Computer Ethics and Crime.

Computer Ethics

Ethics is a set of moral principles that govern the behavior of a group or individual. Therefore computer ethics is a set of moral principles that regulate the use of computers. Some common issues of computer ethics include intellectual property rights (such as copyrighted electronic content), privacy concerns, and how computers affect society.

For example, while it is easy to duplicate copyrighted electronic (or digital) content, computer ethics would suggest that it is wrong to do so without the author's approval. And while it may be possible to access someone's personal information on a computer system, computer ethics would advise that such an action is unethical.

As technology advances, computers continue to have a greater impact on society. Therefore, computer ethics promote the discussion of how much influence computers should have in areas such as artificial intelligence and human communication. As the world of computers evolves, computer ethics continue to create ethical standards that address new issues raised by new technologies. 

Computer Threats

As the computer and information technology is growing day by day, the number of crimes aimed at damaging the information security is also growing. If you do not take measures to keep your computer safe, your computer - and you - could become vulnerable to computer threat.

In today's world, everyone knows that information is a valuable asset and should be protected. The data in a computer should be secured and accessible only by the authorized person. Now-a-days, it is not only essential for companies but also for individuals to secure the data, because the data in a computer is the heart and soul of the profession. There are number of reasons which cause damage to the data.

There are some destructive software programs that are designed to spread from one computer to another and to interfere with computer operation. These types of programs do not appear on a computer by themselves. They are created by someone who wants to cause harm to other people.

Some of the popular threats for computer are Computer Viruses, Trojans, Malware, Cyber Crime, Hacking, etc.

Causes for Computer Threats

Viruses

A virus is a computer program that infects other programs, adding their own code to them to gain control of the infected files when they are opened. This simple definition explains the fundamental action performed by a virus VIRUS infection.

Spyware

The software that collects information about a particular user or organization without their knowledge is called spyware. You might never guess that you have a spyware installed on your computer.

Spyware can be downloaded from websites, email messages, instant messages and direct file-sharing connections. Additionally, a user may unknowingly receive spyware by accepting an End User License Agreement from a software program.

Phishing

Phishing is obtaining the sensitive information, such as bank and credit card information or access to personal accounts by directing the user to use spam, malicious websites, email messages and instant messages.

Malware

Malware is a category of malicious code that includes viruses, worms and Trojan horses. Destructive malware will use popular communication tools to spread, including worms sent through email and instant messages, Trojan horses dropped from Web sites and virus-infected files downloaded from peer-to-peer connections. Malware will also seek to exploit existing vulnerabilities on systems making their entry quiet and easy.

Trojans

Programs that carry out unauthorized actions on computers, such as deleting information on drives, making the system hang, stealing confidential information, etc. This program acts like something useful but do the things that are quiet damping.

Trojans come in two parts, a Client part and a Server part. When the victim (unknowingly) runs the server on its machine, the attacker will then use the Client to connect to the Server and start using the Trojan.

How Threats Spread

As modern computer technology and communication tools develop, hackers have more opportunities for spreading threats. Let's take a closer look at them. Threats in computer are caused by two things:

1. Internet and Email

2. External storage devices

1. The Internet and Email

As we know that the Internet has no geographical borders which in many ways promotes the development of countless web resources and the exchange of information. Today, anyone can access data on the Internet or create their own webpage. However, these features of the worldwide web give hackers the ability to commit crimes on the Internet, making them difficult to detect and punish.

2. External Storage Devices

USB flash drives, external hard disk and optical drives are widely used for storing and transmitting information. When you use a USB disk that has malicious programs on it, can cause damage to data stored on your computer and spread the virus to your computer's other drives or other computers on the network.