Rules of Netiquette
Empowerment Technologies
ASK YOURSELF
Have you tried searching your profile in Google?
Did you get links to your profile page? How did these
things happen?
How can search engines locate you?
Is there any danger of being found by search engines?
Guess the word from letters: {F,V,C,P,G,A,R,I,Y}
ANSWER: PRIVACY
Guess the word from letters: {A,C,G,H,D,E,Y,K,R}
ANSWER: HACKER
Guess the word from letters: {T,W,V,S,I,R,U}
ANSWER: VIRUS
Guess the word from letters: {E,R,I,N,C,S,I,T,U,Y}
ANSWER: SECURITY
10 Best Rules of Netiquette
1. The Golden Rule (treat others as you would like to be treated)
2. No Flaming (Flame is a personal insult communicated through the internet)
3. Don’t type in all CAPS (people may misinterpret)
4. Don’t SPAM (it is any unsolicited e-mail from unknown sources)
5. Don’t talk with people you do not know (do not arrange to meet anyone you
meet online)
6. Obey Copyright Laws (Don’t steal someone else’s idea, property and rights)
7. Use proper Grammar and Spelling (errors diminishes the credibility of the
message)
8. Be Honest/Be Yourself (tell the truth, do not pretend to be someone else)
9. Follow the TOS (TOS – Term of Service) (Rules and Policy of the sites)
10.SHOP SECURE SITES (these are sites with transport layer security) (TLS or
SLS Socket Layer Security)
Internet Threats
Here are some of the threats you should be aware of when using the Internet:
1) Malware - stands for malicious software. It is a set of instruction that run on
your computer and make your system do something than an attacker wants to.
What is it good for?
• Steal personal information
• Delete files
• Click fraud
• Steal software serial numbers
• Use your computer as relay
KINDS OF MALWARE
a) Virus. A malicious program designed to replicate itself and transfer from one
computer to another either through the Internet and local networks or data
storage like flash drives and CDs. It is a computer virus is a piece of malicious
computer code that attaches itself to a software program, email or computer file
without your permission.
b) Worm. A malicious program that transfers from one computer to another by
any type of means. Often, it uses a computer network to spread itself. For
example, the ILOVEYOU worm (Love Bug Worm) created by a Filipino.
c) Trojan. A malicious program that is disguised as a useful program but once
downloaded or installed, leaves your PC unprotected and allow hackers to get
your information.
*Rogue security software – tricks the user into posing that it is a security
software. It asks the user to pay to improve his/her security but in reality, they
are not protected at all.
d) Spyware. A program that runs in the background without you knowing it
(thus called “spy”). It has the ability to monitor what you are currently doing
and typing through keylogging.
*Keyloggers – used to record keystroke done by the users. This is done to steal
their password or any other sensitive information. It can record email,
messages, or any information you type using your keyboard.
e) Adware. A program designed to send you advertisements, mostly as pop-ups.
Internet Threats
2) Spam - unwanted email mostly from bots or advertisers. It can be used to send
malware.
3) Phishing – its goal is to acquire sensitive personal information like passwords
and credit card details. This is done by sending you an email that will direct the
user to visit a website and be asked to update his/her username, password, credit
card, or personal information.
*Pharming – a more complicated way of phishing where it exploits the DNS
(Domain Name Service) system
How to avoid these threats? A very effective way of avoiding these threats is
verifying the authenticity and credibility of the WEB source.
PROTECTING REPUTATIONS ONLINE
In the past, doing something embarrassing was not much of a big deal. It
happened; people would laugh at it, and they would move on. Nowadays,
embarrassing moments are captured using any device you could imagine. What is
worse is that people can easily upload it to the Internet, where it can be stored
forever. This could impact not only your reputation but also the people around
you. What is worse is that people tend to ignore this fact, and suffer from it later in
their life.
Once you post something over the Internet, search engines keep them in their
archives for search results. This makes anything you post to last forever even if
you delete it in your page. Something you and your friends find funny today may
be something that could harm someone’s reputation later.
THINK BEFORE YOU CLICK
• Things you might want to consider before posting something over the Internet:
1. Before you post something on the web, ask these questions to yourself: Would
you want your parents or grandparents to see it? Would you want your future boss
to see it? Once you post something on the web, you have no control of who sees
your posts.
2. Your friends depend on you to protect their reputation online. Talk to your
friends about this serious responsibility.
3. Set you post to “private.” In this way, search engines will not be able to scan
that post.
4. Avoid using names. Names are easy for search engines to scan.
5. If you feel that a post can affect you or other’s reputation, ask the one who
posted it to pull it down or report it as inappropriate.
COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
• Here are some tips that could help you avoid copyright infringement:
1. Understand. Copyright protects literary works, photographs, painting,
drawings, films, music (and lyrics), choreography, and sculptures, but it generally
does NOT protect underlying ideas and facts. This means that you can express
something using your own words, but you should give credit to the source.
2. Be responsible. Even if a material does not say that it is copyrighted, it is not a
valid defense against copyright. Be responsible enough to know if something has a
copyright.
3. Be creative. Ask yourself whether what you are making is something that came
from you or something made from somebody else’s creativity. It is important to add
your own creative genius in everything that will be credited to you.
COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
4. Know the law. There are some limitations to copyright laws. For instance in the
Philippines, copyrights only last a lifetime (of the author) plus 50 years. There are
also provisions for “fair use” which mean that an intellectual property may be used
without a consent as long as it is used in commentaries, criticisms, search
engines, parodies, news reports, research, library archiving, teaching, and
education. If you have doubts that what you are doing does not fall under the
policy of fair use, seek permission first.
Another misconception is that fan-fiction is not copyright infringement. In reality,
it is and some copyright holders ignore them but they can opt to use their rights.
ONLINE RESEARCH
1. Have a question in mind. Focus on a question you want answered. If it is a
series of questions, start with one. Never search everything on one go.
2. Narrow it down. Search engines like Google, Bing, or Yahoo use several filters
to determine the most appropriate result for you. These search engines use your
previous search history and your geographical location, and send you the result
which is the most related to you. Try to search “weather” and most search engines
would return the weather conditions of where you are. But if all of these filters fail,
you should remember to narrow down what you are searching for.
3. Advance Search. The best way to filter information you get from search
engines, is by using the advanced search. This will allow you to filter out
information you do not need.
ONLINE RESEARCH
4. Look for a credible source. Some wikis, though filled with updated
information, are not a credible source. This is due to the fact that anyone can edit
its content. When using wikis, check out the link of the cited text (indicated by
superscript number) to be navigated to the footnote where the list of sources is
located. Click the source of the information and see if it is credible.
5. Give credit. If you are going to use the information from a source for
educational purposes, give credit to the original author of the page or information.
ONLINE RESEARCH
4. Look for a credible source. Some wikis, though filled with updated
information, are not a credible source. This is due to the fact that anyone can edit
its content. When using wikis, check out the link of the cited text (indicated by
superscript number) to be navigated to the footnote where the list of sources is
located. Click the source of the information and see if it is credible.
5. Give credit. If you are going to use the information from a source for
educational purposes, give credit to the original author of the page or information.
