1.6 Legal, ethical, cultural, privacy and environmental issues Flashcards
List some legal issues of using computers.
Data theft, corruption of data, identity theft, use of pirated software, fraud and harassment.
What are the provisions under the Computer Misuse Act (1990)?
It states that it is illegal to make any unauthorised access to computers with the intent to blackmail people or modify files.
How can a computer be protected from hacking?
Using anti-virus software, firewalls, authentication, digital signatures and secure socket layers.
What are the provisions under the Freedom of Information Act (2000)?
It ensures that the public receives information held by public authorities such as government departments, local authorities, state schools and police when requested.
What does the Communications Act (2003) ensure?
It ensures that the WiFi of users is not misused and prohibits use of offensive language in any communication system.
What is the function of Data Protection Act (2018)?
This act protects personal data stored in computer systems.
What type of data is exempted in the Data Protection Act (2018)?
National security, crime, taxation and domestic purposes.
What are the provisions of CPDA act?
CPDA act protects the intellectual property of an individual or organisation from being copied, modified and distributed without proper permission from owner.
What features are included in commercial software to prevent its illegal distribution?
License agreement and license key
How is CPDA referred to?
‘all rights reserved’
What is the function of creative commons?
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.
How are licenses issued by creative commons referred to?
‘some rights reserved’
List some organisations that develop proprietary software.
Microsoft, Adobe and Apple
What are the advantages of using proprietary software?
Owner of the software takes complete responsibility.
Support from organisation in commercial form and through community.
What are the advantages of using open-source software?
Available for no cost, users may modify software according to their needs and can be installed on multiple computers
What are the disadvantages of using open-source software?
No one takes responsibility for failures and only community support is available.
List some ethical standards laid down by the British Computer Society for computer professionals.
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.
List some the ethical and cultural issues.
Privacy on social networking sites, censorship, work culture and automatic decision making.
How have computers changed the way everyone works?
The skill set required for each job is now different. People with computer and IT skills are preferred over others.
How does artificial intelligence work?
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.
State an application for artificial intelligence.
Chatbots
How do computers create environmental issues?
Disposal of old computers releases harmful chemicals that are hazardous and have undesirable health impacts.
What is the difference between free software and freeware?
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.
What is shareware?
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.
