1.6 Legal, ethical, cultural, privacy and environmental issues

Question 1

List some legal issues of using computers.

Answer 1

Data theft, corruption of data, identity theft, use of pirated software, fraud and harassment.

Question 2

What are the provisions under the Computer Misuse Act (1990)?

Answer 2

It states that it is illegal to make any unauthorised access to computers with the intent to blackmail people or modify files.

Question 3

How can a computer be protected from hacking?

Answer 3

Using anti-virus software, firewalls, authentication, digital signatures and secure socket layers.

Question 4

What are the provisions under the Freedom of Information Act (2000)?

Answer 4

It ensures that the public receives information held by public authorities such as government departments, local authorities, state schools and police when requested.

Question 5

What does the Communications Act (2003) ensure?

Answer 5

It ensures that the WiFi of users is not misused and prohibits use of offensive language in any communication system.

Question 6

What is the function of Data Protection Act (2018)?

Answer 6

This act protects personal data stored in computer systems.

Question 7

What type of data is exempted in the Data Protection Act (2018)?

Answer 7

National security, crime, taxation and domestic purposes.

Question 8

What are the provisions of CPDA act?

Answer 8

CPDA act protects the intellectual property of an individual or organisation from being copied, modified and distributed without proper permission from owner.

Question 9

What features are included in commercial software to prevent its illegal distribution?

Answer 9

License agreement and license key

Question 10

How is CPDA referred to?

Answer 10

‘all rights reserved’

Question 11

What is the function of creative commons?

Answer 11

It is an organisation that issues license to owners where the holder may choose to reserve copyrights to some part of the work, while allowing other parts to be copyright free.

Question 12

How are licenses issued by creative commons referred to?

Answer 12

‘some rights reserved’

Question 13

List some organisations that develop proprietary software.

Answer 13

Microsoft, Adobe and Apple

Question 14

What are the advantages of using proprietary software?

Answer 14

Owner of the software takes complete responsibility.
Support from organisation in commercial form and through community.

Question 15

What are the advantages of using open-source software?

Answer 15

Available for no cost, users may modify software according to their needs and can be installed on multiple computers

Question 16

What are the disadvantages of using open-source software?

Answer 16

No one takes responsibility for failures and only community support is available.

Question 17

List some ethical standards laid down by the British Computer Society for computer professionals.

Answer 17

Not doing any activity that could dishonour the profession, not taking up work that is beyond his/her capabilities, not taking bribes and avoid injuring others.

Question 18

List some the ethical and cultural issues.

Answer 18

Privacy on social networking sites, censorship, work culture and automatic decision making.

Question 19

How have computers changed the way everyone works?

Answer 19

The skill set required for each job is now different. People with computer and IT skills are preferred over others.

Question 20

How does artificial intelligence work?

Answer 20

Artificial intelligence works by creating a knowledge base using conditional statements. An inference engine searches the knowledge base to obtain results. An interface interacts with the user or system connected.

Question 21

State an application for artificial intelligence.

Answer 21

Chatbots

Question 22

How do computers create environmental issues?

Answer 22

Disposal of old computers releases harmful chemicals that are hazardous and have undesirable health impacts.

Question 23

What is the difference between free software and freeware?

Answer 23

Free software allows the user to study and make changes to the software as per their requirements. Whereas in case of freeware, users are not allowed to access source code or make changes to the software.

Question 24

What is shareware?

Answer 24

Shareware is a type of software whose trial version can be downloaded free of cost. But users pay a fees to use it after the completion of trial period. Users require permission to share the software.