helloworld.bensonchu.com » Computer Ethics

How Privacy Vanishes Online

Benson — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 16:34:58 +0000

If a stranger came up to you on the street, would you give him your name, Social Security number and e-mail address?

Probably not.

Yet people often dole out all kinds of personal information on the Internet that allows such identifying data to be deduced. Services like Facebook,Twitter and Flickr are oceans of personal minutiae — birthday greetings sent and received, school and work gossip, photos of family vacations, and movies watched.

Teaching About Web Includes Troubling Parts

Benson — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 16:20:33 +0000

When Kevin Jenkins wanted to teach his fourth-grade students at Spangler Elementary here how to use the Internet, he created a site where they could post photographs, drawings and surveys.

And they did. But to his dismay, some of his students posted surveys like “Who’s the most popular classmate?” and “Who’s the best-liked?”

Mr. Jenkins’s students “liked being able to express themselves in a place where they’re basically by themselves at a computer,” he said. “They’re not thinking that everyone’s going to see it.”

High-tech cheating

Benson — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 18:04:24 +0000

“While most students and professors seem to view cheating on examinations as a serious moral lapse, both groups appear more cavalier about dishonesty on homework. And technology has given students more tools than ever to find answers in unauthorized ways—whether downloading online solution manuals or instant-messaging friends for answers. The latest surveys by the Center for Academic Integrity found that 22 percent of students say they have cheated on a test or exam, but about twice as many—43 percent—have engaged in “unauthorized collaboration” on homework.”

Google’s book search case mapped out

Benson — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:20:15 +0000

That clears up everything…

Originally found this gem in The Chronicle. Digitizing out of print books and making them available on the web- which will win? Utilitarianism or Kantian Ethics?

Yay it!

New DRM attempts to prevent video game piracy

Benson — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 04:50:03 +0000

“Last month the worldwide effort to thwart the illegal copying and sales of video games took a turn to the draconian, with a number of publishers introducing new measures that often seemed to impact legitimate gamers as much as pirates.

France-based Ubisoft rolled out a new form of digital rights management that require players of their PC games to stay online at all times to play. Japan-based Sony tested out a new system that would require people purchasing one of their Playstation Portable games used to pay an extra $20 to play online. And Nintendo, taking a page from the music industry, levied a $1.5 million dollar suit against an Australian for copying their games.”

Privacy concerns in an online world

Benson — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 02:14:54 +0000

“ON the Internet, things get old fast. One prime candidate for the digital dustbin, it seems, is the current approach to protecting privacy on the Internet.

It is an artifact of the 1990s, intended as a light-touch policy to nurture innovation in an emerging industry. And its central concept is “notice and choice,” in which Web sites post notices of their privacy policies and users can then make choices about sites they frequent and the levels of privacy they prefer.

But policy and privacy experts agree that the relentless rise of Internet data harvesting has overrun the old approach of using lengthy written notices to safeguard privacy.”

Article: Yo, Ho, Ho and a Digital Scrum

Benson — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 01:25:04 +0000

“The history of publishing is swimming with pirates—far more than Adrian Johns expected when he started hunting through the archives for them. And he thinks their stories may hold keys to understanding the latest battles over digital publishing—and the future of the book.”

Online banking with zero liability

Benson — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 23:14:07 +0000

With more and more users becoming accustomed to online banking, more and more phishing scams are making an appearance. How does one protect themselves from becoming a victim?

The number one rule I use has always been to never click on a solicited link, even if it is in an e-mail supposedly sent from your bank. The best thing to do is to open a new browser, or tab, and type in the website address of your bank. Log in from there and do any updating you were requested to do.

Fraudulent e-emails and websites are becoming more and more sophisticated, and can easily mimic the look and feel of your bank. That’s why I say to pass on the link and type in the website address, yourself.

Now, that’s how you can protect yourself. But what about banks? What are they doing? According to the New York Times, many online banking and financial websites are implementing more security measures such as “two-factor authentication”, and are offering zero liability in the event that your account is compromised. This second authentication can come in the form of a code sent as a text message to your phone that you have to enter onto the website when logging in. It’s another step, but it’s added security.

Granted, this isn’t for everyone, and it’s still in the early stages. But, it’s an effort toward securing your financial accounts.

When I was in Vietnam, one of my co-workers was researching a Vietnamese anti-spam solution that consulted and updated a central database that would act as a repository and filter for incoming e-mail. In theory, this would also thwart phishing scams. If this were to be executed, each e-mail provider would have to provide their own database and filtering solution (which is what the spam filters are), or, there could be a central database that many e-mail providers could use to share knowledge about which e-mails and e-mail addresses are fraudulent. Thus, reducing the number of fraudulent e-mails sent to a user’s inbox and reducing the number of victims to phishing scams.

Resources:

NY Times: Don’t take this bait (but you’re safe if you do)

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