Study Material for Ethics & Viruses

Software Copyright

In essence, a copyright is a bundle of valuable rights and privileges that give the owner of the copyright the exclusive right to distribute, copy, display, and alter the copyrighted work.

It is not the ideas behind the work (whether a novel, textbook, company logo, software program, or motion picture) that the copyright protects, but the expression of the ideas in the work. Thus, it is not possible to copyright the concept of the spreadsheet application, but it is possible to copyright the way a spreadsheet looks and works.

The law, governing copyrights in the United States, is the Copyright Act of 1976, found in Title 17 of the U.S. Code. The laws, recognizing and dealing with software, were incorporated into the code in 1980.

A copyright does not last forever. For an individual work, the copyright lasts for the author's life plus fifty years.   For a joint or "made for hire" work, copyright lasts seventy-five year after publication or one hundred years after creation.   Since most software applications versions have a life span of only a few years, the copyright, in practical terms, essentially lasts forever.

Ownership of a copyright may vary, depending on several factors.  In the case of a person working on their own and for themselves, the copyright automatically belongs to that person.  In a large company, dozens of programmers may work on a single application.  Each of those programmers probably signed a contract which stated that all work done by the programmer became the property of the company. This is perfectly legal, and usual. As a result, most software copyrights are owned by the company that distributes the program (Microsoft, Adobe, Macromedia, etc) not the people who created the program.

When you buy software, the software does not belong to you to do with as you wish.  When you buy software, you are actually entering into a license agreement with the software copyright owner.    A license is nothing more or less than a contract where you agree, often implicitly when you open the package, to a set of terms.  License agreements vary widely, but most licenses grant you, the licensee, a very limited number of rights.  These usually include the right to use the manuals, the right to make a single backup copy of the program for your own use, and the right to install and use the software on a machine or machines that you own.

Restrictions placed on the licensee include prohibitions on copying, distributing, modifying, adapting, renting or leasing, selling for profit, exporting to a foreign county, or decompiling the software.

Licenses come in various forms. Single user licenses, multi-user licenses, and site licenses to name a few. A single user licenses allows the user to install the software on one machine that they own and make one back-up copy for their own use.  A multi-user or multi-machine license allows the user to install the software on multiple machines owned by the institution, company, or individual limited by a specific number of installs, as determined by the license.    A site license allows the user to install the software on all computers owned by the company, institution, or individual.

The following is an excellent discussion of Software copyright as it applies to educational institutions.

http://www.it.ufl.edu/resources/copyright/TRAINING.HTM

Copyright Infringement

If you copy, distribute, or alter any software without permission of the copyright owner, you have violated the copyright laws.

The idea behind the copyright law, was to provide an incentive for individuals or companies to create software from which they could profit.   The violation of copyright causes economic damage to the copyright owner and results in higher prices for products.

Willful violation of a copyright is a criminal as well as a civil offense.  While civil crimes are settled with fines; reparations for criminal offenses almost always include imprisonment.  The maximum penalty for copyright infringement is $50,000 and one year in jail.

Copyright laws apply the same to educational institutions, such as a University, as they do to companies and individuals.

Software Piracy

Pirating software is the act of making an copy of a program without the permission of the owner of the copyright, either for your own use or for distribution (either gratis or for profit) to others.

"Will I get caught? And if I do what will happen to me?"  Will you get caught? Maybe and maybe not. Steps have been taken to prevent individuals from pirating software on the computers on this campus, but no system can stop someone with enough determination.  If you are are caught pirating software from a University computer, you will be subject to immediate expulsion from Cal State San Marcos.  In addition, you may be referred to the copyright owner of the pirated software so that they may pursue civil and criminal proceedings against you.   This can result in fines of up to $50,000 and one year in jail.  

It is estimated that 30-50% of all software being used in the United States is being used illegally in violation of copyright laws.  This unauthorized use results in severe economical damage to the software companies and higher prices for software. 

Computer Viruses

What are Viruses?    

Computer viruses are programs (pieces of executable code) which take over their host computer's internal processes for the purpose of replicating themselves and/or doing damage to the files of the host computer.

Most viruses consist of two parts. The first part consists of instructions that enable the virus to spread from computer to computer.  The second part consists of instructions that tell the virus what to do in the host computer.

Viruses vary dramatically in the damage that they do.   Generally speaking, viruses on the PC are more destructive than viruses on the Macintosh.  There are also considerably more viruses in circulation for the PCs than for the Macintoshes partly because it is easier to write viruses for the PC than for the Macintosh.  There are currently several hundred known PC viruses.

A virus tries to spread itself from computer to computer by attaching itself to a host program. It may damage hardware, software, or data. A worm is a subclass of virus. A worm generally spreads without user action and distributes complete copies (possibly modified) of itself across networks. A worm can exhaust memory or network bandwidth, causing a computer to stop responding. A virus that appears to be a useful program, but that actually does damage, is called a "trojan horse."

Spyware is programming that is put in someone's computer to secretly gather information about the user and relay it to advertisers or other interested parties. Spyware can get in a computer as a software virus or as the result of installing a new program.  Adware (spelled all lower case) is any software application in which advertising banners are displayed while the program is running.  Adware has been criticized because it usually includes code that tracks a user's personal information and passes it on to third parties, without the user's authorization or knowledge. This practice has prompted an outcry from computer security and privacy advocates, including the Electronic Privacy Information Center.   The following is a excellent source for information about spyware, www.spychecker.com.

How do they Spread?

Every virus is different, but most viruses spread from machine to machine in similar ways: 

High-risk behaviors

The following activities are among the most common ways of getting computer viruses. Minimizing the frequency of these activities will reduce your risk of getting a computer virus:

• Freely sharing computer programs and system disks, or downloading files and software through file-sharing applications such as KaZaA
  
   
• Downloading executable software from public-access bulletin boards or Web sites
  
   
• Using your personal disk space (e.g., floppy disks, CFS account) with public computers or other computers that are used by more than one person
  
   
• Opening email attachments without first scanning them for viruses.
  
   
• Opening any email attachment that ends in .exe, .vbs, or .lnk on a computer running Microsoft Windows.

Click here for a link to more information about protecting yourself from viruses.

Symptoms of viruses, worms, and trojan horse viruses

source: support.microsoft.com/kb/129972

Protection

• Get Anti-Virus Software and keep it up-dated and
• Scan all external storage media often.
• Lock your diskettes when using them to transport files to other computers.
• Beware when using a computer that is not your own.
• Beware of downloaded software.
• Beware of attachments to emails, especially from unknown sources -DO NOT open suspicious attachments.
• Install a firewall and pay attention to what is asking for permission to connect online.

Take steps to prevent viruses even if you do not visit unknown or un-trusted Web sites or open e-mail attachments.

There are three steps that you can take to start to improve the security of your Windows-based computer: 1) use a firewall, 2) receive regular updates, and 3) use and update frequently an anti-virus software.  

A firewall is a piece of software or hardware that creates a protective barrier between your computer and potentially damaging content on the Internet. It helps guard your computer against malicious users and many computer viruses and worms. 

Security updates help shield your computer from vulnerabilities, viruses, worms, and other threats as they are discovered.  

Anti-virus software helps protect your computer against most viruses, worms, trojans, and other malicious programs.  Many computers come with antivirus software installed.  You can also purchase antivirus software and install it yourself.  You must also keep your antivirus software up to date because new viruses are created so frequently.
 

For for information about viruses and how to protect your PC, visit the following Microsoft Protect Your PC web site:  www.microsoft.com/protect

For more information about viruses and virus protection visit the following web sites:

www.howstuffworks.com/virus.htm 

www.trendmicro.com/en/security/general/virus/overview.htm

www.spychecker.com/spyware.html

What is Phishing?

What is Phishing ?
Phishing schemes use 'spoofed' e-mails to lead consumers to counterfeit websites designed to trick recipients into giving them their  financial data such as credit card numbers, account usernames, passwords and social security numbers. Hijacking brand names of banks, e-retailers and credit card companies, phishers often convince recipients to respond.

 (fish´ing) (n.) The act of sending an e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. The e-mail directs the user to visit a Web site where they are asked to update personal information, such as passwords and credit card, social security, and bank account numbers, that the legitimate organization already has.   The Web site, however, is bogus.

For example, 2003 saw the proliferation of a phishing scam in which users received e-mails supposedly from eBay claiming that the user’s account was about to be suspended unless he clicked on the provided link and updated the credit card information that the genuine eBay already had. Because it is relatively simple to make a Web site look like a legitimate organizations site by mimicking the HTML code, the scam counted on people being tricked into thinking they were actually being contacted by eBay and were subsequently going to eBay’s site to update their account information. By spamming large groups of people, the “phisher” counted on the e-mail being read by a percentage of people who actually had listed credit card numbers with eBay legitimately.

Phishing, also referred to as brand spoofing or carding, is a variation on “fishing,” the idea being that bait is thrown out with the hopes that while most will ignore the bait, some will be tempted into biting.

Other forms: phish (v.)

Also see the All About Phishing page in the "Did You Know? section of Webopedia for more information, including examples, of phishing.

How Not to Get Hooked by a ‘ Phishing’ Scam   <-- a FTC Consumer Alert