Charlene bought some songs from iTunes and then burned them onto CDs to give to her three best friends. Is it ethical?

Charlene

NO! You can make one backup copy of a song or CD, but that backup copy is not to be distributed to anyone else, including family and friends.

Be Ethical

Decide today to always make ethical choices when using a computer.

Don’t we wish everyone did?

Works Cited Page 1. qtd. in Stepchyshyn, Vera; Robert S. Nelson (2007). Library plagiarism

policies. Assoc of College & Resrch Libraries. p. 65. ISBN 0838984169.

2. BIS 1400 Materials. Utah State University

3. http://www.download.com

4. US Copyright Office

5. http://www.adobe.com 6. http://www.channelone.com/news/2003/09/04/file_swappers/index.ht

ml 7. Clipart from the Microsoft Office XPsuite 8. Megan Hansen. “Ethics and Copyright” presentation 9. Copyright Basics ·2002, the term of copyright will not expire before

December 31, 2047. 10. "Fair Use." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 07 June 2010.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Use . 11. The National Center for Victims of Crime.

http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/main.aspx?dbName=DocumentViewer&DocumentID=32458

12. ^ a b Sterling, Bruce. "Part 2(d)". The Hacker Crackdown. McLean, Virginia: IndyPublish.com. p. 61. ISBN 1-4043-0641-2.