lecture 8 privacy, security, ergonomics and the environment

Jennifer ‘Jannah’ Contreras(LECTURER)

LECTURE 8

Privacy, Security, Ergonomics and the

Environment

2

Learning Outcomes

Appreciate individual rights to privacy and related issues

Understand the importance of information and computer security

Define Computer Crime and discuss measures of security that are available

Explain Ergonomics and its importance

Discuss the importance of mental and physical health of computer users

Appreciate the need for green PC

7. Be aware of personal responsibility of internet safety

At the end of this lesson, Students will be able to:

Privacy and Issues• PRIVACY is the ability of an individual or group to

seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively

• The boundaries and content of what is considered private differ among cultures and individuals, but share basic common themes.

• Privacy is sometimes related to anonymity, the wish to remain unnoticed or unidentified in the public realm.

Privacy

• Privacy is a fundamental human right and a cornerstone of a democratic society. With the

• development of new information and communication technologies, the ability of the state and

• the private sector to collect, record and "mine" personal information has grown exponentially.

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Privacy

• Computer ethics provide guidelines for computer use

• Ethics issues– Privacy– Accuracy– Property– Access

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Large Databases

• Data collected daily• Data gatherers

– Information resellers or information brokers– Information profiles are created

• Concerns – Identify theft– Mistaken identity

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Private Networks

• Employers monitor email– Legally done – Snoopware Software

• Online services right to censor content– Screen and reject

messages– Terminate user

accounts

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Internet and Web

• Illusion of anonymity– Not concerned about privacy when surfing the

Internet– Not concerned about privacy when sending e-

mail• History file• Cookies

– Traditional – Ad network or adware cookies

Security• Information security means protecting

information and information systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction

Difference • Information security is concerned with the

confidentiality, integrity and availability of data regardless of the form the data may take: electronic, print, or other forms.

• Computer security can focus on ensuring the availability and correct operation of a computer system without concern for the information stored or processed by the computer.

Security

• Governments, military, corporations, financial institutions, hospitals, and private businesses amass a great deal of confidential information about their employees, customers, products, research, and financial status.

• Most of this information is now collected, processed and stored on electronic computers and transmitted across networks to other computers.

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Computer Criminals

• Employees• Outside users• Hackers and crackers• Organized crime• Terrorists

Computer Crime and Measures of Security

• Computer related crime

The use of a computer is integral to committing the offence. Examples are offences such as

computer-related forgery (where false data are put forward as authentic) and computer related

fraud (the fraudulent interference with or manipulation of data to cause property loss).

• Computer crime

This is a general label for offences in which a computer is the object of the offence or he tool for

its commission.

• E-crime

A general label for offences committed using an electronic data storage or communications

device.


• Internet crime

Refers to crimes which the use of the internet is a key feature and includes content-related offences

such as possession of child pornography, or in some countries, the dissemination of hate or racist

material.

• Cybercrime

The cybercrime is interpreted differently in many countries. Each country has its own definition of

cybercrime, depending on its stature and laws. Cybercrime is an umbrella terms that includes criminal

activities against computer-related offences, content offences, and copyright offences. This wide is

definition of cybercrime overlaps in part with general offence categories that need not be ICT dependent,

such as white-collar crime and economic crime.


• High tech crime

High tech crime refers to criminal activities that emphasizes on the role of ICT in the commission of the

offence. Different practical considerations arise according to whether ICT equipment, services or data

are the object of the offence, or whether ICT is the tool for the commission.

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Computer Crime

• Malicious Programs– Viruses– Worms– Trojan horse

• Denial of service (DoS)• Internet Scams

• Theft– Hardware or software– Data– Computer time

• Data Manipulation – Computer Fraud

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Other Hazards

• Natural hazards– Fires & floods– Winds – Hurricanes– Tornadoes– Earthquakes

• Technological failures• Voltage surge

– Surge protector• Human errors• Civil strife and terrorism

– Wars– Riots– Terrorist acts

Measures of Security

What can we do to protect ourselves from the above crimes?

There is a list of actions that we can take and they include:• Password

Choose a good password - at least five characters long, at least one upper-case letter, at least one lower-case letter, and at least one digit, for example, c5U3rN.To access an online computer service or Internet service provider (ISP) one needs both a user name and password.

ISPs typically select a user name that is the same as the last name of the subscriber. This means that user names are easy to guess, therefore we must be especially careful with the password selected.


• Anti–virus software

Since we use e-mail and nearly all of us will download executable software from the Internet, we

should have a good anti-virus program running on our machine. This is so important because of our

activities. We usually distribute software and update via downloads from the Internet.

At the same time, hackers developed viruses that were delivered inside macros for Microsoft Word,

malicious macros are hidden inside a document sent by e-mail, and hackers also developed

malicious computer programs that were commonly distributed as attachments to e-mail. Clicking on

the attachment will execute the malicious computer program and will infect our computer


• Firewall

It is good practice to install a ‘firewall’ because many hackers run programs that randomly

search the Internet and probe ports on computers that are connected to the Internet. If the

hacker finds a port that is "open", the hacker might be able to access that computer and

view/alter/delete files on that computer. Worse, hackers may also hijack the victim's computer

and use it to launch their illegal attacks on other computers.


• BackupIt is good practice to do backups regularly.Daily, weekly or monthly, depending on how active we are. If a computer virus or an invading hacker deletes our files, or either one corrupts our files, the easiest way to restore our computer may be to reformat the hard drive(s) and then copy files from a recent backup. Backups also offer protection from more common (and less exotic) threats such as accidental deletion of a file by an authorized user or failure of a hard disk drive.


• SpywareSpyware is a new kind of malicious computer program which is automatically installed when we visit certain websites (e.g., file-sharing services), click on some pop-up adverts, or click on some attachments in an e-mail. The more benign spyware programs track the websites that we visit and send us adverts that are considered appropriate for our interests.

What is Ergonomics?

• Ergonomics is a discipline that involves arranging the environment to fit the person in When ergonomics is applied correctly in the work environment, visual and musculoskeletal discomfort and fatigue are reduced significantly.

• The word "Ergonomics” comes from two Greek words "ergon," meaning work, and "nomos" meaning "laws.”

What is Ergonomics?

• Today, however, the word is used to describe the science of "designing the job to fit the worker, not forcing the worker to fit the job.”

• Ergonomics covers all aspects of a job, from the physical stresses it places on joints, muscles, nerves, tendons, bones and the like, to environmental factors which can affect hearing, vision, and general comfort and health.

What is Ergonomics?

• Following ergonomic principles helps reduce stress and eliminate many potential injuries and disorders associated with the overuse of muscles, bad posture, and repeated tasks.

• This is accomplished by designing tasks, work spaces, controls, displays, tools, lighting, and equipment to fit the employee’s physical capabilities and limitations.

What is Ergonomics?

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More on Ergonomics

• Mental Health – Noise– Electronic monitoring

• Technostress– Stress associated

with computer use– Harmful to people

Mental and Physical Health

• During the agricultural age, working tools are the spade and shovels. When the mechanical age came, working tools change to machineries. Now in the information age, our working tools are computers.

• This however does not mean that we are not exposed to health hazards. We still need to look after and be concerned with our mental and physical health.

Mental and Physical Health

• Physical stressors include repetitive motions such as those caused by typing and prolong use of the mouse. Carpal tunnel syndrome, Tendonitis, Tenosynovitis, DeQuarvain's Syndrome, Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, many back injuries, and several other conditions may result from repetitive motions.

• Environmental factors could include such things as indoor air quality or excessive noise. "Sick building syndrome," with its accompanying headaches, congestion, fatigue and even rashes, can result from poor air quality in a building or office. Excessive noise around heavy machinery or equipment can cause permanent hearing loss. Improper lighting can cause eyestrain and headaches, especially in conjunction with a computer monitor.

Basic Green PC• A green PC is especially designed to minimize

power consumption

• Green PCs use less power than normal PCs and support sleep modes. Sleep mode is actually an energy-saving mode of operation in which all unnecessary components are shut down.

Greener Computer Experience

• Go Small - A laptop consumes five times less energy than a desktop PC. We now have laptops that are powerful and petite in size. If we want to use monitors, choose flat panel display.

• Avoid Hazardous Materials - Most PCs are laden with hazardous components, despite recent progress in convincing some computer makers to reduce the use of toxic substances in PC manufacture. We can do our part by looking for models selected by the EPA's Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT), which is largely based on European Union standards called Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS).

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The Environment

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Personal Responsibility

• Conserve

• Recycle

• Educate


• Look for the Energy Star – Choose PCs that qualify for the Energy Star. For a PC to wear the Energy Star badge, systems must meet certain consumption requirements when idle and when fully powered on. For instance, their power supplies must be able to convert 80 percent of incoming electricity for use by the PC.

• 4. Pick a New PSU – Newly designed industry standard power supply units (PSU) can yield potentially huge energy savings.


• Go Multicore - Designers of processors have been working to produce processors that can reduce power draw. The Intel Core 2 Duo desktop processor, for example, is up to 40 percent faster and more than 40 percent more energy-efficient than its single-core predecessor. It optimizes power consumption by selectively powering up processor components only when necessary.

• Set it for Savings - It consumes more energy to leave our PC running than it does to simply turn it off and reboot later. If we hate to do this because of the lengthy startup time, putting our computer in sleep mode is the next best bet for energy savings.


• Recycle It - On average, most users buy a new PC every three years. That's a relatively short lifespan for a product that creates toxic waste when it is recycled.

• We should buy an expandable PC so that we can upgrade to meet growing needs; another benefit is that maximizing the lifespan of a computer saves a lot more energy in the big scheme of things than recycling it does. Another option is to donate a working PC to a local nonprofit or school.

Personal Responsibility

• As individuals, we all have responsibility when we use the Internet. O’Reilly, in his book called Hackerteen, teaches young people basic Internet technology and a deeper understanding of where and why Internet use can be risky.

• It is our responsibility to look after our own security when we use computers and the Internet.

Thank you!

Any Questions?

REFERENCES• Books:

• 1. Diane M. Coyle, Computers Are Your Future, Complete, 10/E, Prentice Hall, 2009. ISBN-10:

• 0135045118, ISBN-13: 9780135045114.

• 2. John Preston, Sally Preston and Robert L. Ferrett, Computer Literacy for IC3, Prentice Hall,

• 2009. ISBN-10: 0131498649, ISBN-13: 9780131498648.

• 3. Alan Evans, Mary Ann Poatsy and Kendall Martin, Technology in Action, Introductory, 5/E,

• Prentice Hall, 2009. ISBN-10: 0135137667, ISBN-13: 9780135137666.

• 4. Brian K.Williams and Stacey Sawyer, Using

lecture 8 privacy, security, ergonomics and the environment

Education