Spamming

Addiction to ICT often leads to an irresponsible use of the technology which would have corollary effect on those around them. One of the most significant ethical issues that arose from addiction to ICT is the phenomenon of spamming.

What is spam actually? From the oxford dictionary, spamming comes from the root word ‘spam’ which means irrelevant or appropriate messages sent on the internet to a large number of newsgroups or users. Spam also brings the meaning of send the same message indiscriminately to large numbers of users on the Internet.

Meanwhile from the ICT perspective, spam is flooding the Internet with many copies of the same message, in an attempt to force the message on people who would not otherwise choose to receive it. Most spam is commercial advertising, often for dubious products, get-rich-quick schemes, or quasi-legal services. Spam costs the sender very little to send most of the costs are paid for by the recipient or the carriers rather than by the sender.

Commercial spamming happens when companies capitalizing on the low cost and benefits provided by ICT spam email accounts with advertisements.

Some people doesn’t realize that they are actually have been spammed.

Email spam typically cost users money out-of-pocket to receive. Many people, anyone with measured phone service, read or receive their mail while the meter is running, so to speak. Spam costs them additional money.

One particularly nasty variant of email spam is sending spam to mailing lists (public or private email discussion forums.) Because many mailing lists limit activity to their subscribers, spammers will use automated tools to subscribe to as many mailing lists as possible, so that they can grab the lists of addresses, or use the mailing list as a direct target for their attacks.

Why this phenomenon can happened? This is basically because the carelessness of certain people. The users of Friendster, Myspace, Hi5, Tagged, Facebook and many more especially are the target people by the spammers. These users might not read the terms and conditions of the site when they join these networks and could unknowingly grant these sites the permissions to access their address book and create enormous spam mails for their friends. By installing special software, information can be automatically retrieved upon successful registration of e.g. Friendster. The necessity to agree to the lengthy terms and conditions may induce people to simply registering without contemplating end consequences.

posted by- atikah n izzaty =)

Hackers

Have you heard the word 'hackers'? Or do you know anything about it? It's not a movie. I repeat, it is NOT a movie. Anyway, have you watch this movie? HAHAHA. You should. An interesting story.Okay! back to the topic.

Hackers... What can i say about this? So many things. But before i further into the details, I'll explain the meaning of hack, hacking and hackers briefly.

Hack means a clever or quick fix to a computer program problem, or to a clumsy or inelegant solution to a problem. The term is also used to refer to a modification of a program or device to give the user access to features that were otherwise unavailable.

Did you know that the word 'hack' comes from the German word meaning "someone who makes furniture with an axe". How come it can be related to IT, and ethical issues? Weird, isn't it? Confused? Don't be. Sir Razi will be so happy if we're confused.

The term computer hacker first showed up in the mid-1960s around the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)'s Tech Model Railroad Club (TMRC) and MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory Fact. I do not know where it is, but the place exist, believe me. A hacker was a programmer or also known as someone who hacked out computer code. Hackers were visionaries who could see new ways to use computers, creating programs that no one else could conceive. They were the pioneers of the computer industry, building everything from small applications to operating systems. In this sense, people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were all hackers. Believe it or not, they saw the potential of what computers could do and created ways to achieve that potential. No wonder Bill Gates is so rich right now. He's creative and have long-tem vision.

Computer hacking is the practice of modifying computer hardware and software to accomplish a goal outside of the creator’s original purpose. People who engage in computer hacking activities are often called hackers. Since the word “hack” has long been used to describe someone who is incompetent at his/her profession, some hackers claim this term is offensive and fails to give appropriate recognition to their skills.

Do you participate in computer hacking? Computer hacking is most common among teenagers and young adults, although there are many older hackers as well. Many hackers are true technology buffs who enjoy learning more about how computers work and consider computer hacking an “art” form. They often enjoy programming and have expert-level skills in one particular program. For these individuals, computer hacking is a real life application of their problem-solving skills. It’s a chance to demonstrate their abilities, not an opportunity to harm others.

Get it? If not, try to understand this. Hacker is a person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities. A person who delights in having an intimate understanding of the internal workings of a system, computers and computer networks in particular.

But, don't miss understand. Not all hackers violate IT ethics. There are several types of hackers:

Black hats - break in a communication network like Internet.

White hats - debug or fix security problems.

Hacker (hobbyist) - The hobbyist home computing community, focusing on hardware in the late 1970s (e.g. the Homebrew Computer Club) and on software (computer games, software cracking, the demo scene) in the 1980s/1990s.

You might keep on questioning and anxious to know how these hackers and hacking works. As I browse through and find information about it, it came to my surprise. They are brilliant! There are so many things they can do. It is scary too.There are thousands of different programs hackers use to explore computers and networks. These programs give hackers a lot of power over innocent users and organizations. Once a skilled hacker knows how a system works, he can design programs that exploit it. Someone may be hacking you right now! Careful, people! These are the things they can do:

~ Log keystrokes: Some programs allow hackers to review every keystroke a computer user makes. Once installed on a victim's computer, the programs record each keystroke, giving the hacker everything he needs to infiltrate a system or even steal someone's identity.

~ Create zombie computers: A zombie computer, or bot, is a computer that a hacker can use to send spam or commit Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. After a victim executes seemingly innocent code, a connection opens between his computer and the hacker's system. The hacker can secretly control the victim's computer, using it to commit crimes or spread spam.

~ Gain backdoor access: Similar to hacking passwords, some hackers create programs that search for unprotected pathways into network systems and computers. In the early days of the Internet, many computer systems had limited security, making it possible for a hacker to find a pathway into the system without a username or password. Another way a hacker might gain backdoor access is to infect a computer or system with a Trojan horse.

Did you know who are the famous hackers?

KEVIN MITNICK

Kevin Mitnick gained notoriety in the 1980s as a hacker who allegedly broke into the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) when he was 17 years old. Mitnick's reputation seemed to grow with every retelling of his exploits, eventually leading to the rumor that Mitnick had made the FBI's Most Wanted list. In reality, Mitnick was arrested several times for hacking into secure systems, usually to gain access to powerful computer software.

At the age of 16, Jonathan James became the first juvenile hacker to get sent to prison. He committed computer intrusions on some very high-profile victims, including NASA and a Defense Threat Reduction Agency server. Online, Jonathan used the nickname (called a handle) "c0mrade." Originally sentenced to house arrest, James was sent to prison when he violated parole.

Hacking is an example of unethical behavior. They intrude into people's privacy and sometimes they steal other people's identity. Do you like to receive pages of bills of your credit card. But all the expenses is made by someone else. Some may say hacking is exploring the IT and an effort to improve and expand technology. But, how many hackers do follow the rules? Most of them miss from tracks and violate the ethics. Ethic is important.

We ROCK,
Sohifatul & Nazarina
=)

CyBeRsTalKing...???? prEvenT & PrecauTion..!!!

There are some methods to follow.(Preventing..)

1) do not share any personal information such as your real name , in chatrooms.

2) do not pose a user profile.

3) be extremely cautious about meeting anyone you have contact online

4) It a situation that you hve encountered online makes you
uncomfortable, scared, then call police A.S.A.P. Make sure you save all
communication received.

PRECAUTION- ( Personal Firewall..)

- protect your computer from unauthorized access from outsider

( UPS- Uninterruptible power supply)

- a battery- powered devices that provides power to your computer for a limited time when it detects an outage or critical voltage drop.

( Know and have Authentication)

- requires using tokens which are handheld electronic devices that

generated a log on code. eg: smart card

*** for all computer users

• check your computer frequently for viruses that can propagate via email messages.
• check your email daily and respond promptly to the message you have been sent

***be saved from unethical user***

How to prevent Unethical Behaviour??

Spam

Well, there is not really a way to totally protect yourself from spam. If you get the spam message, treat it like your junk mail by throwing it in the bin. Replying to spammers address is not always and indeed not a good idea. Reply only to those who you recognized. If you reply to spam messages it will validate the existence of your address and possibility it will increase the number of spam emails that you will get. So, what should you do when you receive spam??

1) Use the delete key

- Using the delete key is the simplest solution especially if you only receive a low number of unwanted emails.

2) Use filter option

-If you are aware, many email packages offer the ability to filter incoming mail. So based on the rules you supply , you may be able to detect spam once it is downloaded. In addition, spam messages can then be deleted automatically or stored in a separate folder so you can check it to ensure that they are really spam before deleting them.

3) Use separate email accounts

- You can use different address for forms you fill out on the Internet. Once maintaining a set of email addresses, this will enable you to monitor how spammers are getting hold of your addresses.

4) Don't pass spam emails to your friends

- Before suggesting a friend or relative for a particular service ask them first, if they are really interested, let them subscribe it themselves. Besides that, if your sending an email to a group of people, put their email addresses in the BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) field to keep them confidential.

5) Report it

- You can contact the spammer's ISP (Internet Service Provider) and alert them to the fact that one of their users is spamming from their domain. Bear in mind that the majority of unsolicited mail has forged return address information, so the To:, From:, and Reply-To: addresses are not the actual source of the message. To trace the real culprit you need to extract the information needed from the "message header" of the mail. In Outlook 2000 do the following:

1. Highlight the suspect email message
2. Go to View > Options
3. At the bottom of the Options window, you will see "Internet Headers"
4. Highlight the text in the Internet Header window (by clicking in the window, then pressing Ctrl-A or Right Click then select all)
5. When you have highlighted all the text in the window, Right Mouse Click and select Copy
6. Close that window (Internet headers) then click on the icon to forward the email message
7. In the forwarded message window Right Mouse Click. This time, select Paste. This will copy the message header information to the forwarded message
8. Look at the first line of the header that says Received from or Return path and you should see an email address in the form of Mailbox@domain.com. Address your email to postmaster@domain.com, briefly (and politely) explain that you are getting unsolicited emails from one of their users and they should take it from there.

Corporate Fraud

Preperation is the key to make sure that a company is ready to handle a situation of corporate fraud. Bussiness need to recognize that no matter how many things they may do to prevent it, but nobody is aware to the possibility of corporate fraud, and they need to get the organization back on the right track if they become the victims. Fraud is a strange term that is used to include many different wrongs that may occur within a business. For example systemis corruption, misappropration or even political wrong doings. Among the corporate fraud, long firm fraud is the most dangerous because it occurs wehn a business is founded on legitimate grounds, and is then lead by certain unethical individuals toward a purpose of defrauding over a long time. Most long firm frauds take approximately two years to establish, run and then close. This means that the entire corporation can occur before legal action can be taken against them.

So, to avoid the risk from long firm fraud, make sure that any sudden large orders from relatively short-term relationship are to be carefull to deal with and questioned. It is also prudent to investigate companies with whom you are building relationships, especially as their demands increase. You could also find out about the individuals heading these companies and find out if they have been connected with any dissolved companies in the past. By finding out as much as you can about the business and applying the right amount of common sense, you are preparing your company to protect itself against fraud.

Hackers

Hackers are always looking for a way to get into computers of other persons. It can be something as simple as phising confidential infromation ( like credit card or bank account numbers) to complex hacking routines that use your computer as a repository for illegal content (like music or movies with copyright)

However, there is no magical software to prevent hackers; and it will never exist. It doesnt matter how much money or resources you invest in designing the perfect system, someone will find the way to crack it. We can try to prevent hackers by;

1) OS Updates

- You must assure yourself that all your software is up to date. Especially your operating system and your web browser. Why? Because they are the two things that hackers will try to attack first if they want to get into your computer

2) Firewalling

- Internet firewall hacker protection has become so necessary that Microsoft now ships it for free as part of their Windows XP operating system.

3) Anti Spyware/ Adware

- Companies from around the world decided to create programs that could pick up data from your computer in order to acquire information for their database. It may not be as dangerous as a virus, but it is an intrusion to your privacy. Wipe them out with this piece of software.. ;)

...ConClusi0n...

As a conclusion, we can say this unethical behaviour is something that we cannot avoid.

Even if we did not do it, but it might be done by other person. For your information, peer pressure is the tremendous force. " Why should you be one to do the right thing when everyone else is getting away with using copied software and music files???"

This question si being used by peers to influence you. So that, you should be careful and think twice as well as the effect to yourself.

This is the reason why the ethical principles exist. Computer ethics uses basic ethical principles to help you to make the right decision in your daily lifecomputer use. This ethicals principles help you to think through your option. Therefore;

***BEWARE OF UNETHICAL BEHAVIOUR***

=) MIRA & LEYA