Year 12 CS Textbook 2019 PDF

COMPUTER EDUCATION YEAR 12 Technology and Employment Skills Training Ministry of Education, Fiji. 2019 Preface This textbook is the second edition of the textbook printed in 2014. This book is revised in 2018 to cater for the revised Year 12 Computer Education syllabus in Fiji secondary school from the year 2019. It is hoped that this book will be useful in implementing the syllabus but it should be understood that it is not the syllabus. The syllabus is the framework for the teacher to follow while this textbook is a resource for the student. Therefore departure to other resource materials for more information will be acceptable. The textbook is not the perfect piece of work as it has been prepared in a very short time, therefore suggestions for amendments will be welcomed. It is anticipated that this book will minimize the amount of time for teachers in lesson preparation and more time will be devoted to actual classroom teaching and learning. There may be a variety of opinion about the content of the topics, but for the beginner it is the best which gives the time and opportunity to become familiar with the basics before pursuing further into the field of study in greater detail at the upper secondary level. Ministry of Education, Suva. Fiji Islands 2019 2 Acknowledgement This textbook for year 12 Computer Education has been produced by the Computer Education Section of the Technology and Employment Skills Training (TEST) section of the Ministry of Education, Heritage & Arts (MOEHA) In 2014, it was written, compiled and edited by a writer’s panel comprising of Computer Studies officers and USP lecturers: 1. Dr. Bibya Sharma(Associate Dean, FSTE, USP, Suva, Fiji) 2. Mr. Shaveen Singh (Subject Coordinator, SCIMS, USP, Suva, Fiji) 3. Mr. Vijay Prasad (Subject Coordinator, CFS, USP, Suva, Fiji) 4. Ms. Rihana Hussain (SEO Computer Education, MoE, Suva, Fiji) 5. Mr. Vilitati Togavou (SEO E-Learning, MoE, Suva, Fiji) 6. Mr. Paula Sovakiwai (Assistant Teacher, Suva Grammar School) 7. Mrs. Iva Rawaico (HOD, Suva Grammar School) In 2018, it has been revised by: 1. Mr. Mohammed Arshad Al-Habib (HOD Computer/ OT, Nasinu Muslim College, Fiji) 2. Mrs. Sharika Kumar (HOD Computer/ OT, Jai Narayan College, Suva, Fiji) 3. Mr. Reginld Gani (HOD Computer, Vunimono High School, Nausori, Fiji) 4. Mrs Poonam Singh (HOD Computer, Nabua Secondary School, Suva, Fiji) 5. Ms Salanieta Saratibau (Teacher, Rishikul Sanatan College, Nasinu, Fiji) 6. Mrs Iva Rawaico (TEST Section, MOEHA, Suva, Fiji) 7. Mr Azeem Razak (TEST Section, MOEHA, Suva, Fiji) Cover page design: Mr. Mohammed Arshad Al-Habib This publication has been made possible through the support and assistance provided by the Principal Education Officer TEST Mr. Pene Arpio, Director TEST Ms. Alumeci Tuisawau and other Senior Staff of the Ministry of Education. Above all, the TEST staff and the family members of the writers and graphic designers are thanked for their patience and wholehearted support. Every effort has been made to acknowledge all copy right. Copyright© January, 2019 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the permission of the Technology and Employments Skills Training of the Ministry of Education, Fiji 3 Table of Contents Preface................................................................................................................ 2 Acknowledgement.............................................................................................. 3 The Internet and the Web.................................................................................. 6 1.0 Introduction.................................................................................................................................... 7 1.1 The Internet and WWW................................................................................................................ 7 1.2 The Cyber-culture.......................................................................................................................... 9 1.3 Communication and Search Tools.............................................................................................. 10 1.4 Web Technologies........................................................................................................................ 13 Proprietary Software and Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)............. 18 2.0 Introduction................................................................................................................................ 19 2.1 Proprietary Software................................................................................................................... 19 2.2 Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)................................................................................... 22 2.3 Impacts of FOSS and Proprietary Software............................................................................. 24 Computers in Society....................................................................................... 26 3.0 Introduction.................................................................................................................................. 26 3.1 Computerization of Society......................................................................................................... 27 3.2 Privacy of Information................................................................................................................ 30 3.3 Computer Criminals.................................................................................................................... 33 3.4 The Computer Crime.................................................................................................................. 35 3.5 Measures to Protect Computer Security.................................................................................... 40 Environmental Issues, Climate Change and Safe Practices........................... 48 4.0 Introduction.................................................................................................................................. 49 4.1 How Technology can Harm the Environment........................................................................... 49 4.2 How ICTs Can Help Tackle Climate Change........................................................................... 51 Communications and Networks...................................................................... 54 5.0 Introduction.................................................................................................................................. 55 5.1 Communications and connectivity....................................................................................... 55 5.2 Methods and modes of data transmission.................................................................................. 58 5.3 Computer Networks.................................................................................................................. 60 5.4 Network Architecture.................................................................................................................. 64 5.6 Network Strategies...................................................................................................................... 66 5.7 Organizational Networks........................................................................................................... 68 5.8 Network Security......................................................................................................................... 69 Programming.................................................................................................... 74 6.0 Introduction.................................................................................................................................. 75 4 6.1 Visual Basic Application Files.................................................................................................... 76 6.2 Integrated Development Environment..................................................................................... 77 6.3 Writing a Good Visual Basic Applications................................................................................ 78 6.4 Introducing More Controls in Visual Basic............................................................................... 87 6.5 Introduction to Variables and Data Types.......................................................................... 95 6.7 Repetition Structures................................................................................................................. 105 6.8 Writing General Procedures..................................................................................................... 113 6.9 Menus.......................................................................................................................................... 119 6.10 Finding and Fixing Errors.................................................................................................. 120 Managing and Maintaining Data Online...................................................... 127 7.0 Introduction................................................................................................................................ 128 7.1 Identify the facilities and service model of data centre.......................................................... 129 7.2 Data centre in cloud computing................................................................................................ 130 7.3 Different Tiers of Data Centre.................................................................................................. 130 7.4 Virtual Data Centre................................................................................................................... 131 7.5 Cloud Computing Service Models............................................................................................ 131 7.6 Common Cloud Storage Services............................................................................................. 132 7.7 Switching to the Cloud Service for Data Management.......................................................... 134 7.8 Advantages for Cloud Storage Services................................................................................... 135 References....................................................................................................... 144 5 Chapter 1 The Internet and the Web The World Wide Web (WWW) is one set of software services running on the Internet. The Internet itself is a global, interconnected network of computing devices. Source: https://www.diffen.com After completing this chapter, you will be able to: 1. Differentiate between internet and WWW 2. Discuss the effects of cyber culture 3. Identify and compare different search tools 4. Describe different web technologies 6 1.0 Introduction There has always been a misconception between the terms internet and the World Wide Web (WWW). Most people think it is the same thing. This chapter will clearly show the major difference between the internet and the WWW. Internet today can support various kinds of applications and communications. Searching information over the internet has become ever so easier with the search tools that are available. People all over the globe are connected via the internet. Communication over the internet now is as easy as talking to a friend sitting beside you. This is explained further with use of web utilities and social networking. Web utilities provide users a convenient way to interact with internet whether for business or personal use. From small sized to large business organizations and the people in general, all benefit with the advancement of internet technology. However, there has also been a negative side to this huge growth in internet. A huge increase in internet related crime is becoming common. This is known as cyber-crime. Some cyber-crimes are discussed under the disadvantages of internet. 1.1 The Internet and WWW Internet is simply a network of networks. It is the actual physical network that spans the entire globe. It is made up of computers, handheld devices, cables, switches, routers, satellites and wireless devices. Everything that can be accessed on/from the internet is known as resources. These resources are simply stored on some devices usually known as servers. Servers are computer with huge storage and processing capabilities. The World Wide Web simply provides means and ways to access the internet resources. It gives a multimedia interface whereby we can easily interact with the resources that are available on the internet. Multimedia is a combination of various forms of media. For example: animations such as growing/shrinking text, hypertext, sound, images and videos. WWW organizes information by using hypermedia. Hypermedia is an extension to hypertext providing multimedia facilities, such as those handling sound and video. Hypertext is text which contains links to other texts. Interface is a way of interacting with these media, usually by clicking on hyperlinks or simply on images to view or save it on your computer. Figure 1.1 below shows the structure of the internet web. Source: https://www.videoblocks.com Figure 1.1 Internet map 7 Internet World Wide Web Estimated year of 1969, though opening of the network to 1993 Origin commercial interests began only in 1988 Name of the first ARPANET NSFnet version Network of Computers, copper wires, fibre- Files, folders & documents stored in Comprises optic cables & wireless networks various computers Governed by Internet Protocol Hyper Text Transfer Protocol This is the base, independent of the World Dependency It depends on Internet to work Wide Web Nature Hardware Software Protocol TCP/IP HTML/HTTP/URL Table 1.1 Shows difference between Internet and WWW In order to access the WWW, you need a browser. A browser is a program that allows you to launch the desired web site for example, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Apple Safari, Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. Every website has a uniform resource locator (URL) or simply known as a website address. To launch a particular website, you need to type the URL in the address box of your browser. URL example: http://www.education.gov.fj/ For a URL, http stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol, the protocol used to accessing most web sites. WWW, the subdomain, is the network consisting of millions of internet sites that offer hypermedia resources..education.gov.fj is known as the domain name and.fj is known as the country code. Whereas.gov is the domain code. For some URLs it is called the top level domain code. http:// www.education.gov.fj Protocol Sub domain Domain Code Country Code Domain Name Top Level Domain Code Meaning.com Commercial.gov Government.edu Education.net Network.mil Military.org Organization.ac Academic Table 1.2 shows some commonly used top level domain codes. 8 Discovery Learning: Differentiate between a URL and domain name. Apart from the browser, you must also have access to the internet in order to utilize the web services. Internet access is usually granted by Internet Service Providers (ISP). Some common ISPs in Fiji are Connect Fiji, Unwired Fiji, Vodafone, Digicel and USP through AARNET for USP students/staff only. Review Exercise 1.1 Short Answer Questions a) What is the difference between internet and WWW? b) Explain the parts of an URL? c) Give five examples of URLS? d) What is hypermedia? 1.2 The Cyber-culture Cyber-culture is a set of social expectations, etiquette, history and language used by a collection of people active on the World Wide Web. Just as the non-cyber world is separated into cliques and countries, the cyber world is separated into taxonomies and web spheres. The countries of the world are partially represented in cyberspace by the country domains, but more than ever people are less connected by language and locale and more by common interest. The importance of this cyber-culture to educational technology is that it is the ground upon which we should build our e-learning frameworks as it is rapidly becoming common ground for every connected person in the world. Over the years cyber culture has been changing rapidly. This is partially because the browsers and website are capable of so much more rich media than in the past, and partially because the internet is becoming ubiquitous in mainstream offline society. Everyone in the real world has to have a connection to the cyber- world we have constructed. Businesses can mark their success by the strength of their online brand. Some trends in use of the internet show that internet users have been decreasing in age. For those younger in age, there are social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, all of which serve to maintain connections with numerous friends. Users on these sites may post what they are doing – which all their friends are able to view – and comments on what other people are doing. It may be the world‘s largest gossip chain, and not a word has to be spoken for it to happen. Friends and siblings may not speak for over a year, yet they will still be able to tell what the other party had for breakfast that morning. Rumours can be started on networking sites, and they can sometimes ruin ―real-life‖ friendships, if they are vicious enough. It seem silly to think that something typed on a computer screen can have such a far influence, but such is the power of the internet. 9 Figure 1.2 Social network Effects of Cyber-culture With the creation of the internet, the lifestyles of people around the globe have undergone a quick and drastic change. This new method of communication accounts for a large portion of how people interact, shop, learns and transmit information. What used to take several months to cross from the Western Hemisphere to the Eastern Hemisphere now only takes a few seconds, courtesy of the power of electricity. While some may argue that the internet has only helped improve the cultures already existing, a valid argument may be made for the new internet subculture that has evolved. Americans in particular are notorious for spending more and more of their time in this new cyber-culture. Positive Effect Negative Effect 1. It is easier to do research 1. Children, young adults and even adults get addicted to games online 2. Communication with family, friends and 2. Pornography is widespread relatives is faster 3. There is a great possibility to earn while 3. Loss of the human touch working from home 4. Faster business transactions and cheaper 4. Criminal elements use information to advance products their malicious intents 5. Savings on travel cost 5. Abandonment of family 1.3 Communication and Search Tools Communication There are several types of communication possible over the internet. The most common form of communication is electronic mail (email). Email is the sending and receiving of electronic messages over the internet. There are two main types of email. Web-based email enables you to access your email account from any computer and usually store your emails on a Web server. Google‘s G-mail, MSN‘s Hotmail and Yahoo Mail are typical examples of these. The other type is the client based email, which consists of an email program you install on your computer where the email is 10 downloaded and stored locally on your computer. In order to send and receive an email, you need an email account and internet access. The most commonly used client based email programs for email are: Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird and Apple Mail. A typical email message has three basic elements: header, message and signature. The header is typically made of three parts: Address, Subject and Attachment. Address: This is the section where you type the email address of the person you are sending the message to. Subject: gives a brief topic/heading as to what the message is about. Attachment: any other item that is not directly part of the message can be tagged together with the message, for example images, small videos, music and other files. The message comes after the header, this is where you simply type the message you want to send the other party. The final part is the signature which is simply the additional information of the person sending the message. This signature is set once only and is tagged automatically with the message every time you compose a new email message. Figure 1.3a shows the three parts of a typical Gmail. Header Message Signature Figure 1.3a Gmail composition The second major form of communication these days is through instant messaging (IM) and chat. Both IM and chat offer live and direct communication however, IM is more sophisticated compared to chat. In addition to text messages, IM also allows file transfer, voice and video communication. Some common examples of IM are Skype, MSN live messenger and Yahoo messenger. You must note that at present there is no cross communication possible between different IMs. For example, a yahoo messenger user cannot communicate with a Skype user. Chat on the other hand offers only text based messaging. However, this is far more favoured and utilized simply because it costs less. Sending plain text messages over the internet is much cheaper than communicating via live video. Address Subject Attachment Figure 1.3a Gmail Header composition 11 Search Tools Search tools (also known as search engines) are programs that enable searching for relevant information on the WWW much easier. Most search engines present a default choice of everything or web category. This category displays relevant websites for the information being searched for. However, the user can select a search category for images, videos, scholar articles, news, maps, shopping and many more for a more refined and direct search. The world‘s most widely used search engine today is Google. Some other commonly used search engines are Yahoo, MSN, Bing and WebCrawler. Default category Category tabs Figure 1.3c shows the Google search engine home page with the category tabs. Discovery Learning: List and describe other forms of communication apart from email, IM and chat? Describe them. Review Exercise 1.3 Short Answer Questions a) Compare and contrast IM and chat. b) What is purpose of the signature in an email? c) Describe the steps to set up a signature for your email account. 12 1.4 Web Technologies Web Utilities Web Utilities are specialized programs that make using the Internet and Web easier and safer. Three web utilities discussed below are plug-ins, filters and file transfer. Plug-ins are programs that can be loaded automatically as part of the browser thus enhancing the browsers capabilities in displaying information such as images and videos. A plug-in is the most important web utility. Figure 1.4a lists some commonly used plug-ins. Filters are programs that simply allow blocking access to certain websites. Filters are usually useful for parents to use to block access to the unwanted sites that their children may be exposed to. Browsers such as Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox have built in filters that can be activated when Figure 1.4a Plug-ins necessary. File transfer utilities such as file transfer protocol (FTP) enable the user to upload and download files. Uploading is the process of saving files from your local computer to the internet for example, saving your photo on the Facebook website. Downloading is the process of saving files such as music, video, images or any other information from the internet to your local computer. Most websites these days enable users to upload and download files, for example USP‘s Moodle website allows USP students to download lecture notes and tutorial questions/solutions as well as upload their assignments for marking A more convenient way of transferring files is through a peer-to-peer (P2P) networking. These programs allow you to bypass any website to transfer files (can be very huge files like movies) directly to another person‘s computer. Limewire, Frostwire, Gnutella and Bit Torrent are examples of programs that enable P2P file sharing. Social Networks The fastest growing use of the internet today is social networking. This simply allows people all over the world to be connected to each other through the internet. Social networking also offers people gaming and file sharing possibilities. The most common application used is chat. Through chat people communicate direct and live with their friends, family and colleagues. Social media and social networking sites can be places in a few different categories based on the demographic and type of audience they are trying to attract. Sites like Facebook and Twitter are built for sharing thoughts and memories as well as news. These sites provide live updates of what is happening here and now. Sites like Instagram, Flickr, YouTube, and Vimeo are image/video based sites. There are sites built for sharing or Figure 1.4b Free social networking sites curating content such as Scoopit and Reddit. There are also sites focused on professional networking such as Expertfile, Crunchbase, and LinkedIn. Examples of free social networking sites are given in Figure 1.4b. 13 Discovery Learning: Describe the three categories of social networking sites and give at least two examples of each category. Blogs A blog is a journal or newsletter that is updated frequently and intended for the general public. Blogs reflect their author‘s philosophical reflections, thoughts, ideas and opinions on social, political and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) related issues. Sometimes it is also used as a way for families or groups of friends to keep in touch. Automated tools allow users (even with little technical background) to easily create and maintain blogs. Blog sites like www.blogger.com and www.blogcatalog.com, offer such tools and free space for blogs which also includes uploading photos. Discovery Learning: Find some examples of blogging websites. Observe and write the common features amongst them. Wikis A wiki is a type of website that allows users to add, modify and delete contents. Wikipedia, the online encyclopaedia is the best know example of this. The only problem with wikis is the quality and accuracy of the content added by users. Some open source software such as Media Wiki and TWiki are available for creating wikis. Discovery Learning: Select any topic of interest to you. Go to the Wikipedia website and search for that topic. See if you understand the explanations given and if not, try and add your own comments. Be sure not to delete any other comments. Podcasting A podcast is an electronic audio file, such as an MP3/4 file uploaded on the Web for users to download to their mobile devices like iPods, iPhones, and iPads. It is like a personal radio station on the internet. iTunes and iPodder websites collect and store podcast for everyone to download. One example in Fiji is the Vodafone‘s hello tunes. Discovery Learning: Describe the difference between and iPod, iPhone and iPad. 14 Internet of Things (IoT) The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of physical devices, vehicles, home appliances and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and connectivity which enables these things to connect and exchange data, creating opportunities for more direct integration of the physical world into computer-based systems, resulting in efficiency improvements, economic benefits and reduced human exertions. A thing, in the Internet of Things, can be a person with a heart monitor implant, a farm animal with a biochip transponder, an automobile that has built-in sensors to alert the driver when tire pressure is low or any other natural or man-made object that can be assigned an IP address and provided with the ability to transfer data over a network. Some careers in this field A Web developer is a programmer who specializes in, or is specifically engaged in, the development of World Wide Web applications, or applications that are run over HTTP from a web server to a web browser. Web developers can work in various types of organizations or as independent consultants as a contractor. A Web designer is someone who prepares content for the Web. This role is mainly related to the styling and layout of pages with content, including text and images. Web designers use many technologies but commonly rely on hypertext and hypermedia resources including HTML, CSS and additional Web design tools. A Web administrator oversees websites, ensuring all users can access them and the sites operate smoothly. Web administrators have multiple responsibilities that revolve around the maintenance of websites. They are in charge of making sure there are backups for all website content, software and applications in case of disaster or emergency. They also make sure that webpages are up-to-date, secured and function smoothly for the user. In the case of website problems or crashes, the web administrator is responsible for troubleshooting the problem and fixing it as quickly as possible. Summary 1. Internet is the actual physical network that spans the entire globe. 2. An email is made up of three parts, header, message and signature. 3. Search engines allow people to search for their desired information on the WWW easily. 4. Web utilities allow safe and convenient ways to surf the net. 5. Social networks connect people, friends and colleagues all over the world. 6. Blogging allow people to express their opinions on certain social, political, and ICT related issues. 7. Wikis allow people to add, delete and modify contents posted on a website. 8. Podcasting enables people to download music to their mobile devices 15 Key Terms blogs plug-in chat podcasting email RSS ergonomics search engine filters wikis instant messaging WWW internet Review Questions Multiple Choice 1) Rules for exchanging data between computers is a A. Prototype. B. Procedures. C. Protocols. D. Programs. 2) The fastest growing activity on the internet is A. Blogging. B. Emailing. C. E-commerce. D. Social networking. 3) The extensions,.com,.edu,.mil,.net and.gov all refer to A. Protocols. B. Domain codes. C. Domain names. D. Sub-domain names. 4) Highlighted text on a web that connects other web sites or places within the same website is called a A. hyperlink. B. plug-in. C. filter. D. blog. Short Answers 1) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of internet. 2) Briefly describe the difference between the internet and the WWW. 3) What is social networking? Give three examples. 4) What is the difference between blogs and wikis? 5) Explain how plug-ins works? Give four examples. 6) What is the difference between a reuniting and common interest social network website? Give two examples of each. 7) Describe how RSS feeds work. 8) Give an example of podcasting. 16 Additional Readings O‘Leary, T. J, O‘Leary, L. I. Computing Essentials 2012 Complete Edition. McGraw Hill, New York, 2011. Bidgoli, H. MIS2. Course Technology, Cengage Learning, Boston USA, 2010. 17 Chapter 2 Proprietary Software and Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) "To be able to choose between proprietary software packages is to be able to choose your master. Freedom means not having a master. And in the area of computing, freedom means not using proprietary software." -Richard M. Stallman After completing this chapter, you will be able to: 1. Distinguish between Proprietary Software and Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). 2. Identify some commonly used proprietary software and their FOSS alternatives. 3. Discuss the impacts of FOSS and proprietary software on ICT. 18 2.0 Introduction We have learnt about system software and its control programs. We also studied about application software and its broad categories. But the examples presented and the programs practiced were all proprietary software. These are software that has to be paid for or licensed from their owners before they can be used. There is another group of software referred to as Free and Open Source Software. These software are freely available and distributed by their creators for everyone to download and use. There are some minor conditions attached to their use. Free software should not be confused with Freeware which is mostly proprietary software distributed without any charge but its code remains confidential. For example, Skype, Viber. The first formal definition of Free Software was expanded on by Richard Stallman in 1986. The term free software was not coined by him as the term was already in use in public domain. The label "open source" was adopted by some people in the Free Software movement at a strategy session held at Palo Alto, California in reaction to 1998 announcement of a source code release for Navigator. Discovery Learning Research on the following: a. GNU Project. b. Free Software Foundation c. Open Source Initiative 2.1 Proprietary Software Proprietary software (also called closed source software) is software that is owned by an individual or a company (usually the one that developed it). There are almost always major restrictions on its use, and its source code is almost always kept secret. Source: http://slideplayer.com Figure 2.1a Examples of Proprietary software Proprietary software distribution is mainly object only, which means that only the object code is shipped in the installation disks or downloads while the source code remains with the publisher or creator. No one apart from the owner(s) has access to the source code. This method of distribution was introduced by IBM in 1983. 19 Source: http://saiaminfosoft.com/proprietary-technologies.html Figure 2.1b Proprietary software distributor It can be purchased or licensed for a fee, but relicensing, distribution or copying is prohibited. Most software is proprietary software and is produced by an independent software vendor (ISV). The restrictions or conditions imposed by the vendor/developer on proprietary software is elaborated within the software's end-user license agreement (EULA), terms of service agreement (TOS) or other related use agreements. The user/organization must accept the agreement prior to installing or using the software. The software developer/vendor can take legal action against the end-user/organization for violating the EULA or TOS. 2.1.1 Proprietary Software Protection Proprietary software is considered to be the intellectual property of its creator (the person who writes the software) or publisher (the organization that creates and distributes the software). This application is a result of hour, weeks and perhaps years of hard work, sacrifice, thought and cost to the creators. As such they need to protect their intellectual property and profit from their investment. If proprietary software is distributed with its owner’s consent, it is referred to as software piracy. Software piracy is the unauthorized copying and distribution of software. This involves the illegal duplication or sharing of proprietary software. In Fiji, software vendors are protected under the law from having their software copied or shared without proper payment or permission through the Copyright Act of 1999. There are number of techniques employed by vendors, creators and publishers to protect their intellectual property. They are copyright, Digital Rights Management and software licensing. Copyright Copyright is the legal concept that gives content creators the right to control use and distribution of their work. Materials that can be copyrighted include paintings, books, music, films, and even video games. Some users choose to make unauthorized copies of digital media, which violates copyright. For example, making an unauthorized copy of a digital music file for a friend might be a copyright violation. Here in Fiji, our authors are protected under the Copyright Act of 1999. 20 Digital Rights Management The Digital Millennium Copyright Act establishes the right of a program owner to make a backup copy of any program. The act also establishes that none of these copies may be legally resold or given away. This may come as a surprise to those who copy software from a friend, but that is a law. It is also illegal to download copyright-protected music and videos from the internet. To prevent copyright violation, corporations often use digital rights management (DRM). DRM encompasses various technologies that control access to electronic media and files. Typically, DRM is used to control the number of devices that can access a given file as well as limit the kinds of devices that can access a file. An example is how Apple controls its applications and content by monitoring then through iTunes. Software Licensing Software licensing methods provide permission to users to use proprietary software under the terms and conditions outlined in the EULA. There are numerous types of licensing available for software and packages. Some common one’s are as follows: End User License Agreement (EULA): EULAs indicate the terms under which the end-user may use the software. These terms and conditions are encountered when you start installing and application or an operating system. These are binding agreements between the user and the publisher. OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) License - A license for software that is delivered with the hardware and is only for use on that piece of hardware. These licenses are tied to the lifecycle of the hardware and typically cannot be transferred to other hardware. Site license: Permits the use of software on any computer at a specified site based on a particular licensing metric, such as number of users or the number of computers. Term-limited or subscription license: "Leases" the software for use for a specified period. The software will stop functioning after that period and users are required to remove the software from their computer if they cease paying the license fee. Subscription licenses are often "named user" licenses, restricting use to a specific person. E.g. Anti-virus subscriptions. Source: https://www.howtogeek.com/howto Figure 2.1.1a An Example of Software licence agreement 21 Vendor lock-in is a service delivery technique that ensures customer dependence on the vendor services. An example is a SIM lock (network lock), where a SIM card is proprietary to a specified phone manufacturer. Review Exercise 2.1 Short Answer Questions a) Define proprietary software. b) Identify some ways in which proprietary software is protected. c) Explain how vendor lock-in is practiced by proprietary application publishers. 2.2 Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) The difference in the meaning of (FOSS) is negligible and it comes from a slightly different in philosophy. Free Software “Free software” means software that respects users' freedom and community. Simply, it means that the users have the freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. Thus, “free software” is a matter of liberty. “Free software” does not mean “non-commercial”. A free program must be available for commercial use, commercial development, and commercial distribution. Commercial development of free software is no longer unusual; such free commercial software is very important. You may have paid money to get copies of free software, or you may have obtained copies at no charge. But regardless of how you got your copies, you always have the freedom to copy and change the software, even to sell copies. What Makes Freedoms Adequate The freedom to run the program means the freedom for any kind of person or organization to use it on any kind of computer system, for any kind of overall job and purpose, without being required to communicate about it with the developer or any other specific entity. The freedom to study the source code and make changes means that you must have access to the source code of the program. Therefore, accessibility of source code is a necessary condition for free software. The freedom to redistribute if you wish means you are free to redistribute copies, either with or without modifications, either gratis or charging a fee for distribution, to anyone anywhere. Being free to do these things means (among other things) that you do not have to ask or pay for permission to do so. Source: https://www.slideshare.net/ Figure 2.2a Examples of popular Free Software 22 Open Source Software The term "open source" refers to something people can modify and share because its design is publicly accessible. Open source software is software with source code that anyone can inspect, modify and enhance. Open source software authors make its source code available to others who would like to view that code, copy it, learn from it, alter it, or share it. LibreOffice and the GNU Image Manipulation Program are examples of open source software. Early inventors built much of the Internet itself on open source technologies—like the Linux operating system and the Apache Web server application—anyone using the Internet today benefits from open source software. Open Source Software increases development speed and decreases cost; the ability for users to freely modify the code increases both portability and flexibility and the huge number of developers increases the likelihood of finding bugs and vulnerabilities. https://jameschuw.wordpress.com S Source: https://tipyang.wordpress.com Figure 2.2b Some Open Source Software The key difference that sets Open Source apart from Free Software is that open source software programmers can charge money for the open source software they create or to which they contribute. But in some cases, because an open source license might require them to release their source code when they sell software to others. An example of this is Android which used open source to develop and expand but requires users to be locked into the Play store to download apps. Review Exercise 2.2 Short Answer Questions a) What is the key principle that is common to Free Software and Open Source Software? b) Why would you use FOSS for your school over proprietary software? c) Why do we still continue to use proprietary software despite the availability of FOSS? d) What reason would influence your decision to continue using proprietary software over FOSS? e) Why would a business use FOSS to complement proprietary software? 23 2.3 Impacts of FOSS and Proprietary Software The following are some positive and negative impacts of FOSS and Proprietary Software. Positive Impacts Negative Impacts  Source Code and the object code is Free Software  Users are not familiar with these provided. No one can claim software since they are trained using ownership. Anyone can modify proprietary software. code.  May work well individually but may  Support provided by the community clash with other components of a Open Source of developers and users. system. Software  No vendor lock-ins.  No guarantee that development will  No one is responsible for the continue. software. Proprietary  Single product that is verified and  Source Code is not available. Its Software works with all components of ownership remains with the application. organization that created it. Only the  Support is well organized and object code is provided. provided by the vendor.  Vendor lock-ins.  Well documented.  Full support provided by the vendor at a cost.  Must pay for and agree to license agreement before use.  Issues with customization. Note: The key difference that sets Open Source apart from Free Software is that open source software programmers can charge money for the open source software they create or to which they contribute. SUMMARY 1. Proprietary software (closed source software) is software that is owned by an individual or a company. 2. Proprietary software is considered to be the intellectual property of its creator. 3. Free software means software that respects users' freedom and community 4. Open source software is software with source code that anyone can inspect, modify, and enhance KEY TERMS Free software Site license Open Source Software Term limited license FOSS Vendor lock-in GNU project Copy protection Source code Software piracy Object code Intellectual property Developer Publisher EULA Digital rights management Software licensing OEM 24 Review Question Multiple Choice a) _____________________________ is used to limit the number and type of devices used to access a file. A. Site license. B. Digital Rights Management C. EULA D. Copy protection b) Making a copy of an application or an operating system for a friend is called A. sharing. B. copyright. C. software piracy. D. copy protection. c) The best type of license to purchase for a business that has many users of the same application is called A. EULA. B. Term limited license. C. Subscription. D. Site license. Activity  Complete the table below.  Write the definitions of each in the first row.  Make a list of commonly used proprietary software in homes and businesses around Fiji.  List the FOSS alternatives that can be used to substitute the list you made above in the other two rows. Place the software example in the appropriate column. Some alternatives may not be available for either Free or Open source software. Proprietary software Free Software Open Source Software Definition Office Suite Microsoft Office Google docs, sheets and slides Libre Office King Office Word processor Spreadsheet Database Presentation Media player Photo Editing Browser Designing and drafting Operating systems Video calling 25 Chapter 3 Computers in Society “Ever since the first IBM PC was sold in 1981 and the bundling of Microsoft's Windows Operating System on subsequent easy-to-use PCs, computers have revolutionized the way individuals, students and enterprises work, communicate, live, educate and entertain. Computers are now integral to virtually every possible human and non-human activity. The benefits of computers to society are manifold.” “What are the benefits of Computers in Society?” Techwalla After completing this chapter, you will be able to: 1. Investigate and explain the most significant concerns for effective implementation of computer technology. 2. Discuss the privacy issues of accuracy, property and access. 3. Describe the security threats posed by computer criminals. 4. Investigate and explain computer crimes including creation of malicious program. 5. Identify ways to protect computer security. 26 3.0 Introduction The dawn of the new computer era glows before us with new innovative ideas, ways of thinking and living. The amount of information and technology is said to be changing regularly from mobile phone technology to tablets and computers (notebooks to desktop PC). The only way to keep up with these is to understand, how technology works and the ability to control them so that human interaction would be able to accept and live with the changes. 3.1 Computerization of Society The computerization of society refers broadly to the widespread use of computers, which has led to the restructuring of many functions in society. The computerization of society is the result of economic and technological trends. In economic trend the computer can store, process and communicate information. It has helped to enhance the value of information and add value to products and services. For example, the clients’ data in an insurance company can process and create profiles which enable the company to match its services better with its clients. Technological trend on the other hand is the development of microelectronic technology which has led to changes in both the nature of the products produced and the process by which the products are designed and manufactured. Office automation calls for having all hardware, software and network resources to automate basic to advanced-level tasks in an office environment. In an office, the computer can automate the tasks of typing, editing, copying, filing, preparing reports, sending messages, preparing budgets and accounting work. Table 3.1 explains the positive and negative impacts of computerization. Discovery Learning: What are some important factors to consider when preparing an automated office? Impacts of Computerization Positive Impacts Negative Impacts New jobs and job efficiency Reduction in social interaction at work Increased stress in learning new computer New products and services skills Increase in quality of products Exposure to unwanted activities Overall increase in the quality of Health Issues living Table 3.1 Impacts of computerization 27 Enhancing efficiency across multiple sections of the society Management productivity can be improved by the use of computers because managers/decision makers can receive timely, sufficient and meaningful information which enable them to make informed decisions at the right time. An information society is one in which most of the population is involved in gathering, processing and communicating information rather than physically producing goods. Some information workers are clerks, lawyers, doctors, architects, educators and journalists. The computer, with its capability to store, organize, retrieve and communicate large amounts of information in many different ways allow organizations to consider information as a strategic resource that adds value to the goods or services their company offers. Transportation – Most road users nowadays have used computers to monitor the use of fluid levels, temperatures and electrical systems. Computers are also employed to determine road network connectivity from point A to point B using Global Positioning System (GPS), especially for locating supermarkets, building locations and tracks vehicles for long distance travelling, for example, the Fiji Water delivery trucks. GPS stands for Global Positioning System by which anyone can always obtain the position information anywhere in the world. An important part is the air control traffic systems, where computers are used to control the flow of traffic between airplanes which need precise and accurate information of landing and take-off. Figure 3.1a GPS device Paper Work – The extensive use of computer systems in most public and private companies or even schools, and universities, eventually reduce the amount of paper work. In the past most business organization preferred paper work, however, not realizing that it was making the administration work more tedious and error prone. Computer makes their work easier, faster and more effective than the manual system. Banking – Computers speed up record keeping and allow banks to offer the same day services and even do it yourself over the phone banking for example ANZ, BSP, Westpac and also internet banking systems as shown in Figure 3.1b. In addition to these computers are involved in most transactions (money) as there is a better chance of detecting illegal money laundering via internet on the use of credit/debit cards. Education - It has been proven that with the use of computers, learning becomes more successful which is why numerous forms of teaching methods have been introduced involving the use of computers. It enhances the student‘s knowledge at a faster pace compared to the traditional methods of teaching and learning. Figure 3.1c shows USP‘s e-learning management system – Moodle. 28 Source: https://elearn.fnu.ac.fj/ Source: http://www.anz.com/fiji/en/personal Figure 3.1c FNU’s e-learning management Figure 3.1b ANZ Internet banking home page system for Fiji customers. Government - A government provides society with directions by making and administering policies. To provide citizens with up-to-date information, most government officers have websites. For example, to access the government website in Fiji, you will be able to get information from: http://www.fiji.gov.fj. In addition to providing information via computers, employees of government agencies use computers as part of their daily work routine. In Fiji, ITC services enable officers to access all government ministries’ emails and websites as well. Computer systems are used extensively by the disciplinary forces, for example, the Army, Police and Navy. Furthermore, computers will need to be programmed more appropriately so that they are precise and accurate in order to provide the right information to support their investigations and evidence they provide. Source: https://www.egov.gov.fj/default.aspx Figure 3.1d Fijian Government’s e-Government portal Law Enforcement- Law enforcement uses databases for recoding and monitoring criminals and activities (Fiji Police Force), investigating transnational issues such as money laundering and smuggling (Fiji Police Force), serious fraud (Serious Fraud Division (SFD) – DPP), Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, Fraudulent Activities, and other Financial Crimes (Financial Intelligence Unit). These are some agencies that use computers and technologies to engage in law enforcement here in Fiji. Other nations have their own equivalent bodies. Use of computer modelling of DNA, which has the ability to match traces of any form of criminal activities such as murder - (blood, hair, saliva etc. samples) has been successfully utilised in both finding guilty parties and redeeming the not guilty. 29 Medicine & Health Care - Nearly every area of the medical field uses computers. In most hospitals, doctors use computers to assist them in diagnosing diseases of any kind. This type of computer is called the Expert System, which is often used in most specific field of medicine, for example, in conducting heart surgery, eye check and in detecting various forms of diseases. An expert system, also known as knowledge based system, is a computer program that contains some of the subject-specific knowledge of one or more human experts. Furthermore, computers are being used widely in hospitals to assist medical staff in managing patients’ records, doctors, nurses, prescription [medicine] records as well as making, and scheduling appointments of patients. Discovery Learning: Discuss three ways each in which computers and technology are used in your school by students and teachers. Review Exercise 3.1 Short Answers a) The computerization of society has resulted in an information society. Explain this statement. b) What are expert systems? What is the more common implementation of expert systems? c) Computers in society are the result of two common trends. Describe both. 3.2 Privacy of Information Information has become an invaluable asset for both individuals and organizations. This information is private and its privacy is protected under the law. As you become comfortable working with technology, you will naturally explore methods of gathering, storing and exchanging data. With this power in the form of knowledge, there is also the potential tendency for abuse. When used with malice or neglect, computer technology can become a tool for committing crimes or infringing upon your individual rights or privacy. You probably think first of the law. Of course that is right, but technology is moving so fast that it is difficult for our legal system to keep up with it. The essential element which guides how computers are used today is ethics. Ethics are standards of moral conduct. Computer Ethics are guidelines for the morally acceptable use of computers in our society or the standard behaviour regarding the use of computers for individuals and organizations. Ethical treatment is critically important to us all and we are all entitled to ethical treatment. This includes the right to keep personal information, such as credit ratings and medical histories, from getting into unauthorized hands. There are four primary computer ethical issues:  Privacy concerns the collection and use of data about individuals.  Accuracy relates to the responsibility of those who collect data to ensure that the data is correct and up to date.  Property relates to who owns data and rights to software.  Access relates to responsibility of those who have data to control who is able to use that data. 30 Some ethical questions surrounding computers Is it right for someone who buys a program to copy it for a friend? Is it fair to tap into someone else‘s computer data files? Should computer operators regard all data they process as completely confidential? Does a company owe a worker who has been replaced by a computer or any consideration other than that prescribed by labour law or contract? Table 3.2 Ethical questions How data in a database can be misused? Information about individuals that may be kept in data files or databases may include email & residential addresses, telephone numbers, financial status, health, education and work experience, criminal record, credit history and driving license record. Since that is the case, these data in a database may then be misused through the inaccuracy of the data stored because of inadequate updating, for example, a bank that does not update the accounts of its depositors can ruin the financial status of its depositors. Another way of misusing data in a database is through the indiscriminate use of data for other purposes, for example, a credit card company should not release credit histories of a prospective client to others without the permission of the client. Information in a database can be stolen by methods such as electronically tapping into the computer system and reading the data, bribing employees to copy the data, using surveillance techniques like microphones and hidden cameras, or physically breaking into the computer centre and stealing the storage devices. A database administrator can protect a database against unauthorized access through the screening and monitoring of the people handling the data, enabling passwords, encryption devices, and special log-in routines and appropriate physical protection. A user harbours responsibility for the security of data that they carry in portable storage devices and only if physical movement of data is permitted in company policies. Figure 3.2a Ethics – source Figure 3.2b Ethics – source https://infograph.venngage.com https://techspirited.com 31 Plagiarism Another ethical issue is plagiarism, which means representing some other person’s work and ideas as your own without giving credit to the original source. Every author’s work is regarded as intellectual property. Although plagiarism was a problem long before the invention of computers, computer technology has made plagiarism easier. For example, simply cutting and pasting content from a web page into a report or paper may seem tempting to an overworked student or employee. Correspondingly, computer technology has made it easier than ever to recognize and catch plagiarists. For example, services such as Turnitin are dedicated to preventing internet plagiarism. The service will examine the content of a paper and compare it to a wide range of known public electronic documents including Web pages content. In this way, Turnitin can identify undocumented papers. As such, it is imperative that you take care to provide references to the information that you have copied from other sources. These will be in the form of in-text references followed by a reference, bibliography or works cited page. Not all authors allow their works to be freely used and cited. They require you to take permissions or even pay to use their intellectual property. You need to be careful in selecting the works that you will use in your projects and assignments. Figure 3.2c Using Turnitin software – source http://turnitin.com/ Discovery Learning: Give examples of ethical breaches in Fiji in terms of computer usage. Conduct a class discussion on how a student may engage in unethical computing practises. Major concerns regarding Privacy Some of the major concerns regarding privacy are the spreading of information without personal consent. How would you feel if your name and your taste in movies were made available nationwide? What if your photos from your social media profile turned up on stranger’s profiles? How would you feel if someone obtained a driver‘s license and credit cards in your name? What if that person then used your identity to buy clothes, cars and a house? This is called identity theft. Identity theft is the illegal assumption of someone‘s identity for the purpose of economic gain. 32 Spreading of inaccurate information occurs due to mistakes in recording which can quickly spread to other files. Cases of mistaken identity can occur from these instances, where the electronic profile of one person is switched with another. When visiting a Web site, your activity is monitored, that is, your browser stores critical information onto the hard disk, usually without your permission or knowledge. For example, your browser creates a history file that includes the location of sites visited by your browser. Another way your Web activity is monitored is by cookies or specialized programs that are deposited on your hard disk from Web sites you have visited. Spyware is used to describe a wide range of programs that are designed to secretly record and report an individual‘s activities on the Internet. An example of a spyware program is a keylogger. A keylogger, sometimes called a keystroke logger or system monitor, is a type of surveillance technology used to monitor and record each keystroke typed on a specific computer's keyboard. This can be used by employers to observe employees computer use, by parents to monitor children’s internet use, by users to track possible unauthorized activity on their devices or law enforcement agencies to analyse incidents involving computer use. Criminals often use keyloggers to steal passwords and PIN numbers. In 2018, an Online Safety Bill was in formulation to establish an Online Safety Commission for the promotion of online safety, deterrence of harmful electronic communication and for related matters for Fijians. Discovery Learning: Give some examples of recent spyware and its possible characteristics. Revision Exercise 3.2 Short Answer a) Describe the sort of information about individuals whose profiles are kept in databases. b) Briefly explain how outsiders can steal information in a database. c) Outline how a database owner can protect a database against unauthorized access. d) Explain the government‘s stand in protecting the misuse of information in a database. 3.3 Computer Criminals Computer crime involves the use of computer and software for illegal purpose. Computer crime takes many forms, from unintentional disruption to vengeful acts to fraud. Computer criminals are users/ elements that use computers and associated technologies to engage in some form of criminal activity. Typically, computer criminals are either employees, outside users, hackers, crackers, carders, organized crime members or terrorists. The largest category of computer criminals consists of those with the easiest access to computer namely the Employees. Sometimes the employee is simply trying to steal something from the employer whether it is the equipment, software, electronic funds, proprietary information, or computer time. Sometimes the employee may be acting out of resentment and is trying to get back at the company. 33 Not only employees but also some suppliers or clients may have access to a company‘s computer system known as Outside Users. For example, bank customers who use an automatic teller machine. Like employees, these authorized users may obtain confidential passwords or find other ways of committing computer crimes. In most organisations, people who commit cyber-crime are classified as Hackers and Crackers. For instance people think of these two groups as being the same, but they are not. Hackers are people who gain unauthorized access to a computer system for the fun and challenge of it or are people who create or improve programs and share those programs with fellow hackers. Typically, they are not criminals. Crackers also gain unauthorized access to a computer system, create and share programs designed to gain unauthorized access to computer systems or disrupt networks but their motives are malicious and can be very destructive and costly. They are criminals. Carders are criminals who specialize in stealing, trading, and using stolen credit cards over the internet. Some carders use sophisticated electronic devices to copy data from your credit or debit card including account numbers and PINs for example, key loggers. Organized crime has discovered that computers can be used just like legitimate business people use them, but for illegal purposes. For example, computers are useful for keeping track of stolen goods or illegal gambling debts. In addition, counterfeiters and forgers use microcomputers and printer to produce sophisticated-looking documents such as checks and driver‘s licenses and currency. Terrorists: knowledgeable terrorist groups and hostile governments could potentially crash satellites and wage economic warfare by disrupting navigation and communication systems. Discovery Learning: Give some reasons why people engage in computer based crimes. Three Reasons for the increase in Computer Crime  Many more people now know how to operate the computer.  Many computers are now linked together through networks.  The easy access to large databases through microcomputers. Four Reasons why it is difficult to detect Computer Crime  The crime is complex and is not easily discovered.  It is difficult to trace the guilty party once the crime is discovered, because of the difficulty in finding evidence.  There are usually no witnesses although the crime can be taking place in a room full of people.  Law enforcement people are usually ignorant and unaware of the complexity of computer technology and as such are unable to guard against misuse of the computer. Review Exercise 3.3 a) Define computer crime. Give two examples of computer crime. b) Describe two ways in which challenges facing the detection of computer crime can be combated. 34 3.4 The Computer Crime A computer crime is an illegal action in which the person responsible uses special knowledge of computer technology for illegal purposes. Computer crimes can take various forms including the creation of malicious programs, denial of service attacks, internet scams, social networking risks, cyber bullying, rogue wifi hotspots, theft, data manipulation and computer fraud. Malicious programs are specifically designed to damage or disrupt a computer system. Crackers are notorious for creating and distributing malicious programs. These programs are called malware, which is short for malicious software. Some common types of malware are viruses, worms, Trojan horses, ransomware and browser hijackers. Figure 3.4b Types of Computer Malware A computer virus is a damaging computer program that affects, or infects, your computer negatively by changing the way the computer works without your permission. Viruses are programs that migrate through networks of networks (internet) via operating systems, most of these viruses attach to different files, programs and websites. Once a virus is in your computer, it can spread throughout and may damage your files and operating system. The rise in use of networks, for example, the internet and emails has increased the spread of computer viruses. Viruses are activated on your computer in three basic ways as given in table 3.3: Ways in which viruses can be activated on your computer Opening an infected file Running an infected program Using infected flash drives to transfer files to and from your computer. Table 3.4a Virus activation Creating and knowingly spreading a virus is a very serious crime and a criminal offence punishable in Fiji under the Crimes Decree and the Criminal Procedure Code of 2009 enforced by the Fiji Police Force (Cyber Crimes Unit) which works closely with the Ministry of Defence (Fiji). Local law enforcement may enlist the assistance of sister law enforcement agencies to detect criminals engaged in such acts. Unfortunately, new computer viruses are appearing all the time. The best way to stay current is through services that keep track of viruses on a daily basis. This involves installing a virus scanner and subscribing to it so that the anti-virus is updated regularly and your devices are protected from any new viruses that emerge. You also need to ensure that you virus check every portable storage device 35 that is connected to your computers. Virus-scan your entire PC once a while to ensure that the operating system is also free of any viruses. Worm is a malicious program or malware that copies itself repeatedly in memory or on a disk drive until no memory or disk space remains. When no memory or disk space remains, the computer stops working. Some worm programs even copy themselves to other computers on a network. Worms are special type of virus that does not attach itself to programs and databases. Rather it fills a computer system with self-replicating information, clogging the system so that its operation are slowed or stopped. Viruses and worms typically find their way into microcomputers via email attachments and programs downloaded from the internet. Trojan horse is a wicked program under the guise of a legitimate program on a bulletin board system. When the program is downloaded for use it does damage to the hard disk, data or programs that are already in the computer. Trojan horses are normally transferred as email attachments. Source: https://sensorstechforum.com/ Figure 3.4c A Trojan Horse worm alert Ransom malware, or ransom ware, is a type of malware that prevents users from accessing their system or personal files and demands ransom payment in order to regain access. The most common methods today is through malicious spam or junk email, through the use of online advertising to distribute malware with little to no user interaction required and sometimes, through the use of a worm. While browsing the web, even legitimate sites, users can be directed to criminal servers without ever clicking on an ad. These servers catalogue details about victim computers and their locations, and then select the malware best suited to deliver. Often, that malware is ransom ware. For example, released in September 2013, Crypto Locker spread through email attachments and encrypted the user’s files so that they couldn’t access them. The hackers then sent a decryption key in return for a sum of money, usually somewhere from a few hundred dollars up to a couple of thousand. 36 Source: https://www.wintips.org Figure 3.4d A Cryptolocker ransom ware message A computer trapdoor, also known as a back door, provides a secret or undocumented method of gaining access to an application, operating system or online service. A trapdoor is not malware. Its creation is usually meant primarily for technical use but criminals use this to circumvent its original purpose and use it to deliver malware instead. A browser hijacker is defined as a “form of unwanted software that modifies a web browser’s settings without the user’s permission.” The result is the placement of unwanted advertising into the browser, and possibly the replacement of an existing home page or search page with the hijacker page. Examples are when the Ask and CoolWebSearch toolbars are installed and your browser home pages are altered to these search sites. They additionally route to unwanted sites as well. Source: http://www.malwareremovalguides.info/ Figure 3.4d WebSearch Browser Hijacker infecting a browser 37 Often an antivirus program will not suffice in protecting against all forms of malware. While it may detect and remove viruses, an anti-virus may flag some malware and isolate them but lack the capacity to remove them since the malware can hide itself. For complete protection against all malware, you need to install an Internet Security Suites. In addition to an anti-virus program, this suite of anti-malware comes bundled with protection and removal capacity against other malware (anti spyware, firewalls and many more tools) apart from viruses. A denial of services (DoS) attack attempts to slow down or stop a computer system or network by flooding a computer or network with requests for information and data. The targets of these attacks are usually internet service providers (ISPs) and specific Web sites. To carry out these attacks, zombie computers are used by crackers. Zombies are computers infected by a virus, worm, or Trojan horse that allows them to be remotely controlled for malicious purposes. A collection of zombie‘s computers is known as a botnet, or robot network. Botnets harness the combine power of many zombies for malicious activities like password cracking or sending junk email. Because they are formed by many computers distributed across the internet, botnets are hard to shut down even after they are detected. Unfortunately for individual computer owners, it also can be difficult to detect when a personal computer has been comprised. Source: https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineImages Figure 3.4e Using zombie computers Internet scams: A scam is a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation designed to trick individuals into providing personal information or spending their time and money for little or no return. An internet scam is simply a scam using the internet. Internet scams are becoming a serious problem and have created financial and legal problems for thousands of people. Almost all of the scams are initiated by a mass mailing to unsuspecting individuals. A technique often employed by scammers is phishing. Phishing attempts to trick internet users into thinking a fake but official looking Web site or email is legitimate. Phishing has grown in sophistication, replicating entire Web sites like PayPal to try to lure users into divulging their financial information. Social networking risks: Social networking is designed to open sharing of information among individuals that share a common interest. Unfortunately, this openness can put individuals using social networking sites at risk. Some have lost their jobs after posting unflattering remarks about their supervisor or after discussing their dislike of their current job. While others can send their personal information that can be used by others to steal personal identities and commit other types of crime. Cyber-bullying: A fairly recent and all too-common phenomenon, cyber-bullying is the use of the internet, cell phones, or other devices to send or post content intended to hurt or embarrass another person. Although not always a crime, it can lead to criminal prosecution. Cyber-bulling includes sending repeated unwanted emails to an individual who has stated that he or she wants no further 38 contact with the sender, ganging up on victims in electronic forums, posting false statements designed to injure the reputation of another, maliciously disclosing personal data about a person that could lead to harm to that person and sending any type of communication that is threatening or harassing. Never participate in cyber-bulling, and discourage others from participating in this dangerous and hateful activity. Rogue Wi-Fi Hotspots: Free Wi-Fi network are available almost everywhere from libraries to fast food restaurants and coffee shops. Rogue Wi-Fi hotspots imitate these free networks. These rogue networks operate close to the legitimate free hotspots and typically provide stronger signals that many users unsuspectingly connect to. Once connected, the rogue networks capture any and all information sent by the users to legitimate sites including user names and passwords. Source: https://indiancybersecuritysolutions.com/ Figure 3.4e Rogue wifi hotspot Theft: Theft can take many forms – of hardware, of software, of data, of computer time. Thieves steal equipment and programs, of course, but there are also white collar crimes. These crimes include the theft of data in the form of confidential information such as preferred-client lists. Another common crime is the use (theft) of a company‘s computer time by an employee to run another business. Data manipulation: Finding entry into someone‘s computer network and leaving a prankster‘s message may seem like fun, which is why hackers do it. It is still against the law. Moreover, even if the manipulation seems harmless, it may cause a great deal of anxiety and wasted time among network users. Computer fraud is other type of crime which is committed by exploiting loopholes in a computer system, or by employing inside knowledge about how a computer system works. Most computer fraud is committed by insiders such as programmers who can attempt to escape detection by covering up their tracks before the fraud is noticed. Other Hazards There are plenty of other hazards to computer systems and data besides criminals. They include the following: Natural hazards: Natural forces include fires, floods, wind, hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes. Even home computer users should store backup disks of program s and data in safe locations in case of fire and storm damage. 39 Civil strife and terrorism: Wars, riots, and terrorist activities are real risks in all parts of the world. Even people in developed countries must be mindful of these acts. Technological failures: Hardware and software don‘t always do what they are supposed to do. For instance, too little electricity, caused by a brownout or blackout, may cause the loss of data in primary storage. Too much electricity, as when lighting or some other electrical disturbance affects a power line, may cause a voltage surge or spike. This excess of electricity may destroy chips or other electronic components of a computer. Human errors: Human mistakes are inevitable. Data entry errors are probably the most commonplace and can lead to mistake identity. Programmer errors also occur frequently. Some mistakes may result from fault design, as when a software manufacturer makes a deletion command closely resembling another command. Some errors may be the result of sloppy procedures. One such example occurs when office worker saves important documents under file names that are not descriptive and not recognizable by others. Discovery Learning: What can you do to protect the security of your microcomputer system? Revision Exercise 3.4 Short Answer a) Define a computer virus. b) Briefly outline how a virus spreads. c) Explain three harmful actions of viruses. d) Cite an example of cyber-bullying. e) Identify some common anti-viruses and Internet Security suites. 3.5 Measures to Protect Computer Security Computer security is very important because there are a number of ways computer systems and data can be compromised. It‘s concerned with protecting information, hardware and software from unauthorized use as well as from damage, intrusions, sabotage, and natural disasters. Considering the numerous ways in which computer systems and data can be compromised, we can see why security is a growing field. Some of the principal measures to protect computer security are encryption, restricting access, anticipating disasters, and preventing data loss. Encryption Whenever information is sent over a network, there is always a possibility that this information will be accessed without authorization. The longer the distance travelled, the higher the security risk. One way to protect sensitive data and information is to encrypt it. Encryption is the process of converting readable data into unreadable characters. To read the data, the recipient must decrypt it, or decipher it into readable form. 40 Source: http://blogs.plymouth.ac.uk Figure 3.5a Encrypting Message Some common uses for encryption include: Email encryption: Protects email messages as they move across the Internet. One of the most widely used personal email encryption programs is Pretty Good Privacy. File encryption: Protects sensitive files by encrypting them before they are stored on a hard drive. Files can be encrypted individually, or specialized software can be used to encrypt all files automatically each time they are saved to a certain hard drive location. Web site encryption: secures web transactions, especially financial transactions. Web pages that accept passwords or confidential information like credit card number is often encrypted. Virtual Private Network: Virtual private networks (VPNs) encrypt connections between company networks and remote users such as workers connection from home. This connection creates a secure virtual connection to a company LAN across the internet. Wireless network encryption: Restricts access to authorized users on wireless networks. WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) is one of the best known wireless encryption protocols. it is being replaced by more secure encryption protocols such as WPA and WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access). Restricting Access Using a username and password. A username, or user ID, is a unique combination of characters, such as letters of the alphabet or numbers that identifies a specific user. A password is a unique combination of characters, such as letters of the alphabet or numbers which identifies and allows access to certain computer resources. Longer and mixed (alphabets plus numbers) passwords provide greater security than shorter ones. 41 Figure 3.5b Windows logon screen. A possessed object is any item that you carry to gain access to a computer facility. An example of a possessed object is a smart card like an ATM card. To use a possessed object, you will need a personal Identification number (PIN), which is a numeric password, either assigned by a company or selected by the user. Source: https://www.slideshare.net Figure 3.6c Possessed objects Biometric security devices and systems include fingerprint scanners, face recognition systems, voice verification systems a n d i r i s r e c o g n i t i o n systems. A fingerprint scanner is a type of electronic security system that uses fingerprints for biometric authentication to grant user access to information or to approve transactions. Face recognition describes a biometric technology that attempts to establish an individual's identity. Voice recognition is a technique in computing technology by which specialized software and systems are created to identify, distinguish and authenticate the voice of an individual speaker. Iris recognition is the process of recognizing a person by analyzing the random pattern of the iris. This method is different from retinal recognition. Biometric devices are becoming more popular because they are a nearly perfect method of identification and authentication. 42 Source: https://www.slideshare.net/senchun80/authentication Figure 3.5d Biometric devices – Voiceprint, iris, fingerprint, hand geometry scanners A firewall is a security system consisting of hardware or software that prevents unauthorized access to data, information, and storage media on a network. Most companies use firewalls to deny network access to outsiders and to restrict employees‘ access to sensitive data such as payroll or personnel records. Source: https://www.comodo.com/ Figure 3.5e Firewall Anticipating Disasters Companies and individuals should prepare themselves for disasters. Physical security involves protecting hardware from possible human and natural disasters. This includes keeping hardware behind locked doors, locking equipment to a desk or floor etc. Data security involves protecting software and data from unauthorized tampering or damage. Most large organizations have a disaster recovery plan describing ways to continue operating until normal computer operations can be restored. Preventing Data Loss Equipment can be replaced. A company‘s data however may be irreplaceable therefore it is a very important procedure to back-up data. Backup involves making frequent back-ups or copies of data and to storing them in safe remote places. The harmless intrusion of a hacker into an organizations computer system can help the organization by identifying the weaknesses or loopholes in its security system. 43 Some careers in this field ` Helpdesk support professionals help end-users or customers by diagnosing and assisting with technical problems. These professionals communicate with user‘s in-person, via phone or electronically to address technical hardware and software issues. IT operations managers keep the gears of an organization's technical operations running smoothly. They oversee day-to-day processes including performance management, monitoring and evaluation, measuring success, IT purchasing, compliance with policies, infrastructure improvements, and resource maintenance. IT training professionals ensure that employees and end-users remain technologically savvy through the design, delivery and assessment of training programs. Training topics may include desktop applications, internet browsers, or company specific applications. They might also cover IT professional skills such as project management, security protocols, or programming languages. Project managers strive to keep the projects that turn ideas into reality on time, on task and on budget. They marry technical knowledge with supervisory skills to lead a team and ensure that projects are completed efficiently and effectively. Sales analysts connect clients and customers with technological products and services to meet their business needs. They may demonstrate products for customers to help them understand their features. Sales analysts also negotiate sales and follow-up with customers after the sale to ensure satisfaction, identify any problems, maximize usage, and recommend training. Security analysts safeguard and protect an organization's technology and systems from intrusion or harm. They monitor current systems, assess potential threats, and put measures in place to ensure that files are neither deliberately or accidentally changed, damaged, deleted or even stolen. 44 SUMMARY 1. The computerization of society refers broadly to the widespread use of computers. 2. An information society is one in which most of the population is involved in gathering, processing and communicating information rather than physically producing goods. 3. Computer Ethics are guidelines for the morally acceptable use of computers in our society or the standard behaviour regarding the use of computers for individuals and organizations 4. There are four primary computer ethical issues: privacy, accuracy, property and access. 5. A database administrator can protect a database against unauthorized access 6. Plagiarism is representing some other person‘s work and ideas as your own without giving credit to the original source. 7. Computer criminals are users/ elements that use computers and associated technologies to engage in some form of illegal activity. 8. A computer crime is an illegal action in which the person responsible uses special knowledge of computer technology for illegal purposes. 9. Phishing attempts to trick internet users into thinking a fake but official looking Web site or email is legitimate 10. A computer trapdoor, also known as a back door, provides a secret or undocumented method of gaining access to an application, operating system or online service 11. Computer security is very important because there are a number of ways computer systems and data can be compromised - encryption, restricting access, anticipating disasters, and preventing data loss. 12. A company‘s data however may be irreplaceable therefore it is a very important procedure to back-up data. KEY TERMS Computerisation of society Spyware Information society Cybercrime Global Positioning System Carders ELearning Denial of service attack Expert system Internet scam Computer ethics Cyber bullying Database administrator Data manipulation Plagiarism Trojan horses Ransom ware Computer security Trapdoor/ backdoor Encrypt Zombies Decrypt Botnets Biometric security Phishing Firewall 45 Revision Exercise Multiple Choices 1. Management productivity can be improved with the use of computers because it allows for the provision of three of the following. Which choice is incorrect? A. timely information. B. correct information. C. meaningful information. D. sufficient information. 2. Airplane and boat pilots use GPS for A. mapping B. limit setting in air or water C. navigation D. Bearing 3. Which of the following is not a biometric security device? A. Iris scans. B. Retinal scans. C. Attendance register. D. Voice print. 4. Most companies use to deny network access to outsiders. A. firewalls B. Internet security C. placing security at computer stations D. possessed objects 5. Hackers and crackers engage in an area of crime specifically referred to as A. cybercrime. B. computer crime. C. hackers and crackers. D. stealing. 6. Keeping records of the sales of stolen items is a spread sheet could be carried out by computer criminals called A. hackers. B. crackers. C. terrorists. D. organised crime members. 7. In the case your computer is infected by some spyware, the best solution is to A. install an anti-virus. B. install an Internet Security Suite. C. install a spyware monitor. D. employ a specialist. 8. A collection of zombie PCs are called a A. zombies. B. botnet. C. infected PCs. D. botdrive. 9. A fraudulent act intended to convince people to part their money over the internet is referred to 46 as A. computer fraud. B.

Year 12 CS Textbook 2019 PDF

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