(Latest) Form 4: 1.4.1.2 Describe the impact of ICT on society.

COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN THE SOCIETY

The computer has change the society today as much as industrial revolution changed society in 18th and 19th century. People interacts directly with computer in education, finance, government, health care, science, publishing, tourism, and industry.

Computers help them to do their work faster and more efficient by using the software application that consist of special program for specific task.

SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS

Software applications are used for many reasons. Such as to enhance the learning process, to help in business activities, to assist the graphics and multimedia project and to fasilitate communication.

These software application comes in packages.

SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS PACKAGES

HOME AND EDUCATION

Today, computers are used in schools, colleges and universities in order to promote better education by using computers. In the labs, students use software packages to complete their assignments. At the same time, some educators use the computer-based training and web-based training as replacements for lecture presentation.

Some of the software applications that are usually used in schools and universities include Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, Macromedia Flash, AutoCAD, Macromedia Dreamweaver and Macromedia Director.

COMPUTERS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

Open Distance Learning (ODL) or online learning can be implemented as computers are the main medium in

delivering the knowledge from one location to the other locations.

This type of learning consists of online forum, discussion, quizzes, test questions and many more. The example of the Open Distance Learning institution is the Open University of Malaysia (www.oum.edu.my).

BUSINESS

People use finance or accounting software to balance check books, pay bills, track personal income and expenses, manage investments and evaluate their financial plans.

Accounting software helps companies to record and report their financial transactions. Examples of these software applications include MYOB, Intuit Quick Books and Peachtree Complete Accounting.

COMPUTERS IN BANKING

In the banking sector, many financial institutions offer online banking. People can access their financial records from anywhere in the world. One example of online banking is Maybank2u. (www.maybank2u.com)

Most of the packages on banking offer a variety of online services. Which requires access to the web.

For example we can track our investment online, compare insurance rates and do online banking.

INDUSTRY

By using the CAM system, computers record actual labour, material, machine and computer time used to manufacture a particular product.

Computers process this data and automatically update inventory, production, payroll and accounting records on the company’s network.

Examples of companies using this system are Proton(www.proton.com.my) and Perodua (www.perodua.com.my).

GRAPHICS AND MULTIMEDIA

Computers are crucial in publishing especially in the process of making works available to the public. These works include magazines, books, newspapers, music and film production.

Special software applications are used to assist graphic designers to develop graphics, texts, photographs and composing songs.

Computer-Aided Design, Desktop Publishing, Paint/Image Editing, Video and Audio Editing and Multimedia Authoring are among the popular applications software.

COMMUNICATION

A government provides society with direction by

making and administering policies. Most government

offices or agencies have websites in order to provide

citizens with up-to-date or latest information.

Examples of software applications used for communication include e-mail, web browsers, newsgroups, instant messaging and video conferencing.

People can access government websites to:

• check information on taxes (www.hasil.org.my)
• apply for permits and licenses (www.jpj.gov.my)
• check for MyKad (www.jpn.gov.my)
• pay parking tickets and check summons (www.jpj.gov.my)
• renew vehicle registration (www.jpj.gov.my)
• register online for IPTA/IPTS application (www.moe.gov.my)

COMPUTERS IN TOURISM

Today, people will go online to get all related information about traveling. They can visit websites to get information on destinations, prices, hotels, flights and car rentals.

They can also purchase ticket online, all payments can be made by using credit card.

COMPUTERS IN THE HEALTHCARE

In the medical field, computers are very important in running the operations. Medical staffs use computers for various purposes, namely:

• maintaining patient records
• monitoring patients’ vital sign
• assisting doctors, nurses and technicians with medical tests by using computer and computerised devices .
• using medical software to help with researching and diagnosing health conditions.

Furthermore, computers and the internet are important sources for people to get all information on medical, nutrition, fitness and other tips from several available websites. The latest development in the medical field is telemedicine. This technology is meant to help professional to conduct live conference in separate locations around the globe.

SCIENCE

In the scientific world, computers are used in all fields of science from biology to astronomy to meteorology and others. These are things that

can be done by computers, namely:

• collecting, analyzing and modelling data
• serving as medium of communication with colleagues around the world
• contributing to new inventions or breakthrough in surgery, medicine and treatment
• imitating functions of the central nervous system, retina of the eye and others by tiny computers
• allowing a deaf person to listen through cochlear implant

LESSON 22

COMPUTER USERS

People around the world rely on computers to do so many things. They are from different backgrounds and are divided in 5 categories.

HOME USER

The computer is a basic necessity. Each home user spends time on the computer for different reasons:

• business
• communication
• entertainment
• education

SMALL OFFICE/HOME OFFICE (SOHO) USER

SOHO users use computer to manage their work effectively. They advertise their products and services through websites. They also take orders from the websites.

To save cost, SOHO connects one printer to many employees to share. SOHO also have their own basic business software such as word processing and spreadsheet software to assist them in documents preparation and their financial tasks.

Small Office or Home Office users include:

• accounting firms, travel agencies, florists and many more

These SOHO users:

• use desktop or notebook computers as well as telephone, handphones and PDAs in completing their tasks and communicating
• work in a small company or work as an individual at home

MOBILE USER

Network services are expanding to serve people across the country and the world. More users are becoming mobile users, who work on computer while they are away from their home or main offices.

Mobile users:

• include real estate agents, insurance agents, meter readers and journalists
• use notebook computers, Internet-enabled PDAs or smart phones
• work with basic business software such as word processing and spreadsheet business software
• use presentation graphics software to create and deliver presentations to a large
• audience by connecting a mobile computer or device to a video projector

POWER USER

Power users require the capabilities of workstation computers or other types powerful computers. The software that is used by power users is normally expensive because of their specialize design. Their computer have network access connections and internet connections.

Power users:

• include engineers, scientists, architects and virtual reality animators
• use computers with extremely fast processor, bigger storage and customised software
• work with mini computers that uses design to meet the organisational needs
• use software such as CAD, CAM and MATLABExamples :

LARGE BUSINESS USER

Each employee or customer who uses computer in large offices of company is a large business user. Large business users use a large network of computers. Use computers for basic business activities such as preparing bills for millions of customers, preparing payroll and managing thousands of items in the inventory.

Large business users:

• bank, insurance company, hypermarket
• use computers for basic business activities
• have e-commerce that allow customers and vendors to interact and do business transactions online therefore customers, vendors and other interested parties can access information on the web
• have e-mail and web browsers to enable communications among employees, vendors and customers
• provide kiosks in public locations

Many employees of large business telecommute, which means they work away from their offices workstation. They also have flexible schedule.

(Latest) Form 4: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SECURITY THREATS AND SECURITY MEASURES

Security threats may come from in many forms. For example, when someone is invading your account information from a trusted bank, this act is considered as a security threat.

Security measures can be used to prevent this invader from getting the account information. For example, the bank can use a firewall to prevent unauthorised access to its database.

SECURITY THREADS
Security threats may come from in many forms. For example, when someone is invading your account information from a trusted bank, this act is considered as a security threat.

Security measures can be used to prevent this invader from getting the account information. For example, the bank can use a firewall to prevent
unauthorised access to its database.

MALICIOUS CODE THREATS VS. ANTIVIRUS AND ANTI-SPYWARE
Security threats include virus, Trojan horse, logic bomb, trapdoor and backdoor, and worm.

Antivirus and anti-spyware can be used to protect the computer from the threats by:

 limiting connectivity
 allowing only authorised media for loading data and software
 enforcing mandatory access controls
 blocking the virus from the computer program

HACKING VS. FIREWALL
Hacking is an unauthorised access to the computer system done by a hacker. We can use firewall or cryptography to prevent the hacker from accessing our computers.

A firewall permits limited access to unauthorised users or any activities from the network environment. Cryptography is a process of hiding information by changing the actual information into different representation, for example, an APA can be written as 7&*.

NATURAL DISASTER VS. DATA BACKUP
The natural and environmental disasters may include:
• flood
• fire
• earthquakes
• storms
• tornados

Natural disasters may threaten a computer’s hardware and software easily. Computers are also sensitive to their operating environment such as
excessive heat or the inadequacy of power supply.

The backup system is needed to backup all data and applications in the computer. With the backup system, data can be recovered in case of an emergency.


THEFT VS. HUMAN ASPECTS
Computer theft can be of two kinds:

 can be used to steal money, goods, information and computer resources
 the actual stealing of computers, especially notebooks and PDAs

Measures that can be taken to prevent theft:

 prevent access by using locks, smart-card or password
 prevent portability by restricting the hardware from being moved
 detect and guard all exits and record any hardware transported

BE SUPSPICIOUS OF ALL RESULTS
There are many instances where non-programmers develop applications which are not built with proper understanding of software engineering practices.

Data produced by such applications may not be correct and may risk corrupting data received from other sources that are not compatible with the application.

SECURITY PROCEDURES

Computers should have alarm systems to guard them from any attacks such as viruses and data corruption. The alarm system is the security measures that we take to ensure its safety.

DATA PROTECTION
We need to protect the data in the computer as it may somehow get lost or corrupted due to some viruses or mishap like fire, flood, lightning, machine
failures and even human errors.

There are a few ways to protect the information namely:
• make backup files
• detect the virus and clean the computer
• warn others on virus attacks

1) BACKUP FILES
Users can do backups of file systems by:
 keeping the duplicated files in external storage such as in the floppy disk and thumb drive
 do backup frequently

2) DETECT VIRUS AND DO CLEANUP
A computer virus is able to affect and infect the way the computer works. Viruses can be detected when we run an antivirus program.We can also delete the infected files and documents.

3) WARN OTHERS ON VIRUS ATTACK
We can warn others on virus attacks or new viruses by sending e-mails to them.

DETECTING ILLEGAL ACCESS TO SYSTEMS
The computer system is able to detect any illegal access to the system by a user who does not have any authorisation. Basically, a corporation will simply use tcpwrappers and tripwire to detect any illegal access to their system. User's access will be reviewed periodically by computer operations. On going internal audits will be made to ensure detection of violations of security and unauthorised modifications to software and data .

TCPWRAPPERS

Tcpwrappers stop the attempted connection


examines its configuration files


will decide whether to accept or reject the request.

Tcpwrappers will control access at the application level, rather than at the socket level like iptables and ipchains. The system will run tcpwrappers to log access to ftp, tftp, rch, rlogin, rexec and telnet.

TRIPWIRE
Tripwire will detect and report on any changes in the thousands of strategic system files.

The system will run tripwire to determine if system files have changed.

PREVENTING ILLEGAL ACCESS TO SYSTEMS
Have any of you ever been to an airport? Do you know the do’s and don’ts when you are at the airport?

There are things that cannot be taken inside the airplane. It is for the purpose of security procedures.

It is the same as computer systems. It would not allow any unauthorised users to simply access the system.

Ways to prevent illegal access to systems:

1. Run anlpassword to make password cracking difficult.
2. Run tcpwrappers to check if the name for an ip address can be provided by DNC
3. Use a callback system to prevent unauthorised use of stolen passwords.

PREVENTING ILLEGAL ROOT ACCESS
To prevent any illegal root access, we should have Sudo, so that people can perform on some machine without getting access to the entire root if that is not required. In addition, with Sudo we did not have to give out the root password.

Sudo stands for (Superuser do) and is a program in Unix, Linux and similar operating systems such as Mac OS X that allows users to run programs in the form of another user (normally in the form of the system's superuser).

Sudo allows a permitted user to execute a command as the superuser or another user, as specified in the sudoers file.

PATCH
Patch supplies small updates to software, provided that the source code is available.

Patch is a name of an UNIX utility. It applies a script
generated by the different program to a set of files
that allows changes from one file to be directly applied to another file.

Resources are not enough to patch all security holes that we hear about through the bugtraq list.

(Bugtraq is a full disclosure mailing list dedicated to the issues of computer security. On-topic discussions are new discussions about vulnerabilities, methods of exploitation and how to fix them. It is a high volume
mailing list and almost all new vulnerabilities are discussed there.)

(Latest) Form 4: 1.3.3.1 - Select appropriate security measures to overcome the identified computer threats.

SECURITY MEASURES

Today, people rely on computers to create, store and manage critical information. It is important that the computer and the data they store are accessible and available when needed. It is also important that users take measures to protect their computers and data from lost, damage and misused.

Security measures mean the precautionary measures taken toward possible danger or damage. There are 6 type of security measures.

1.3.3.2 - Apply the correct security procedures.

-- Antivirus

- Anti-Spyware

- Cryptography

- Firewall

- Data backup

1) DATA BACKUP

Data Backup is a program of file duplication. Backups of data applications are necessary so that they can be recovered in case of an emergency.

Depending on the importance of the information, daily, weekly or biweekly backups from a hard disk can be performed.

2) CRYPTOGRAPHY

Cryptography is a process of hiding information by altering the actual information into different representation, for example, an APA can be

written as I? X.

Almost all cryptosystems depend on a key such as a

password like the numbers or a phrase that can be used to encrypt or decrypt a message.

The traditional type of cryptosystem used on a computer network is called a symmetric secret key system.

3) ANTIVIRUS

An antivirus program protects a computer against viruses by identifying and removing any computer viruses found in the computer memory, on

storage media or incoming e-mail files.

An antivirus program scans for programs that attempt to modify the boot program, the operating system and other programs that normally are read from but not modified.

IDENTIFYING VIRUS

Two technique are used to identify the virus:

a) VIRUS SIGNATURE

Also called a virus definition is a specific pattern of the virus code.

b) INOCULATING A PROGRAM FILE

The antivirus program recordsinformation such as the file size and file creation date in a separate inoculation file.

The antivirus program then uses this information to detect if a virus tampers with the data describing the inoculated program file.

If an antivirus program identifies an infected file, it attempts to remove its virus, worm or Trojan horse. If the antivirus program cannot remove the infection, it often quarantines the infected file. Quarantine is a separate

area of a hard disk that holds the infected file until the infection can be removed. This step ensures other files will not become infected. Patents for inventions Utility, design or plant patents that protect inventions and improvements to existing inventions

4) ANTI-SPYWARE

Spyware is a program placed on a computer without the user’s knowledge. It secretly collects information about the user.

The spyware program communicates information to

the outside source.

An anti-spyware application program sometime called tracking software or a spybot is used to remove spyware.

Among of the popular anti-spyware programs are:

• Spybot Search and Destroy

• Ad-aware

• Spyware Blaster

5) FIREWALL

Firewall is a piece of hardware or software which functions in a networked environment to prevent some communications forbidden by the security

policy.

Firewall implement a security policy. It might permit limited access from in or outside the network perimeters or from certain user or for certain activities.

6) HUMAN ASPECTS OF SECURITY MEASURES

Human aspects refer to the user and also the intruder of a computer system.

It is one of the hardest aspects to give protection to.

The most common problem is the lack of achieving a good information security procedure.