The CyberSavvy Teacher WebQuest
Section 4: Danger Zone
What to avoid on the Internet: There are many dangers and "irritations" on the Internet. Educators must be aware of these dangers in order to keep students safe and create a learning environment. The Internet is a vast source of information but many of the dangers lurking in cyberspace are tricky to establish. |
Advertisements
Advertisements are a necessary evil for many sites. Educators should train students to ignore ads and focus on the site content to avoid getting off track by flashy ads that promise "free" stuff or "win" something or "register" here, etc. |
Adware and Spyware
Short for advertising-supported software, adware is a software application in which advertising is displayed while the programme is running. This may take the form of pop-ups or banners which appear on the computer monitor. Advertisers pay for the service and help to recover some of the costs of software development, thus keeping the price low or even free, while the programmer still makes a profit. Adware may run on a computer without the users knowledge, having been included in shareware or freeware downloaded from the Internet. Most adware affects the various Windows operating systems and may be noticeable by the presence of more pop-ups on the web browser and a possible reduction in computer performance. |
Viruses
A virus is a program with the ability to reproduce and spread rapidly. It is often difficult to eliminate. A virus infiltrates a file and is spread as that file is copied and forwarded to other computers. At the very least a virus can cause problems by taking up storage capacity and memory and slowing general computer performance. However some viruses can destroy files, reformat hard drives or cause other damage. At one time viruses were spread mainly through the interchange of floppy disks but the Internet now provides a much better and quicker distribution system. Viruses attached to e-mail can spread a virus like wildfire and cost many millions in lost data, lost productivity and high fees for re-establishing crashed computer systems. |
Malware
This is a general term meaning malicious software such as viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware, adware, etc. |
Worms
Worms differ from viruses in that they don't reproduce by infiltrating files but by infiltrating systems. For example, a network worm spreads by reproducing itself throughout a network system. An Internet worm sends copies of itself through the Internet system via poorly protected computers. An e-mail worm sends copies of itself via the e-mail system. |
Trojans
The name is derived from the Trojan Horse of Helen of Troy fame. It is a particular type of malware used to infiltrate a computer without the user's knowledge. Trojans may install a so-called “keystroke logger”, which can record all the keystrokes entered on a computer keyboard. This provides information on all computer activity including passwords used. This information is then passed on to fraudsters via the Internet. A typical method used is to send out random e-mails which appear genuine, encouraging computer users to click on a link from the e-mail to enter a malicious website, which in turn exploits a web browsers vulnerability to install a Trojan. |
Virus hoaxes
Normally spread through e-mails, a virus hoax is usually a false warning of a non-existent computer virus. Before reacting to any virus warning, even ones that appear genuine, check with one of the online anti-virus program providers who list hoaxes and real viruses. |
Phishing Scams
Phishing is the practice whereby fraudsters acting as legitimate organisations such as banks, online payment services etc., send misleading e-mails requesting personal and financial details from unsuspecting recipients. In other words – fishing for information useful to the fraudster in order to transfer money into the fraudster's account or make online purchases on someone else's account. Typically, a message requests the recipient to "update" or "validate" his account information by clicking on a link with the threat that failure to do may lead to suspension of the user's account, etc. To avoid having his account suspended, the user follows the e-mail instructions and the trap is sprung. The link to which the unsuspecting victims are directed opens a “copycat” website of the institution named in the e-mail and looks official. Thousands of such e-mails are sent out in the hope of catching out a few of the unwary. The information “phished” for includes numbers for bank accounts, credit cards, security codes, social security and phone numbers, login names and passwords and names and addresses. |
Spam
In general spam can be defined as any unsolicited e-mail, usually in the form of advertising for a product or service. Spam wastes an enormous amount of people's time. Even though you may think an e-mail is spam, you often have to read the first sentence to be sure before deleting it. If you get dozens a day, the time wasted rapidly mounts up. Unfortunately there seem to enough people falling for the offers to make sending spam worthwhile. In addition to lost time, spam also uses up considerable bandwidth on the Internet. Despite bans, because the Internet is public it's almost impossible to prevent spam. There are organizations which try to fight spam using various techniques, and filters are available which recognize some spam algorithmically, for example by the subject line or sender. But spammers know all the tricks and are often ahead of the game. The worst thing you can do is click on the button saying you don't want it, or send an e-mail complaint back. Then they, whoever “they” are, know that their spam is reaching you. And you will get more… |
Chat Rooms
Although many people don't think chat rooms are dangerous, adults can protect themselves and make better decisions when in the chat room environment. Chat rooms can be an open invitation for predators to prey on the innocent. Students may not realize this danger. It is recommended that this type of activity not be allowed in the classroom or school. It would, however, be good to discuss chat rooms with students due to the fact that they are so popular with children and teens. A good site for guidelines in using chat is: http://www.chatdanger.com |
Illegal Downloads
The Internet has caused illegal downloads to grow in alarming numbers. The really sad thing is that most people don't think there is anything wrong with it. The risk is minimal. It's shoplifting without the consequences. A new national survey conducted for the Business Software Alliance found that two thirds of 1,062 college and university students said they have no ethical reservations about illegally downloading digital copyrighted files from the Internet for free -- or swapping them electronically with other people. The survey indicates that "52 percent of the college-age respondents believe it is permissible to pursue such downloading of software, music and movies at school or at the workplace."
As educators, it is our duty to exemplify good computer ethics. It is part of the course of study objectives that we are supposed to be teaching. Consequently, the best example we can use is our own high standards when dealing with computer ethics and legal issues. |
Inappropriate Material (an excerpt from The National Academies summary on youth and inappropriate material)
"The Internet is both a source of promise for our children and a source of concern. While only a small fraction of material on the Internet could reasonably be classified as inappropriate for children, that small fraction is highly visible and controversial. If the full educational potential of the Internet for children is to be realized, such concerns must be reasonably addressed. The Internet has characteristics that make it hard for adults to exercise responsible supervision over children’s use of it. In particular, inappropriate material can appear without being actively sought, and this material on the Internet is arguably more extreme than in other media. The Internet also enables many strangers to establish contact with children. The anonymity and interaction-at-a-distance of using the Internet prevent a child from using rules they are taught about contact with strangers to help judge another's intent. Inappropriate material can be identified by: the appropriateness of content, a tag or label associated with the material, or the source of the material. It is humanly impossible to identify all inappropriate material. Even computer-generated rules (filtering programs) make it difficult to locate and block every piece of inappropriate material.
Whether protection is based on law, technology, or education, it generally involves some combination of the following concepts: restricting a minor to appropriate material; blocking inappropriate material; warning a minor of impending exposure to inappropriate material or suggesting appropriate material; deterring the access of minors to inappropriate material; educating a minor about reasons not to access inappropriate material; reducing the accessibility of inappropriate material; reducing the appeal of deliberate contact with inappropriate material; and helping a minor to cope with the exposure to inappropriate material." |
Assignments:
- To find out more about any of the above topics, search Google.
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