While you are logging off ICT you are sometimes likely to get problems, if in this matter you should either try and solve the problem by reading the notice that the computer is telling you and do that or ask politely to your teacher for help. However you should not do anything that you don’t understand, as this may cause more problems.
2.1 Copyright of data
Data paid for or collected by one organisation may be a value to another organisation and it’s for this reason that data may also be copyrighted. An example might be a database containing the names, addresses and telephone numbers of all private and business premises in the country.
2.2 Copyright, computer misuse and data protection acts
Copyright
Copyright ensures that law against other people copying their material protects the creators of either a software package or database. If work is prepared in an organisation’s time, copyright to any new software or data prepared belongs to that organisation. It is also illegal to copy data or software without the owners authorisation.
Computer Misuse Act 1990
With the increasing use of computers and communications systems, problems started to arise concerning their misuse. The problems centred on a variety of uses that were not covered by existing laws. Several cases went to court but the courts were unable to convict. One particular case involved a schoolboy who used his computer and a modem at home to hack into that Duke of Edinburgh’s electronic mailbox and read his correspondence. Other schoolboy hackers were able to get access to the computer system of stockbrokers, hospitals, oil companies and even the Atomic Energy Authority. The kinds of situations, and advised parliament that it would need to make new specific laws. This gave rise to the Computer Misuse Act 1990.
The Computer Misuse Act 1990 covers a variety of misuses. These include:
- Deliberately planting viruses into a computer system to cause damage to program files and data;
- Using computer time to carry out unauthorised work, for instance using a firm’s computer to run a friends payroll;
- Copying computer programs illegally (i.e. software privacy);
- Hacking into someone’s system with a view to seeing the information or altering it;
- Using the computer for various frauds, for example putting fictitious employees on the payroll program and using false bank accounts opened in their names to steal money.
The maximum penalty for unauthorised access to a computer system is six months imprisonment and a £2000 fine. For the other offences there is a maximum of five years imprisonment and an unlimited fine.
Data Protection Act 1984
The Data Protection Act was made in 1984 and applies only to the processing of data by computer; other acts cover manual, paper-based systems. (Processing is the collection, storing and distribution of information.) The Data Protection Act applies only to personal data about living individuals.
The act places obligations on those people who record and use personal data, and these people are called ‘data users’. Data users must be open about the use of the data by telling the Data Protection Registrar (i.e. the person who enforces the act) that they are collecting personal data and how they intended to use it. They must also follow a set of eight principles, called the data protection principles.
The data protection principles
- The information to be contained in personal data shall be obtained, and personal data should be processed, fairly and lawfully.
- Personal data shall be held only for one or more specific and lawful purposes.
- Personal data held for any purpose or purposes shall not be disclosed in any matter incompatible with that purpose or purposes.
- Personal data held for any purpose or purposes shall be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to that purpose or those purposes.
- Personal data shall be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date.
- Personal data held for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or purposes.
- An individual shall be entitled:
- At reasonable intervals and without undue delay or expenses
(i) To be informed by any data users whether he holds personal data to which that individual is the subject
(ii) To have access to any such data held by a data user; and
- Where appropriate, to have such data corrected or erased.
- Appropriate security measures shall be taken against unauthorised access to, or alteration, disclosure or destruction of, personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of personal data.
2.3 Why protect data?
There are several reasons why data, which refers to individuals or organisations, should be kept private. Unfortunately, there are people who would like to get hold of this data, usually for commercial or political gain. The reasons why data should be protected are described below:
2.4 Confidentiality
It is important that business transactions and decisions are kept private since disclosure to another company could result in loss of business or money. Although some companies pass on clients’ information, they usually ask the client to say if they do not want the information passed to a third party. There is a law concerning the privacy of information called the Data Protection Act. This act applies only to data held on computers about living individuals.
Passwords
Passwords are used to prevent unauthorised access to documents held as computer files and these passwords should be changed on a regular basis.
Non-disclosure
Although passwords prevent unauthorised access, some staff may still need to access confidential data and may pass on the information they have seen. The only real way of reducing the risk is make staff aware of the consequences of such action. Most organisations put non-disclosure agreements in their staff contracts of employment, which prevent staff from disclosing any information gained in the course of their employment to any outside organisations.
2.5 Legal & Moral aspects of data being held by companies and organisations. Rights of the individual.
Legal reasons
Under the Data Protection Act 1984, individuals are given rights to access the data held about them on the computer systems. If this data has been passed on another person and as a result the individual incurs some damage, then they are able to claim compensation through the courts.
Moral reasons
As people become more dependent on computer systems, the designers, makers and operators of these systems have a moral responsibility to make sure that computers are used properly. For example, they must make sure that the data stored or passing along communication lines is secure.
Data being held by companies and organisations
Organisations need to hold data in order to operate and only a small amount of the data held would be classed as personal data. The data held by organisations could be placed in the following categories:
Commercial data
Commercial organisations hold data in order to trade and, hopefully, make a profit. Organisations can be divided into those that provide a service and those that sell a product.
Financial data
Organisations need to keep financial details relating to sales, purchases and general ledgers, cashbooks, cash flow predictions, payroll and final accounts. Again all these details need to be kept secure on the computer and there should be stringent security procedures in place to prevent anyone from tampering with them. Financial records are also required to ensure that the correct tax and VAT are paid.
Legal data
There is a variety of legal data held by most organisations, and again this information is often confidential. The sort of legal data held includes documents for the registration of the business if it is a limited company, contracts of employments of employees, contracts made between suppliers and purchasers, copies of all acts pertaining to the business and so on.
Rights of the individuals
A wide range of organisations, both private and public, holds personal information about each one of us. Personal information usually falls into one of these categories:
Criminals
- Details on all suspects, crimes and previously convicted criminals;
- Computerised records of all convicted criminals’ fingerprints;
- DNA profiles of all criminals;
- Criminal details on suspects who may be involved in organised crime.
Educational
- Medical information which may affect schooling;
- Details of exam results held by examining bodies;
- Personal details on school pupils held by the school information management systems (SIMS);
- References for jobs, further education and higher education colleges;
- Reports giving details of the performance of the students at the end of each term/year.
Medical
- GP records;
- Prescription details kept on a card by pharmacies such as boots;
- Hospital records (referral letters from GPs, appointments, treatment details etc);
- Medical information held by life insurance companies;
- Medical information held by solicitors dealing with compensation claims;
- Private health insurance details;
- Details about employees’ medical conditions kept by personnel departments.
Financial
- Mortgage details held by a bank or building society;
- Loans details kept by a finance company;
- Bank account or building society details;
- Pension details;
- Credit and debit card details.
Employment
- Personal details (name, address, illness, next of kin etc);
- References;
- Pension details;
- Payroll details;
- Tax details.
2.6 Backup, regular saving
Backup
Most word processors can automatically produce a back up files in additional to the original documents. They usually have a different file extension, so in Microsoft Word, for example, back up files have a .BK! Extension while the original documents has the .DOC extension.
Some word processors automatically create a temporary back up file while you are working thus allowing the last version of the document to be recovered in the event of a system crash.
It is important that you get in the habit of regular back up copies of your file and keeping the back up disk separate from the computer. It is better to keep a series of disks and rotate them as the back up copies for your most important files. The reason behind this is many viruses attack data and you don’t always know if your disk is infected, so any back up copy could also be infected. If your original disk and back up become infected, you could still have uncorrupted files on a second back up disk, although you may loose work done between the first and second back ups.
Regular savings
There is always a tendency, when working with computers, for people to save their work at the end just before printing. Regular saving at predetermined intervals is an essential security measure to avoid large amounts of work being loss due, for example to the power going off. Many programs have an ‘autosave’ facility, which saves work automatically, and the time period saves can be altered if necessary.
Regular file saving is essential because:
- Power surges cause ‘spikes’ in the main power which can result in work being corrupted;
- Power cuts cause work to be loss;
- Mistakes may be made which cannot be rectified easily: for example if you press a key accidentally and an action is performed that you do not know how to get out of, it may be easier simply to revert back to you back up copy;
- Someone may unplug your computer by accident.
3.1 Eyestrain
Most people who use computers have experienced eyestrain. It is caused by several factors, which include reflection from lights on the screen, concentration on the screens for long periods and shifting focus between the screen and paper. Both keeping focus on the screen and refocusing the eyes lead to eyestrain. The early symptoms of eyestrain are hazy vision, which usually followed by a headache. When this happens the person needs to rest and lie down if possible.
Preventing and relieving eyestrain
There are several ways of preventing strain and these include:
Giving your eyes a break
This means taking a break from the computer screen every so often. Experts recommend 15 minutes break every hour, during this break you should relax if possible.
Refocusing your eyes every so often
This should be done every 10 minutes and it involves looking away from the computer screen and focusing on a distant object.
Suitable lighting
Whilst you’re on the computer working you should make sure that the brightness of the light is reasonable.
Using a copy holder
It is advised that you use a copyholder because shifting your eyes from the computer to the paper nay cause eyestrain. The neck also needs to be rest back and not up and down.
3.2 Radiation
There are many scary stories about the dangers of electromagnetic radiation given out from the computer screens. Many other devices also give out this radiation and most of the research on it centred on radar installations and electricity power lines, which give out quite strong emissions.
3.3 Repetitive strain injury (RSI)
People who spend long hours keying in at a keyboard can develop a condition called repetitive strain injury (RSI). This condition is caused by the constant pounding that the joints in the fingers; hand and wrists take during this action. When the keys a typed hard a shock wave travels up through the various bones in the hand causing damage to the muscles.
3.4 Stress- physical/psychological
Physical stress
Physical stress is a general condition brought about by the body working in the wrong environment or trying to do a task for which it isn’t really designed. Physical stress causes direct damage to the body and the doctor can see the damage that has been done.
Psychological stress
Using inappropriately designed software causes psychological stress. Am example might be if you change over a word-processing package and are unable to do a task that before was quite simple. You feel frustrated because you are wasting time and this gets work if you are in a rush.
3.5 what are the laws that the government require employers to provide?
Because of the various health problems that can occur with incorrect computer use, the government has laid down certain laws, which require employers to provide the following:
Inspections
Employers should inspect their working place on a regular basis and if there is any faulty they should correct it. This also includes equipment such as chairs, tables, computer etc.
Training
All the employees should be trained about the health and safety aspects and be also warned about fire situations.
Job design
Each employee’s work design should be reasonably planned out so that they have regular breaks and move bouts.
Eye tests
For computer users there should be a fee provided for their eye test and glasses if necessary, this should be on the employer’s expense.
Display screens
Theses must be easy to read and well working, so that the employee does not have any problems whilst using the computer. The brightness of the computer should be also reasonable
Keyboards
These should be separate from the computer and should be spaced out freely so that there is space for armrest.
Desks
Desks must be large enough for everything to fit and not squashed together. They should be adjustable for comfort.
Chairs
Chairs must be adjustable and comfortable, and should be easy to move around. A footrest should be available at request.
Lights
To ensure that there is no reflection on the computer screens, it is advised to have blinds on windows.
Noise
This should not be load enough to disturb speeches.
Software
This should be easy to use, and should be appropriate to the users experience.
Heat, humidity and radiation
Heat and humidity should be kept to optimum levels while radiation emissions should be kept to a minimum.
3.6 Hazards in a work place fire, obstructions etc
Fire hazards
- Overloaded power sockets: never over load power sockets since this will cause fire.
- Large quantities of paper lying around: fire usually starts with paper, as for this paper should be thrown in the waste paper bin. There should also be a non-smoking sign. Paper stores should be separate from working areas.
Obstructions
- Training wires: if there are long wires they should be kept over walls of the room and not on the floor.
- Boxes of paper: boxes of paper or any other boxes can not only cause fire but can also prevent people from tripping therefore it is advised that they should be kept in a safe place away from the pathways.
3.7 Obligations of system users
As mentioned previously, the confidentiality of data must be ensured, and procedures need to be in place to do this.
3.8 system security- control of access and viruses
Control of access
Control of access can be divided into two categories these are logical and physical
Physical access controls usually involve improving the security around the computer systems. If the building is secure then the computer systems will be secure. This involves investigations of:
- Access to the building
- Automatic access control
- Access to computers
- Holding sensitive data only on removal able disks
- Locking computer when not in use
- Borrowing procedures
Logical access controls are used to prevent unauthorised access to data files and software. There are several logical access controls, including:
- Use of passwords
- Restricting the creation of user identities
- Use of encryption techniques
- Restricting access to the operating system
Viruses
A virus is a mischievous program whose purpose is to disrupt the use of computers. Many viruses do more than just display messages (usually insulting), on the screen, but some are designed to act after a certain period of time and do such things as make the characters start to drop off the screen or even erase the entire content.
Most people see viruses as trouble some but few would consider that you could be killed by one! This has not happened yet, but there was a life-threatening situation recently.
Most viruses, after detection can be removed without harming the data. The process of removing a virus from a disk is often referred to as disinfecting the disk.
This is a sheet to show how many problems I had during this assignment, and how I overcame the problem.
The following things helped me in this assignment these are as follows:
I found some information related to my work by going to various websites.
I got most of my information from this book. I got hold of this book from the library.
This is my own book brought from the shop. I found some pieces of work from this book.