Assignment: Privacy, Security, Ethics

Security Concerns
1. Security concerns that need to be addressed before using a resource or service.
Security concerns go two ways. Coming in and going out. You need to make sure that unauthorized content and unauthorized access does not occur on your computer. You also need to make sure that your information and data is not distributed without your permission to people who would misuse it. You need to use common sense in all these areas. Subscribe to a security service and make sure it updates itself regularly. Be careful when going online so as to not reveal too much information. I try to be very careful online. I don't fill out random surveys or subscribe to sites that I don't know about. I have several phony identities that I use for online use complete with bogus birthdays and addresses. I have several junk email accounts that I use when I am surfing. I try to limit my purchases to the major companies -- Paypal, Amazon, EBgames, Penneys, etc. I have a special bank card that I use for online purchases with a small credit limit. I never use online budgeting or tax services. I avoid remote desktops. I would never have a Facebook or MySpace page. I simply don't want my personal information out there. My real friends already know who I am. They don't need MySpace to get to know me. People who are not my real friends, have no business knowing anything about me. As careful as I am, I still fall into problems. This course required me to go places I normally would not. I got into a serious problem with one site for this course.
2. Insuring student and school safety.
I work for the University and deal only with adults. As far as I know we do not have any censuring programs on our computers. Our computers are protected from hacking by limiting access and running all administrative management through the IT department. This is frustrating at times because we do not have administrative access and control of our work computers or laptops. If we want to subscribe to a service or install a plug-in, we have to submit a work order and wait until someone comes in to service it. I found many of the programs and sites for this course were off-limits on my work computer. I had to use my home computer to access some of the sites. As irritating as this is, I do understand. When you have a system that is used by several thousand people, it is too easy to acquire a lot of damaging material. Keeping central control is the only way to manage what is coming into the system.

As far as K-12 goes there are two types of screening and protection available. One method opens up the system and allows students to search at will, but filters out harmful material as it comes back. This method allows the most freedom, but isn't perfect. It often screens out legitimate data by misgrouping it or it doesn't recognize harmful data and allows it to come in. The destructive forces are hard at work trying to find ways to circumvent these filtering programs. The second method blocks ALL incoming data except data from pre-approved sites. Students are only allowed to get data from safe sites. This is probably the best and safest method, but needs to be constantly updated.

I feel very strongly that public schools need to safeguard student's access to harmful and damaging information. We usually think of predatory or pornographic information, but there are many other topics that are harmful to children (drugs, violence, criminals). I would rather err on the side of caution. There are plenty of good sites and resources available.

Ethical Concerns
http://www.uas.alaska.edu/library/faculty/copyright-faq.html
I find this topic extremely complicated. All I can do is refer students to the UA policy for students and staff concerning intellectual property. The Egan Library has a staff person who specializes in helping students and staff with these issues. When in doubt, ask.

With Web 2.0 and the social sites and services, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to tell exactly where an image or text originated. Someone may send content to you without annotation, and you assume that it originated with the sender. They could easily have taken it from a legitimate source and copied it. You have no way of knowing. You also have no way of knowing how the content you send is going to be copied and used. Where will it finally end up? Probably not where you think. You simply can't control it. I am uncomfortable because I am not sure where I stand most of the time. The issue is too complicated for the average person to understand. I still forward articles, pictures, and jokes to my family and friends. I assume, if someone put it out there, it is intended to be used and shared. With my casual internet use, I don't worry too much. With my courses and professional writing, I am very careful about where I get information and how I annotate it and use it.


Privacy Concerns
I really am concerned about privacy and actively try to limit my exposure on the web. I never use my correct demographic data on the web. I would never join Facebook or any of the social sites. I simply don't want people to know me or anything about me. I do use email and listservs for professional and specific personal communication. But I always in a minimal way. I don't like businesses tracking my purchases so that they can try to sell me things they think I want. I don't like customer loyalty cards and never fill out a questionnaire truthfully online. Robert and I don't even put bumper stickers on our cars. No matter how bland and innocent the thought is, you will probably make someone mad. We just don't like people knowing much about us. Period. I have no expectation of privacy on the web.

If I had young children in school, I would try to impress upon them the importance of keeping personal information private. The school has a responsibility to respect students and their family - in every way. But ultimately, it is up to the students to protect themselves. Teachers and parents need to make sure that students know how to do this.

Web 2.0 is no different from any other web application. It is no more invasive than applications that have been around for a long time. You need to use the same common sense with all web applications. I have no expectation of privacy any more.