Internet Security
Hacking
Vulnerability of PCs
Very complex environment.
Speed.
Uninterrupted physical attack to the target device.
Copyright
What you should do?
What should you not do?
Copy pictures onto a website, brochure, document, etc. that were found on the internet.
Scan items published in periodicals or books and post them on the internet.
"Many Internet users unintentionally violate copyright laws on the internet, owing to a mistaken assumption that any work not labeled with a copyright is protected." ("Copyright Law on the Internet").
Request permission from the copyright holder.
Illegal Downloading
Music
Movies
Documents
Textbooks
Downloading textbooks illegally is unfair to the writers. These people spend hours dedicated to creating textbooks. They then have to charge prices for their hard work and labor.
Downloading documents illegally and not citing them is unethical. By downloading documents and not citing them, you are stealing other people's work.
Downloading music illegally is unfair to the people who work hard on it. Giving away music for free would be great but the people who create the music need to be reimbursed for all the hard work they do.
Watching and downloading movies illegally is another way students and people put themselves in danger while disrespecting those who created the movies. In terms of disrespect, by freely watching these movies, the people who work hard on them do not receive the credit and money they deserve. In terms of safety, when students download them, they put themselves at risk for viruses, hackers, etc.
Act Utilitarianism
Kantianism: According to Kantianism, doing something unlawfully is always wrong. Hacking is always wrong and Kantinism does not support anything wrong(Nathanson).
Rule Utilitarianism: There are laws placed against using copyrighted material, plagiarism, etc. and these laws are not meant to be broken. The ethical decision would always be not to copyright according to rule utilitarianism (Nathanson).
In terms of Act Utilitarianism, illegally downloading as a whole is wrong. Downloading anything illegally does not produce the best possible results in any situation. There is no justifiable way to prove that illegally downloading is morally right(Nathanson).
Risks of downloading illegally
Hackers
Viruses
Breaking a law
When downloading things illegally, in most cases it is against the law. An example of this is piracy of movies. When movies are downloaded illegally and sold at lower prices it is called piracy. People can be fined thousands of dollars as well as face jail time if they are caught downloading movies illegally.
When downloading anything, there is always the risk of giving a hacker access to personal information. Hackers use low-security websites that people use to gain access to private information such as social security number, address, phone number, etc.
Another risk of downloading things illegally is downloading an unknown virus. With the advances in technology comes the advances in viruses. When people download media or documents off of low-security websites, they also run the risk of downloading viruses. These viruses are targeted to break and slow down computer software.
The major U.S. motion picture studios lost $6.1 billion to piracy in 2005(LEK).
$12.5 billion in economic losses each year due to piracy in the music industry (Online Piracy).
How to avoid hacking
Keep account secure
Use a complex password.
Change password often.
Never save password on Google.
Use two-factor authentication.
Log out of account when done.
Don't give out password.
Keeping your computer secure
Encrypt the hard drive.
Install updates as soon as they become available.
Back up data frequently.
Avoid clicking suspicious links or responding to unknown emails.
Install or activate firewall.
Disable remote access.
Keeping Your network Secure
Use secured wireless networks.
Download programs only from reputable sites.
Learn to recognize fake websites.
Avoid sites without "HTTPS" URL.
Avoid file sharing services.
Shop only on secure sites.
Fair Use allows limited use of copyrighted work. Examples are criticism, teaching, news reporting, and research (Raccine).
Put music on a website, social media, etc. without permission.
Use caution and review all the licensing terms.