additional assignment

1.    In the studies of Social Contract Theory ethical principle, the terms positive and negative rights are used. Compare and contrast these rights.

Social Contract Theory	“Morality consists in the set of rules, governing how people are to treat one another, that rational people will agree to accept, for their mutual benefit, on the condition that others follow those rules as well
Rights	positive rights	negative rights
Description	Obligates other to do something on your behalf, but may be restricted based on circumstances. Positive rights tend to be more limited.	Duty to guarantee that you will be left alone to exercise your rights, guaranteed without exception. Negative rights tend to be more absolute.
Examples	. Rights to free education. Government, teachers, admins must facilitate this right. Provided you meet the requirement set.	Freedom to observe religion practice

2.    Explain Identity Theft and provide example to support your answer.

Identity theft is a type of fraud which involves stealing money or gaining other benefits by pretending to be someone else. Having your identity stolen can be both financially and emotionally devastating. Identity theft can occur in many ways from somebody using your credit card details illegally to make purchases to having your entire identity assumed by another person to open bank accounts, take out loans and conducting illegal business under your name.

Identity theft works in a range of ways from crude methods to well organized scams.

Many of us have a wealth of personal information readily available cards in our wallet, mail, public records, information saved in our computers and information posted on social networking sites. Identity theft can happen easily and quickly. By leaving your personal information readily available, scammers will have easy access to this information. For example, scammers will pay people to rummage through rubbish tips and steal letters (‘dumpster diving’) to collect personal information. However, despite your best efforts, a determined scammer can also create elaborate and cunning plans to trick you into providing your personal details. For example:

• By sending an email that looks like it comes from your bank, financial institution or telecommunications provider. Known as phishing scams, these emails are all about tricking you into handing over your personal and banking details to scammers. Most work by including special links in the email to take you to a combination of genuine and spoofed websites.
• Phoney fraud alerts are similar to phishing scams where scammers trick you into handing over your personal details. A common fraud alert involves the scammer pretending to be from your bank informing you that your credit card or account has been cancelled because of suspicious criminal activity (various excuses are used). They will then trick you to provide account details to ‘confirm’ your identity.
• Bogus job opportunities are usually posted on job websites. The scammer may use or sell your personal information provided in the job application.

Identity theft is a theft of key pieces of personal information to gain access to a person’s financial accounts.

The information that can be theft includes:

–        Name

–        Address

–        Date of birth

–        Social Security number

–        Passport number

–        Driver’s license number

–        Mother’s maiden name

•         Fastest growing form of fraud in the United States

•         Lack of initiative in informing people whose data was stolen

•         Phishing

–        Attempt to steal personal identity data

–        By tricking users into entering information on a counterfeit Web site

–        Spear-phishing - a variation in which employees are sent phony e-mails that look like they came from high-level executives within their organization

•         Spyware

–        Keystroke-logging software

–        Enables the capture of:

•         Account usernames

•         Passwords

•         Credit card numbers

•         Other sensitive information

–        Operates even if an infected computer is not connected to the Internet

•         Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act of 1998 was passed to fight fraud

Example Identity theft

Florida Woman Sentenced for Tax Fraud and Identity Theft
on December 12, 2012, in Tampa, Fla., Belinda Brooks, of Tampa, was sentenced to 66 months in prison for stolen identity refund fraud. Brooks was also ordered to pay a money judgment of $118,882, the proceeds of Brooks' criminal activity. She pleaded guilty on May 25, 2012. According to court documents, Brooks stole the names and social security numbers of other individuals in order to file fraudulent tax returns in their names and obtain tax refunds for the tax years 2008 and 2009. In addition, Brooks filed a false tax return for herself.

3.    Describe 5 types of software piracy.

End User Piracy

People in a company reproduce copies of software without authorization. It includes 5 ways to pirate software.To install a program on multiple computers with only one license.Disk copying to install and distribute software;Update a new version of authorized software.Apply demo version or trial version software for commercial use.Exchange disks in or outside the workplace.

Client-Server Overuse

When one copy of a program is using at the same time in a workstation by lots of staffs in a company, there are chancesthat the software is stolen. The company has to authorized the right person and the limited number to use the programon the server.

Online Piracy

The more popular to download software through internet, the more easier to steal a copy of the software. The rulesthat apply to the actual purchase are not sufficient to stop the unauthorized copying.There are 3 ways to get pirated software from internet:

v  Some websites that specially provide free download or in exchange of uploaded software;

v  Internet auction sites that offer counterfeit, illegal-channeled, unauthorized software;

v  Peer-to-Peer network that enables unauthorized transfer of copyrighted programs.

Hard-Disk Loading

A business who sells new computers may load illegal copies of software into the hard disks to attract customers. Thesame concerns and issues apply to resellers that sell or install new software into computers in the workplace.

Software Counterfeiting

It is the illegal duplication and sale of copyrighted program by way of directly imitating the copyrighted software. Peoplecan find counterfeit copies of the CDs incorporating the software programs, as well as related packaging, manuals, license agreements, labels and registration cards.

4.      Explain the two types of digital divide.

The term “digital divide” originally represented the gap in computer ownership between different groups of people. While digital divide refers to the difference between social classes, global digital divide refers to a geographical division in terms of technological access.

v  The Global Digital Divide is a stumbling block inhibiting man’s technological progress. The internet allows for knowledge to be shared widely. A wide variety of talents are available for collaboration. Internet users currently only constitute fifteen to twenty percent of the world’spopulation. There is still a great deal of potential to be had by connecting the other eighty percent of the world. Programs such as the OLPC initiative and Inveneo will help to solve this, to some degree.

v  The social divide is the gap between the information rich and information poor within a society. The social divide can particularly be found in nations that are seen as being in the forefront of digital technological advancements, such as Australia, Canada and the United States. Unlike the digital divide the social divide focuses on the individuals within a specific society and how their access and use of the Internet differs.