In the lecture for week 12, we were told of how we could protect not only our computers on the World Wide Web, but ourselves as well. It was made clear that when you are on the Web, you have to remember you are in an electronic version of the world. There are a lot of smart people and there are a lot of dumb people. We also have to remember that we have to respect copyright law. To avoid plagiarism, we must always remember to acknowledge the intellectual property of other people whether they are direct quotes or simply ideas. Our computers are under threat as well. They can be subjected to prove attacks which may lead to stolen passwords and content theft. Virus’s can also be a problem when opening an email attachment or downloading software. To protect your computer from these things, it is important to install a firewall and antivirus software. It is also a good idea to familiarise yourself with the latest viruses and what attachments often carry those viruses. It is also important to never give out personal information and to never reply to SPAM mail (as it confirms your email address exists).
Workshop
In the first part of the workshop for week 12, students were required to take note of all the Australian Copyright Council’s information sheets we thought might be relevant to university students. I believe some of these include ‘Databases, compilations, tables and forms’, ‘Educational institutions: introduction to copyright’, ‘Internet: Copying & downloading material’, ‘Quotes and extracts: copyright obligations’, ‘Maps and charts’ as well as ‘Journalists and copyright’.
In the second part of the workshop, students were asked to review a case in the United States. In this case, 16 people had been convicted with copyright offenses and 13 of those people had been sentenced to up to 46 months in jail. These people had downloaded computer software, games, movies and music through ‘warez’.
For the final part of the workshop, students were asked to look at three websites and use them to understand how we can protect our computers and the information held on them. Firstly, to ensure your information is safe you should choose a password that only you know. There are many books you can familiarise yourself with to gain a better understanding of how to protect yourself from hackers. People who write viruses get the same thrill out of it as they would in breaking a car window or watching something blow up. There are also bragging rights that can appeal to these people.
(note: the third link provided on blackboard retrieved a 404 error and so I could not use it. See the screenshot below).
Readings
The first reading for this week informed us of ways to protect ourselves from viruses and such. We should not reveal personal information to people we do not really know. We should turn on our cookie notices and use a pseudo name when emailing people we don’t know. Information should not be revealed to people we have just met and keep personal issues away from workplace emails as they may be monitored. We should also watch out for sites that award some sort of ‘prize’ for our personal details. SPAM mail should not be replied to for any reason and we should make ourselves aware of web and computer security. It is a good idea to exam private policies as well. Lastly, people should use encryption.
The second reading for this week included articles on electronic monitoring. The topics available included types of monitoring, privacy issues, suggested policies, and privacy recourses.
The third reading was an article about the history of computer viruses and how it is closely related to the history of the WWW.
The fourth reading was about how you can protect your intellectual property through patents, trademarks, copyrights, computer software and registering domain names.
The fifth reading was on music copyrights. It also included information on why it is illegal to download music from file sharing programs and how you could be punished if caught.
The sixth and final reading was information on why you shouldn’t open attachments in emails. Also included was what types of files are more likely to have a virus.
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