Computing Issues that Affect Us All

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lesson 30
Computing Issues that Affect Us All
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• This lesson includes the following sections
• Computer Crime
• Computer Viruses
• Theft
• Computers and the Environment

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Computer Crime

• Software Piracy
• Protections from Piracy

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Computer Crime - Software Piracy

• Software piracy the illegal copying of software
  programs is the biggest legal issue affecting
  the computer industry.
• Piracy is of greatest concern to developers of
  commercial software, or programs that must be
  purchased before using.
• Piracy is less of a concern for shareware makers,
  whose programs must be registered but not always
  purchased.
• Piracy is not a concern for freeware, which is
  software that can be freely distributed by
  anyone.

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Computer Crime - Protections from Piracy
Various forms of copy protection have been used
to discourage piracy, including

• Installation diskettes that record the number of
  times the software is installed.
• Hardware locks, without which the program cannot
  function.
• Passwords, serial numbers, or other codes
  required for installation.

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Computer Viruses

• Categories of Viruses
• Preventing Infection

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Computer Viruses - Categories of Viruses
A virus is a parasitic program that infects
another program (the host). Most viruses fall
into the following categories
Boot sector viruses Self-encrypting
viruses Cluster viruses Self-changing
viruses File-infecting viruses Stealth
viruses Worms Macro viruses Bombs Joke
programs Trojan Horses Bimodal
viruses Polymorphic viruses Bipartite
viruses Self-garbling viruses Multipartite
viruses E-mail viruses Macro viruses



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Computer Viruses - Preventing Infection
Viruses are spread in several ways. The most
common are
To avoid viruses, you should
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Theft

• Hardware and Software Theft
• Data Theft
• Protecting Networks

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Theft - Hardware and Software Theft

• As PCs become smaller and as more people use
  laptop and handheld computers hardware theft is
  becoming a growing problem.
• Software theft is also a major problem for
  companies, many of which must purchase large
  quantities of expensive software programs.
• To combat hardware and software theft, many
  companies are locking hardware to desks and
  securing software in libraries, granting access
  to employees only as needed.

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Theft - Data Theft

• Data theft can be far more serious than software
  or hardware losses, because data can be difficult
  or impossible to replace.
• Hackers are a threat to sensitive corporate and
  government data because they pride themselves on
  getting around security measures.
• Organizations can keep hackers at bay by
  protecting their networks. This can be done by
  enforcing the use of user IDs and passwords.
• Data can also be protected through encryption,
  making it useless to anyone who does not have
  the encryption key.

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Computers and the Environment

• Planned Obsolescence
• Use of Power

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Computers and the Environment - Planned
Obsolescence

• Because hardware and software products become
  obsolete after a given time, older systems are
  disposed of in large numbers.
• Large-scale disposals add to the clogging of
  landfills and pollution.
• To reduce these problems, organizations can
  download software from the Internet (reducing the
  number of disks and manuals used). Hardware can
  be recycled or donated to charities or schools.

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Computers and the Environment - Use of Power

• Many people leave their computers running
  continuously, whether in use or not. This
  consumes power unnecessarily.
• To solve this problem, you can use a "green PC,"
  which automatically powers down the monitor and
  hard drive after a period of non-use.
• Another way to conserve energy is to use hardware
  that conforms to the EPA's "Energy Star" program,
  which sets standards for power consumption.

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lesson 30 review

• Define software piracy and explain why it is
  illegal.
• Name two ways in which computer viruses can be
  spread.
• Describe two methods used to protect networks
  from hackers.