Computer Ethics Category of professional ethics similar to medical, accounting, legal ethics For computer professionals & those who select, manage or use computers in a professional setting Many people do not understand technology well... Concerns relationships & responsibilities towards customers, clients, coworkers, users, people affected by computers, ...

2.  Category of professional ethics similar to
medical, accounting, legal ethics
 For computer professionals & those who
select, manage or use computers in a
professional setting
 Many people do not understand
 technology well...
◦ Concerns relationships & responsibilities towards
customers, clients, coworkers, users, people
affected by computers, ...

3.  Study of what it means to "do the right thing“
 View ethical rules as
◦ Fundamental & universal
◦ Made up to provide a framework to interact with
other people
 Behaving ethically is often practical
 Needs courage sometimes ...

4.  Right, wrong, OK, prohibited,
Acceptable
 Distinguishing Wrong and Harm
 Separating Goals from Constraints
 Personal Preference and Ethics
 Law and Ethics

5.  To handle information in a responsible way
you must understand:
◦ The importance of ethics in the ownership and
use of information.
◦ The importance to people of personal privacy and
the ways in which it can be compromised.
◦ The value of information to an organization.
◦ Threats to information and how to protect
against
◦ them (security).

6.  Ethics - the principles and standards that
guide our behavior toward other people.
Two Factors That Determine How You Decide
Ethical Issues
◦ Your basic ethical structure, which you developed
as you grew up.
◦ The set of practical circumstances involved in the
decision that you’re trying to make — that is, all
the shades of gray in what are rarely black or
white decisions.

8.  Intellectual property - intangible creative work
that is embodied in physical form.
 Copyright - the legal protection afforded an
expression of an idea, such as a song, video
game, and some types of proprietary documents.
 Fair Use Doctrine - says that you may use
copyrighted material in certain situations — for
example, for teaching purposes.
 Pirated software - the unauthorized use,
duplication, distribution or sale of copyrighted
software.
 Counterfeit software - software that is
manufactured to look like the real thing and sold
as such.

9.  Privacy - the right to be left alone when you want to
be, to have control over your own personal
possessions, and not to be observed without your
consent.
 E-mail is completely insecure.
◦ Each e-mail you send results in at least 3 or 4 copies being
stored on different computers.
◦ You can take measures to protect your e-mail.
 Cookie - a small record deposited on your hard
disk by a Web site containing information about
you and your Web activities.
 Adware - software to generate ads that installs itself
on your computer when you download some other
(usually free) program from the Web.
 Trojan-horse software - software you don’t want
hidden inside software you do want.

10. ✔ Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people.
✔ Thou shalt not interfere with other people's computer
work.
✔ Thou shalt not snoop around in other people's files.
✔ Thou shalt not use a computer to steal.
✔ Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness.
✔ Thou shalt not use or copy software for which you have
not paid.
✔ Thou shalt not use other people's computer resources
without authorization.
✔ Thou shalt not appropriate other people's intellectual
output.
✔ Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the
program you write.
✔ Thou shalt use a computer in ways that show
consideration and respect.