COMPUTING AND ETHICS

INTRODUCTION:-
Computer ethics deals with the procedures, values and practices that govern the
process of consuming computing technology and its related disciplines without
damaging or violating the moral values and beliefs of any individual, organization
or entity.

Computer ethics is a concept in ethics that addresses the ethical issues and
constraints that arise from the use of computers, and how they can be mitigated or
prevented.

Computer ethics primarily enforces the ethical implementation and use of

computing resources. It includes methods and procedures to avoid infringing
copyrights, trademarks and the unauthorized distribution of digital content.
Computer ethics also entails the behavior and approach of a human operator,
workplace ethics and compliance with the ethical standards that surround computer
use.

The core issues surrounding computer ethics are based on the scenarios arising
from the use of the Internet, such as Internet privacy, the publication of
copyrighted content and user interaction with websites, software and related
services.

Computer ethics can be thought of as the field of study that examines ethical issues
distinctive to an information society. Information society is the term often used
(especially by economists and sociologists) to characterize societies in which
human activity and social institutions have been significantly transformed by
computer and information technology (Webster 2002). The focus of attention in
this field has varied over its twenty-five- to thirty-year history as the technology
has evolved. Because the field is relatively new and computer technology is
continually changing and being used in new domains, computer ethics overlaps
with other fields of study such as information ethics, media ethics, and
communication ethics, as well as domain-specific ethics such as medical ethics,
business ethics, environmental ethics, and legal ethics. Computer ethics is centrally
focused on understanding the interactions among science, technology, and ethics
and, arguably, it is one of the most developed fields with such a focus.

HISTORY OF COMPUTER ETHICS:-

From the moment of their invention, computers raised complex social, ethical, and
value concerns. While computers are not the first technology to raise ethical issues,
they have been especially fascinating to scholars, science fiction writers, and the
public. The origin of this fascination may well be related to computers having been
initially perceived and characterized as thinking machines. As such, they were
thought to challenge the distinguishing feature of humankind. For centuries, human
beings had been thought of as unique because they were able to reason and had the
capacity for rational thinking. When computers were first developed and used, they
seemed capable of being programmed to think in some of the ways that humans
think; some believed they had the potential to become even more sophisticated and
eventually reach or even surpass human intelligence. In that context, it was thought
that computers would revolutionize the way humans think about themselves and
what it means to be human. While many of the original hopes and promises of
artificial intelligence (AI) researchers have not come to fruition, computers have
changed the way scientists think about human cognition and brain functions.
Computer technology continues to be a fascination for scientists, science fiction
writers, and humanities and social science scholars as well as ethicists.

From a historical perspective, the ethical issues identified in relation to computers

seem to follow the sequence of development of the technology. In addition to the
threat to notions of what it means to be human, in the very early days of computing
the first ethical issues arose in relation to the enormous power that computers
might give to government and large bureaucratic organizations. By the late 1970s,
the first books on this topic were published. Joseph Weizenbaum's Computer
Power and Human Reason (1976) and Abbe Mowshowitz's Conquest of Will
(1976) were, perhaps, the most notable. In this period, the record-keeping
capabilities of computers were a key focus, especially the privacy issues raised by
this record keeping. Several major government reports were issued including: in
1972, Databanks in a Free Society: Computers, Record-Keeping and Privacy by
Alan F. Westin and Michael A. Baker, a report of the National Academy of
Sciences; in 1973, Records, Computers, and the Rights of Citizens, a report of the
U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare from the Secretary's Advisory
Committee on Automated Personal Data Systems; and in 1977, Personal Privacy in
an Information Society: The Report of the Privacy Protection Study Commission.
The issues that took shape in this period were largely issues of privacy and the
power of centralized government was often characterized as the threat of Big
Brother. In the aftermath of World War II and the fight against totalitarianism, it
was feared that computers would give government unprecedented power and reach.

In hindsight this concern was the result in part of the size of computers. At that
time, they were huge mainframe systems that cost a lot, took up a lot of space, and
were labor-intensive; hence large organizations were the only viable users.
Moreover, in those early days of computing, mainframes were used for large-scale
calculations and to create and maintain huge databases. Such calculations made
weapons development, space travel, and census tracking possible on a broader
scale than ever before. The databases mostly contained personal information. In
any event, large organizations were the likely users and hence the concerns about
centralization of power and privacy.

The next major technological shift was the development of small computers
referred to initially as microcomputers and later personal computers. Public
interest, for a time at least, turned to the democratizing aspects of computers.
Computer enthusiasts saw in these small machines the potential for a major social
revolution. With visions of computers in every home and shifts in power from
large organizations to small businesses and individuals, the fear of Big Brother
dissipated somewhat.

As microcomputers were being developed and taking hold in the marketplace,

remote access became possible, first to contact large mainframes and later as a
component of a network of telecommunications connections between large and
small computers. That network eventually became the Internet. However, long
before the advent of the Internet, attention turned to software. Microcomputers
were less expensive and easier to use; this meant a much broader range of users
and, in turn, a broad range of uses. During this phase in the development of
computers, software became extremely important both for the development of the
technology but also, in parallel, for computer ethics.

To make computers effective tools for the wide range of activities that seemed
possible, user-friendly software was critical. Companies and individuals began
developing software with a fury, and with that development came a new set of
ethical issues. Issues having to do with property rights and platform dominance in
software were particularly important in this era. Software was recognized as
something with enormous market value; hence, the questions: Should software be
owned? If so, how? Would existing intellectual property law—copyright, patents,
trade secrecy—be adequate protection for software developers? Ownership rights
in programs used to create computer or video games were the first kinds of
software cases brought before the courts; the market value of owning these
programs was significant.

Along with property rights issues came issues of liability and responsibility.
Consumers who buy and use computers and software want to be able to rely on
these tools, and when something goes wrong, they want to know whom to blame or
they want to be compensated for their losses. Computer ethicists as well as lawyers
and computing professionals rose to the challenge and questions of property rights
and liability were debated in print as well as in courts.

In the 1980s, more attention began to focus on hackers. Hackers did not like the
idea of property rights in software. However those who were acquiring such
property rights or making a business of computing were threatened by hackers not
only because the latter were breaking into systems but also because they had a
different vision of how the system of computers, software, and telecommunications
connections should be set up and how software should be distributed. At that time,
there were no laws against breaking into computer systems or duplicating software.
Hackers argued for open systems with fewer controls on access to information.
Perhaps the best illustration of this movement is Richard Stallman's work and the
development of the Free Software Association (Stallman 1995).

By the 1990s, the development of the Internet was well underway and seen as a
revolutionary event. The coming together of computers, telecommunications, and
media and the global scale of the Internet produced a seemingly endless array of
ethical issues. The Internet was being used in many different ways, in many
different domains of life. In effect the Internet recreated much of the world in a
new medium. Property rights, freedom of speech, trust, liability, and privacy had to
be rethought for a medium in which instantaneous communication was the norm;
the reproduction of information, documents, or programs was almost effortless;
and anonymity was favored. Moreover the new medium facilitated interaction on a
global scale, raising issues regarding what laws and conventions applied in
cyberspace.

During the 1980s and 1990s, computer technology also began to be used for a wide
variety of visualization activities. Computer graphics and gaming were part of this,
but equally if not more important was the development of many simulation
applications including medical imagining and graphical dynamic models of the
natural world. The power and reliability of these technologies raised ethical
concern. An offshoot of these developments was a focus on virtual reality and what
it might mean to human experience. Would human beings become addicted to
living in fantasy worlds? Would experiences in violent, virtual computer games
make individuals more violent than they would otherwise be? These concerns
continue in the early-twenty-first century as new applications are developed. For
example, important ethical issues are being raised about tele-medicine. Computing
together with the Internet makes it possible for many aspects of medical treatment
to be performed electronically. Issues of responsibility and liability are diffused
when doctors do surgery remotely. A doctor in one location can manipulate
machines that are electronically connected to machines in a second location where
the surgical procedure actually occurs. Should doctors be allowed to do this? That
is, is it appropriate? Is it safe? Who is responsible if something goes wrong?

Ethical issues surrounding computer technology continue to arise as new

developments in the technology occur. Many of these involve computing
applications. For example, new areas of concern include surveillance technologies
that result from using geographic information systems and digital imagining to
keep track of individuals via digital cameras and satellites. There are projections
about the use of tiny, biological computers that might be deployed in human bodies
to seek out poorly functioning cells and fix them. Computer technology makes
possible human behavior and social arrangements that have a moral character.
Hence activities involving computers will continue to be a focus for computer
ethics.

HACKING AND PIRACY

Hacking refers to attempts to gain information from otherwise undisclosed areas.
Hacking is the most commonly known computer crime, however, people refer to
hacking as committing any criminal act using a computer while this is not the case.
Hacking is similar to breaking and entering however instead of breaking into a
house you break some one's computer security and entering is similar to accessing
someone's computer files, once in, they steal your files and use them for personal
befit. While it is not a prerequisite most hackers are also virus creators. There are
two types of hackers black hat hackers and white hat hackers, black hat hackers are
the ones who are there for malicious purposes such as stealing, storing or
vandalizing data. While white hat hackers are legally intruded who are hired by
administrators to test the system for security flaws. There are also many other
variants such as gray hat hackers which is between black hat and white hat hackers.

 SOFTWARE PIRACY
As mentioned, software piracy is the unauthorized duplication of computer
software. Although most computer users today are aware that unauthorized use and
duplication of software are illegal, yet general disregard is shown towards treating
software as valuable intellectual property. Common forms of software piracy are

1. Softlifting: It refers to purchasing a single licensed copy of the software and

loading it onto several computers contrary to the license terms.

Example- Sharing licensed software with friends, Co-workers, and others.

2. Uploading and downloading: It refers to making unauthorized copies of

copyrighted software available to end users connected to a network.
3. Software counterfeiting: It refers to illegally duplicating and selling
copyrighted software in a form designed to make it appear legitimate.
 4. Hard disk loading: It refers to installing unauthorized copies of software
onto the hard disks of personal computers, often as an incentive for the end
user to buy the hardware from that particular hardware dealer.
5. Renting: It is the unauthorized selling of software for temporary use, like
renting a video.

Software piracy means denial of intellectual property rights to the software creator
or developer. It is not ethical to use someone else's property without his/her content
and without giving him/her the benefit of it. Developing a software application
involves a major investment of time, money and effort. Software piracy denies the
creator the revenue he/she deserves and harms paying customers, who ultimately
bear the cost of illegal use of products. Piracy limits the creator's ability to be
competitive, leading to higher-priced, less advanced products for customers.

Software piracy can be controlled by copyrights, patents, and trademarks. A

copyright is the exclusive property right of the owner, creator, developer, author of
a work, granted by law. It gives the owner an exclusive right to protect his work in
all forms. A patent refers to the special power of monopoly granted by law.
Without obtaining a license from the patent holder, the work cannot be used or
reproduced. And a trademark refers to the registered word, text, logo depicting the
identity of a product, work or a company.

 VIRUS
A computer virus is a type of computer program that, when executed, replicates
itself by modifying other computer programs and inserting its own code. When this
replication succeeds, the affected areas are then said to be "infected" with a
computer virus.

Virus writers use social engineering deceptions and exploit detailed knowledge of
security vulnerabilities to initially infect systems and to spread the virus. The vast
majority of viruses target systems running Microsoft Windows, employing a
variety of mechanisms to infect new hosts, and often using complex anti-
detection/stealth strategies to evade antivirus software. Motives for creating viruses
can include seeking profit (e.g., with ransomware), desire to send a political
message, personal amusement, to demonstrate that a vulnerability exists in
software, for sabotage and denial of service, or simply because they wish to
explore cybersecurity issues, artificial life and evolutionary algorithms.

Computer viruses currently cause billions of dollars' worth of economic damage

each year, due to causing system failure, wasting computer resources, corrupting
data, increasing maintenance costs, stealing personal information etc. In response,
free, open-source antivirus tools have been developed, and an industry of antivirus
software has cropped up, selling or freely distributing virus protection to users of
various operating systems.

The term "virus" is also misused by extension to refer to other types of malware.
"Malware" encompasses computer viruses along with many other forms of
malicious software, such as computer "worms", ransomware, spyware, adware,
trojan horses, keyloggers, rootkits, bootkits, malicious Browser Helper Object
(BHOs), and other malicious software. The majority of active malware threats are
actually trojan horse programs or computer worms rather than computer viruses.
The term computer virus, coined by Fred Cohen in 1985, is a misnomer. Viruses
often perform some type of harmful activity on infected host computers, such as
acquisition of hard disk space or central processing unit (CPU) time, accessing and
stealing private information (e.g., credit card numbers, Debit card numbers, phone
numbers, names, email addresses, passwords, Bank Information, House Addresses,
etc), corrupting data, displaying political, humorous or threatening messages on the
user's screen, spamming their e-mail contacts, logging their keystrokes, or even
rendering the computer useless. However, not all viruses carry a destructive
"payload" and attempt to hide themselves—the defining characteristic of viruses is
that they are self-replicating computer programs which modify other software
without user consent.

 GETTING PROTECTED
Before you implement protection measures for your computers, you must be aware
of the forms of attacks that hackers may launch. In the following steps, we are
going to discuss different forms of attacks that generally take place.
 1. Spamming: Spamming refers to the sending of bulk-mail by an identified or
unidentified source. In non-malicious form, bulk advertising mail is sent to
many accounts. In malicious form (e-mail bombing), the attacker keeps on
sending bulk mail until the mail server runs out of disk space.
2. Computer viruses: Computer viruses are malicious codes/programs that
cause damage to data and files on a system. Viruses can attack any part of a
computer's software such as boot block, operating system, system areas,
files, and application-program-macros.
3. Worms: A worm is a self-replicating program which eats up the entire disk
space or memory. A worm keeps on creating its copies until all the disk
space or memory is filled.
4. Trojan horses: A Trojan horse is a program that appears harmless(such as a
text editor or a utility program) but actually performs malicious functions
such as deleting or damaging files.
5. Sweeper: This is another malicious program used by hackers. It sweeps or
deletes all the data from the system.
6. Denial of services: This type of attack eats up all the resources of a system
and the system or applications come to a half. Example of such an attack is
flooding a system with junk mail.
7. Password guessing: Most hackers crack or guess passwords of system
accounts and gain entry into remote computer systems. And then they use it
for causing damages in one or another form.

There are other forms of attacks also such a sniffing, packet forge spoofing, IP
spoofing etc. But we are not discussing them as in order to understand these, one
needs to know the working of networks.

 PROTECTIVE MEASURES
Now after knowing different forms of attacks, let us now discuss different
protective measures that may be taken against such attacks.

The entire computer security is based on a system of safeguards that are designed
to protect a computer system from deliberate or accidental access and/or damage
by unauthorized persons.
The combination of identification, authentication, and authorization can control
access to a system. This combination is very useful, especially in network security.
Various techniques used for network security are -

1. Authorization: Authorization is performed by asking the user a legal log in

id. If the user is able to provide a legal log in id, he/she is considered an
authorized user.
2. Authentication: Authentication is also termed as password protection as the
authorized user is asked to provide a valid password and if he/she is able to
do this, he/she is considered to be an authentic user.
3. Firewall: A system designed to prevent unauthorized access to or from a
private network is called Firewall. Firewalls are a mechanism to prevent
unauthorized internet users from accessing private networks connected to the
internet, especially intranets.

 SECURING DATA
Though controlled access to a system indirectly secures data, yet there are some
other measures that must be taken in case data gets corrupted even after taking
security measures. These include taking backups from time to time, preparing
recovery mechanism, maintaining transaction logs and having a proper disaster
recovery plan. Data security also involves measures like a secured waste, effective
passwords, internal controls, conducting audits, and using cryptography.

CYBERCRIME:-
Cybercrime, or computer-oriented crime, is a crime that involves a computer and a
network. The computer may have been used in the commission of a crime, or it
may be the target. Cybercrimes can be defined as: "Offences that are committed
against individuals or groups of individuals with a criminal motive to intentionally
harm the reputation of the victim or cause physical or mental harm, or loss, to the
victim directly or indirectly, using modern telecommunication networks such as
Internet (networks including chat rooms, emails, notice boards and groups) and
mobile phones (Bluetooth/SMS/MMS)". Cybercrime may threaten a person or a
nation's security and financial health. Issues surrounding these types of crimes
have become high-profile, particularly those surrounding hacking, copyright
infringement, unwarranted mass-surveillance, sextortion, child pornography, and
child grooming.

There are also problems of privacy when confidential information is intercepted or

disclosed, lawfully or otherwise. DebaratiHalder and K. Jaishankar further define
cybercrime from the perspective of gender and defined 'cybercrime against women'
as "Crimes targeted against women with a motive to intentionally harm the victim
psychologically and physically, using modern telecommunication networks such as
internet and mobile phones". Internationally, both governmental and non-state
actors engage in cybercrimes, including espionage, financial theft, and other cross-
border crimes. Cybercrimes crossing international borders and involving the
actions of at least one nation-state is sometimes referred to as cyberwarfare.

A report (sponsored by McAfee), published in 2014, estimated that the annual

damage to the global economy was $445 billion. Approximately $1.5 billion was
lost in 2012 to online credit and debit card fraud in the US. In 2018, a study by
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), in partnership with McAfee,
concludes that close to $600 billion, nearly one percent of global GDP, is lost to
cybercrime each year.

 Classifications

1. Financial fraud crimes:

Computer fraud is any dishonest misrepresentation of fact intended to let another

to do or refrain from doing something which causes loss. In this context, the fraud
will result in obtaining a benefit by:

Altering in an unauthorized way. This requires little technical expertise and is a

common form of theft by employees altering the data before entry or entering false
data, or by entering unauthorized instructions or using unauthorized processes;
Altering, destroying, suppressing, or stealing output, usually to conceal
unauthorized transactions. This is difficult to detect;

Altering or deleting stored data;

Other forms of fraud may be facilitated using computer systems, including bank
fraud, carding, identity theft, extortion, and theft of classified information. These
types of crime often result in the loss of private information or monetary
information.

2. Cyberterrorism:

Government officials and information technology security specialists have

documented a significant increase in Internet problems and server scans since early
2001. There us a growing concern among government agencies such as the Federal
Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that
such intrusions are part of an organized effort by cyberterrorists, foreign
intelligence services, or other groups to map potential security holes in critical
systems. A cyberterrorist is someone who intimidates or coerces a government or
an organization to advance his or her political or social objectives by launching a
computer-based attack against computers, networks, or the information stored on
them.

Cyberterrorism, in general, can be defined as an act of terrorism committed

through the use of cyberspace or computer resources (Parker 1983). As such, a
simple propaganda piece on the Internet that there will be bomb attacks during the
holidays can be considered cyberterrorism. There are also hacking activities
directed towards individuals, families, organized by groups within networks,
tending to cause fear among people, demonstrate power, collecting information
relevant for ruining peoples' lives, robberies, blackmailing, etc.

3. Cyberextortion:

Cyberextortion occurs when a website, e-mail server, or computer system is

subjected to or threatened with repeated denial of service or other attacks by
malicious hackers. These hackers demand money in return for promising to stop
the attacks and to offer "protection". According to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, cybercrime extortionists are increasingly attacking corporate
websites and networks, crippling their ability to operate and demanding payments
to restore their service. More than 20 cases are reported each month to the FBI and
many go unreported in order to keep the victim's name out of the public domain.

Perpetrators typically use a distributed denial-of-service attack. However, other

cyberextortion techniques exist such as doxing extortion and bug poaching.

An example of cyberextortion was the attack on Sony Pictures of 2014.

4. Cyberwarfare:

Sailors analyze, detect and defensively respond to unauthorized activity within

U.S. Navy information systems and computer networks

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) notes that the cyberspace has emerged as a
national-level concern through several recent events of geostrategic significance.
Among those are included, the attack on Estonia's infrastructure in 2007, allegedly
by Russian hackers. "In August 2008, Russia again allegedly conducted cyber
attacks, this time in a coordinated and synchronized kinetic and non-kinetic
campaign against the country of Georgia. The December 2015 Ukraine power grid
cyberattack has also been attributed to Russia and is considered the first successful
cyber attack on a power grid.[citation needed] Fearing that such attacks may
become the norm in future warfare among nation-states, the concept of cyberspace
operations impacts and will be adapted by warfighting military commanders in the
future.

5. Computer as a target:

These crimes are committed by a selected group of criminals. Unlike crimes using
the computer as a tool, these crimes require the technical knowledge of the
perpetrators. As such, as technology evolves, so too does the nature of the crime.
These crimes are relatively new, having been in existence for only as long as
computers have—which explains how unprepared society and the world, in
general, is towards combating these crimes. There are numerous crimes of this
nature committed daily on the internet.

Crimes that primarily target computer networks or devices include:

 Computer viruses
  Denial-of-service attacks
 Malware (malicious code)

6. Computer as a tool:

When the individual is the main target of cybercrime, the computer can be
considered as the tool rather than the target. These crimes generally involve less
technical expertise. Human weaknesses are generally exploited. The damage dealt
is largely psychological and intangible, making legal action against the variants
more difficult. These are the crimes which have existed for centuries in the offline
world. Scams, theft, and the likes have existed even before the development in
high-tech equipment. The same criminal has simply been given a tool which
increases their potential pool of victims and makes them all the harder to trace and
apprehend.

Crimes that use computer networks or devices to advance other ends include:

 Fraud and identity theft (although this increasingly uses malware, hacking or
phishing, making it an example of both "computer as target" and "computer
as tool" crime)
 Information warfare
 Phishing scams
 Spam
 Propagation of illegal obscene or offensive content, including harassment
and threats

The unsolicited sending of bulk email for commercial purposes (spam) is unlawful
in some jurisdictions.

Phishing is mostly propagated via email. Phishing emails may contain links to
other websites that are affected by malware.[15] Or, they may contain links to fake
online banking or other websites used to steal private account information.

7. Obscene or offensive content:

The content of websites and other electronic communications may be distasteful,
obscene or offensive for a variety of reasons. In some instances, these
communications may be illegal.

The extent to which these communications are unlawful varies greatly between
countries, and even within nations. It is a sensitive area in which the courts can
become involved in arbitrating between groups with strong beliefs.

One area of Internet pornography that has been the target of the strongest efforts at
curtailment is child pornography, which is illegal in most jurisdictions in the
world.

8. Online harassment:

The examples and perspective in this section may not represent a worldwide view
of the subject. You may improve this section, discuss the issue on the talk page, or
create a new article, as appropriate. (March 2016) (Learn how and when to remove
this template message)

Whereas content may be offensive in a non-specific way, harassment directs

obscenities and derogatory comments at specific individuals focusing for example
on gender, race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation. This often occurs in chat
rooms, through newsgroups, and by sending hate e-mail to interested parties.
Harassment on the internet also includes revenge porn.

There are instances where committing a crime using a computer can lead to an
enhanced sentence. For example, in the case of United States v. Neil Scott Kramer,
Kramer was served an enhanced sentence according to the U.S. Sentencing
Guidelines Manual §2G1. For his use of a cell phone to "persuade, induce, entice,
coerce, or facilitate the travel of, the minor to engage in prohibited sexual
conduct." Kramer argued that this claim was insufficient because his charge
included persuading through a computer device and his cellular phone technically
is not a computer. Although Kramer tried to argue this point, U.S. Sentencing
Guidelines Manual states that the term computer "means an electronic, magnetic,
optical, electrochemically, or other high-speed data processing device performing
logical, arithmetic, or storage functions, and includes any data storage facility or
communications facility directly related to or operating in conjunction with such
device."

Connecticut was the U.S. state to pass a statute making it a criminal offense to
harass someone by computer. Michigan, Arizona, and Virginia and South Carolina
have also passed laws banning harassment by electronic means.

Harassment as defined in the U.S. computer statutes is typically distinct from

cyberbullying, in that the former usually relates to a person's "use 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," while the latter need not involve anything of a
sexual nature.

Although freedom of speech is protected by law in most democratic societies (in

the US this is done by the First Amendment), it does not include all types of
speech. In fact spoken or written "true threat" speech/text is criminalized because
of "intent to harm or intimidate", that also applies for online or any type of network
related threats in written text or speech. The US Supreme Court definition of "true
threat" is "statements where the speaker means to communicate a serious
expression of an intent to commit an act of unlawful violence to a particular
individual or group".

9. Drug trafficking:

Darknet markets are used to buy and sell recreational drugs online. Some drug
traffickers use encrypted messaging tools to communicate with drug mules. The
dark web site Silk Road was a major online marketplace for drugs before it was
shut down by law enforcement (then reopened under new management, and then
shut down by law enforcement again). After Silk Road 2.0 went down, Silk Road 3
Reloaded emerged. However, it was just an older marketplace named
DiabolusMarket, that used the name for more exposure from the brand's previous
success.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF COMPUTER
ETHICS:-
1. Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people.
2. Thou shalt not interfere with other people's computer work.
3. Thou shalt not snoop around in other people's files.
4. Thou shalt not use a computer to steal.
5. Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness.
6. Thou shalt not use or copy software for which you have not paid.
7. Thou shalt not use other people's computer resources without authorization.
8. Thou shalt not appropriate other people's intellectual output.
9. Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the program you write.
10.Thou shalt use a computer in ways that show consideration and respect.

EMAIL ETIQUETTE:-
In the age of the Internet, you might find yourself clicking "reply," typing up a
quick response, and hitting "send" without giving so much as a thought about what
you've just written. But experts agree that your e-mail behavior has the potential to
sabotage your reputation both personally and professionally. Inc.com got in touch
with some of the industry's most seasoned e-mail experts and had them weigh in on
how to perfect your e-mail etiquette.

1. Only discuss public matters:

We've all heard the stories about a "private" e-mail that ended up being passed
around to the entire company, and in some cases, all over the Internet. One of
the most important things to consider when it comes to e-mail etiquette is
whether the matter you're discussing is a public one, or something that should
be talked about behind closed doors. Ask yourself if the topic being discussed is
something you'd write on company letterhead or post on a bulletin board for all
to see before clicking "send." --Judith Kallos,author of E-Mail Etiquette Made
Easy, E-Mail: The Manual, and E-Mail: A Write It Well Guide
2. Briefly introduce yourself:

Do not assume the person receiving your e-mail knows who you are, or
remembers meeting you. If you are uncertain whether the recipient recognizes
your e-mail address or name, include a simple reminder of who you are in
relation to the person you are reaching out to; a formal and extensive biography
of yourself is not necessary. --Peggy Duncan, personal productivity expert and
author of Conquer Email Overload with Better Habits, Etiquette, and Outlook
2007

3. Don't "e-mail angry":

E-mailing with bad news, firing a client or vendor, expressing anger,

reprimanding someone, disparaging other people in e-mails (particularly if
you're saying something less than kind about your boss) are all major no-no's.
Because e-mail can seem so informal, many people fall into this trap. Always
remember that e-mail correspondence lasts forever. --Lindsey Pollak, career and
workplace expert, e-mail etiquette consultant, and author of Getting from
College to Career

4. Use exclamation points sparingly:

The maximum number of exclamation points in a business e-mail? One.

Otherwise, you risk looking childish and unprofessional. --Pollak

5. Be careful with confidential information:

Refrain from discussing confidential information in e-mails such as someone's

tax information or the particulars of a highly-sensitive business deal. Should the
e-mail get into the wrong person's hands, you could face serious - even legal -
repercussions. --Peter Post, director of the Burlington, Vermont-based Emily
Post Institute, which offers etiquette advice and answers to manners questions
such as wedding etiquette, parenting issues and table manners.

6. Respond in a timely fashion:

Unless you work in some type of emergency capacity, it's not necessary to be
available the instant an e-mail arrives. Depending on the nature of the e-mail
and the sender, responding within 24 to 48 hours is acceptable. --Duncan
7. Refrain from sending one-liners:

"Thanks," and "Oh, OK" do not advance the conversation in any way. Feel free
to put "No Reply Necessary" at the top of the e-mail when you don't anticipate a
response. --Duncan

8. Avoid using shortcuts to real words, emoticons, jargon, or slang:

Words from grown, business people using shortcuts such as "4 u" (instead of
"for you"), "Gr8" (for great) in business-related e-mail is not acceptable. If you
wouldn't put a smiley face or emoticon on your business correspondence, you
shouldn't put it in an e-mail message. Any of the above has the potential to
make you look less than professional. --Duncan

9. Keep it clean:

Nothing annoys recipients more than when people reply and leave the
messages messy, for example, an e-mail chain that includes excessive carets
(>>>), or pages and pages of e-mail addresses that weren't protected using Bcc.
You can get rid of carets by selecting the text, Ctrl+F to use the Find and
Replace command to find a caret and replace all of them with nothing. You can
get rid of all the e-mail addresses just by deleting. Clean it up, then send it. --
Duncan

10.Be clear in your subject line:

With inboxes being clogged by hundreds of e-mails a day, it's crucial that your
subject line gets to the point. It should be reasonably simple and descriptive of
what you have written about. Expect that any e-mail with a cute, vague, or
obscure subject will get trashed. Also, proof your subject line as carefully as
you would proof the rest of the e-mail. --Post

11.Don't get mistaken for Spam:

Avoid subject lines that are in all caps, all lower case, and those that include
URLs and exclamation points - which tend to look like Spam to the recipient. --
Judith Kallos, author of E-Mail Etiquette Made Easy, E-Mail: The Manual, and
E-Mail: A Write It Well Guide
12.Your subject line must match the message:

Never open an old e-mail, hit Reply, and send a message that has nothing to do
with the previous one. Do not hesitate to change the subject as soon as the
thread or content of the e-mail chain changes. --Peggy Duncan, personal
productivity expert and author of Conquer Email Overload with Better Habits,
Etiquette, and Outlook 2007

13.Provide a warning when sending large attachments:

Sending unannounced large attachments can clog the receiver's inbox and
cause other important e-mails to bounce. If you are sending something that is
over 500KB, senders should ask, 'Would you mind if I sent you an attachment?
When would be the best time for you?' --Kallos

14.No more than two attachments, and provide a logical name:

Unless it's been specifically requested, refrain from sending a message with
more than two attachments. Also, give the attached file(s) a logical name so the
recipient knows at a glance the subject and the sender. --Duncan

15.Send or copy others only on a need to know basis:

Before you click Reply All or put names on the Cc or Bcc lines, ask yourself if
all the recipients need the information in your message. If they don't, why send
it? Take time to send your messages to the right people. --Duncan

16.Beware of the "reply all":

Do not hit "reply all" unless every member on the e-mail chain needs to know.
You want to make sure that you are not sending everyone on a list your answer-
whether they needed to know or not. --Duncan

17.Pick up the phone:

When a topic has lots of parameters that need to be explained or negotiated and
will generate too many questions and confusion, don't handle it via e-mail.
Also, e-mail should not be used for last minute cancellations of meetings,
lunches, interviews, and never for devastating news. If you have an employee or
a friend you need to deliver bad news to, a phone call is preferable. If it's news
you have to deliver to a large group, e-mail is more practical. --Duncan

18.Evaluate the importance of your e-mail:

Don't overuse the high priority option. If you overuse this feature, few people
will take it seriously. A better solution is to use descriptive subject lines that
explain exactly what a message is about. --Duncan

19.Maintain privacy:

If you're sending a message to a group of people and you need to protect the
privacy of your list, you should always use "Bcc." Additionally, avoid giving
out e-mail addresses to a third party (such as an Evite, newsletter, etc). Make
sure that addresses you willingly hand over to third parties stay with them,
especially when the service they're offering is free. --Duncan

20.Keep it short and get to the point:

The long e-mail is a thing of the past. Write concisely, with lots of white space,
so as to not overwhelm the recipient. Make sure when you look at what you're
sending it doesn't look like a burden to read - feel free to use bullet points. The
person reading your e-mail should not have to dig through several paragraphs in
order to figure out what you're asking. You should state the purpose of the e-
mail within the first two sentences. Be clear, and be up front. --Lindsey Pollak,
career and workplace expert, e-mail etiquette consultant, and author of Getting
from College to Career

21.Know your audience:

Your e-mail greeting and sign-off should be consistent with the level of respect
and formality of the person you're communicating with. Also, write for the
person who will be reading it - if they tend to be very polite and formal, write in
that language. The same goes for a receiver who tends to be more informal and
relaxed. --Lindsey Pollak, career and workplace expert, e-mail etiquette
consultant, and author of Getting From College to Career

22.Always include a signature:

 You never want someone to have to look up how to get in touch with you. If
you're social media savvy, include all of your social media information in your
signature as well. Your e-mail signature is a great way to let people know more
about you, especially when your e-mail address is does not include your full
name or company. --Pollak

23.Only use an auto-responder when necessary:

An automatic response that says, "Thank you for your e-mail message. I will
respond to you as soon as I can" is useless. However, one thing these messages
do great is alert spammers that your e-mail is real and that they can add you to
their spam list. --Peggy Duncan, personal productivity expert and author of
Conquer Email Overload with Better Habits, Etiquette, and Outlook 2007

24.Train your staff:

Business owners should make sure their staff is trained in e-mail

communications - don't assume they know what they're doing, and what is
considered professional. Set up e-mail standards that everyone at the company
should abide by. --Pollak

25.Your e-mail is a reflection of you:

Every e-mail you send adds to, or detracts from your reputation. If your e-mail
is scattered, disorganized, and filled with mistakes, the recipient will be inclined
to think of you as a scattered, careless, and disorganized businessperson. Other
people's opinions matter and in the professional world, their perception of you
will be critical to your success. --Peter Post, director of the Burlington,
Vermont-based Emily Post Institute, which offers etiquette advice and answers
to manners questions such as wedding etiquette, parenting issues and table
manners.

INFORMATIONTECHNOLOGY AND ETHICAL

STUDENT AND STAFF BEHAVIOUR:-
In this section, I will address the question of how the use of computers in education
changes the settings in which moral values function, for students and staff
members. My focus will be on the new moral challenges and new possibilities
forimmoral behavior for students and staff that may arise with the use of
information technology in higher education. These moral challenges arise in part
because electronic environments afford new types of actions that may require new
moral codes, such as copying software and hacking. Yet, they also arise in part
because certain types of immoral actions, such as plagiarism and invasions of
privacy, are easier to perform in electronic settings, as well as harder to detect or
control. What follows are six types of morally questionable behavior that depend
on the use of computers and computer networks in (higher) education.

• Digital plagiarism

Plagiarism has always existed in education, including higher education, where it is

one of the major forms of academic dishonesty. Assignments handed in by students
may turn out to be copied from fellow students or to be taken over, in part or in
whole, from existing published works. In a way, computers and the Internet only
add to the means that students have at their disposal to commit plagiarism.
However, they make it much easier to do and much harder to detect. As Austin and
Brown have argued, plagiarism has become easier for students in two ways: “word
processing programs allow students to easily “cut and paste” information from the
Internet or other electronic media to develop a paper that appears to be original
work” and “students’ use of Internet information that may be unavailable in
traditional sources makes documenting academic dishonesty more difficult to
faculty.” (1999, p. 21; seealso Hinman, 2002). Particularly worrisome, as they
point out, is the existence of “term paper mills,” which offer pre-written term
papers to students on a range of topics, and many of which also offer to write
papers specifically for students for a fee.

• Breaking copyright and software theft

It is well known that the illegal copying of copyrighted media (texts, music works,
movies and software programs) is widespread throughout society. Moreover, many
people who engage in such activity do not consider themselves to be doing
something that is patently immoral. This is certainly true for college students.
Cohen and Cornwell (1989) and Glass and Wood (1996), for example, found that a
large majority of college students do not perceive the illegal copying of software as
unethical.

This attitude of college students seems to match developments in the current

information age, in which the Internet increasingly functions as the most important
information medium that people use. Hinman (2002) has argued that the very
structure of the Internet undermines the notion of private intellectual property on
the web: “The inner dynamic of the Web moves us increasingly toward a much
more communal notion of property”. As he explains, the Web stimulates copying
because the very nature of browser technology necessitates making copies, because
perfect copies can be made at virtually no cost, and because making digital copies
does not involve physical theft from the person who owns the original (34). It may
be added to this that many information sources on the Web are not obviously
copyrighted, and many even lack an identifiable author (Kolko, 2002). Lipinski
and Britz (1999) argue, moreover, that digital copying can often be morally, if not
legally, defended because of the fact that access to information is a critical need in
an age of information that may in some cases override proprietary rights.

Hence, the traditional legal paradigm of intellectual property is increasingly

challenged by a new paradigm that emphasizes unrestrained access to, and use of,
information. It is difficult to find an adequate moral compass to navigate the new
landscape, not only for students, but for staff as well. Moral and legal confusion
may moreover also result from the vagueness of “fair use” provisions in copyright
law, that do not clearly state when copying for personal use or display in classroom
settings is permitted, and from the existence of corporate licenses at universities, or
departments therein, that may permit students to freely use or copy media that they
do not own themselves.

• Hacking
Hacking is breaking into computer systems for unauthorized purposes, which may
be either malicious or non-malicious. Hacking may involve, for example, snooping
around on someone’s personal computer through remote access,
intentionallymodifying or destroying files to which one has not been granted
access, releasing computer viruses, stealing passwords or files, exposing personal
information, and stealing electronic money. Students and staff members at both
virtual and conventional universities may engage in hacking for a variety of
reasons. They may simply be unaware that they are breaking into a computer
system, they may just be curious, they may be out to harm someone, they may
want to benefit themselves, or they may have entirely different reasons. Malicious
hacking is clearly morally problematic, but non-malicious hacking has been
defended by hackers as morally acceptable and socially harmless or even beneficial
(cf. Baase, p. 242). Clearly, universities need clear policies and guidelines on
hacking (including policies that define what kinds of computer systems access are
unauthorized for whom) and probably need to distinguish malicious from non-
malicious hacking.

• Improper use of computer resources

Hacking is the use of computer resources to which one is not supposed to have
access. However, students and staff may also have authorized access to computer
resources, but then go on to use these resources improperly. They may have a
university Internet account, or they may use a computer system or computer
network or computer software that is owned by the university, or they may use
computerized services offered by the university, and do so in a way that does not
meet the university’s standards for proper use of that particular resource. For
example, students may use their student account to run their own Internet business,
contrary to the university’s policies. Or students may open up a popular website or
service that generates loads of traffic that incapacitates the university’s server, e.g.,
peer to peer downloads of MP3 files. Or staff members may use the university’s
server or computer systems to download or view or store content that is either
illegal or against the university’s policies (e.g., racist or fascist materials or
pornography). Or members of the academic community may spread computer
viruses or worms. Clearly, universities need policies regarding the proper use
ofcomputer resources in an academic context by students and staff.

• (Anonymous) harassment and hate speech

In universities, there may be various electronic means of communicating messages

to other members of the academic community, as well as to persons outside the
university: e-mail, electronic bulletin boards, IRC (the exchange of short one-on-
one messages without a significant time lag), collaborative virtual environments
and web pages constitute some of the most important ones. As in face-to-face
communication, these computer-mediated forms of communication can be used to
send threatening, obscene, inflammatory or harassing messages. These may
include discriminatory messages, used to disparage individuals or groups based on
gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, age, or disability. Such messages are
generally not considered to be acceptable in an academic setting, as educators
strive to ensure that the classroom, if not the campus at large, functions as a safe,
nonthreatening environment for students as well as for staff. In this, the same
principles apply for virtual classrooms and campuses as for their physical
counterparts (cf. Ferganchick-Neufang, 1998).

Moreover, in curbing harassing and obscene messages, educators will

simultaneously have to make sure that they are not unduly limiting free speech (see
also the section 3). As Baase has pointed out (p. 212), speech on computer systems
is often treated differently from other forms of speech, and there is a tendency for
less tolerance for offensive talk that takes place online. If this is true, then extra
care must be taken to ensure that student discussion in the virtual classroom can
take place as freely as student discussion in the physical classroom. It would be a
loss if students would be more hesitant to voice their opinions because they are
using an electronic medium.

A feature of computer-mediated communication that deserves special mention is

the ease by which anonymous or pseudonymous messages can be sent, for example
through anonymous remailer services. Baase (1997, 214-5) points out that
anonymous messages posted over the Internet can have good and bad uses. She
claims that anonymity provides protection for victims of violence and abuse and
users of illegal drugs who seek counseling and advice and for whistleblowers who
wish to report on unethical or illegal activity in their organization without fear of
retribution. However, anonymity can also be used for criminal and antisocial
purposes: to perpetuate fraud, to harass people, to threaten or libel people with
impunity, and ruin their reputation by spreading rumors (Baase, p. 214-5; see also
Kling et al., 2000). Universities may hence want to consider having policies for
anonymous electronic communication.

• Breaches of informational privacy and confidentiality

Privacy is generally considered to be an individual right in Western countries, and

many nations have privacy laws (or data protection laws, as they are sometimes
called in Europe). It is nowadays generally recognized that new technologies, and
particularly information and communication technologies, raise new privacy
issues, for example concerning electronic databases and online privacy (e.g., Cate,
1997; Agre and Rotenberg, 1998). Many of these new privacy issues can be
expected to apply to the use of universities that make a lot of use of online
instruction and communication. In such universities, many important activities of
members of the university can in principle be monitored or recorded electronically.
This includes not only student administration but also classroom discussion,
student-to-student and student-to-faculty e-mail contact, and the online behavior of
students in general. The walls of classrooms and offices at such a university are
much more permeable than those of classical universities, making eavesdropping
much easier, and it happens much more frequently that the things that are said and
done in them are recorded so as to be available for later scrutiny, or can be copied
for distribution.

At many (conventional) universities, privacy policies remain limited to student

privacy policies that protect student records from being accessed by third parties
without authorization. Since many student records are nowadays stored in
electronic format, these policies must be supplemented with good system security.
Electronic records should be adequately protected so as to avoid unauthorized
access to them. Many universities nowadays also have policies that address the
electronic posting of grades, which are considered to be privacy-sensitive.
Many more privacy issues can be raised at a university that has much of its
communication and instruction online, however. Consider, first, the confidentiality
of classroom or group discussion or one-to-one and one-to-many. Can students be
sure that these discussions are not logged or monitored by administrators, that they
are not made accessible on public networks, and that access to them cannot be
easily hacked? In a study of privacy in online learning environments, to (2002)
argues that class discussions over a connection that is not secure may either inhibit
discussion or forcestudents to take risks in disclosing more personal information.
He argues in favor of more private interaction environments, which he claims to be
“key to increasing interactivity” . As he claims: “A sound learning environment
will allow learners to adjust to the ideal levels of privacy and give students more
secure and more comfortable environments to increase their social presence to
enhance social interaction”.