Christmas message

Wishing the rest of the world, a very merry Christmas and a happy new year! Remember to stay safe, enjoy the company of your families and cherish it for years to come.

One final lecture, forget the spread the Christmas joy notion. Don't be nice and helpful for one holiday season. Look for the opportunity to put a smile on someone's face all year round, that's a wonderful and powerful legacy to leave behind.

Best Wishes for the future

Jack

Using the information in this blog

I would just like to remind anyone viewing this blog that this is blog was created by myself as a means for learning and entertainment. Please could you respect the time and effort that has been placed into it by not copying and pasting information and pictures for your own financial gain or to claim it as your own.

If you are planning on doing this, I won't know, but Jesus will so think on your sins. Rant aside enjoy this practically worthless, meaningless and outdated blog for whatever reason you have for being here, even though I don't know how some of you manage to find this blog. 

May this information be useful in the event of an apocalypse to the people of the future.

The digital divide

The digital divide

This week I am going to discuss the digital divide and its implications on the promotion of IT use in the world. I am also focusing on ways of ‘bridging the gap’

The digital divide refers to the fact that not everyone in society is able to have access to the newest technology that is available to the public. It has often been referred to as ‘social exclusion’.

The job market and schools

The digital divide is a major issue to control and monitor because there are a range of factors that influence the size of the divide. One of the more increasingly worrying factors is the job market. There are several people in England along that cannot afford to buy a computer and continue using it on a yearly basis. However this builds up a very large problem in terms of employment because the majority of the jobs that are available now in some way require the employee to be able to use IT in their work. Applying for a job will be seemingly impossible when facing competition from people who are very comfortable with using IT. The question is how can people continue to live without being given the provision to use IT in their lives?

 In terms of education, how is a disadvantaged student going to possibly make any progress in their school if they are constantly being told to use IT to improve your work when they have very little access to it in school? My personal view of this is that the disadvantage students either have to be offered a compromise or being given the provision to be able to use a computer. I am aware that there is a small minority of these students, however each child should not have to experience that barrier to learning and it should be the duty of local councils to make sure each household is able to have access to a computer and continue to be able to run that luxury.

Many have often termed the digital divide as “the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer” If you think about this quote it is probably correct, small businesses cannot hope improve their image without IT meaning that poorer people are now worst off than these businesses that have the use of IT to promote their image. For these disadvantage people/communities lack of communication technology+ communication= lack of knowledge and less influence/power. In terms of education and in the work place without gaining extra knowledge how do we know if something we are told is accurate?

What can be done to counter this?

The government department DFEE (department for education and employment) has decided upon investing in a series of pilot projects to those areas that have been perceived to be affected negatively by the digital divide. Many people will initially perceive that urban areas are unaffected by the divide, however this is not the case as the divide affects both rural and urban communities. The following areas are those which are being targeted for improvement. They have invested an estimated 10 million pounds into this project in the hope of helping to ‘bridge the gap’.

·        Kensington, Liverpool- this is considered as one of the country’s most disadvantaged urban communities. The department is planning to get over 400 households connected to 2000 personal computers.

·        The carpenter estate, east London- 750 houses and local primary schools will be connected.

·        Framlingham, Suffolk – 1,500 homes and the local schools will be connected.

·        BeconNet- Manchester-4,500 homes are being planned to be connected along with the local schools.

·        Whitebirk estate, Blackburn- 2,500 homes will be connected along with the local schools.

·        Alston-Cumbria-1,500 homes will be connected across 3 homes and farmlands along with primary and secondary schools.

·        Brampton upon Dearne, Yorkshire, 1,500 houses will be connected along with every child being provided with a free laptop.

My personal view on this scheme

However although this initially sounds an excellent scheme the problem is still unsolved. Many of these people probably have never seen a computer or know how to use it, so what can be done about that? To counter this kind of problem are there going to be places where people can go and learn the simple basics of using a computer? However this raises more issues in that more money is going to need to be invested to train these people how to use the technology that they have been given.

Similar projects are been developed in Nottingham and Hull, where local councils can take advantage of good cables and telecoms to provide people living in those areas with the internet and interactive TV.

Will all of this technology make a difference to society?

By implementing these plans for the continued development of the country the government is sending out a clear message that it hopes that the project will find success. The UK government issued a report last year to highlight the key benefits that the project will bring:

·        Acquiring knowledge and developing skills.

·        Developing confidence and strengthen the community cohesion.

·        Pursing leisure interests and hobbies.

·        Publishing user’s experiences and opinions.

·        Supporting the development of small businesses.

The “wired communities “project is aimed at not providing the answers to solving the digital divide, but in assessing the opportunities that can be explored by disadvantage communities to assist in education, work and leisure.

World-wide scale

Governments all around the world are starting to take action against the problems that the digital divide has caused. One particular approach to tackle this problem is located in Arizona, USA. The TOPAZ project (Telecommunications Open Partnerships of Arizona). This project aims at providing broadband access to rural communities across Arizona. The project is expected to invest $100 million to help support local agencies through a statewide carrier service.

Arizona has teamed up with 9 contracted telecommunications services to provide this service. The communities are encouraged to support the service, promote the service and help to financially support governments, health services, education services etc. This is known as the ‘business case ‘by continuing the provide this service on a regular basis.

Life in the information age- civil rights

Civil rights and IT

This week I am going to discuss Civil rights in relation to developments in IT. During this topic I am going to discuss how civil rights have been possibly violated through developments in IT. It is widely argued that there is an imbalance between an individual’s civil rights and the government’s ability to keep the country safe from any infringements occurring.

The first section that I will talk about is modern police techniques and how civil rights may be affected.

DNA profiling

Since 1995 the police have built up a large database of people’s DNA used to assist in crime detection. It contains on average around 1/20 of people’s DNA in the UK. Although highly useful to the police, this type of crime detection in particular can have impacts on a person’s civil rights.

Disadvantages to the police in relation to civil rights

When a person is found innocent of a crime their DNA records are completely wiped from the database. The problem for the police is two issues arise, the first being that if a person commits a crime in the future they will have limited access to compare evidence from the crime to the person who committed the crime. Secondly should anyone really have the right to delete a person’s personal records or even have access to them without the person’s actual consent? Many people in particular have regarded this is a way of the government controlling people leading many people into thinking that we live in a dictatorship rather than in democracy. After all can we trust every single police officer in charge of this database? What if certain crimes such as murder have been used to frame people via this computer database, a person would be unfairly sentenced for changing evidence. In addition to that hackers could well end up hacking into the system and use people’s personal information for their own benefits. However surly the police could find out if anyone unauthorised has looked at the data in the first place so issues of unauthorised access are eradicated.

My personal view on this

I think that DNA profiling is fine so long as strict exemptions o its used are established. No unauthorised person should have access to the information displayed for the protection of the suspect in the first place. Although there are obvious issues with this type of technology, the main aim of is to help detect and prevent crime.

National identity cards   

Every UK citizen will have a national identity card containing information such as their fingerprints and a photograph. Anyone who requires proof of identity can ask the person for this identity card. There is controversy in relation to these identity cards in the form that an individual should be allowed right to privacy.

Advantages of having this identity card

Reduction in crime

It has been argued that they will reduce the amount of crime as the fear of being caught has been increased through the creation of these identity cards. I personally believe that people now will have the ability to forge these identity cards, so actually getting away with a crime could potentially be easier.

Banking

 Having these identity cards also could make it easier for people to open bank accounts as they already have the required proof to be able to open a bank account. However what if a person lost their identity card, carrying around personal information is very dangerous especially if lost.

Disadvantages of these identity cards

Having to prove ourselves

 Many people have had this view that we as human beings should not have to prove ourselves to anyone at anytime. Although this may be strictly true, there are certain regulations that need to be enforced such as selling alcohol to under aged people. Without theses identity cards how could a person easily prove themselves? Personally I believe that proving ourselves is necessary in the interest of the public’s safety even if many people consider being asked for identification as a sign of harassment.

Extra documents

We already have documents to say who we are in the form of passports and driving licenses so do we need extra identification? Many people from this have come up with statements saying that this is another example, of the government trying to control the people. They believe this because what the identity cards do the passports do as well. The government have been viewed by people to be using this to gain extra income because they are quite expensive to own. I personally believe that if our passports can easily identify us in any situation needed then the need for identity cards surly becomes surplus to requirements.

Fake identity cards

Being in the information age forging information is actually easier. People have access to technology that can fake who they are and where they are from; in addition to that they can make these cards seem as real as an actual copy of an identity card. Creating these identity cards has lead to a rise in identity theft and breaches in people’s civil rights. I personally believe that this is a prime example of why having identity cards cause’s problems; if something can be faked then it is ineffective ergo I believe that overall identity cards should be abolished.

CCTV systems

The UK has more cameras looking at people than any other country in the world. And because of this many have considered the UK to be a ‘big brother state’. They are often located on many streets, car parks, on the road in the form of speed cameras and even shops.

Advantages of CCTV cameras

Reduction in crime

The police have regularly said that CCTV systems are there for the good of the public. However can a camera actually stop crime altogether? After all many crimes committed in the premises of a CCTV camera are often planned around getting around them. However despite this recent figures from the start of the decade to the present day have shown a reduction of crime through use of these CCTV systems.

Better health and safety for the public

The police themselves have said that better health and safety has come from having these cameras in place. Examples of this are on the roads when people are speeding. Many people seem to fear these cameras and will immediately slow down in the presence of a camera. I personally believe that cameras do actually improve health and safety which is evident on roads and certainly many will think twice before entering a building with CCTV footage active.

Disadvantages of these cameras

Surveillance

The question is how far should surveillance actually go? O we know what goes on behind the scenes? And do the police tell us information about these systems that actually aren’t true? Many people consider Britain to be a ‘big brother state’ with all these cameras around, but are they actually needed? We aren’t even told whether we want to be filmed on these cameras at all. So personally I believe that this could be considered as a breach of civil rights.

Misuse of information

The government has said that these cameras are in the interest of public security. However in the wrong hands this information could be detrimental to a person’s security. Can we actually trust a stranger to keep our identity safe and secure? Can we be given a guaranteed statement that our information is not to be used in other ways exempt from those that are needed? I personally believe that not being told who has control over these cameras is a civil right issue because we have right to know who has our identity!

Do they actually reduce crime?

One of the biggest thoughts that I have taken with this question is can a CCTV system stop a victim of one of Britain’s largest issues knife crime? I personally believe that these systems tell us nothing because they are seen in footage regularly to be ‘covered up’. If they were an effective system we would see a drastic reduction in crime seen in Britain. In addition to that I think that instead of having these expensive cameras putting them in high crime areas would be better and more effective than low crime rates. They actually are frequently appearing in the work place. Should an employer have right to ‘spy’’ on their employees? I believe that it is an invasion of privacy, a right that every person should have at the very minimum.

The Data Protection act of 1998 and the computer misuse act.

Introduction to the data protection act

The data protection act of 1998 was made to protect private and personal information. The acts set out to protect the personal information of individuals only and do not protect the data of businesses. The data is stored on a computer or paper filling system. The protect act is run by the information commissioners office and has a policy that allows individuals to check what data is being stored about them.

Any company that wishes to store information about an individual must inform the information commissioner’s office or else they are storing information illegally.  They must inform the information commissioner’s office about:

·       What information they wish to store.

·       What they intend to use the data for.

·       How long they wish to store it for.

·        And any external parties that this information may be passed on to.

 In addition to this the company must comply with the eight principles of the data protections act.

The eight principles of the data protection act are:

   Fairly and lawfully processed

  Used for limited purposes- cannot involve illegal use of the data for exploitation of personal

  data. 

 Adequate and relevant- information that is needed may be used; all other information is  not 

 to be used.

Accurate-the company cannot store false information about an individual.

Not keep longer than needed- if the person does not wish to receive information about    

the company.

Accessible to the individual and can be corrected or removed when necessary.

Companies cannot refuse an individual to change data if it relevant at the time .e.g. updating

 contact or addresses.

Secure- the information must be made to be inaccessible to the general public about an individual.

     

Not to be transferred to other countries without a similar data protection act.

What are the rights that an individual has?      

The individual has the right to see what information is being held about them if they ask the data user. 

Under the fourth principle of the data protection act the person has the right to change any inaccurate information being held about them. 

Refusal of data being stored or shared. For example companies will ask the customer whether or not they wish to receive information from carefully selected 3^rd parties that will contact them with products to sell to them. (Direct marketing).

 A person the right to complain to the data protection commissioner if they feel any of the 8 principles have been broken. 

If the customer can prove that one or more of these rules have been broken then they are fully entitled to compensation providing damage has been caused by the data controllers.

Exemptions to the data protection act

There are some exemptions to the data protection act which are most likely serious events involved with a person.

·       You cannot see the data being stored about you if national security is at stake.

·       Police investigations- you cannot see information about a crime scene.

·       Examination results are an exemption until they are published; this is so all of the results can be processed at a particular time.

The computer misuse act of 1990

The computer misuse act of 1990 was passed to prevent unauthorised access to computers or hacking.

The principles of the computer misuse act of 1990

·       No unauthorised access to computer material.

·       No accessing with intent to commit an offence. For example a person commits an offense by looking and using newsletter settings of a person and uses this to send an email to a customer or a set of customers asking them to disclose bank details to steal money from their accounts.

·       No unauthorized modification to computer material. This is because it is illegal to change other people’s data without the permission of that person.

Computer software

Computer software is now covered by the Copyright Designs and Patents Act of 1988, which covers music, literature and software. It is illegal to copy software, run pirated software, and transmit software over a telecommunications line with intent to mass distribute it.

            Copyright has 3 offenses

·       Illegal Copying, not for Profit

·       £2k and/or 6 months

·       Mass Copying, not for profit, same penalty + confiscation & compensation to copyright holders.

·       Any of the above if used for profit.

Computer Misuse Act 3 offenses

·       Unauthorised access to a computer results in, £20,000 and/or 6 months.

·       Unauthorised access with intent to cause a further offense, £50, 000 and/or 5 years.

·       Unauthorised Changing of files through viruses or other malicious programmes, 5 years + £50,000per computer affected.

What is a virus?

A virus is a piece of computer code which copies itself, without your permission.

Some viruses can damage data. All viruses use up system resources (memory, hard disk space) and they can even destroy programmes or can copy your anti-virus software to disable that antivirus software to run other viruses.

Viruses cause the computer code to be modified; they are illegal under the Computer Misuse Act.

Viruses are written by people usually in the form of e-mail that seem convincing but actually are a trick for people to open the attachment.

How a virus works

A person will write a programme or a virus designed to cause damage intentionally.

Usually attached to another programs on the hard disk.

When the virus copies itself another floppy disk is created and the virus will copy itself on to that disk.

·       When the transmission is completed a message may appear to annoy the person affected and will use computer memory, destroy files or cause serious security damage.

How to stop hackers

Firewalls

A firewall can prevent others from hacking into your computer. It filters data coming from the internet to the computer or a network. Having this stops hacking into your system and the person using the computer as a host system to run malicious programs.

Antivirus software- Antivirus software can detect threats to your computer and stop them causing damage to the computer. However there are occasions when antivirus software can be bypassed for example in 2011 a spyware program called Antivirus GT would copy your antivirus and disable the original antivirus software.

Macros- You should never run macros unless you trust the source because they can contain viruses to damage your system.

Life in the information age- crime prevention and cyber crime

Crime prevention and crime

This week I am going to discuss the role of ICT in crime prevention and crimes committed.  This section will be broken down into 2 sections: Computers and crime detection and cyber crime.

The topics that I will be discussing in this topic are ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition), Phishing and Viruses.

Introduction

Preventing crime and committing crime through advances in technology has become very complex. The police have taken advantage of what information technology can offer to develop highly complex methods of preventing crime. Equally so is the case of criminals, they have also taken advantage of technology to increase the likelihood of a successful criminal act over the internet.

Preventing crime (ANPR)

ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition). This has been a very successful piece of technology that is used by police to cross reference vehicles that have been marked as questionable by local police or national police. The system works by a video image of the number plate being taken, which the computer then converts into a proper registration number for the vehicle, which is compared to the database to find a match for a flagged vehicle. The system is found on the majority of major roads and motorways, but it is also fitted inside police cars for them to use on the road.

Advantages of ANPR

ANPR is used widely worldwide and with that brings many different advantages for the police.

Reading of number plates- One of the biggest advantages to the police is that ANPR captures and reads uniwue number plates of the vehicle. This is a major advantage to the police because the computer can convert the video image from the camera into a readable number plate. The police from that if given a call over the police radio about stolen vehicle can wait for vehicles to pass and check the number plate of cars that have been flagged by the police as suspicious. The system itself has enabled more motor vehicle criminals to be arrested as identifying suspicious vehicles has become easier.

Accuracy- The ANPR systems over the years of being in the information age have become more accurate. The accuracy has been estimated as an average of 95% accurate. Because of the accuracy the catching of criminals has become easier as the evidence of crime is evident within the database. Following on from that it is even accurate in adverse weather, or reading dirty number plates making them a very useful tool to police who couldn’t possibly see the number plate by eye.

CCTV systems- The system itself complements the CCTV system very well. The ANPR system can be used in conjunction with the CCTV system to capture the number plate. Because of this the ANPR system is highly versatile piece of equipment.

24 hour coverage- It is widely argued that most motor criminals will look to commit crime at night. This is because it is highly unlikely that there will be witnesses to any crime committed. However the ANPR system works 24/7 unless there is a fault, this means that criminals cannot escape the system even in the night. This is hugely advantageous to the police because they can catch criminals any time of the day even if the criminals think they have got away with any crime committed.

Disadvantages of ANPR

Road pricing- One of the biggest disadvantages of ANPR is it cannot be used for road pricing. This is because that if they were placed on all tolls in Britain it would be expensive to install and it would spoil the landscape of Britain. Although the system is highly effective placing the system on border tools like the seven bridge toll could be an effective method for police.

Main roads- When camera´s are placed along main roads only, drivers may avoid registration by using secondary roads which means the ANPR system wouldn’t apply to them. Because of this motor crime along secondary roads will increase. To counter this police would have to employ more officers to enforce theses secondary roads; this will cost allot of money, and in the current economic climate that isn’t possible.

Privacy fears- Many people have expressed fears about being tracked by the government. Because of this many people have described the system as a police state similar to that of a dictator country, even though they are there for the public safety.

Identity fraud- The cloning of number plates can lead to hazardous consequences for the owners of vehicles if used by the wrong people. Because of these cases of identity fraud may increase through ANPR.

My experiences of ANPR

I haven’t personally had any experiences of ANPR, however many people have the same common issue with the system, privacy. Many of the technology that has been developed for the police has come under criticism from the public due to issues of privacy. Many people have thought the ANPR system to be ineffective due to opinions that uninsured drivers caught by ANPR aren’t going to be caught anyway. However I personally feel it is a good method for catching criminals as they can be tracked through different counties in an attempt to catch them. In Humberside recently 347 arrests were made and 31 vehicles recovered through use of ANPR

Cyber crime

Phishing and viruses

Phishing is a type of identity fraud targeted towards individuals or business in attempt to gain access to private/personal information. Phishes may threaten to for example close people’s bank accounts if they don’t reply to the email. If the person replies they will attempt to get the person participating in money laundering stealing their personal information.  Phishing is usually in the form of an email and can easily be spotted by key information such as wording or even through the email user. With phishing there a many processes involved these are planning, setup and attack, collection and identity fraud.

Planning- phishers decide which business to target and. They often use the same email address and will look to get certain email addresses through use of spam.

Setup- Once they know which business and individuals to attack phishers try to find ways of sending the message and collecting the data. Most of them will look to webpage’s and spam.

Attack- The phishers will send a false message that seems genuine in attempt to find a victim to attack.

Collection- phishers record the information that people enter into web pages and pop up windows.

Fraud- The phishers will then from the information they have collected make illegal purchases over the internet. They may do this multiple times, and from that will judge the successes and failures of the phishing process, and will perform the cycle again.

Viruses

Introduction -A Computer Virus is a software program that is designed to copy itself over and over again and to attach itself to other programs. Viruses can cause huge amount of time wasting and financial loss for people and businesses. The Melissa virus was very good at spreading itself that many businesses had to shut down their email systems. Viruses don’t damage hardware on a computer; they affect the data and programs stored on your computer.

How do they spread?
The easiest method of obtaining a virus is through an email attachment or entering a dangerous website.  Viruses can also be obtained through file sharing websites; people can edit these files to add viruses for other people to download. The viruses attempt to copy itself through a type of storage device on your computer such as a floppy disk, memory stick, CD ROM or a DVD.

How they can be removed


Through the information age many companies stated to develop software that could detect and remove these viruses. This type of software is called anti-virus and can be purchased through many different software/ computer companies such as PC world. When the anti-virus software recognizes a virus it will alert the user, and ask them whether they want to remove the virus and clean the system. The software might also ask the user whether or not they wish the virus to be quarantined so that it can be studied by the company for testing. More malicious viruses are always being written so it is important to have an understanding of all latest viruses that have been detected. Many companies will also issue updates to your anti viruses software to make the system more effective towards viruses.
Preventing infections

Antivirus software- Use the antivirus software to scan your computer daily. Doing this can determine after a browsing session whether or not you have picked up an infection.

Scanning emails-You should also scan al emails because they could contain a threat that you don’t know about. Following on from that not opening email attachments from unknown sources is a good way of preventing viruses because this ensures that the risk of contracting a virus is reduced.

Software sharing- You should look to not to download file sharing software because they have the potential to contain viruses that have been uploaded by sharers. The potential for viruses are usually from free downloads as they an enticement for victims of a virus writer.
Other threats

Trojan horse-Log all your keystrokes and then send the details to another person in charge of the Trojan. It can allow someone else to take control of your computer whilst you are online. The Trojan may also use screen shots and send them to another computer to steal private information.

Worms- Like a virus they can spread, however they spread by themselves over multiple networks. They are highly annoying because they can cause network to slow down reducing the bandwidth of the network.

Adware- This is a very harmless virus that logs the adverts that you look at. Because it logs this information you will get adverts that are tailored to yourself on your browser.

Legislation to protect people against viruses and Phishing

The computer misuse act of 1990

The computer misuse act of 1990 was passed to prevent unauthorised access to computers or hacking. This also covers virus writing and Phishing.

The principles of the computer misuse act of 1990

·        No unauthorised access to computer material

·        No accessing with intent to commit an offence. For example a person commits an offense by looking and using newsletter settings of a person and uses this to send an email to a customer or a set of customers asking them to disclose bank details to steal money from their accounts.

·        No unauthorized modification to computer material. This is because it is illegal to change other people’s data without the permission of that person.

Computer software

Computer software is now covered by the Copyright Designs and Patents Act of 1988, which covers music, literature and software. It is illegal to copy software, run pirated software, and transmit software over a telecommunications line with intent to mass distribute it.

            Copyright has 3 offenses

·        Illegal Copying, not for Profit

·        £2k and/or 6 months

·        Mass Copying, not for profit, same penalty + confiscation & compensation to copyright holders.

·        Any of the above if used for profit.

Computer Misuse Act 3 offenses

·        Unauthorised access to a computer results in, £20,000 and/or 6 months.

·        Unauthorised access with intent to cause a further offense, £50, 000 and/or 5 years.

Unauthorised Changing of files through viruses or other malicious programmes, 5 years + £50,000per computer affected.