EMPOWERMENT TECHNOLOGIES : ICT FOR PROFESSIONAL TRACKS

Online Safety and Security, Ethics, and Etiquette

ONLINE SAFETY
There's almost no limit to what you can do online. The Internet makes it possible to access information more.Computers can often give
us a false sense of security.

NETIQUETTE
It is a coined or portmanteau term of network and etiquette.
It is a set of ideal rules and conduct that a netizen should observe.
Netizen – person who is a member or part of the online community.

Maintaining Good Conduct over the Internet

• Recognize that you’re a cyber avatar
• Apply values and conduct learned since childhood
• Keep in mind that there are laws existing
• Participation of people from different countries with different cultures and religions.
• Everything published in WWW should be considered as copyrighted
• Be careful in selecting words to communicate

GOVERNMENT PROVISIONS FOR ONLINE COURTESY AND ETIQUETTE

Republic Act 10627 or Anti-Bullying Act of 2013

Republic Act No. 10627 or the "Anti-Bullying Act of 2013” is a relatively new law which seeks to address hostile environment at school
that disrupts the education process which, in turn, is not conducive to the total development of a child at school.

Republic Act 10175 or Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012

The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, officially recorded as Republic Act No. 10175, is a law in the Philippines approved on September
12, 2012. Among the cybercrime offenses included in the bill are cybersquatting, cybersex, child pornography, identity theft, illegal access
to data and libel.

CREATING STRONG PASSWORDS

To protect yourself and your information, you'll want to use passwords that are long, strong, and difficult for someone else to guess while
still keeping them relatively easy for you to remember.

Why do I need a strong password?

At this point, you may be wondering, why do I even need a strong password anyway? The truth is that even though most
websites are secure, there's always a small chance someone may try to access or steal your information. This is commonly known as
hacking. A strong password is one of the best ways to defend your accounts and private information from hackers.

Things to consider when creating a password:

• Never use personal information such as your name, birthday, user name, or email address.
 • Use a longer password.
• Don't use the same password for each account.
• Try to include numbers, symbols, and both uppercase and lowercase letters.
• Avoid using words that can be found in the dictionary.
• Random passwords are the strongest.

YOUR BROWSER'S SECURITY FEATURES

Your computer faces different threats whenever you browse the Web, including viruses, malware, and spyware. The good news is your
web browser has a lot of built-in security features to help protect your computer. Let's take a look at some of the most important features
you should know about, as well as some simple tips you can use to stay safe online.

• Check the web address

Malicious websites often use deceptive web addresses to trick users.

• Look at the security symbol

Some websites will display a lock symbol in the address bar. This is most commonly seen with certain types of websites, like online
stores and banking sites. This means the website is using an HTTPS connection, which makes it safe to enter your personal
information. You won't see this symbol on all websites, and that's OK—not all websites need this extra layer of security. However,
you should avoid entering any sensitive information, such as your credit card number, if you don't see this symbol in the address
bar.

• Update your browser regularly

New viruses and malware are created all the time, so it's important to update your browser regularly. Your browser will usually notify
you when it has an update available, but you always have the option to update manually.

Internet Threats:
1. Malware – stands for malicious software
Types: Virus, Worm, Trojan, Spyware, Adware
2. Spam – unwanted email mostly from bots or advertisers. It can be used to send malware.
3. Phishing – Its goal is to acquire sensitive personal information like passwords and credit card details.
AVOIDING SPAM AND PHISHING
From email to instant messaging to social media, the Internet is an essential
communication tool. Unfortunately, it's also popular among scammers and
cybercriminals. To protect yourself from email scams, malicious software, and
identity theft, you'll need to understand how to identify and avoid potentially
dangerous content in your inbox, including spam and phishing attempts.
• Dealing with spam
If you've ever received unwanted email advertisements, you may already be
familiar with spam, also known as junk email. Spam messages can clutter your
inbox and make it more difficult to find the emails you actually want to read. Even
worse, spam often includes phishing scams and malware, which can pose a serious risk to your computer. Fortunately, most email
services now include several features to help you protect your inbox from spam.

• Spam filters
Whenever you receive an email, most email providers will check to see if it's a real message or spam. Any likely spam messages
will be placed in the spam folder so you don’t accidentally open them when checking your email.
Spam-blocking systems aren’t perfect, though, and there may be times when legitimate emails end up in your spam folder. We
recommend checking your spam folder regularly to make sure you aren’t missing any important emails.

• Turning off email images

Spam messages often contain images that the sender can track. When you open the email, the images will load and the spammer
will be able to tell if your email works, which could result in even more spam. You can avoid this by turning off email images.

PHISHING
Phishing scams are messages that try to trick you into providing sensitive information. These often appear to come from a bank or another
trusted source, and they'll usually want you to re-enter a password, verify a birth date, or confirm a credit card number. Phishing messages
may look real enough at first glance, but it’s surprisingly easy for scammers to create convincing details.
Phishing is the act of attempting to acquire information such as username, password and credit card details as a trustworthy entity in an
electronic communication.

Types of Phishing:
• Deceptive
• Malware-Based

Effects of Phishing:
• Internet fraud
• Identity theft
• Financial loss to the original institutions
• Erosion of Public Trust in the Internet.

UNDERSTANDING BROWSER TRACKING

Whenever you use the Internet, you leave a record of the websites you visit, along with each and every thing you click. To track this
information, many websites save a small piece of data—known as a cookie—to your web browser. In addition to cookies, many websites
can use your user accounts to track browsing activity. While this type of browser tracking doesn't pose a serious risk to your online
security, it's important to understand how your online data is tracked and used.
UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL MEDIA PRIVACY
Social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have made it easier than ever to share things online. But sharing something on
social media is a bit different from other types of online communication. Unlike email or instant messaging, which are relatively private,
the things you share on social media are more public, which means they'll usually be seen by lots of other people.
• Think before you share
While social media sites offer privacy tools to help you limit who can see the things you share, it's important to realize that they are
fundamentally more open and social than traditional communication tools. Whether or not you realize it, the things you share online
also can affect how you're perceived by others. That's why you'll always want to think carefully about what you share over social
media.
• Review your privacy settings
As we mentioned above, all social networking sites have privacy settings that allow you to control who you share with. For example,
whenever you share something on Facebook, you can choose to share with just a few people, all of your Facebook friends, or
publicly with everyone on Facebook. That's why it's so important to understand how your privacy settings work and how to control
them.

Remember:
1. Before you post something on the web, ask these questions to yourself: Would you want your parents or grandparents to see
it? Would you want your future boss to see it? Once you post something on the web, you have no control of who sees your
posts.
2. Your friends depend on you to protect their reputation online. Talk to your friends about this serious responsibility.
3. Set your post to “private.” In this way, search engines will not be able to scan that post.
4. Avoid using names. Names are easy for search engines to scan.
5. If you feel that a post can affect you or other’s reputation, ask the one who posted it to pull it down or report it as inappropriate.

Copyright Infringement
If you create something—an idea, an invention, a form of literary work, or a research, you have the right of how it should be used by
others. This is called intellectual property.

The internet Security is very important. People get addicted to Internet very easily. Internet is tempting, We don't know when we started
browsing and when we finished.

TEN COMMANDMENTS OF COMPUTER ETHICS

1. Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people
This commandment says that it is unethical to use a computer to harm another user. It is not limited to physical injury. It includes
harming or corrupting other users' data or files. The commandment states that it is wrong to use a computer to steal someone's
personal information. Manipulating or destroying files of other users is ethically wrong. It is unethical to write programs, which
on execution lead to stealing, copying or gaining unauthorized access to other users' data. Being involved in practices like
hacking, spamming, phishing or cyber bullying does not conform to computer ethics.
2. Thou shalt not interfere with other people’s computer work
Computer software can be used in ways that disturb other users or disrupt their work. Viruses, for example, are programs meant
to harm useful computer programs or interfere with the normal functioning of a computer. Malicious software can disrupt the
functioning of computers in more ways than one. It may overload computer memory through excessive consumption of computer
resources, thus slowing its functioning. It may cause a computer to function wrongly or even stop working. Using malicious
software to attack a computer is unethical.
3. Thou shalt not snoop around in other people’s computer files
We know it is wrong to read someone's personal letters. On the same lines, it is wrong to read someone else's email messages
or files. Obtaining data from another person's private files is nothing less than breaking into someone's room. Snooping around
in another person's files or reading someone else's personal messages is the invasion of his privacy. There are exceptions to
this. For example, spying is necessary and cannot be called unethical when it is done against illegitimate use of computers. For
example, intelligence agencies working on cybercrime cases need to spy on the internet activity of suspects.
4. Thou shalt not use a computer to steal
Stealing sensitive information or leaking confidential information is as good as robbery. It is wrong to acquire personal
information of employees from an employee database or patient history from a hospital database or other such information that
is meant to be confidential. Similarly, breaking into a bank account to collect information about the account or account holder is
wrong. Illegal electronic transfer of funds is a type of fraud. With the use of technology, stealing of information is much easier.
Computers can be used to store stolen information.
5. Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness
Spread of information has become viral today, because of the Internet. This also means that false news or rumors can spread
speedily through social networking sites or emails. Being involved in the circulation of incorrect information is unethical. Mails
and pop-ups are commonly used to spread the wrong information or give false alerts with the only intent of selling products.
 Mails from untrusted sources advertising certain products or spreading some hard-to-believe information, are not uncommon.
Direct or indirect involvement in the circulation of false information is ethically wrong. Giving wrong information can hurt other
parties or organizations that are affected by that particular theme.
6. Thou shalt not copy or use proprietary software for which you have not paid
Like any other artistic or literary work, software is copyrighted. A piece of code is the original work of the individual who created
it. It is copyrighted in his/her name. In case of a developer writing software for the organization she works for, the organization
holds the copyright for it. Copyright holds true unless its creators announce it is not. Obtaining illegal copies of copyrighted
software is unethical and also encourages others to make copies illegally.
7. Thou shalt not use other people’s computer resources without authorization and proper compensation
Multi-user systems have user specific passwords. Breaking into some other user's password, thus intruding his/her private space
is unethical. It is not ethical to hack passwords for gaining unauthorized access to a password-protected computer system.
Accessing data that you are not authorized to access or gaining access to another user's computer without her permission is
not ethical.
8. Thou shalt not appropriate other people’s intellectual output
Programs developed by a software developer are her property. If he is working with an organization, they are the organization's
property. Copying them and propagating them in one's own name is unethical. This applies to any creative work, program or
design. Establishing ownership on a work which is not yours is ethically wrong.
9. Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the program you are writing or the system you are designing
Looking at the social consequences that a program can have, describes a broader perspective of looking at technology. A
computer software on release, reaches millions. Software like video games and animations or educational software can have a
social impact on their users. When working on animation films or designing video games, for example, it is the programmer's
responsibility to understand his target audience/users and the effect it may have on them. For example, a computer game for
kids should not have content that can influence them negatively. Similarly, writing malicious software is ethically wrong. A
software developer/development firm should consider the influence their code can have on the society at large.
10. Thou shalt always use a computer in ways that ensure consideration and respect for your fellow humans
The communication etiquette we follow in the real world applies to communication over computers as well. While communicating
over the Internet, one should treat others with respect. One should not intrude others' private space, use abusive language,
make false statements or pass irresponsible remarks about others. One should be courteous while communicating over the web
and should respect others' time and resources. Also, one should be considerate with a novice computer user.