Issue 1.2, April 1995 Questions Parents Should Ask Their Children By Peter S. Tippett, Ph.D., M.D. Symantec's Peter Norton Group Board Member, Computer Ethics Institute The National Computer Security Association (NCSA) and the Computer Ethics Institute are co-sponsors of the National Computer Ethics and Responsibilities Campaign (NCERC). Information about the NCERC can be obtained in a dedicated display area, GO CETHICS, on the CompuServe Information Service. In addition to the display area, NCSA has established a section within the NCSA InfoSecurity Forum (GO NCSAFORUM) for discussion of issues and concerns relating to ethics and privacy. The NCERC Guide to Computer Ethics has been developed to support the campaign. All files within the guide are available as individual files within Library 2 of the NCSA InfoSecurity Forum. In addition, the guide (including 16 informative articles) is available as a paper document. If you are interested in receiving more information about purchasing this document, and providing support for the campaign, send your request via EMail to:74774.1326@compuserve.com 1. Do you legitimately own all of the software, games, and programs you have or use? Software Piracy, Clarifying Questions: Are any of your programs or software bootlegged or pirated copies? Where are the manuals, boxes, license agreements for the programs you have or use? Where did you get that game? (program? floppy?, software?) When programs first start running on your computer, whose name comes on the screen as the "owner" or "licensed-to?" 2. Where did the contents of your report / project / homework come from? Does any of it belong to someone else? Did you write/create/author what you're passing off as your own work? Where did you get the text and images you're using? If you copied text and images from another source, did you have permission? If you didn't need permission from the "owners" of the information you're using, did you credit them for the material? 3. Do you ever use other people's computer, disk-space or, processing capability, or look at or copy their files or information, without their knowledge or permission? 4. Do you have any prank programs, computer viruses, worms, trojan horse programs, bombs, or other malicious software? Malicious Software: Clarifying Questions: Do you use bulletin boards or systems that contain these things, or have friends or acquaintances who do? Do you write or create any software like this or deal with people who do? Malicious Software: Explanation of the Problem 5. Do you have any computer graphics files, clips, movies, animations, or drawings that you would be embarrassed about? Do you have them legitimately (piracy)? Are they things you would be comfortable showing me? Showing your grandmother? Do you have any pictures, video clips, sound clips, articles, text, or other software or files that contain pornography, violence, dangerous instructions, other distasteful material? Do you access or view any of these kinds of things when using the net? 6. Do you have any newsletters, plans, guidelines, or "how-to" documents or files that you would not be comfortable showing to your mother? Making bombs, breaking into systems, stealing telephone access, stealing computer access, stealing passwords, pornographic or violent text, guides, descriptions... do you create, contribute to, or receive anything like this? 7. Do you ever connect your computer to a telephone, use a modem, or otherwise use a network? Clarifying Questions: Do you use E-Mail (electronic mail)? Do you use Bulletin Boards (BBS) (electronic bulletin board systems)? Is your computer ever connected to other computers? Do you use a Modem? Explanation: There is nothing either unethical or illegal about using networks or connecting computers to telephones. But, you should be aware that when computers are somehow part of a computer network, then they are not just used for "computing," but also for "communication" in a very broad sense of the word. Since "communication," by definition, always includes someone else, and since ethics, or lack of it, relates mainly to our interactions with others, the networking of computers, by any means, leads to many, many more potential ethical dilemmas for a computer user, than non-network computing. The Questions above this one are all possible with both networked or non-networked computers. Whereas the questions below this mostly make sense for people who use networked computers. But, even for those issues related to the questions above, being connected to a network makes it easier to stray into trouble. 8. Who do you associate with when you use the Net? BBS, Internet, CompuServe, Delphi, Fidonet, America Online... E-Mail, Discussion Groups, Gangs, Influence. Just as you would like to steer your children (and friends) away from bad influences in their daily lives, so should you attempt to discern the character of their cyber-friends. 9. Do you ever use an assumed name, a handle, or an alias instead of your real name? Do you supply false information about yourself when using a bulletin board, a news group, a message group, or forum, any part of the net, or when using e-mail or otherwise communicating? Do you use your real age and sex when communicating with your computer? Do you use any false information like addresses, or phone numbers, or use someone else's credit card number when using your computer? Do you ever send messages or e-mail in such a way that the recipient cannot tell that you sent it? Have you ever modified data, text, messages, or other computer information so that it looks like someone other than you created it or made the changes? What are you trying to hide by not using your real name? Are you trying to pretend you are something or someone you are not? 10. Do you use telephone, video, cable TV, computer networks, bulletin boards, or other network services without paying for them? [M]