Unit 6: The Effect of using ICT

The growth of ICT over the last 20 years has led to more and more software, music, films, books and other materials being available for downloading and such...

Software Copyright

Software is protected by copyright laws. which protects software manufactures because it gives them the right to all profit from selling the software. This means that it is illegal to make a copy of software that you own and then sell it or give it away.

The copyright law means that the software can't be:

copied and given away without permission from the owner.
used on a network unless a licence has been bought.
included in other software and passed off as an original without the permission of the copyright holders.
rented out without permission.

Therefore, illegally downloaded // copied software can cause viruses to be loaded onto a computer system. A computer will be better protected if all of the software that is installed on it's done so with the permission of the copyright owner because it means that the software is :

genuine
more likely to come from a trusted source
less likely to be infected by a computer virus.

What problems can illegal software cause:

Companies or developers loose money --> Unemployment
Leads to poorer software
Viruses

How can you tell if software is genuine?

Check for activation code (product key)
It's not cheap

As a user, you can check the software whether has it come from the copyright owner:

A product key- a unique sequences of letters and numbers that is typed in when new software is installed.
A security label on the package.

open source The name for a software which developers work together and offer it to be free. This type of software often runs on donations

Computer Viruses

A computer virus is a tideous program that can invade your computer system and damage it. It's a piece of programming code that replicates itself; some viruses can corrupt or delete files and data. Some can even corrupt or erase the entire content of the hard disc, or even overwrite the hard disc with useless data.

These programs can:

create new files
move/delete files and programs
cause the computer to slow down by using up memory
cause the computer to shut down or stop working
corrupt your data files so that you can no longer open them.

Even worse, when viruses replicate themselves, they can invade your computer by:

Opening an email attachment
installing illegal software
downloading files from the internet

Protecting your computer from viruses

Antivirus Software

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Work Smartly

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Hacking

Hacking is defined as unauthorised access to data held in a computer system. A hacker is
someone who uses their knowledge of computers to break into other computer system. Once a
hacker gets access to a computer system, he might steal important information or might delete
important files to produce disruptions in the smooth working.

Security, risks and reliability

validity and reliability

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Top Level Domain

...known shortly as TLD

You can get these different TLD from web domain in the internet. It is not free. You have to buy your domain name with the domain. If your domain name or web address is popular then it will hold a high price and you will have to pay more than average to get that name. This also occurs with TLD. TLD is similar to an extension at the back of the web name. You can often tell what the website is about, where it operates etc. just by looking at its TLD.

Examples of TLD:
.edu tells that this is a website related with education
.ac.th means this is a website related with education situated in Thailand
.com means that it's a communication between people all around the world
net .tv. co.th

Q:why is it important to check top level domains?

Since there are many type of domain, therefore each of them are identified by its domain. If we know what kind the website's domain is. We are able to ascertain that the webpage contains a trustworthy and reliable information.

Security alert !

1. Phishing- is associated with emails(as a bait), it involves sending mails that looks it comes from a legitimate source (like banks). If the victims clicks, they might be asked to entered their personal or financial details that could lead to identity theft, or money stolen.

2.Pharming- is another type of SCAM, it involves re-directing users from a genuine website to another websites that allows hackers to access data from the users' computer or network.

indirecting a user's computer with a virus
directing the user to a fake website that look like the real one.
the hacker can record the user's details , thus allowing the hacker to enter the 'official' website.

3.Spamming-Spam is junk mail that fills your email inbox. Spam is more of a nuisance than a security issue. However, if the victim opened a spam mail, there might be virus contained in it.

4.Spyware- is dangerous software that monitors and saves, in a file all information typed by a user.

5.Cookies- is used to remember settings from your last visit to a website. For example Amazon use cookies to help identify you when you revisit the site. The website reads the cookie and can then look up details such as you name, address, credit card number from their database. This saves you from having to re-enter your data every time you visit.

The trick to remember Phishing and Pharming:

Phishing:Fishing
You lure people like luring a fish. A hacker lure people instead of fish with a message bait to a fake website/page so someone can enter important information into that page without knowing that it is a fake (eg. bank) website.

Pharming:Farming
You plant something and you get more crops like hijacking a page and you get more people getting tricked

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The Web: Today and Tomorrow

Loooooong time ago, the internet wasn't as sophisticated as it is right now. Early communications between networks of computer was limited. It was once only available to governments and large industries. Currently there're 2 generations of web development:

Web 1.0 & Web 2.0

The early development of the internet: Web 1.0

Web 1.0 is the first generation of web and was created in 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee, Working at CERN (The European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Geneva, Switzerland. The web 1.0 was first implementation of the web and it lasted from 1989 to 2005. It was define as web of information connections or a web of cognition/percipience. Web 1.0was consider as read-only web with very little interaction where consumer can exchange the information together but it was not possible to interact with the website.

For Example:

Online Shopping sites are created to present products to a various customers. The web provides a method of selecting and purchasing. The customers are capable of making selections- only. They're not permitted to adjust the content of the website.

The lastest generation: Web 2.0

Web 2.0 is the current state of online technology as it compares to the early days of the Web; that state is characterized by greater user interactivity and enhanced communication channels.

Many websites on the Web today allow users to:
share information (e.g. notes and photos on Facebook)
interact (add comments, chat, etc.)
collaborate on content (e.g. creating pages on Wikipedia)
create their own content (e.g. videos on YouTube)

For Example:

Applications like Youtube and Myspace. They both rely on users providing the content of the website, which can be accessible to other users[either freely or with restricted access]

One of the most significant differences between Web 2.0 and Web 1.0 is greater collaboration among Internet users and other users, content providers, and enterprises. Originally, data was posted on Web sites, and users simply viewed or downloaded the content. Increasingly, users have more input into the nature and scope of Web content and in some cases exert real-time control over it.

Some worth-a-while-to-read-notes
Barcode and Quick Response[QR] codes can be scanned by smartphones- then link users to social networking sites.

QR QR QR CODES EVERYWHERE

QR code (abbreviated from Quick Response Code)
It is the trademark for a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional barcode)
It's first designed for the automotive industry in Japan.
A barcode is a machine-readable optical label that contains information about the item to which it is attached.
Quick Response codes are used throughout various industries and some people even choose to use these types of codes for their own personal reasons.
QR codes are able to hold a great deal of information in comparison to regular barcodes that are on products at retailers.
For your phone to be able to read QR Codes you will need to have a QR Code scanning app or QR Code scanning software installed on it.

Augmented reality

This aims to combine a real scene viewed by a user with a virtual scene generated by the computer. This helps us since it gives us some additional information about the scene. This technology is the early stages of development _ it's likely that applications will become much more sophisticated

Image recognition

From the statement above, augmented reality relies on image recognition. To be able to use this, the provider mush provide a tag of a kind of identity marker, of the image of a person.
Social network in one of the technologies that are using image recognition. You might know when Facebook, automatically tags a person via an image.

Digital media sharing

There are numerous number of websites that allow us, 'users' to upload video, images or even audio media.For instance, Youtube, it's a website that allows user to share video, internationally.

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Health Issue

If we use a computer for many many hours, there are some health issues that might affect us...

For instance:

bad posture can cause aches and pains in the back and neck.
Staring at the monitor for a long per

RSI affects arms, elbows and wrist in particular...

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition in which there is excessive pressure on the median nerve. This is the nerve in the wrist that allows feeling and movement to parts of the hand. Carpal tunnel syndrome can lead to numbness, tingling, weakness, or muscle damage in the hand and fingers.

Cubital tunnel syndrome isnn't as familiar as their better-known relative -- carpal tunnel syndrome -- but they also can cause severe pain, numbness, tingling, and muscle weakness in the hands and arms.he common cause of all these nerve compression syndromes is increased pressure -- usually from bone or connective tissue(forearm, wrist and your hand) -- on a nerve in the wrist, arm, or elbow.

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Safety Issues

Trip hazards <stray wires & cables>
• Use cables duct/clips to keep the wires in place.
• Tuck wires behind desks or other furniture
• Use wireless connections
Electrocution
• Don’t allow food or drinks near computers
• Use a residual circuit breaker to prevent overload
• Ensure that plugs are wired safety and full sheathed
Fire
• Check ventilation so that equipment does not overheat.
• Ensures that within the room there’s a fire extinguisher, not a water-based fire extinguisher since it could cause electrocution.
• Reduce voltage requirements
Stability of equipment
• Heavy equipment should be placed on stable & strong desks.
• Ensure that there is enough space on desks, no over hangings or it could be knocked off.

The effect on employments:

Computers are now used in many ways, to help us, making our lives easier. In every aspect of the business world, technology has been improving the efficiency of working. However, when there’s the sweet part, there’s always the bitterness . Since computers are taking over several part of the business world, many lives are now UNEMPLOYED. Yes, many loses their job, they are replaced by robots and such.
For instances: bankers are unemployed, replaced by ATMs instead. Fruit pickers are replaced by fruiting picking machines, since it produces more products than a human does.

Emerging issues

The introduction of ICT has a number of consequences. These can be summarised as :

Impact	Advantage	Disadvantages
Retraining- When people are need to be retrained to deal with changes in work.	People who have been retrained can increase their skills, qualifications and their salaries.	Some people may find it hard to deal with the new demands.
Deskilling- Some jobs required lower level of skills to compete a certain task.	Opportunities for the ones that are unskilled.	Overqualified people are depressed, hard to adapt.
Better working environment- Robots have taken over dirty-difficult-dangerous tasks.	More happy staffs= works more= produce more= high profit	Expensive to set up to mechanicals (robots)
Reduced Cost- Fewer people are required to carry a task.	More profit	Many expanded business tend to be unsustainable.
Higher productivity- Automated process can be set on a any period of time.	Automatically produced= higher profit	If the company is unable to sell enough= more leftovers= required less people= more un-employees
Consistency- Computer- controlled systems follow a program- so each process is the same	Opportunity to reduce errors in business	Robot can’t be artistic unlike humans.

Changes in how we work

Advantages	Disadvantages
Employee
Travelling time/ cost is reduced	Working from home can be distracting
No need to dress formally	No social- communicating-interacting with people outside the house.
More flexible working hours	Health problems
Employer
There is no need to pay for office space/ Furniture.	Difficult to manage a task as communicating may be more complex. (Might due to different time-zone)
Employers have access to a wider pool of worker- some may be from another country.	Workers may not be available during normal working hours.
Employee becomes satisfied= more productive=more profit.	Unable to monitor the employees, whether they are being productive or not.

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Commercial and ethical considerations

It's important to remember that in spite of the growth of ICT, some may not want/ have access to online shopping or bankings. Yet, as more people are taking advantages of it, fewer stores outlet or banking facilities may be needed. This could affect people with no access to online services.

Online Shopping

Many stores already have websites that allow you to shop online, this allows them to trade their wares. Which is sometimes out of their boundaries of : their stores, their normal trading hours.

Having an online presence has advantages and disadvantages for the store owner...

Advantages	Disadvantages
· Access to wider customer base than having stores. · No need to rent or buy stores. · The business does not need to be based in a populated or expensive area. · Fewer staffs are needed in order to sell the products.	· Difficulties in getting customers’ attention that the business is online and available. · An online site can’t create an atmosphere like a physical store can.

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