Computer Crimes and Health & Safety Objectives: Gain an overview of Computer Crime and Health & Safety issues so that you can write about them in your project

Computer Crimes Hacking Theft of computer time Theft of software and data Software Piracy Viruses

Hacking Unauthorised access to a computer and.or data Why Hack?  Just to prove that they can  Industrial Espionage  Attempt to destroy business/data  Blackmail  Grudge

Preventing Hacking Secure Passwords  Letters & Numbers  Not real words  Biometrics Regular password changes Access Rights Firewall

Theft of computer time Employees using computers for personal business  NRA/CV  Personal Letters/  Run another business  Games Costs money  System resources  Lost Productivity

Computer Crime COPYRIGHT

Theft of Software and Data Bespoke software is valuable to a business  May give a commercial advantage  Has value to competitors Same is true of data  Ingredients for new chocolate bar  Plans for new car Difficult to prevent theft (usually done by own staff)  Access Rights  Passwords  Escort sacked / redundant employees from building

Software Piracy Software companies do not sell software – they sell a licence to use the software  Single User  Concurrent Users  Network Stations  Site Licence Some licences will allow employees to have a copy of the software at home – most do not.

Software Piracy Employees can be stopped from stealing software by:  Prevent Access to original media  Prevent access to Floppy/Optical disk drives  Dongles Bigger problem – large scale software pirates  Action taken at Governmental level and by specialist organisations.

What is software Piracy? The use of Software without a valid licence Unauthorised copying of Diskettes or CDs Running pirated software Transmitting unauthorised software over a telecommunications line.

How come this is illegal? When you buy software you do not own it you only have the right to use the program by having a licence Computer software is now covered by the Copyright Designs and Patents act of 1989

Why is it a problem? Software companies do not get the profit they would get if every user bought a legitimate licence. This can discourage future development.

How are software companies trying to stop copyright fraud? Registration numbers before installing the product “copy protection” on CDs or disks that makes it difficult to copy them “dongles” (a piece of hardware that must be plugged into the back of the computer for the program to run)

How are software companies trying to stop copyright fraud? Businesses, schools etc. can be inspected to ensure they have sufficient licences for their software. On some games you have to enter a word from the manual each time you play.

A "single user licence" allows you to run the software on one computer A "network licence" allows you to run the software on a specified number of machines A "site licence" allows you to run the software anywhere on the site Licences

The penalty Software piracy is a criminal offence you can be given an unlimited fine or sent to prison for 2 years! Large companies can be fined greater amounts - depending on the scale of their business.

Large companies do commit software piracy! Apple sued Microsoft because they claimed that Microsoft copied the "look and feel" of their operating system, however they were unsuccessful. Other companies steal chunks of code from one program to use in their own programs. Developers now insert hidden "fingerprints" into the code so they can see if they turn up in a competitors product.

Computer Crime Viruses

A virus is a program that affects computers and the software running on them.  Attaches itself to a program or file  Can cause damage & destroy essential files.  Can spread through an whole network

Viruses A virus can be:  Destructive  Annoying A virus may trigger immediately or not until a trigger date (e.g. Friday 13 th ) Often infected files will have to be deleted – non-infected backups will be needed to restore the system

Other virus type programs Trojan Horse  Runs in the background and is designed to collect passwords & ID’s Bombs  Program that will cause damage when triggered  E.g. could be triggered if an employee is sacked to destroy important file or to hide fraud

Preventing Viruses Always run anti virus software Make sure the virus definition file is up to date. Do not open s or attachments from unknown senders. Always virus check floppy disks when you have been using them on a different machine. REGULARLY BACK UP YOUR WORK!!!

Health & Safety

Seating –  Use chairs with adjustable height and back-rest.  When seated correctly, the lower arms and thighs should be in a roughly horizontal position while working at the keyboard.

Health & Safety Workstation – A fixed height between mm is required (720mm is recommended). A desktop depth of mm is required to give the user sufficient distance from the screen while working.

Health & Safety Lighting –  Windows should be fitted with non- reflective blinds.  Positioning the screen away from light reflection and glare.  The optimum position is at right angles to the source of natural light.

Health & Safety Screens –  Screens must be fitted with tilt and swivel stands.  Sufficient room is needed for the screen to be moved back and forward.  The top of the screen should be at eye level.

Health & Safety Power supply –  Leads should preferably be in trunking above the height of the worktops or be safely tied.  An adequate number of supply sockets should be provided to eliminate the need for trailing wires.  Mains plugs and leads must be checked for safety once a year.

Health & Safety Fire precautions –  A fire extinguisher suitable for electrical fires (such as carbon dioxide) must be provided in all computer rooms.  The location of the nearest fire exit must be notified near the door in each room

Health & Safety Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)  Caused by repetitive finger movements over very long periods of time.  It can become quite serious for people employed solely as keyboard operators.  In order to reduce muscle fatigue and strain, users should be encouraged to get up and move around at reasonably frequent intervals

Health & Safety Eye Strain –  To reduce eyestrain, look away from the screen and focus on a distant object from time to time - this will relax their eye muscles.  Take regular breaks – This also helps to combat STRESS…

Health & Safety Food & Drink  It is not a good idea to eat and drink at your computer.  Spilling a drink over the computer or keyboard won’t just break the machine, the resulting electric shock could kill you!