MODULE 4: THE NETIQUETTE AND THE

COMPUTER ETHICS
Overview
The Netiquette and The Computer ethics discusses about the ethical issues in the field of computer.
May it be in online or practicing in professional.

Objectives
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
• Discuss the importance of being a responsible netizen by following the rules of common
courtesy online and the informal “rules of the road” of cyberspace.
• Discuss the difference between privacy and security.
• Explain various risks to internet privacy.

Lesson 1: Netiquette
What is Netiquette?

What is Netiquette? Simple stated, it’s network etiquette – that is the etiquette of cyberspace and
“etiquette” means the forms of required by good breeding or prescribed by authority to be required
in social or official life. In other words, netiquette is a set of rules for behaving properly online.

Netiquette, or network etiquette, is concerned with the "proper" way to communicate in an online
environment. Consider the following "rules," adapted from Virginia Shea's the Core Rules of
Netiquette, whenever you communicate in the virtual world.

When you use e-mail, instant messenger, video calls, or discussion boards to communicate with
others online, please be sure to follow the rules of professional online communications known as
netiquette. These rules will help you communicate with instructors, classmates, and potential
employers more effectively and will help prevent misunderstandings.

REMEMBER THE GOLDEN RULE – Even though you may be interacting with a
computer screen, you are communicating with a real person who will react to your message.
Make a good impression - treat others with the same respect that you would like to receive
and avoid confrontational or offensive language.

To help convey meaning when creating messages, it is sometimes acceptable to include

appropriate emoticon symbols, such as a smiley face :) However, for professional
communications these would be inappropriate.

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AVOID SLANG, ACRONYMS, AND TEXT TALK – Communicating effectively in college
and business environments requires the use of correct terminology, spelling, and grammar
that can easily be understood. For example, use “your” instead of “ur”.

AVOID “SCREAMING” IN TYPED MESSAGES – Typing an entire message using

all capital letters is known as “screaming”. It is distracting and generally frowned upon in
professional environments. It is better to draw emphasis to selected words or phrases by:
using italic or bold text; using a different color for text or background color; or denoting
emphasis using special characters (Example: **Important**).

PROOFREAD YOUR MESSAGES BEFORE SENDING THEM – Proofreading your

messages before you send them is a best practice for effective and efficient
communication. Strive to make your communications concise and free of any: • Spelling
and grammar errors
• Confusing terms or phrases that could be misunderstood
• Errors of omission, such as missing content or recipients
• Errors in accuracy of information

EXERCISE GOOD JUDGMENT WHEN SHARING INFORMATION WITH

OTHERS
ONLINE – E-mail and chat messages that you send or receive are considered private and
should not be forwarded or copied to others without gaining the consent of all involved
participants. In general, messages posted to discussion boards and social media sites can
be read by the public. You may never know who might read or share what you post. It is
a good practice to always ask a post’s author for permission before sharing a post with
other parties.

• To protect your privacy and safety, do not share online any sensitive personal
information such as:
- Your home address or phone number
- Personal conversations
- Social plans, such as vacations
- Financial information
- Usernames, passwords, or hints
- Anything personal that you would not want shared by others over the Internet

• If the material you share with others online came from another source, make every
effort to gain permission from the original author or copyright holder. Copying someone
else's work and passing it off as your own is plagiarism. It damages your reputation
and could subject you to serious academic and legal consequences.

RESPECT DIVERSITY IN VIEWPOINTS - Be constructive and respectful when

sharing opinions, beliefs, and criticisms, or responding to those of others in the
conversation.

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• When sharing a viewpoint that differs from someone else’s, it is a best practice to first
acknowledge the other person by briefly restating what he or she said, but in your own
words. This lets the person know that you are listening and trying to understand them.
• When presenting an opinion or criticism, it is helpful to use phrases that identify to
whose point of view you are referring. If the opinion is yours, you can begin with the
phrase “In my experience” or “In my opinion”. If it is a viewpoint of someone else, make
sure you identify that in your message (Example: “According to Eric Ericson,” or “The
president believes”).

Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics

a) Rule 1: Remember the Human When communicating electronically, whether through

email, instant message, discussion post, text, or some other method, practice the Golden
Rule: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. Remember, your written
words are read by real people, all deserving of respectful communication. Before you
press "send" or "submit," ask yourself, "Would I be okay with this if someone else had
written it?"

b) Rule 2: Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life While
it can be argued that standards of behavior may be different in the virtual world, they
certainly should not be lower. You should do your best to act within the laws and ethical
manners of society whenever you inhabit "cyberspace." Would you behave rudely to
someone face-toface? On most occasions, no. Neither should you behave this way in the
virtual world.

c) Rule 3: Know where you are in cyberspace "Netiquette varies from domain to domain."
(Shea, 1994) Depending on where you are in the virtual world, the same written
communication can be acceptable in one area, where it might be considered
inappropriateq in another. What you text to a friend may not be appropriate in an email to
a classmate or colleague. Can you think of another example?

d) Rule 4: Respect other people's time and bandwidth Electronic communication takes time:
time to read and time in which to respond. Most people today lead busy lives, just like you
do, and don't have time to read or respond to frivolous emails or discussion posts. As a
virtual world communicator, it is your responsibility to make sure that the time spent
reading your words isn't wasted. Make your written communication meaningful and to the
point, without extraneous text or superfluous graphics or attachments that may take
forever to download.

e) Rule 5: Make yourself look good online writing.colostate.edu One of the best things about
the virtual world is the lack of judgment associated with your physical appearance, sound
of your voice, or the clothes you wear (unless you post a video of yourself singing Karaoke
in a clown outfit.) You will, however, be judged by the quality of your writing, so keep the

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following tips in mind: Always check for spelling and grammar errors Know what you're
talking about and state it clearly Be pleasant and polite

f) Rule 6: Share expert knowledge The Internet offers its users many benefits; one is the
ease in which information can be shared or accessed and in fact, this "information sharing"
capability is one of the reasons the Internet was founded. So, in the spirit of the Internet's
"founding fathers," share what you know! When you post a question and receive intelligent
answers, share the results with others. Are you an expert at something? Post resources
and references about your subject matter. Recently expanded your knowledge about a
subject that might be of interest to others? Share that as well.

g) Rule 7: Help keep flame wars under control What is meant by "flaming" and "flame wars?"
"Flaming is what people do when they express a strongly held opinion without holding
back any emotion." (Shea, 1994). As an example, think of the kinds of passionate
comments you might read on a sports blog. While "flaming" is not necessarily forbidden in
virtual communication, "flame wars," when two or three people exchange angry posts
between one another, must be controlled or the camaraderie of the group could be
compromised. Don't feed the flames; extinguish them by guiding the discussion back to a
more productive direction.

h) Rule 8: Respect other people's privacy Depending on what you are reading in the virtual
world, be it an online class discussion forum, Facebook page, or an email, you may be
exposed to some private or personal information that needs to be handled with care.
Perhaps someone is sharing some medical news about a loved one or discussing a
situation at work. What do you think would happen if this information "got into the wrong
hands?" Embarrassment? Hurt feelings? Loss of a job? Just as you expect others to
respect your privacy, so should you respect the privacy of others. Be sure to err on the
side of caution when deciding to discuss or not to discuss virtual communication.

i) Rule 9: Don't abuse your power Just like in face-to-face situations, there are people in
cyberspace who have more "power" than others. They have more expertise in technology
or they have years of experience in a particular skill or subject matter. Maybe it's you who
possesses all of this knowledge and power! Just remember: knowing more than others do
or having more power than others may have does not give you the right to take advantage
of anyone. Think of Rule 1: Remember the human.

j) Rule 10: Be forgiving of other people's mistakes Not everyone has the same amount of
experience working in the virtual world. And not everyone knows the rules of netiquette.
At some point, you will see a stupid question, read an unnecessarily long response, or
encounter misspelled words; when this happens, practice kindness and forgiveness as
you would hope someone would do if you had committed the same offense. If it's a minor
"offense," you might want to let it slide. If you feel compelled to respond to a mistake, do
so in a private email rather than a public forum.

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Lesson 2: Cybercrimes
What is Cyber?
It is the Characteristics of the culture of computers, information, technology and virtual reality.

Cybercrime is defined as a crime in which a computer is the object of the crime (hacking,
phishing, spamming and child pornography) is used as a tool to commit an offense.

Cybercriminals may use computer technology to access personal information, business

trade secrets or use the internet for exploitative or malicious purposes.

Republic Act No. 10175 Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 is a law in the Philippines
approved on September 12,2012 which aims to address legal issues concerning online
interactions and internet.

Republic Act No. 10173 Data Privacy Act of 2012 is an act protecting individual personal
information.

COMMON FORMS OF CYBERCRIMES:

a. Copyright
The exclusive legal right, given to an originator or an assignee to print, publish, perform, film,
or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and to authorize others to do the same.

Copyright infringement is the violation, piracy or theft of a copyright holder's exclusive

rights through the unauthorized use of a copyrighted material or work.

b. Plagiarism
An act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author
without authorization.

c. Computer Addiction
• Offline: generally used when speaking about excessive gaming behavior, which can
be practiced both offline and online.

• Online: Also known as “Internet Addiction”, gets more attention in general from
scientific research than offline computer addiction, mainly because most cases of

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computer addiction are related to the excessive use of the Internet. *Virtual Self -The
persona you create about yourself virtually.

CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES

a. Hacking
• Unauthorized access of or interference with computer systems, servers, or other
information and communication systems
• Unauthorized access to corrupt, alter, steal, or destroy electronic data using computers
or other information and communication systems without the computer or system
owner’s knowledge and consent
• The introduction of computer viruses resulting in the corruption, alteration, theft, or loss
of such data
• Illegal Access
• Illegal Interception
• Data Interference
• System Interference
• Misuse of Devices
• Infection of IT Systems with Malware – if the act is committed against critical
infrastructure of the Philippines the, penalty is between 12-20 years reclusion
temporal
• Six years up to twelve years of imprisonment also known as prison mayor.

b. Computer-related forgery, fraud and/or identity theft

• An attempt to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit
card details and (indirectly money), often for malicious reasons.
• Phishing
• Pharming
• Spam
• Maximum of Php 200,000 fine or prison mayor

c. Electronic theft
• Illegal Downloading
• Obtaining files that you do not have the right to use from the internet.
• Digital Piracy
• Practice of illegally copying and selling digital music, video, computer software, etc.
• Copyright Infringement
• Penalty of Php 50,000 – 500, 000 and or prison mayor

d. Cyberbullying
• The use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending a message
of an intimidating or threatening nature.
• The Anti-Bullying Act of 2013 (RA 10627)

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e. Cybersex
• Willful engagement, maintenance, control, or operation, directly or indirectly of any
lascivious exhibition of sexual organs or sexual activity with the aid of a computer
system for favor or consideration.
• There is a discussion on this matter if it involves “couples” or “people in relationship”
who engage in cybersex.
• Penalty at least Php 200,000 and or prison mayor

f. Child Pornography
• Is a form of child sexual exploitation.
• Unlawful or prohibited acts defined and punishable by Republic Act No. 9775 or the
AntiChild Pornography Act of 2009, committed through a computer system.
• Penalty of 12-20 years of imprisonment or reclusion temporal

g. Cyber Defamation
• Is an unprivileged false statement of fact which tends to harm the reputation of a
person or company.
• Penalty of 6-12 years of imprisonment or prison mayor.

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Lesson 3: Internet Threats

Hacking
Hacking is a term used to describe actions taken by someone to gain
unauthorized access to a computer. The availability of information online on the
tools, techniques, and malware makes it easier for even non-technical people to
undertake malicious activities.
The process by which cyber criminals gain access to your computer.

What it can do:

• Find weaknesses (or pre-existing bugs) in your security settings and exploit them in order
to access your information.
• Install a Trojan horse, providing a back door for hackers to enter and search for your
information.

Malware
Malware is one of the more common ways to infiltrate or damage your computer.
Malicious software that infects your computer, such as computer viruses,
worms, Trojan horses, spyware, and adware.

What it can do:

• Intimidate you with scareware, which is usually a pop-up message that tells you your
computer has a security problem or other false information.
• Reformat the hard drive of your computer causing you to lose all your information.
• Alter or delete files.
• Steal sensitive information.
• Send emails on your behalf.
• Take control of your computer and all the software running on it.

Pharming
Pharming is a common type of online fraud.
A means to point you to a malicious and illegitimate website by redirecting the
legitimate URL. Even if the URL is entered correctly, it can still be redirected to
a fake website.

What it can do:

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• Convince you that the site is real and legitimate by spoofing or looking almost identical to
the actual site down to the smallest details. You may enter your personal information and
unknowingly give it to someone with malicious intent.

Phishing
Phishing is used most often by cyber criminals because it's easy to execute and
can produce the results they're looking for with very little effort.
Fake emails, text messages and websites created to look like they're from
authentic companies. They're sent by criminals to steal personal and financial
information from you. This is also known as “spoofing”.

What it does:
• Trick you into giving them information by asking you to update, validate or confirm your
account. It is often presented in a manner than seems official and intimidating, to
encourage you to take action.
• Provides cyber criminals with your username and passwords so that they can access your
accounts (your online bank account, shopping accounts, etc.) and steal your credit card
numbers.

Ransomware
Ransomware is a type of malware that restricts access to your computer or your
files and displays a message that demands payment in order for the restriction
to be removed. The two most common means of infection appear to be phishing
emails that contain malicious attachments and website pop-up advertisements.

What it can do:

• There are two common types of ransomware:
• Lockscreen ransomware: displays an image that prevents you from accessing your
computer
• Encryption ransomware: encrypts files on your system's hard drive and sometimes on
shared network drives, USB drives, external hard drives, and even some cloud storage
drives, preventing you from opening them
• Ransomware will display a notification stating that your computer or data have been
locked and demanding a payment be made for you to regain access. Sometimes the
notification states that authorities have detected illegal activity on your computer, and that
the payment is a fine to avoid prosecution.

What you can do:

• Do not pay the ransom. These threats are meant to scare and intimidate you, and they do
not come from a law enforcement agency. Even if you submit payment, there is no
guarantee that you will regain access to your system.
• If your computer has been infected (i.e. you are unable to access your computer or your
files have been encrypted), contact a reputable computer technician or specialist to find
out whether your computer can be repaired and your data retrieved.

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• In order to lessen the impact of a ransomware infection, be sure to regularly back-up your
data with a removable external storage drive. It's possible that your files might be
irretrievable; having an up-to-date backup could be invaluable.

Spam
Spam is one of the more common methods of both sending information out and
collecting it from unsuspecting people.
The mass distribution of unsolicited messages, advertising or pornography to
addresses which can be easily found on the Internet through things like social
networking sites, company websites and personal blogs.

What it can do:

• Annoy you with unwanted junk mail.
• Create a burden for communications service providers and businesses to filter electronic
messages.
• Phish for your information by tricking you into following links or entering details with too-
goodto-be-true offers and promotions.
• Provide a vehicle for malware, scams, fraud and threats to your privacy.

Spyware (Spyware & Adware)

Spyware and adware are often used by third parties to infiltrate your computer.
What it is:
Software that collects personal information about you without you knowing. They
often come in the form of a ‘free' download and are installed automatically with
or without your consent. These are difficult to remove and can infect your
computer
with viruses.

What it can do:

• Collect information about you without you knowing about it and give it to third parties.
• Send your usernames, passwords, surfing habits, list of applications you've downloaded,
settings, and even the version of your operating system to third parties.
• Change the way your computer runs without your knowledge.
• Take you to unwanted sites or inundate you with uncontrollable pop-up ads.

Trojan Horses
A Trojan horse may not be a term you're familiar with, but there's a good chance
you or someone you know has been affected by one.
A malicious program that is disguised as, or embedded within, legitimate
software. It is an executable file that will install itself and run automatically once
it's downloaded.

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What it can do:
• Delete your files.
• Use your computer to hack other computers.
• Watch you through your web cam.
• Log your keystrokes (such as a credit card number you entered in an online purchase).
• Record usernames, passwords and other personal information.

Viruses
Most people have heard of computer viruses, but not many know exactly what
they are or what they do.
Malicious computer programs that are often sent as an email attachment or a
download with the intent of infecting your computer, as well as the computers of
everyone in your contact list. Just visiting a site can start an automatic download
of
a virus.

What they can do:

• Send spam.
• Provide criminals with access to your computer and contact lists.
• Scan and find personal information like passwords on your computer.
• Hijack your web browser.
• Disable your security settings.
• Display unwanted ads.
• When a program is running, the virus attached to it could infiltrate your hard drive and also
spread to USB keys and external hard drives. Any attachment you create using this
program and send to someone else could also infect them with the virus.

How will you know if your computer is infected?

Here are a few things to check for:
• It takes longer than usual for your computer to start up, it restarts on its own or doesn't
start up at all.
• It takes a long time to launch a program.
• Files and data have disappeared.
• Your system and programs crash constantly.
• The homepage you set on your web browser is different (note that this could be caused
by Adware that has been installed on your computer).
• Web pages are slow to load.
• Your computer screen looks distorted.
• Programs are running without your control.
• If you suspect a problem, make sure your security software is up to date and run it to
check for infection. If nothing is found, or if you are unsure of what to do, seek technical
help.

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Wi-Fi Eavesdropping
WiFi eavesdropping is another method used by cyber criminals to capture
personal information.
Virtual “listening in” on information that's shared over an unsecure (not
encrypted) WiFi network.

What it can do:

• Potentially access your computer with the right equipment.
• Steal your personal information including logins and passwords.

Worms
Worms are a common threat to computers and the Internet as a whole.
A worm, unlike a virus, goes to work on its own without attaching itself to files or
programs. It lives in your computer memory, doesn't damage or alter the hard
drive and propagates by sending itself to other computers in a network – whether
within a company or the Internet itself.
What they can do:
• Spread to everyone in your contact list.
• Cause a tremendous amount of damage by shutting down parts of the Internet, wreaking
havoc on an internal network and costing companies’ enormous amounts of lost revenue.

References
• http://www.mccc.edu/~virtcoll/Netiquette
• http://ecampus.matc.edu/student_support/pdfs/7-essential-rules-of-netiquette.pdf
• https://www.getcybersafe.gc.ca/cnt/rsks/cmmn-thrts-eng.aspx

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