Проект на английском языке. Компьютеры -друзья или враги?

Contents.

 

Introduction……………………………………………………………………..3

1.1. Internet……………………………………………………………………..5

1.2. Virus………..

1.3. Internet Censorship…………

     1.4. Computer crime………….

    1.5. Multimedia and Graphics…………..

   1.6. Computer Games……………

  Conclusion………….

  Literarure…………

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Introduction.

The theme of my project is……… I’ve chosen this theme because……..

In our live computers play very big role, most of people nowadays can’t even imagine their life without them. And computers are the future whether we like it or not. Some people dislike computers, because of the complications it takes to understand the basics. Computers are not exactly the easiest tools to work with, but they are the most rewarding, and they are the future.

 

          Future cars will all be run by computer. You will be able to talk to a car and it will take you to your destination. Telephones are technically computerized. You will soon be able to talk to a person on the telephone as well as look at the person you are talking to on a television set. Also television is computerized. We will be able to watch television like we never have watched it before. We will be able to touch the characters, and feel the characters like they were in the room with you. There also will be an education system based on computer’s files, a person will connect to the main base and will download to his brain all the necessary information. It will be much more quickly and easy, and also you will be able to learn more information in short period than you are able now. And of course the «Virtual Reality» which will allow us to enter the world where you can’t die, and where you will be able to do whatever you want. For example in virtual reality you can play football just like in life, but without hits and injures. Just imagine, you stay at your room and see before you an enormous golf course.

        

          For people who don't know much about computers, you will be lost in the future.

You should learn what you can while you still have the chance, because things will develop too quickly for you and you will not be able to cope with new technological events. Computers will fall into careers and our everyday life more rapidly then you think.

 

          Firstly, computers have, over the years, been taking control of more and more of the dealings of human everyday life, and because of efficiency they have proven, it would be likely to assume that one major change of the computer industry from today until tomorrow will be control of more and more of our everyday life. However, with the computer industry only being around for a short period of time compared to the other industries of the world, we can still get a somewhat accurate idea of where the industry is heading based on the amount of change already incurred by the technology.

 

So what are these computers: useful machines which will take care of our life or they will takeover our planet and we won’t be able even to eat without them?

Lets see some sides of computer industry: internet, multimedia, computer games and programming. While discussing these questions we will probably discover the real meaning of computer using.   

 

                                                                                              

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.1. Internet.

                              

Though our society has not quite resulted to living in space, we have made life

easier with technology. Economic survival has become more dependent upon

information and communications bringing forth new technology of which was

never thought possible. Just a mere thirty years ago a computer occupied a whole room compared today’s palm sized computers, which are faster and perform more functions. Cellular phones, now light and compact, were bulky just ten years ago.

 The most incredible invention, the Internet, is bringing infinite amount of

information to your desktop. In the world of the Internet there exist a world blind to skin color and other physical appearances. The Internet while still young in age has grown rapidly, spreading to countries world wide and connecting 50 million users. With its popularity, it is incumbent upon our society to recognize how the Internet works and to be aware of its advantages as well as disadvantages. While seemingly high tech the Internet concept is rather simple. Computers speak to one another and send information. This is accomplished by sending and receiving electronic impulse, and then decoding them into a message. In order to communicate with one another they are linked up in a network. They are then able to access information from thousands of other computers. The network acts like one large computer storing information in various places, rather than in one physical structure. Users tap into the Internet to access or provide information. Internet technology allows one to surf the World Wide Web or send e-mail. The vision

of the Internet that would revolutionize the computer and communications

belonged to JCR Licklider of MIT. In August of 1962 he envisioned a globally interconnected set of computers which would allow everyone to quickly access data and programs. A government sponsored project at Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency started in October. The race for discovery of such technology raged between the Soviet Union and The United States of America. Both countries wanted control of the possibly powerful tool. Then in 1968,

The National Physical Laboratory in Great Britain set up the first test network,

 which prompted the Pentagon’s ARPA to fund a larger project in the USA.

However the race was not limited to just nations but also companies. In 1965,

working with Thomas Merrill, Lawrence G. Roberts created the first wide-area computer ever built. These experiments proved that computers could work together running programs and retrieving data as necessary on remote machines.

 Roberts put together his plan for ARPANET, published in 1966. At that time he learned of Donald Davies and Roger Scantlebury of NPL and Paul Baron and others at RAND. Research at MIT, RAND and NPL while parallel had no

knowledge of one another. In August of 1968 an RFQ, a refined model of

ARPANET was released for the development of one of the key components,

 the packet switches Interface Message Processors. Bolt Beranek and

Newman installed the first IMP at UCLA and the first host computer was

connected. By the end of 1969 four host computers were connected together

into the initial ARPANET and the Internet was off the ground. In 1977, electronic mail was introduced. As the Internet quickly grew, changes were necessary. The Internet’s decentralized structure made it easy to expand but its NCP did not have the ability to address networks further down stream than the destination IMP. Bob Kahn decided to develop a new version of the protocol which eventually became known as the Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). Compared to the NCP which acted as a device driver, the new protocol was more

like a communication protocol. In order to make it easier to use, Host were then assigned names, replacing numbers. A group of scientist then set out to show that a compact and simple implementation of TCP was possible. They succeeded, allowing it to run on desktop computers. Original uses of the Internet included government communications and a forum for scientist to share ideas and help one another in research. In the 1980’s the Internet grew beyond its primarily research roots to include a broad user community and increased commercial activity. In present day it has become a tool for conducting research and finding information, as well as communications with others. Electronic mail, amazingly popular, with chat rooms and discussion groups makes the Internet a popular place for meeting new people. Perhaps the largest shift is in the profile of Internet users. In the beginning users were scientist and government officials: those highly educated and well trained. However today’s 50 million users are all ages and from all backgrounds. Access to the Internet is no longer limited and can be found just about everywhere including schools, colleges, libraries, and at home. In 1992 the Internet had a growth of twenty percent every month.

A developer of the Internet said, "If the Internet stumbles, it will not be because we lack for technology, vision, or motivation. It will be because we cannot set a direction and march collectively into the future." Clearly the Internet has brought many conveniences. Businesses and students benefit from the technology as well as those who use the Internet for personal uses. Over 50 million people used the Internet in 1995 and by the year 2000 the number is predicted to be over 150 million. Fortune Magazine said, "The Internet is the biggest and earliest manifestation of the way business is going to be conducted from now on.

" Companies are embracing the Internet and those who do not will be left behind.

The Internet opens a wider audience to companies providing customers valuable information via mailing lists. Space on the Internet is inexpensive compared to paper, radio and television advertisements, therefore companies reach a broader community with little cost. Most web users are well educated Americans with professional or technical jobs with median annual salary of $69,000, making them a prime target group. Opening a storefront online gives the advantage of always being open. The Internet is a fair playing field for large and small companies alike. Computer networks track inventory and consumer demand resulting in increased profits. Remote video conferencing and Internet phones allow companies to conduct live chat sessions with clients around the world. Data bases are available for public or private uses. Companies can transfer files, bulletins or e-mail via the Internet, and it is all very affordable. Students as well as commerce is benefiting from the Internet. Students need more information than is offered by school libraries. The Internet gives students access to resources from around the world.

They are also more willing to sit and browse the Internet then to use the library. Information can be found, selected and retrieved faster on the Internet. Entire books can be transferred in minutes. Students find the Internet to be a viable educational tool which makes them aware of the globalism of the world rather than sheltered in the realm of the classroom. They have the option of writing to pen pals in other countries and getting to know other cultures. The Internet also serves as a preparation tool for the future. The world is moving towards electronics: in today’s market being competitive means knowing how to get information, and more and more, it is traveling by wires. The Internet allows children to get hands on experience, and helps them develop intellectual skills and problem solving. It allows children to research information that interest them. For example, a child interested in baseball can find information on the latest statistics and read about the history of the sport. By educating themselves it opens their minds to technology. The Internet is a popular place to socialize. Exchanging information with those far away take only seconds using the Internet. While postal mail can take days, electronic mail, or e-mail, takes seconds. Many companies offer e-mail services for free to those with access to computer with a modem.

Unlike phone system and postal system there are no charges for long distance

service or communication with foreign countries. E-mail and instant messages

can be used to send images and software. Internet technology has gone as far

as to allow people to make new friends without any physical contact. One way

to meet new people is to join an Internet discussion group. In such a group people with a common interest ask and receive advice and exchange information.

Another opportunity to meet new people is in Internet chat rooms. In such rooms one can speak freely to anyone as if they were at a party. America Online users refer to relations charter though the sever as "AOL luv". Those in discussion groups and chat rooms are not limited to just Americans but open to people all around the world. The Internet is a world wide tool filled with many cultures, and different people. In this world, race is not a factor since there is no physical contact. Everyone is equal and has the freedom to express oneself. It is an institution that resists institutionalization. It belongs to everyone and yet no one, everyone sort of pitches in and it evolves on its own. There are no censors, bosses, board of directors or stockholders. The Internet is unregulated and uncensored. However, the Internet being so free and uncensored presents many problems. Acknowledgment of children using the Internet has fueled a fight for regulation. Parents can not always monitor their children, therefore the Internet needs to be a safe place for the children. Children have access to the Internet in schools, libraries, and just about everywhere. In schools it is nearly impossible for a teacher to watch all the children, and in libraries it is not the librarian’s job to monitor them. Computers and the Internet are for everyone, including children,

thus it has become an immense problem. Access to pornography has been

one of the greatest concerns among parents. Surprisingly, pornography is easy

 to access and children will. Children are naturally curious and love to explore.

Minors are also targeted by advertisers. Just like on television advertisers try

to lure children in with pictures and web sites which include games and chat

rooms. However the biggest danger is not what they find on the Internet but

who they find. The information they access is not as dangerous as the people

they meet. There have been many cases of molesters and kidnappers searching

 for pray on-line. Nicknames are used to protect the identity of the children but can also be used to mask adults. They enter children’s chat rooms and coax the children to trust them. Nonetheless, denying the children access to the Internet is not the solution, perhaps software is. However software limiting children’s access to web pages have not been successful. In some case the software does not filter out all inappropriate pages but filters out non-objectionable pages.

Molesters and kidnappers are not the only people with access to the Internet we should fear. Those mischievous thinkers also pose a threat. Known as hackers or crackers, they search for vulnerable computer systems then strike. Businesses can lose trade secrets, and the damages can be a disaster. In 1996 Dan Framer, a security consultant, tested 2,000 computers networks, and of those 65% had security holes large enough for an intruder to enter. Government computers are just a vulnerable as teenagers have recently demonstrated. Teenagers working out of their home with guidance from a 18 year old broke into government classified information. Though they were caught, it bought alarm to the possible dangers of information leaks. The United States’ enemies could have access to military codes and top secret files. Although the average person is not targeted by hackers they are in danger of fraud and con-artists.

Stolen credit card numbers have been rumored to be a major problem. The

chances of it happening are not as great as the media makes it to be, but

nevertheless it is a problem. The criminals easily get away with such a crime.

They get the number of a credit card and charge ridiculous bills, but by the

time the bill comes they have moved on to the next victim. Many schemes

come in the form of junk mail. They offer deals that sound too good to be true

and chances are they fake. They only ask for a small sum of money up front,

next they cash the check and move on. Secure passwords can prevent hackers

 from accessing computers. Passwords should consist of numbers, letters and

symbols: an example "P11++69." No matter how secure and high tech the

 computer security system, all it takes is a simple , stupid password like "hello"

to render the whole system worthless. Though the Internet has its advantages

 it also has disadvantages, therefore users should educate oneself on the

revolutionary tool. With over 50 million users the Internet is rapidly growing

and is to the ‘90’s what the personal computer was to the 70’s. New usage’s

are springing up everyday, making it impossible to predict the future of the

 Internet. One thing certain is that the Internet has revolutionized the computer

 and communications. "The Internet is a world wide broadcasting capability,

a mechanism for collaboration and interaction between individuals without

 regard to geographic location."

 

 

3. Virus.

 

So the Internet is a great thing.And it is very useful, as we can see. But it is dangerous and harmful too. Not only because young children are able to find in the web somthing matured and violent, but also because it can destroy your computer. Not by itself but with the gun named “virus”.

A computer virus is a program that is designed to damage your computer, programs, and files. Like a virus in a living thing, a computer virus can spread if it is not removed. Some viruses are more dangerous than others. One of the most common places for a computer virus to appear is on a file found on the Internet or attached to an E-mail. For example, you may have a virus that just pops a message box on your screen, and then the virus is disabled, or you can have a virus that deletes half of your hard drive. Computer viruses didn’t really exist until the mid 1980s. The first computer viruses were created in university labs to demonstrate how much of a threat the vicious code could be. There are many kind of viruses that exist today. Some of the most common of Computer Viruses are: File Viruses, Boot Sector/Partition Viruses, Multi-Partite Viruses, Trojan Horses, File Overwriters, Polymorphic viruses, and Stealth Viruses. A File Virus is the most common kind of virus. These kinds of viruses usually infect .EXE and .COM files, which are the main component of a program or application. A file virus can insert its own code into part of the file, so that when the infected program file is run, the virus is executed first. Most file viruses are memory resident. Because of this, they can easily attach themselves to other programs that are being run and start to infect that file. A simple virus will overwrite and destroy a host file, immediately letting the user know that there is a problem because the software will not run. Because these viruses are immediately sensed by the computer, they have a less chance to spread. More complex written viruses will cause more damage, spread easier, and are harder to be detected. Boot sector viruses infect hard drives and floppy disks by putting itself on the boot sector of the disk, which has the code that is run at boot up. Booting up from an infected floppy, allows the virus to jump from the floppy to the hard drive. These viruses are loaded first, and gain control of the system before MS-DOS could be loaded. Since the virus is run before the operating system, it is not MS-DOS-specific and can infect any PC operating system. These viruses stay in the RAM and infects every disk that is read by the computer until the computer is rebooted. After reboot the virus is removed from memory. Multi-Partite Viruses are the worse of both file and boot sector viruses. They can infect the host software components. These viruses spread like a file virus, but still insert itself into a boot sector or partition table. Because of this, they are difficult to remove. An example of this type of virus is the Tequila virus. Trojan Horses are the worst kind of viruses that exist. They contain malicious code that is meant to damage your computer. Unlike other viruses, this virus does not replicate itself. This virus waits until the trigger event. When the trigger event occurs, a message is displayed or files are damaged. Because of the nature of these viruses, there are some researchers that do not classify Trojan Horses as viruses. File Overwriters are viruses that link themselves to a program, leaving the original code intact and adding themselves over and over to as many files as possible. These viruses are made simply to keep copying itself. While, this virus is copying itself it is taking up more disk space and slowing down performance. Since these viruses often have flaws in them, they can inadvertently damage or destroy data. The worst kind of file overwriters, wait until the trigger event, then start to destroy files. Most of the viruses that exist today are Polymorphic. Recently a Mutation Engine was released. This software ensures that polymorphic viruses will only proliferate over the next few years. Like the human AIDS virus, polymorphic viruses grows fast to escape detection by anti-virus programs. Special encrypted code within this virus allows the virus to hide from detection. There are a limited number of kinds of polymorphic viruses. Because of this, they are easier to notice. An example of this would be the Whale Virus , which has 32 different forms. Stealth viruses are similar to a stealth aircraft. Like a stealth aircraft, they make themselves invisible to be detected. The virus hides itself into the file and makes it look like the program is running normal. This is a memory-resident virus. Because there are so many different virus types, I have just listed the most common ones. If you are trying to search for a Virus Name, you should know the Virus Naming Conventions. The Prefix denotes the platform on which the virus replicates or the type of virus. DOS viruses usually do not contain a Prefix. The name is the family name of the virus. The Suffix may not always exist. Suffixes distinguish between variants of the same family and is usually a number denoting the size of the virus or a letter. These are formatted as Prefix.Name.Suffix. For example, WM.Cap.A. The following are prefixes to some popular viruses types: WM: Word Macro virus that replicate under Word 6.0 and Word 95(7.0). They may also replicate under Word 97. These are not native to Word 97. W97M: Word97 Macro viruses. These are native to Word 97 and work only in Word 97. XM: Excel Macro viruses that are native to Excel 5.0 and Excel 95. X97M: Excel macro virus that are native to Excel 97. XF: Excel Formula Viruses that are using old Excel 4.0 sheets within newer Excel documents. AM: Access Macro viruses that are native to Access 95. A97M: Access Macro viruses that replicate in Access 97. W95: Windows 95 viruses that infect files under Windows 95 systems. These viruses also will work in Windows 98. Win: Windows 3.x viruses infect files under Windows 3.x systems. W32: 32-bit Windows viruses that can infect under all 32-bit Windows platforms. HLLC: High Level Language Companion virus. These are usually DOS viruses that create an additional file to spread. HLLP: High Level Language Parasitic virus. These are usually DOS virus that attach themselves to host files. HLLO: High Level Language Overwriting virus. These are usually DOS viruses that overwrite the host file with viral code. Trojan: These files are not viruses, but Trojan Horses. Trojan Horses are files that masquerade as helpful programs, but turn out to malicious code. Trojan Horses do not replicate. Just recently there was a huge Virus spread. This virus was the fastest virus spread ever. The virus was a Microsoft Word 97 macro virus. The virus was named “Melissa.” The Melissa virus spread so fast that causes servers to melt down. This virus came as an E-mail attachment with the subject line “Here is the document you asked for.” The document attached was the virus, which looks for an Outlook or Outlook Express address on your computer and sends a copy of the E-mail to everyone on the mailing list. If the user was using Microsoft word at the same time as the date is, for example, 3:27 on March 27, the following text would be inserted into the document, “Twenty-two points plus triple word score plus 50 points for using all my letters. Game’s over, I’m outta here.” There have been reports of variations of this virus starting to appear. There many of viruses discovered each day. There are some that only exist in the minds of the public and press. These are called “Virus Hoaxes.” These types of viruses do not really exist. They are used to scare people. If you are warned about one of these viruses, please ignore it because passing along the word, will only make somebody want to create that virus. Macintosh viruses also exist. These viruses affect executable files, system files, applications, control panels, and HyperCard stacks. Most Macintosh viruses are memory-resident. Many of the Mac viruses are simply designed to copy itself over and over again and take up space, not to damage data, although there are some that do damage data. The most common Macintosh virus is the nVir virus. This virus makes Macintosh computers beep unexpectedly. One good thing about Macintosh viruses is that, Macintosh viruses cannot infect PC computers, and PC viruses cannot infect Macintosh computers. It is dangerous when making predictions about the future. Unless you can see into the future, it is not wise to try to see what would happen. Because of this, someone can make a broad judgment of future virus development.

 

 

 

4. Internet Censorship.

 

Since the introduction of the World Wide Web in 1989 by Tim Burners-Lee, many different debates have arisen over various aspects of the Internet. That is expected since there are so many different types of information available on the Web ranging from poetry to games to news to even pornography. Some argue that not all kinds of data should be accessible to all; that is where censorship comes in. Internet censorship includes restriction of access or publication of any material not thought to be appropriate by the censoring party. This can include pornography, news that a government does not want published, offensive language, ideas or anything. The Federal Communications Decency Act of 1996 was passed by Congress and signed into law. This controversial act bans the communication of material deemed as ‘obscene or indecent’ via the Internet to anyone under 18 years of age and the publication of any pornographic material of a person under 18 years of age (“Can Congress”). The purpose of this law was to protect children and minors. I will not to argue my viewpoints on how ‘harmful’ this kind of material can be to children, but instead I will argue over whether officials should be able to restrict access to materials or whether this should be totally dependent on parents or legal guardians. Laws censoring the Internet are not the correct solution to the problem of protecting children from pornography or other harmful data on the Internet. They are also impractical and can cause many conflicts. First off, a law passed in one country does not have to be upheld in another country. This can include any law, be it speeding, anti-trust or Internet. So if the United States passes Internet Censorship laws then only web sites based in the United States must obey them. Web sites in other countries do not. The special feature about the Internet is that anyone with access to it can connect to sites all over the world. So Swedes, Germans, and even Americans in the United States can view a web site in Sweden that does not have to follow United States’ laws (“Censorship and the Internet”). Laws also were not used with the Television or Film industry and should not be started now. In the case of Television it is left totally up to the parent to decide what materials their own children can watch and how to prevent them from watching ‘inappropriate’ shows. Recently a device called the “V-Chip’ was developed to aid parents in that. It monitors a new rating system designed for TV shows and does not allow access to any show that is rated higher than what the parent sets the chip on (Gates). If the nation is confident enough in a parent’s ability to monitor children’s access to TV shows or movies then why are they not confident enough in their ability to safeguard them from the Internet? Already new software is out to help parents monitor Internet access. It acts very similar to the “V-Chips” for TV’s. All web pages will get rated and the software can be set to allow access only to certain-rated web sites. This is already included in Netscape Communicator and Microsoft Internet Explorer, the two most popular and widely used Web browsers (“Security with Microsoft” and “What features”). They use a rating system by the Platform for Internet Content Selection (PICS). Other software out to aid in the process is called “Censorware.” Several of these programs include NetNanny (www.netnanny.com), Cybersitter (www.solidoak.com/cysitter.htm), X-Stop (www.xstop.com) and Cyber Patrol (www.microsys.com/cyber). They basically do that same thing previously mentioned by effectively screening any activity on the computer and filtering out anything deemed unnecessary by the parent or guardian. Some might argue that a parent would not be able to always watch a child to prevent them from viewing the ‘harmful’ material on the Internet. My only answer to that is that if it is necessary for governmental involvement on the question of pornography on the Internet, then it must be necessary to have the same involvement for TV and cable. A parent has just as much time to screen TV as they do to screen the Internet. In 1997 the United States Supreme Court declared that part of the Federal Communications Decency Act of 1996 previously mentioned was unconstitutional (“Can Congress.”) Chief Justice Rehnquist compared the Act to a law “that makes it a crime for a bookstore owner to sell pornographic magazines to anyone once a minor enters his store.” It is believed that by having the First Amendment of free speech held true that rapid growth will continue on the Internet, thus helping the growth of communications, technology and ideas. The Blue Ribbon Campaign for Online Free Speech helps to ensure that “communications carriers do not deny service to network users solely on the basis of the content of their messages.” It also helps to ensure that privacy is upheld on the Internet and all other forms of electronic communications (“About EFF”). In order to continue the United States tradition of free speech and rapid growth, parents, not the law, should ‘protect’ out children from the potential harms of the Internet.

 

And so these are two basic aspects of the Internet but there is also another

one,which includes virus-making, hacking, spreading of forbidden goods, information stealing and many other things which break the law.

And this new aspect is called “Computer Crime”. It contain things which will probably make you scare of the computer and aware it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Computer Crime.

 

White-collar crime, specifically computer crime, is becoming more popular as computers become more readily available. Crimes using computers and crimes against computers are usually committed without fear of being caught, due to the detachment of the offender from the victim. Computer crime is defined as, “Criminal activity directly related to the use of computers, specifically illegal trespass into the computer system or database of another, manipulation or theft of stored or on-line data, or sabotage of equipment and data.” This includes both crimes using computers and crimes against computers. The people who commit these crimes are of a wide variety. Cyber-criminals can be put in generally seven categories: · Pranksters: These individuals perpetrate tricks on others. They generally do not intend any particular or long-lasting harm. A large portion is juvenile. · Hackers: These individuals explore others' computer systems for education, out of curiosity, to achieve idealized social justice, or to compete with their peers. They may be attempting to gain the use of a more powerful computer, gain respect from fellow hackers, build a reputation, or gain acceptance as an expert without formal education. · Malicious hackers (crackers): These individuals are intent on causing loss to satisfy some antisocial motives or just for fun. Many computer virus creators and distributors fall into this category. · Personal problem solvers: By far the most common kind of criminal, these individuals often cause serious loss in their pursuit of a solution to their own personal problems. They may turn to crime after conventional problem-solving methods fail, or they may see crime as a quick and easy way to solve their problems. “They generally believe that the victim of the crime is rich enough to afford the loss and would not miss what was taken or used. Disgruntled employees, angry about being fired or not receiving a raise they felt they deserved, have also been known to “even the score” with their company by disrupting their computer networks or program functionality fall into this category” Career criminals: These individuals earn part or all of their income from crime, although they do not necessarily engage in crime as a full-time occupation. Some have a job, earn a little and steal a little, then move on to another job to repeat the process. In some cases they conspire with others or work within organized gangs such as the Mafia. The greatest organized crime threat comes from groups in Russia, Italy, and Asia. “The FBI reported in 1995 that there were more than 30 Russian gangs operating in the United States. According to the FBI, many of these unsavory alliances use advanced information technology and encrypted communications to elude capture.” Extreme advocates: Better known as “computer terrorists,” these individuals and groups have strong social, political, or religious views and are intent on changing conditions by engaging in crime. Their crimes usually involve violence against people or property and are calculated to achieve a high level of publicity to bring attention to the terrorists' causes. “To date, terrorists have rarely engaged in cyber crime, although the Red Brigades in Europe came close by destroying more than 60 computer centers during the 1980s. Terrorist groups, especially the highly organized ones sponsored by rogue countries such as Libya and Iran, are likely to turn their attention to our fragile information, utility, and transportation infrastructures when their current methods lose their impact.” Such groups could plan an attack on a worldwide basis, using cryptography to communicate, and then carry out their acts through the Internet. · Malcontents, addicts, and irrational and incompetent people: “These individuals extend from the mentally ill to those addicted to drugs, alcohol, competition, or attention from others, to the criminally negligent. In general, they are the most difficult to describe and the most difficult to protect against. We have no way of determining who is sufficiently irrational to trigger an attack against an organization or individual because of a perceived affront. We also have no way of predicting negligence. Criminal negligence is common in the abuse and misuse of computers. Programmers in New Zealand, for example, were convicted of criminal negligence when they failed in their duty to inform the captain of an airliner that they had reprogrammed his navigation system. He flew the plane into a mountain in Antarctica that, according to his navigation computer, was not supposed to be there, killing 80 tourists.” Access to computer systems can be gained in many different ways. The simplest of these is direct access. Being the programmer, developer or specialist working with the system puts you in control of how the computer or network functions. Access can also be gained through a method called cracking. Cracking is a method of finding and using somebody else’s username and password. In order to crack a password, “you can make a good guess, try out a number of combinations, look for the combination (password) written someplace nearby or…one might try to find an alternate way into the system, a ‘back door’” Scanning is another way to “crack” information. Scanning is “[using] a computer program that automatically generates a sequence of phone numbers, credit card numbers, passwords or the like to try against a system entry test” There are ways around scanning, such as putting a limit of attempts one gets to enter the correct password in the system entry test would stop the program from trying over and over again. An additional way one might gain access in through piggybacking. Piggybacking is “getting into a secured area by slipping in right behind someone who is cleared for access… [Piggybacking] can happen if the person using a terminal ahead of you did not log off properly, and her account is thus still active; you can go in”, basically it is using another person’s access to as it were your own. The piggybacker then has access to all the past user’s files and can be destructive if they choose and wipe out the account. There are many different types of computer crimes, but there are basically two main categories, crimes against computers and crimes using computers. “Crimes against computers are usually based on the destruction of hardware and software or the theft of computer technology.” Many people get mad at computers for many reasons. Computers are based on human input, thus computers make mistakes. People sometimes take the anger that builds up, after a computer has made a number of mistakes, out on the actual hardware such as: a computer monitor, tower, keyboard, or mouse. Demolished computers have been dropped, punched, kicked, and some even shot by a gun. Computer systems have also been mutilated and destroyed to destroy data and records. This is not the best method of destroying computer data. Although the system as a whole might be devastated, the data can sometimes be restored through special techniques. Crimes using computers are more prevalent. There are numerous crimes that can be committed using computer, but they are not new crimes. The crimes were already in practice before it’s invention but new technology makes them easier to commit and provides less of a chance of getting caught. Money is the root of a lot of crimes, for instance, embezzlement is “the act of stealing money that is entrusted to you”, or stealing from somebody that you work for. Banks are one of the best places to steal money from because, obviously, that’s where a large portion of money can be found. A great deal of the money that a bank oversees is not physical cash; it is numbers in computers. Many different and ingenious ways have been developed by computer criminals to embezzle money. The simplest form is to electronically transfer funds from someone’s account into your own. The possibility of being caught doing this is very high because it is noticeable and traceable. A method of embezzling called “The Salami Technique” involves slicing small amounts off of many different accounts (instead of just one big transfer) that won’t be noticed and putting the accumulating totals into one’s own account. There is also a “round-off” technique where the amounts taken for oneself from each account are fractional and would otherwise kept by the bank as “round-off errors”, such as 3/10th of a cent but the small amounts build up over time. This can all be done with a patch or block of programming code added to the banks’ accounting program during a single session. After the program is installed (or patched), all the criminal has to do is sit and wait. The program can be activated by an internal timer being set for a certain date and time. Fraud broadens the computer criminals havoc-reeking horizons and is defined as “intentional deception”. Computers are probably the best means for trickery, especially through the Internet. When an individual logs onto the Internet through and ISP (Internet Service Provider), the only identity they are given is an IP (Internet Protocol) address. Nobody knows anything about the person using that terminal. They can fabricate any information they choose. Fraud includes, but is not limited to, creation of false accounts, using any accounts for which you are not entitled to use, destruction of records, et cetera. The theft of information has also become a large problem in attempts to protect privacy. Many corporations and government organizations have extensive databases on a great deal of people. Information such as age, race, sex, social security number, address, telephone number, credit card information, and basically anything that has ever been known about a person is electronically stored and kept for reference. The problem with this data being stored electronically is that if the system is compromised, the data can be copied and stolen very quickly and can possibly be stolen over telecommunication lines. Phreaking is a kind of theft of services. Phreaking a process used to “access the telephone services illegally and run up considerable calling bills for which they are never charged”. Using different tones, a computer can mock a request for a long-distance call, giving an individual free long-distance. Cyberstalking, defined as “The act or crime of willfully and repeatedly harassing another person in circumstances that would cause a reasonable person to fear injury or death because of expressed or implied threats”, is a relatively new problem. Irritating others over the Internet is something that commonly occurs, but the word “repeatedly” placed in front of that statement can make a big difference. If someone is causing a nescience that interferes with ones’ professional or personal life it is considered stalking. Catching the computer criminals is the tough part. There are “Computer Crime Stopper” groups, hackers turned good, whose sole purpose and occupation is to track down and catch computer criminals. Tracking computer activity is a hard thing to do, especially over the Internet. There is no “trail” left for the criminal to be followed by. Usually the only thing crime-stoppers have to go on are the IP addresses and telecommunication lines to trace to find the origin of the signal, but the perpetrator is normally long gone by the time authorities arrive. Prevention is a crucial part in protecting the computers of today. Through secure servers, which are “special computers [that] provide secure connections between networked computers and outside systems,” companies protect credit card and other personal information of their clients. Encryption is a method of “encoding” data using a set of key (a mathematical formula), which is then sent to the receiving party. They have the “decoding” key to transform the data back into understandable data. Encryption works very well, as long as the key doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. Firewalls, “a safety computer placed between a network and outside systems”, can deter break-ins from external systems using usernames and passwords, but as we know they can be cracked with some effort. The current laws and regulations against crime do not apply to computer crimes. Although some laws are twisted and contorted to apply to new situations as they arise, I feel that new legislation needs to be put into place to apply to the crimes and criminals. Cyberstalking is a good example of a computer crime that needs it’s own legislation to govern what is to be considered stalking and what are not over the Internet. Stalking without a computer is clearly defined, both what stalking is and what the penalties are for committing it, but communication over the Internet isn’t as clearly regulated. Are 2 E-Mail’s to a person that didn’t want them considered stalking, and if so then why isn’t unwanted E-Mail from organizations considered soliciting? Statues need to be presented to clearly outline what is wrong and what is okay. Instead of trying to apply unrelated laws to fast-growing criminal opportunities, we should establish a basis for which all computer crimes can be tried and prosecuted. “It has been said that the Internet is the first empirically lawless domain of modern life. Even with the most carefully crafted legislation, enforcing a law in a virtual community creates unique problems never before faced by law enforcement agencies.”. Since the “means” of committing the crimes is different, should we consider different punishments? In the past, convicted computer criminals have served generally light terms for their crimes. Shouldn’t embezzlement done by a machine, which a human caused it to do, be the same as embezzlement done directly by the hands of a human? I guess one could say that we are lucky that ALL crimes can’t be committed over a computer, at least not yet.

 

And so that is all about Internet. Now you can see that it is useful and interesting as well as dangerous. And it is for you to deside how to use it.

 

6. Multimedia and Graphics.

 

Graphics & Multimedia What is graphics and multimedia? First of all, graphics software pertains to any computer device or program that makes a computer capable of displaying and manipulating pictures. For example, laser printers and plotters are graphics devices because they permit computer to output pictures. Software like word processors support graphics because they let you draw or import pictures. Spreadsheet programs support graphics because they let you display data in the form of graphs and charts. Such applications are often referred to as business graphics. Multimedia has many definitions depending upon whom you ask. A standard definition follows: Multimedia is any combination of text, graphic art, sound, animation, and video delivered to you by computer or other electronic means. Multimedia can help to gain and hold attention, make points clearer, stimulate discussion, and in general, enhance the learning process, if it also includes the appropriate human elements. With the advent of the computer and other electronic devices, multimedia is now being used a number of ways in the classroom including PowerPoint lectures, digital slides, digital videos, case studies, newsgroups, mailing lists, MOOS, MUDS and more. As a student I can be able to use multimedia and graphics as learning materials like learning interactively with software's made for a certain subject. It will also allow me to experience a subject from many angles, giving me deeper understanding of the subject matter. Using various forms of multimedia and graphics in the classroom also helps to keep my interest level high when it comes to learning. For work, being a business major, I think multimedia and graphics will be very useful for me when I make presentations through PowerPoint or when I make a report and I want to present it with charts and graphs, which I wouldn't of been able to do without multimedia and graphics. I can also perform research on the web and without multimedia and graphics I don't think that would be possible for me to do and it would probably take me more time and effort to research it in the library rather than from my computer. In conclusion I feel that multimedia and graphics is the way to go, it can be a very effective tool to communicate, educate, compel, and convince you and/or your audience.

7. Computer games.

 On the morning of December 1, 1997, in Paducah, Kentucky, fourteenyear- old Michael Carneal opened fire on a prayer group at Heath High School with a .22 pistol he had stolen, killing three students and injuring five others. According to Dave Grossman, a military psychiatrist and retired U.S. Army Ranger, Carneal fired only eight shots, hitting four students in the head, one in the neck, and three others in the upper torso. “Nowhere in the annals of military or law enforcement history,” claims Grossman, “can we find an equivalent achievement.” He maintains that “one state police study in an assessment of the accuracy of their officers across several years found that the average officer, in the average engagement, at the average distance of twenty-three feet, hit with 13 percent of the rounds fired.” Carneal was not an experienced marksman. Reportedly, other than firing a few practice shots with the stolen pistol, he had never fired a real handgun in his life. However, Grossman contends that the high school freshman played violent video games that trained him how to shoot with fatal precision:

Michael Carneal . . . had fired thousands of bullets in the video game “murder simulators.” His superhuman accuracy, combined with the fact that he “stood still,” firing twohanded, not wavering far to the left or far to the right in his shooting “field,” and firing only one shot at each target, are all behaviors that are completely unnatural to either trained or “native” shooters, behaviors that could only have been learned in a video game. . . . These kind[s] of video games provide the “motor reflexes” responsible for over 75% of the firing on the modern battlefield.

The “video game ‘murder simulators’” Grossman is referring to is the subgenre of video games called first-person shooters (FPS), where players view the world through the eyes of the video game character that they control. In a typical FPS, players wander through a series of halls and passageways and kill monsters, enemy characters, or opponents controlled by other players whom they encounter along the way. Because of advances in computer technology, the animated violence and gore of FPSs have become palpably convincing, immersing players in a virtual world of intense action and graphic violence. The first FPS game, Wolfstein 3-D, was released in 1992 by the entertainment software company idSoftware. In Wolfstein 3-D, players navigate through the dark corridors of a German castle during World War II and ward off surprise attacks by Nazi soldiers and guard dogs. The game’s unique first-person perspective gave a new dimension to the video game playing experience, making it popular among gaming enthusiasts.

A year after the appearance of Wolfstein 3-D, idSoftware released its next FPS, Doom, which took the video game industry by storm. Doom plunges players into a futuristic maze, where they have a first-person’s view of blasting aliens with an arsenal of weapons. According to video game enthusiast Darren L. Tabor, Doom was immediately successful because it was technically and aesthetically more sophisticated than Wolfstein 3-D and had “entered the scene just as modem speeds and awareness of the Internet were increasing.” These developments allowed players to connect online and play against one another with ease. The success of Doom gave rise to a slew of technically and graphically superior FPSs based on the first-person perspective concept, such as its sequel, Doom II, and others such as Duke Nukem, Redneck Rampage, and Quake.

Although violent video games were criticized after the Paducah school shooting, the question of whether or not they contribute to youth violence became a more urgent matter in the aftermath of the Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, Colorado. On April 20, 1999, high school seniors Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold entered Columbine High wielding firearms, killing twelve students, a teacher, and wounding twenty-three others before authorities found the two boys dead from selfinflicted gunshot wounds. Allegedly, Harris and Klebold were dedicated players of violent FPSs like Doom and Duke Nukem. A year before the shooting, Harris alluded to these games when he wrote in his journal about their plans: “It’ll be like the LA riots, the Oklahoma bombing, WWII, Vietnam, Duke [Nukem] and Doom all mixed together. . . . I want to leave a lasting impression on the world.” In addition, a home video shows Harris brandishing his sawed-off shotgun “Arlene,” which was named after a character in Doom.

Some commentators believe that the Paducah and Littleton tragedies are examples of how video game violence has lead to outbreaks of real world violence. Education professor Eugene F. Provenzo Jr. contends that violent video games contribute to youth violence because when “violence is stylized, romanticized, and choreographed, it encourages children and adolescents to assume a rhetorical stance that equates violence with style and personal empowerment.” Physicians Jeannie Rosenberg and Joanna Santa Barbara argue that “the worst video games teach children to associate violence and killing with pleasure, entertainment and feelings of achievement. As the technology becomes more sophisticated, players are rewarded with more and more realistic depictions of victims going down in blood and flames as they are hit.” In addition, Rosenberg and Santa Barbara insist that “children who spend hours improving their skill at these games are not only learning targeting skills, but are undergoing the same desensitization to killing other humans that the military uses to train soldiers to kill.”

Others contend that studies have shown that playing violent video games increases aggressive behavior. According to David Walsh, president of the National Institute on Media and the Family:

In one study of college students, students played either a violent or non-violent game. After playing this game, they were given a competitive reaction time task in which they played against another student. If they beat the other student, they got to deliver a loud ‘noise blast,’ and were able to control how loud and how long the noise blast would be. Students who had previously played the violent video game delivered longer noise blasts to their opponents.

Some critics are skeptical of such studies that claim that violent video games heighten aggressive behavior, however. Referring to the noise-blast study mentioned by David Walsh, for example, Howard Fienberg, a research analyst with the Statistical Assessment Service, states that “researchers found that those that had played the violent game blasted their opponent longer and louder than those that had played the non-violent game. But the difference was actually minimal. The blasts delivered by subjects who had played violent games were longer, by all of 2 percent, and the average blasts for all the students was about half a second, far too short for reasonable analysis.”

Other commentators dispute the claims that violent video games are a cause of youth violence, arguing that the vast majority of violent video game enthusiasts do not commit real acts of violence and instead use video games to express their frustration and anger. Video game designer Steve Gibson says that video game playing is “how geeks get out their competitive spirit because they’re not athletic enough to play on the basketball team.” In addition, Henry Jenkins, director of the Program in Comparative Media Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, asserts that the Columbine killers’ predilection for violent video games merely reflected their complex and unhealthy obsession with violence and destruction:

Far from being victims of video games, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold had a complex relationship to many forms of popular culture. They consumed music, films, comics, video games, television programs. All of us move nomadically across the media landscape, cobbling together a personal mythology of symbols and stories taken from many different places. We invest those appropriated materials with various personal and subcultural meanings. Harris and Klebold were drawn toward dark and brutal images which they invested with their personal demons, their antisocial impulses, their maladjustment, their desires to hurt those who hurt them.

Because of the senseless school shootings in Paducah and Littleton, video game violence has become a pressing matter for the entertainment software industry. In addition to the debates about how the entertainment software industry should address concerns about the violent content of video games, other controversies surrounding video games, such as whether they can improve children’s thinking skills or have artistic integrity, are addressed in At Issue: Video Games.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.1

 

Now you know a lot about computer industry. You know that it can teach you a lot of things, make your life a bit easier (Iternet iformation system, e-mail, electronic phones and web-cameras). And after all the computer is our future.

And of course you should not forget about the danger which hides behind computer industry.

 

In my project I have shown several opinions of professionals who know about computer a lot. But what do common people think about this. Here are results of social test.

 

I asked near 100 people. From 8 year-old to 40.

 

Children (8-12 year-old):

 

-   80 % said that they use computer to play video games.

-   15 % said that they use computer to study.

-         5 % said that they haven’t got computer at all.

 

Teenagers (13-19 year-old):

-         45 % said that they use computer to play video games.

-         45 % said that they use computer to chat and make friends.

-         10 % said that they use computer to study.

 

Adults (20-40 year-old):

-         55 % said that they use computer to work.

-         30 % said that they use Internet only (chating, relaxing etc.)

-         15 % said that they use computer to play video games.

 

So as you can see only 10 % use computer to study or work, 15 % use it only because of the Internet, and most of them (over 70%) use it to play video games. And so you can see that nowadays computer is something like PlayStation, perhaps it is so because computers are used almost by children and teenagers. And only those who are adult or think they are adult use computer more widely and wisely.

 

And so what are the computers: friends or foes? I think that every person should deside by his own. Because if a person see in computer evil, he think that computer is an evil and won’t even toughch it, but if a person see in computer goodness, the computer for him will be just like a friend. And you barely can change somebodies mind about this question. You should just remember that it is your right to deside. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bibliography:

 

     1.New Millenium English 11 (O.L.Groza)

     2.“The Future of Computing”, Byte. Boston: Byte Publishing, August 1998

     3.“The History of the Computer”. Toronto: Lexington Books, 1976 Zachary.

     4. http://www.check-mark.com

   5.http://www.wowessays.com