Morals and Ethics

Articles

ICT Standard IX

ICT Standard X

Morals and Ethics

Q. 1	Define the following terms: - Morals, Ethics Morals:- Morals tells us whether an action is right or wrong. In ICT software piracy, unauthorized access to others private data and not respecting others' intellectual property rights are morally wrong. Ethics:- The principles of right and wrong that are accepted by an individual or a group is known as ethics. For example, Business Ethics defines what is right or wrong in an organization.
Q. 2	Discuss Ethics for a computer professional. Computer ethics or Cyber ethics are the rules governing the use of computers. Some of the rules are as follows: 1. Do not indulge in software piracy. 2. You must not harm or spread misinformation about others. 3. You should not use the computer to steal anything including intellectual property that belongs to someone else. 4. Respect others privacy and do not try to access their information. 5. You must not do anything to block other users from using their computers or accessing the Internet.
Q. 3	What are Cyber Laws? Cyber Laws are laws enacted by the Government to prevent cyber crimes like:- 1. Software Piracy 2. Unauthorized access to another person's computer and personal information 3. Spread of misinformation or other prohibited material. 4. Stealing using Computer technology. 5. Blocking others use of Computers using viruses, or other malware. 6. Sending unwanted emails or Spamming. The I. T. Act 2000 is one such Cyber Law which is in force in India.
Q. 4	Explain I. T. Act 2000. Besides having provisions to prevent misuse as detailed above, the I. T. Act 2000 encouraged the use of eCommerce and tried to protect the interests of both the buyers and the sellers. The use of digital signatures, security procedures and multi-level verification methods has resulted in lower misuse of the Internet.
Q. 5	What is freeware and shareware? Software that is free to distribute, copy and use is known as Freeware. Shareware on the other hand is free to distribute and copy, but can only be used freely for a limited period of time. After the evaluation period, usually around 30 days, if the user still wishes to use the software a donation is expected by the creator of the software.
Q. 6	What are some of the ways that Intellectual Property Rights can be protected? The use of Copyrights, Encryption and Patents are some important ways that Intellectual Property Rights can be protected.

George Ferrao