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COMPUTER SCIENCE - ETHICS - CHAPTER 10 / 1.5 (COPYRIGHT AND PLAGIARISM…
COMPUTER SCIENCE - ETHICS - CHAPTER 10 / 1.5
Ethics govern regulate the use of computers. They provide a set of guidelines and laws for their use.
Govern - to influence or provide legal authority on a product or process.
Standards - a level of conduct or morals that should be met.
Not everyone will agree with a set of ethics as what one person thinks is right, another may think is wrong. An example of this is the government use of a DNA database.
COPYRIGHT AND PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism - stealing the work of another without making a reference to the source where it was obtained or trying to pass it off as our own.
Copyright - legally protecting work to give the sole right to distribute the work, often with payment. Means a person must seek the owners permission in order to use their work. A country usually has a law governing copyright. It id represented with a C in a circle.
It is very easy to duplicate and copy data from the internet. This could be, for example, when writing a school essay.
According to computer ethics it is wrong to plagiarise as it can be seen as steeling.
In some places on the web you can lose rights to uploaded data. For example, some social networking sites may have terms and conditions stating they can use uploaded data.
FREE SOFTWARE, FREEWARE AND SHAREWARE
FREE SOFTWARE
Software that is classed as free software means that we have the right to run, copy, share and change the software. We can do all this without seeking permission.
'Free' is a reference to freedom, not to price.
Is it ethical to sell on free software?
FREEWARE
Freeware is software that has a copyright but the owner of the software chooses to give away a copy for free.
Author does not charge a price but we are unable to change it, copy it or share it.
Is it ethical to share a copy of a software, given by a software company, with our family?
SHAREWARE
An example of shareware is a free trial for software. It is software that is distributed for free at first, but a fee is required for continued use.
For example a TV provider may offer a 30 day free trial for their subscription.
Some companies may give away a free version of software that is limited in some way compared to the paid version.
ETHICS IN ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION
Hacking - gaining unauthorised or unlawful access to data on a computer, normally with the aim of steeling it, by breaking through security methods.
Cracking - breaking into a system, software or website with the aim of changing it or defacing it. Cracking could mean the software can be used without paying which would be steeling and unethical.
Malware is a computer program designed to disrupt or damage our computer systems. Malware can often be attached to email communications and is downloaded onto our computer when we open the attachment or click a link. Some people believe it is entertaining to create malware programs that can damage other people's computers which is unethical.
A hacker aims to get past a security system , often with the aim to prove they can, while a cracker will break into or change a system, website or software with the aim to amend or deface it.