Over the year’s computerized devices have become a commodity that is in high demand. All around America, there are countless number of people with internet excess. Devices that allow internet excess ranges from desktop computers, laptops, hand held tablets, smartphones, and the latest item introduced to market, smart-wrist watches. These trends, which we expect to accelerate in the coming years, create emergent threats to the people’s possessions, well-being, and privacy. (Denning, kohno, & Levy, 2013 para.1). Most computerize devices require some level of security to protect sensitive information that can lead to identity thief. Users of these devices should remind themselves when on an electronic interconnected device; “It’s so easy to reveal all because it’s so easy to self-publish these days,” says Denise Terry, marketing director of Safety-Web and MyID.com for Safety-Web, Inc., which is now …show more content…
(Wind River Systems, Inc., 2015 para. It starts in the OS). Computers can be generally classified by size and capabilities as follows, Personal computer; small, singer-user computer. Desktop model: computer designed to fit comfortably on top of a desk. Notebook computer: extremely lightweight personal computer. Laptop computer: small portable. (https://.cs.cmu.edu/~fgandon/lecture/uk1999/computers_types). To secure the different devices, the security software need to match the capabilities of the hardware of the device it will be installed on. The first safety precautions that a user can take is to secure access to their computer. If you want to keep people from using applications of your personal computer or have information that you wish to keep secure, then security measures should be taken.
Each day, billions of people worldwide depend on the security of digital systems. From medical history and test results at a hospital, to financial information and account statements at a bank, or social connections and personal messages on a smart phone, nearly every facet of a person’s life has some component of personal data associated with it that is stored on a computer. Furthermore, new forms of personal data to collect are being identified, gathered, analyzed, and stored all the time. This growth in the collection of personal data is so immense that the amount of digital data in existence approximately doubles every two years, and large companies are responsible for creating about 80% of this data increase (Gantz & Reinsel, 2011).
Privacy is becoming rare as our society continues to become more industrialized and move towards a society hyper-focused on technology. Nicholas Carr explains this obsession with technology in his essay “Tracking Is an Assault on Liberty.” He identifies three dangers that are present in today’s internet society that are: personal data can fall into the wrong hands easily, personal information may be used to influence our behavior, and personal privacy is eroding and may lead us as a society to devalue the concept of privacy. These dangers are not only possible but they are seen in our world today.
Americans pride themselves on living private lives. They appreciate the fact that they live without being under the watchful eye of someone. However, increased electronic technology has made it harder to live privately. There are privacy issues regarding Internet Service Providers (ISP), electronic correspondences, and telephone calls. More directly with the creation and increased popularity of the Internet, people who use the World Wide Web are undoubtedly concerned with their private information being leaked. The technology allows people to track your Internet activities, steal your credit card information and “hack” into your e-mail accounts. With this increase in technology comes an increase in the level of concern.
The personal connection Americans have with their phones, tablets, and computers; and the rising popularity of online shopping and social websites due to the massive influence the social media has on Americans, it is clear why this generation is called the Information Age, also known as Digital Age. With the Internet being a huge part of our lives, more and more personal data is being made available, because of our ever-increasing dependence and use of the Internet on our phones, tablets, and computers. Some corporations such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook; governments, and other third parties have been tracking our internet use and acquiring data in order to provide personalized services and advertisements for consumers. Many American such as Nicholas Carr who wrote the article “Tracking Is an Assault on Liberty, With Real Dangers,” Anil Dagar who wrote the article “Internet, Economy and Privacy,” and Grace Nasri who wrote the article “Why Consumers are Increasingly Willing to Trade Data for Personalization,” believe that the continuing loss of personal privacy may lead us as a society to devalue the concept of privacy and see privacy as outdated and unimportant. Privacy is dead and corporations, governments, and third parties murdered it for their personal gain not for the interest of the public as they claim. There are more disadvantages than advantages on letting corporations, governments, and third parties track and acquire data to personalized services and advertisements for us.
As Debatin, Lovejoy, Horn, and Hughes (n.d.) argue, the biggest privacy issue associated with new media is the unintentional public showcasing of private information. This can lead to a damaged reputation, stalking, misuse of this information, hacking and identity theft (Debatin et al., n.d.). This is a serious issue, with about 18% of people admitting to suffering from either of these negatives, in a survey conducted on this issue for the specific case of Facebook (Debatin et al., n.d.).
Computers, cell phones and other devices affect and threaten privacy in ways that cannot be controlled. According to Jeffrey Rosen, “as reading, writing, health care, shopping, sex and gossip increasingly take place in cyberspace, it is suddenly dawning on us that the most intimate details of our lives are being monitored, searched, recorded and stored.” Internet “cookies” are electronic footprints allowing websites to access some of our personal information as well as watch and monitor our online movements, such as other websites we have accessed, by the search terms we enter, and articles we read (Rosen). The vast expansion of the internet is the result of the monitoring of private life and information. Much of this information is being exposed to colleagues, friends, and even complete strangers (Rosen). Different forms of technology include security cameras, hidden cameras, microphones and other listening devices to monitor different situations and hear into private communications. This is a clear violation of one’s privacy. Three main characteristics of technology are amplification, routinization and sublimation. “Amplification refers to the ability of technology to extend the ability to gather private information, routinization is the actual process of making intrusion into private life and sublimation is the means by which a technique for privacy invasion becomes increasingly difficult to detect” (Rotenberg). Not too long ago, actress, Jennifer Lawrence’s leaked photos were all over the internet. Although these photos were scandalous, her privacy was threatened by an unwanted stranger hacking into her iPhone’s “iCloud” account and leaked these nude photos. Celebrity’s lives are also affected by paparazzi who every day, follow these celebrities and take photos and leak them. From a recent interview about the paparazzi harassing her, she exclaimed; “I knew the paparazzi
Internet privacy has been a major issue for its users in the last decade. It is bigger than ever before, as more people join social media cites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. These companies, keeping track of our personal data, have a responsibility to make sure our information remains private. Precautions Internet users take to protect their information from being used wrongfully, the government’s connection to this issue, and how the future generation responds to these practices. Consumers’ privacy refers to ability to control when, how, and to what extent the personal information is to be transmitted to others.
Holtzman, D. Privacy Lost: How Technology is Endangering your Privacy. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2006. Print.
Identity theft is a term used for describing criminal that uses individual’s identity without consent. A common crime of identity theft would be identity fraud. Many of the crimes are regularly connected with money-related issues (Reyns, 2013). With technology being commonly used nowadays we are getting more dependent on it for business, financial, medical, and other forms. As a result this became a target for identity thieves as well. The Internet provides us information and accessibility, but information being stored on the Internet eas...
Richmond, Riva. "12 Ways Technology Threatens Your Privacy (and How to Protect Yourself)." Switched. N.p., 14 May 2009. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. .
In the early years of computers and computerized technology, computer engineers had to believe that their contribution to the development of computer technology would produce positive impacts on the people that would use it. During the infancy of computer technology, ethical issues concerning computer technology were almost nonexistent because computers back then were not as multifaceted as they are today. However, ethical issues relating to computer technology and cyber technology is undeniable in today’s society. Computer technology plays a crucial role in all aspects of our daily lives. Different forms of computer technology provide unique functionalities that allow people to perform daily activities effectively and efficiently. In modern society, we use computer and cyber technology to communicate with friends and family via social networking sites, participate in business transactions, and get current news. Different tasks require unique technological feature in computer technology to function properly. Although, unique technological features increase people’s proficiency in accomplishing various tasks, unique technological features in computer and cyber technology increase security vulnerabilities. In many cases, the security vulnerabilities in computer technology are exploited by cybercriminals to invade people’s privacy, and steal people’s identity. We know that computers have no moral compass; they cannot make moral decisions for themselves. Essentially, people make moral decisions that affect others positively or negatively depending on how they use computer technology. Some of the biggest ethical issues facing people in the computing environment include privacy concerns on the web and identity theft. Privacy concerns...
The Internet is a connection of computers across the world through a network. Its origin dates back to the 1960s when the U.S Military used it for research, but it became more available to the public from the late 1980s. The World Wide Web was created in 1989 and browsers began appearing in the early 1990s. Over the last 24 years, the Internet has enabled people to shop, play, do research, communicate and conduct business online. It has also become cheaper and faster in performing different tasks. As much as the Internet has done immeasurable good to society, it has also dominated people’s lives and brought with it an array of cybercrimes. According to Nicholas Carr in his book The Shallows: How the Internet is Changing the Way we Think, Read and Remember (Carr, 2010). He debates on whether the Internet has done more harm than good. People use the Internet daily to exchange accurate information and constantly personal data such as credit cards, passwords and Social Security numbers are travelling through the network from one computer to another. With security measures put in place on the Internet, personal information remains confidential. But unfortunately, criminals have adapted to innovations in technology, and today, more people are increasingly becoming victims of cybercrime. The Internet has had profound effects on the public, both positive and negative. In this paper we will examine how access to personal information has led to an increase in online and offline crimes. The essay will particularly focus on ecommerce and hacking.
Many individuals use the Internet strictly for work, information and entertainment.They do not engage in online criminal activity nor do they readily provide personal information. Cautious about what they do supply, individuals seek security by enabling passwords and secret answers. The Internet may even appear to be safe even though there is little regulation and no legal boundaries. Unfortunately, identity theft on the Internet is simple, straightforward and the victim is generally completely unaware and oblivious to the...
The late 20th century has successfully witnessed the boom of sophisticated technology, which gave birth to a wide range of technological outcomes, including computer technology. Computer technology, that is a skill to manage information, communicate and a kind of entertainment media, has become an important part in modern life at work, in recreation and social networking. Whether computer technology is better or not is a complicated issue. There are different arguments that need to be examined. Most people support that computer technology is better for individual lifestyles. It improves quality of working and study, provides a wide range of entertainment and is a wonderful tool of communication. On the other hand, others believe that computer
The era of computers and technology has begun. Without computers in this day in age something’s would not even be possible. Although, technology has advanced our uses in society and race as a whole everyday life it also has created many issues. One of the biggest issues is system privacy. There are many things that threaten our safety online. For instance, have you ever sat down in your favorite café, or bookstore and surfed the web. Many of us have, but not all of us know the threat of something so innocent can be if your information gets in the wrong hands while out in public.