“Ethics on the Information Age”
Chapter 4: Intellectual Property
This chapter tackles about copying and using the intellectual property of people. In the copying part of the chapter, it says that copying is stealing. Well, I disagree, because copying is just making a duplicate while stealing is getting the original and never return it so the owner won’t benefit from it or use it again. In regards to file sharing, Let us say that the sharer bought the cd and share the contents in it. The downloader then is accused of stealing because he gets a copy of it. So it doesn’t make sense why they’re being accused. In my opinion, the fact that the sharer bought the cd, the cd and the contents are his, and he has the full control whether he will share it or not. Though the sharer makes a copyright violation, but the downloader shouldn’t be accused of stealing and it is not stealing from the start.
In regards to open source software like Linux, codes should be shared to others so that it can be improved. You can also sell open source software as long that you make improvements to it and you also have to share what you have change to that software.
If the company wouldn’t want their software to copied, they should make the cd copy proof. Some software like the WOW (World of WarCraft) has already made their cd copy proof in a way that the software is 1 is to 1 and you can’t fully play the game because it has a limitation which is also a trial version. The software is protected because the only way to play the game is to register and buy the cd key and it will make cd key matching if the cd key is already taken. In my point of view If Microsoft does not take any measures like this then they’re allowing their software to be copied.
Chapter 6: Computer and Network Security
This chapter talks about security from malicious programs that harms the computer. To be more specific, these are viruses, worms, Trojans and other form of security threats. These security threats are, as everybody knows, bad. Programmers who make these security threats are doing it for fun or want to make chaos. Some anti Virus Company also make virus so that people will buy their products. The sad part is that they even hire virus programmers!
In the hacker part, the term hacker was originally meant for the good purposes like getting to a system to improve it. Nowadays, the term describes them as malicious intruders who sneaks into systems and destroys it. Some steal confidential information and use it for selfish purposes.
Chapter 5: Privacy
Privacy is the zone of inaccessibility as Edmund Byrne had defined in the book. Privacy contains personal information of an individual. These privacy information should be kept secret for the safety of the person. For example, a celebrity being stalked by paparazzi, so the celebrity has a privacy threat. The paparazzi will get photos of the celebrity and put it in the internet. The celebrity will then be humiliated by making changes of his images in the photo.
In the field of computer, cookie can store private information of the web surfer on the pages he visited and what he had inputted, the username and password. Some programmers make cookie in order to get private and vital information from user to use it for their selfish acts. This is unethical of course.
Spyware programs have same evil purposes like a cookie use for selfish acts. Spyware is worse than a misused cookie because it slows down your computer while it monitors your system and makes annoying pop-up advertisements. To make your computer spyware safe just download a trusted antispyware.
Encryption is one of the ways to prevent your messages to be read by an unauthorized person. But not all the time it would wok because someone who knows how to decrypt can read the private message. There are also encryption softwares to help you encrypt messages.
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