Cyber Ethics

1. Cyber Ethics: is the conduct of acceptable usage of online resources by a user.

2. Netiquettes: is a set of rules for acceptable online behavior. It is made by combining the words

‘network’ and ‘etiquette’.

Some of the netiquettes are mentioned as under: (bpppceorstv)

i. Don’t backbite

ii. Don’t plagiarize

iii. Thank people who help you

iv. Verify facts before reposting

v. Don’t overuse the emoticons

vi. Respect other people’s privacy

vii. Don’t express offensive opinions

viii. Don’t type only in capital letters

ix. Don’t send unwanted spam messages

 x. Check messages and respond promptly

xi. Don’t post private or embarrassing images or comments

3. Software Licenses: is legal document that provides details regarding the use and distribution

Of software. They either prohibit or provide end users with the right to make copies of the software.

They classified as proprietary/ closed source, open source software and freeware/ free software.

Proprietary/ Closed Source Software (CSS): is paid software for which the software publisher retains

Intellectual property rights.

Open Source Software (OSS): is free software in which the software publisher releases the source code

Under a license. It grants permission to end users to redistribute them and make modifications in the

Software.

Free Software/ Freeware: is software that is available for free, but they are still considered

Closed source or proprietary software because their source code is not available to the end user to make

Any modifications. Examples are Adobe Reader and Skype.

 4. Open Source Software Movement: is a movement in which the source-code of software is
released to

Programmers in order to make voluntary modifications and its distribution. Such movement lead to the

Development of MediaWiki software through which Wikipedia website is built.

5. Intellectual Property: refers to original works such as an idea, design, invention etc. created for
the

First time by an intellectual or company.

6. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR): are exclusive rights to an intellectual or company to use its
ideas,

Design, invention etc. without the worry of competition for a specific period.

The four most popular of these rights are:

i. Patents: is an intellectual property right for a fixed time-period, which gives an inventor the

Exclusive right to exclude others from making, using, or selling his/her invention.

ii. Copyrights: is an intellectual property right that gives the creator of an original creative work

The exclusive right to determine whether and under what conditions it may be copied and used

By others.

iii. Trademarks (™)

: is an intellectual property right, which consists of a recognizable sign, design,

Or expression to differentiate between products and services.

iv. Trade Secrets: is an intellectual property right, which consists of a secret technique used by
a

Company in manufacturing its products to gain advantage over competitors.

7. Plagiarism: is copying of another person’s ideas and other works while pretending that they are
one’s

Own.

Following are the ways to avoid plagiarism:

i. Paraphrase: is a way to express someone’s idea in own words.

ii. Quoting: is a way in which a source is quoted exactly in its original way but within “block

Quotes”.

iii. Citing: is a way in which at the bottom of the very page, details such as author’s name, date
of

Publication etc. are mentioned while using someone’s work.

 iv. Referencing: is a way in which at the end of the document, details such as author’s name,
date

Of publication etc. are mentioned while using someone’s work.

8. Digital Property: refers to digital information such as database, internet accounts, cloud storage
etc.

9. Digital Property Rights: refers to rights that grant access and control of digital information.

10. Freedom of Information: refers to the right to privacy in the context of the information
technology. It

Is a recognized legal right as per Article 21 of Indian Constitution.

11. Digital Divide: is an uneven distribution in the access to and use of information and
communication

Technologies among various groups. This technology may include the telephone, television, personal

Computers and the Internet. The major factors that are responsible for it are: (ccseid)

i. Cost of technology,

ii. Lack of skills,

iii. Lack of education,

iv. Lack of information,

 v. Access for the disabled, and

vi. Low-performance computers.

12. E-Commerce: is an online service which involves range of activities such as creating a product,

Showcasing it online with exact information, and processing its sale.

Some of the challenges while conducting it are mentioned as under:

i. Privacy: means the extent to which a user’s data is kept secret.

It is the most important factor because it builds trust among users/ customers. During an

Online transaction, many personal details of customers such as credit/ debit card numbers,

Contact information, etc. are provided to the merchant company. Sometimes they sell it to other

Companies to make profits which may lead to cyber-crime against the user. Thus, it is

Important to protect the privacy of the user.

To do so, merchant companies use HTTPS/ SSL protocol along with firewall.

ii. Fraud: is an act of cheating user by various means to steal his wealth.
Online/ Internet fraud are acts of cheating committed using internet and may involve providing

Fake information, false information, incomplete information to lure users into spending their

Wealth into scams. Some examples are charity fraud, online ticket fraud, online gambling fraud,

Prize claiming etc.

iii. Secure Data Transmission: is the transfer of data over a secure channel using encrypting

Protocols such as SSL, SSH etc. It mainly depends on data encryption which makes the data

Useless even if it is stolen.

Data Encryption is the process of encoding data or information so that only authorized person

With the secret key can use it. In case when the data is stolen by an unauthorized person, the

Data becomes useless as it is encoded and can’t be accessed without the secret key.

 SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer