Technology has been a great help to us specially in making things simple. But isn't technology making each individual more vulnerable?
For example, friendster dot com. Almost every Pinoy individial has a friendster account, some may even have two or more friendster account. Internet World Stats says that 3 out of 5 pinoy individuals who have access to the internet have a friendster account.
Another example is the email, email messages can be traced so if it can be traced. It can reveal your location. I think it's not accurate most of the time but still there is a chance.
So, if you are a stalker, a bad ninja, an assasin, manyak, etc... You can trace email ,use friendster or maybe other social networking websites and voila! You can have his/her IM, cellphone number, location, school, parent's name, favorite place to hang out, favorite food, likes, dislikes, place of work and other VERY useful information that will aid you in achieving your goals whatever it may be.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Privacy
Reaction to Law and Order Season 12 Episode 15 Access Nation
Story
This episode of Law and Order is about a woman murdered by people in Access Nation, a company that sells information to their clients in order to get valuable information from her that the company can sell to its clients. The issue in this episode is the “right to privacy” of individuals.
Conflict
The conflict of this episode is how will they be able to prosecute and prove that Access Nation is violating laws about privacy.
Observations
Man : So how do you break somebody's password
Woman : I told you wouldn't come see me anymore
(pressed some few keys)
(after a second)
Done
In my opinion, I think it will take time to break a password depending on what kind of algorithm we use to break a password. In this episode, they quickly broke Corel Word Perfect's Password. In my experience, 128, 256 bit encryption will surely take time, most of the time to be able to figure out the password, a program will test all possible combinations of letters A-Z, a-z and 0-9.
It is only possible to break a password quickly if they are able to use a very fast and smart algorithm that can test all possible character combinations or maybe just because of luck.
Just an example it took me forever just to recover a winzip password. The winzip archive used a 256bit encryption and that means a lot of work.
Opening emails will immediately make the worm run to your computer
Opening emails and reading it's content is safe, what is not safe is downloading and running the attachment. Most of the time, the attachments are worms and viruses.
The Company Access Nation is able to know can know names of people in a community, know if a maid is a criminal, etc...
We all know that there are companies who use multiple dataminers to get information but it is not possible to be able to know almost anything about a certain
person. Will you be able to know what a person does everyday using just a computer program that secretly runs in your system? What if that person is not using a computer?
In this episode they give an impression that Access Nation can name anyone and tell if he or she is a criminal or not. If Access Nation has that kind of power, they should have at least know something about their client so that they can assure that the information they sell won't used in doing crimes.
It seems like firewalls and anti-viruses is useless against Access Nations worms and spywares
It seems like in this episode, anti-viruses and firewalls are useless against Access Nation because all of them are saying that privacy is a luxury, I wont be opening my email again,etc.. Giving the impression that there's no hope of stopping companies like Access Nation in accessing sensitive and valuable information.
Reaction
Today, right to privacy is often violated. You do not know where will a dataminer will leech into you. Worst is that you do not have any sign that a worm or a dataminer is already doing its dirty job inside your system.
Dataminers have varied purpose. Some dataminers may have the purpose seeing what you always view so they can pop-up related ads. Some may have the purpose of logging your usernames and passwords. Worse of all is that some may have the purpose of logging sensitive information about you. It may be about your money, personal life, etc... Almost like the one shown in Law and Order : Acces Nation Episode.
So how are we going to prevent this from happening? For me, it is advisable to always scan for possible dataminers, worms, spyware, etc... This way you can at least minimize the risk of sharing sensitive information about you. Another solution is that you install a security software that can monitor all incoming and outgoing data from the internet.
Software Piracy
Software Piracy
According to Wiki.Answers.com, copyright infringement of software refers to several practices when done without the permission of the copyright holder:
Creating a copy and or selling it. This is the act most people refer to as software piracy. This is copyright infringement in most countries and is unlikely to be fair use or fair dealing if the work remains commercially available. In some countries the laws may allow the selling of a version modified for use by blind people, students (for non-educational product) or similar. Differences in legislation may also make the copyright void in some jurisdictions, but not the others.
Creating a copy and giving it to someone else. This constitutes copyright infringement in most jurisdictions. It is not infringing under specific circumstances such as fair use and fair dealing. In some countries, such as Israel, creating a copy is completely legal, as long as it was done from non-profit intentions.
Creating a copy to serve as a backup. This is seen as a fundamental right of the software-buyer in some countries, e.g., Germany, Spain, Brazil and Philippines. It can be infringement, depending on the laws and the case law interpretations of those laws, currently undergoing changes in many countries. In the US, legal action was taken against companies which made backup copies while repairing computers (see MAI Systems Corp. v. Peak Computer, Inc. (1993)) and as a result, US law was changed to make it clear that this is not copyright infringement.
Renting the original software. Software licenses often try to restrict the usual right of a purchaser of a copyrighted work to let others borrow the work. In some jurisdictions the validity of such restrictions are disputed, but some require permission from the copyright holder to allow renting the software.
Reselling the original software. Licenses often say that the buyer does not buy the software but instead pays for the right to use the software. In the US, the first-sale doctrine, Softman v. Adobe [1] and Novell, Inc. v. CPU Distrib., Inc. ruled that software sales are purchases, not licenses, and resale, including unbundling, is lawful regardless of a contractual prohibition. The reasoning in Softman v. Adobe suggests that resale of student licensed versions, provided they are accurately described as such, is also not infringing.
Bulletin Board Sharing/Internet Piracy- Albacea et al (2005) states that this infringement occurs when System Operators shares (electronic transfer) copyrighted materials on bulletin boards or the internet for users to download.
In short, unauthorized duplication, renting, sharing, selling and reselling of an original software is Software Piracy.
There are many forms of Software piracy, but according to BSA.Org the most common types of Piracy in our country are the following :
End-user piracy
This is the most damaging form of software piracy to the BSA, and is also known as “corporate end-user piracy.” This occurs when businesses, schools, nonprofit organizations and government institutions make additional copies of
software without authorization.
Client-server Overuse
This occurs when too many employees on a network use a central copy of a program at the same time.
Internet Piracy
While there are many publishers who offer authorized versions of their software for sale online, there are also numerous pirate operations on the Internet as well:
o Pirate websites that make software available for free download or in
exchange for uploaded programs.
o Internet auction sites that offer counterfeit, out-of-channel, infringing copyright software.
o Peer-to-Peer networks that enable unauthorised transfer of copyrighted programs.
Internet piracy represents perhaps the single greatest threat to electronic commerce.
Hard Disk Loading
This occurs when the business who sells you a new computer loads illegal copies of software onto its hard disk to make the purchase of the machine more attractive.
Software Counterfeiting
This is the illegal duplication and sale of copyrighted material with the intent of directly imitating the copyrighted product. In the case of packaged software, it is common to find counterfeit copies of the CDs or diskettes incorporating the software program, as well as related packaging, manuals, license agreements, labels, registration cards, and security features.
Laws Against Software Piracy
The Law against Piracy is known as the IP Code of the Philippines(R.A. No. 8293).
This law protects the original works of individuals like programs, music, film, etc...
According to BSA.Org's website, some notable points about the new law are:
It expressly protects databases and tables.
It grants an exclusive rental right to the copyright owner.
It recognizes and expands the protection of an author’s “moral rights”. That is,
The right of an author to preserve the integrity of their works and their name.
It penalizes the possession of infringing software for the purposes of sale.
Prosecution
Section 217 of R.A. No. 8293 or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines states that :
217.1. Any person infringing any right secured by provisions of Part IV of this Act or aiding or abetting such infringement shall be guilty of a crime punishable by:
a. Imprisonment of one (1) year to three (3) years plus a fine ranging from Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000) to One hundred fifty thousand pesos (P150,000) for the first offense.
b. Imprisonment of three (3) years and one (1) day to six (6) years plus a fine ranging from One hundred fifty thousand pesos (P150,000) to Five hundred thousand pesos (P500,000) for the second offense.
c. Imprisonment of six (6) years and one (1) day to nine (9) years plus a fine ranging from Five hundred thousand pesos (P500,000) to One million five hundred thousand pesos (P1,500,000) for the third and subsequent offenses.
d. In all cases, subsidiary imprisonment in cases of insolvency.217.2. In determining the number of years of imprisonment and the amount of fine, the court shall consider the value of the infringing materials that the defendant has produced or manufactured and the damage that the copyright owner has suffered by reason of the infringement.
217.3. Any person who at the time when copyright subsists in a work has in his possession an article which he knows, or ought to know, to be an infringing copy of the work for the purpose of:
-
a. Selling, letting for hire, or by way of trade offering or exposing for sale, or hire, the article; cdasia
b. Distributing the article for purpose of trade, or for any other purpose to an extent that will prejudice the rights of the copyright owner in the work; or
c. Trade exhibit of the article in public, shall be guilty of an offense and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment and fine as above mentioned. (Sec. 29, P.D. No. 49a)
Prosecuted Suspects and companies
Prosecuted suspects and companies according to PAPT.Org
Geo Engineering Corporation - Unlicensed Microsoft and Autodesk Software
Effects of Software Piracy to the IT Industry
Growth of the IT industry is at halt
Unemployment
Lower tax revenues
Lower profit from IT products
“Software piracy rate in the Philippines remained at 71% in 2005. However, losses to the industry went up from US$69 million to US$76 million (Php 3.9 billion) last year. These are among the findings of an annual global personal computers (PC) software piracy study released today by the Business Software Alliance (BSA), the international association of the world’s leading software developers.” (http://w3.bsa.org/philippines/press/newsreleases/2006-Global-Piracy-Study.cfm)
According to Janet Anderson MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Intellectual Property Protection. "Piracy stifles innovation and creativity and clearly has a significant impact on employment, economic growth and public spending."
Known Groups/Organizations against Software Piracy
BSA – Business Software Alliance
An organization that aims to promote the use of legal software.
PAPT – Pilipinas Anti Piracy Team
A unified force of PNP, OMB, NBI and BSA to reduce software piracy in the philippines and effectively implement the Anti-Piracy Law
OMB – Optical Media Board
Previously known as the Videogram Regulatory Board, the Optical Media Board is a Government group that watches over the production of Optical Media.
Sources :
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_software_piracy
http://www.papt.org.ph/uploads/file/RA8293%20IP%20Code.pdf
Computers as Household Appliance
The Beginning
The IBM PC uses an INTEL 4.7Mhz 8088 Processor with 16k of RAM. The IBM PC also has an operating system, the PC DOS, an operating system by Microsoft.
Introduction of the Graphical User Interface
Comparing this computer to the Apple Macintosh, this computer is way ahead. For me, I consider this the Core2 Duo of the 1900s.
After the introduction of a colored computer in the 1980's, different computer companies started to design and develop the computers. One of the most significant development was “The IBM PC”, it introduction helped legitimize the PC revolution.
The IBM PC uses an INTEL 4.7Mhz 8088 Processor with 16k of RAM. The IBM PC also has an operating system, the PC DOS, an operating system by Microsoft.
People criticized why IBM used the Intel 8088 processor, instead of other better processors like the Motorola 68000. The reason why they used the Intel 8088 processor is because if they use a Motorola 68000 processor, the IBM PC will be expensive.
The IBM PC was based on open architecture so that it can be developed in the future. Plus using that open design, it dominated the computer industry.
Introduction of the Graphical User Interface
After the introduction of the IBM PC, a company named, XEROX introduced the Graphical User Interface which includes the mouse, buttons, menus and of course the icons. Although people began to recognize the capability computers, the introduction of XEROX was a failure because of the price.
Operating system with GUI
After many years, the Apple Macintosh Computer was introduced. The Macintosh has a Motorola 68000 Macintosh Operating System that contains the cool GUI, the one button mouse, the MacPaint, and the MacWrite.
The Macintosh computer developed more interest and excitement to the people because of WYSIWYG feature of the computer. The Apple Macintosh has changed the way people used computers before.
After the introduction of the Macintosh, another development took place. A computer called the Amiga, introduced people to computer multimedia.
The Amiga has a multi-tasking operating system. Amiga can display 640x400 screen resolution with 4096 colors. Same as the Macintosh, it uses a Motorolla 68000 proccessor but with a maximum of 8mb RAM. It can create graphics, sound and also video.
Comparing this computer to the Apple Macintosh, this computer is way ahead. For me, I consider this the Core2 Duo of the 1900s.
Computers as Household Appliance
After these developments, processors and memory capacity also began to evolve because of the demand for speed and resource, 3d graphics was also introduced and the birth of the C programming language followed, the programming language of the computer industry which led to many developments.
In the 1900's, after the continuing evolution of the computer industry, people began to realize the power of computers. With this much power, people began to use computers for entertainment, business, graphics, desktop publishing, etc...
As time goes by, computers became more affordable for everyone. This attrated more people to bring a computer at home. People begin to discover that they can make a computer do a specific work. In short, they are starting to see computers as a solution or possibly a household appliance.
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