<h5 id="111-introduction">11.1 INTRODUCTION</h5> <ul> <li>The integration of digital technologies in various industries has led to significant changes in society, making communication faster, more efficient, and convenient.</li> <li>The widespread use of digital technologies can be attributed to the introduction of personal computers (PCs), the Internet, and smartphones, which have brought these technologies to the general public.</li> <li>Digital technologies have redefined and evolved all spheres of human activities, including banking, aviation, industrial production, and e-commerce.</li> <li>While digital technologies offer numerous benefits, they can also be misused, emphasizing the need for best practices to ensure a safe and productive digital environment.</li> <li>Stephen Hawking’s perspective on computer viruses as a form of life created in our own destructive image highlights the potential risks associated with digital technologies.</li> </ul> <p>======</p> <h5 id="112-digital-footprints">11.2 Digital Footprints</h5> <ul> <li> <p>Digital footprints are the data trails left behind by online activities, which can include websites visited, emails sent, and information submitted.</p> </li> <li> <p>There are two types of digital footprints: active, which are intentional submissions (e.g., emails, posts), and passive, which are unintentional data generated from browsing, using apps, etc.</p> </li> <li> <p>Digital footprints can reveal personal information, computer IP address, and location, and can be used for targeted advertising or misused.</p> </li> <li> <p>Even if attempts are made to erase digital footprints, they may not be fully eliminated due to server storage and other factors.</p> </li> <li> <p>Users should be cautious about online activities, as these data trails can be traced back to the user, location, and device details.</p> </li> </ul> <p>======</p> <h5 id="113-digital-society-and-netizen">11.3 DIGITAL SOCIETY AND NETIZEN</h5> <ul> <li>A digital society is one where an increasing number of daily activities are conducted digitally, such as communication, social networking, banking, shopping, entertainment, education, and transportation.</li> <li>A netizen, or digital citizen, is an individual who uses digital technology and the internet.</li> <li>Responsible netizens practice safe, ethical, and legal use of digital technology.</li> <li>Netiquettes, communication etiquettes, and social media etiquettes should be followed by netizens.</li> <li>Examples of online services that can be availed by a digital citizen include communication platforms, social media, online banking, e-commerce websites, entertainment platforms, educational websites, and transportation apps.</li> </ul> <p>======</p> <h5 id="1131-net-etiquettes">11.3.1 Net Etiquettes</h5> <ul> <li>Netiquettes are essential for ethical, respectful, and responsible online behavior.</li> <li>Being ethical involves respecting copyright and sharing accurate information.</li> <li>Being respectful includes respecting privacy and diversity.</li> <li>Being responsible means avoiding cyberbullying and not engaging with trolls.</li> <li>It is crucial to protect personal information and be cautious while sharing credentials online.</li> <li>Reporting abusive or inappropriate content or behavior is essential to maintain a safe and respectful online community.</li> </ul> <p>======</p> <h5 id="1132-communication-etiquettes">11.3.2 Communication Etiquettes</h5> <ul> <li>Digital communication includes various forms such as email, texting, instant messaging, and audio/video conferencing.</li> <li>Precision is key in digital communication etiquettes, which includes respecting time by not wasting it on unnecessary emails or comments and respecting data limits by avoiding very large attachments.</li> <li>Politeness is essential in both synchronous and asynchronous communication, with abusive language and spam emails to be avoided.</li> <li>Credibility is crucial in digital communication, with comments, replies, and emails deciding one’s credibility over time.</li> <li>Remember that anything posted on the internet, even if deleted, cannot be permanently deleted and is recorded in one’s digital footprint.</li> </ul> <p>======</p> <h5 id="1133-social-media-etiquettes">11.3.3 Social Media Etiquettes</h5> <ul> <li>Social media etiquettes include:</li> <li>Never arrange to meet an online friend as it may not be safe.</li> <li>Choose a strong and frequently changed password to ensure account security.</li> <li>Be cautious while befriending unknown people and verifying information before accepting friend requests.</li> <li>Avoid believing in everything on social networks; use knowledge and experience to validate news, messages, or posts.</li> <li>Think before uploading or sharing sensitive or confidential files and personal photos.</li> </ul> <p>======</p> <h5 id="114-data-protection">11.4 DATA PROTECTION</h5> <ul> <li>Data protection is primarily concerned with the privacy of digital data or information.</li> <li>Sensitive data, if breached or compromised, can cause harm, embarrassment, inconvenience, and unfairness to an individual. Examples of sensitive data include biometric information, health information, financial information, and personal documents.</li> <li>Privacy of sensitive data can be ensured through encryption, authentication, and other secure methods, limiting access to authorized users for legitimate purposes.</li> <li>Data protection policies are legal documents providing guidelines for processing, storage, and transmission of sensitive information, preventing unauthorized modification or disclosure.</li> <li>Citing sources is essential to maintain academic integrity, give credit to original creators, and avoid plagiarism when preparing projects or write-ups.</li> </ul> <p>======</p> <h5 id="1141-intellectual-property-right-ipr">11.4.1 Intellectual Property Right (IPR)</h5> <ul> <li> <p>Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) refer to the protection of inventions, literary and artistic expressions, designs and symbols, names and logos.</p> </li> <li> <p>Copyright: Automatically granted to creators for their original works like writing, photographs, audio recordings, video, sculptures, architectural works, computer software, and other creative works. It prevents others from copying, using or selling the work.</p> </li> <li> <p>Patent: Granted for inventions after the inventor applies. It gives the owner exclusive rights to prevent others from using, selling, or distributing the protected invention for 20 years.</p> </li> <li> <p>Trademark: Includes any visual symbol, word, name, design, slogan, label, etc., that distinguishes the brand or commercial enterprise. It prevents others from using a confusingly similar mark.</p> </li> </ul> <p>======</p> <h5 id="1142-violation-of-ipr">11.4.2 Violation of IPR</h5> <ul> <li>Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s idea or work as one’s own. It includes copying contents from the internet without mentioning the source or the original creator, or deriving an idea or a product from an already existing one without giving credit.</li> <li>Copyright Infringement is using another person’s work without their permission or not paying for it if it is being sold. Downloading an image from the internet and using it in a project without the owner’s permission, even after giving reference, is a violation of copyright.</li> <li>Trademark Infringement is the unauthorized use of another’s trademark on products and services. The owner of the trademark may take legal action against someone who infringes its registered trademark.</li> <li>Websites like creativecommons.org and gnu.org provide information about open/public licensing to avoid plagiarism and copyright infringement.</li> <li>It is essential to check the copyright status of the writer’s work before using it to avoid plagiarism and copyright infringement.</li> </ul> <p>======</p> <h5 id="1143-public-access-and-open-source-software">11.4.3 Public Access and Open Source Software</h5> <ul> <li>Copyright restrictions can hinder collaboration and innovation.</li> <li>Public licenses, such as GNU General Public License (GPL) and Creative Commons (CC), provide rules for using copyrighted works.</li> <li>CC allows freedom to share, use, and build upon creative works, while GPL is for software, allowing users to run, study, share, and modify.</li> <li>Free and open source software (FOSS) like Linux and Libre Office, have source code open for access, modification, and improvement.</li> <li>Software piracy is unauthorized use or distribution of software, considered copyright infringement, and it negatively impacts the software industry and economy.</li> </ul> <p>======</p> <h5 id="115-cyber-crime">11.5 CYBER CRIME</h5> <ul> <li>Cyber crime refers to criminal activities or offenses carried out in a digital environment, with the intent to directly or indirectly cause physical harm, financial loss, or mental harassment.</li> <li>A cyber criminal may attack a computer or network to disable or damage data or services, or spread viruses and malwares to steal private and confidential data for blackmailing and extortion.</li> <li>A computer virus is defined as lines of malicious code that can copy itself and have detrimental effects on computers, by destroying data or corrupting the system.</li> <li>Malware is a software designed to specifically gain unauthorized access to computer systems.</li> <li>The nature of cyber crimes such as hacking, ransomware attacks, denial-of-service, phishing, email fraud, banking fraud, and identity theft are increasingly frequently reported.</li> </ul> <p>======</p> <h5 id="1151-hacking">11.5.1 HACKING</h5> <ul> <li>Hacking is unauthorized access to a computer, network, or digital system.</li> <li>Ethical hacking, or white hat hacking, is hacking with positive intent to explore software vulnerabilities and improve security.</li> <li>Ethical hackers may exploit a website to discover security loopholes and report findings to the owner.</li> <li>Black hat hackers or crackers are non-ethical hackers who hack for illegal activities like data stealing, system bringing down, etc.</li> <li>It’s crucial to be cautious with email links and attachments, only opening them from trusted sources.</li> </ul> <p>======</p> <h5 id="1152-phishing-and-fraud-emails">11.5.2 Phishing and Fraud Emails</h5> <ul> <li>Phishing is an unlawful activity of presenting fake websites or emails to fraudulently collect sensitive personal details.</li> <li>The most common phishing method is through email spoofing, where a fake or forged email address is used.</li> <li>Identity theft is a type of phishing attack where personal data like demographic details, email ID, banking credentials, passport, PAN, Aadhaar number are stolen and misused.</li> <li>Financial identity theft, criminal identity theft, and medical identity theft are examples of how criminals misuse stolen identities.</li> <li>Phishing attempts can also be made through phone calls or text messages.</li> </ul> <p>======</p> <h5 id="1153-ransomware">11.5.3 Ransomware</h5> <ul> <li>Ransomware is a type of cyber crime where the attacker gains unauthorized access to a computer, blocks the user from accessing data, and demands a ransom to restore access.</li> <li>The attacker usually encrypts the data, threatens to publish personal and sensitive information or photographs, or uses other forms of blackmail.</li> <li>Ransomware can be downloaded through malicious or unsecure websites, software from doubtful repositories, email attachments in spam mails, or malicious advertisements on the Internet.</li> <li>To file a complaint with the cyber cell, users should explore and find out the specific process for their area.</li> <li>There are no specific equations or formulae associated with this text.</li> </ul> <p>======</p> <h5 id="1154-combatting-and-preventing-cyber-crime">11.5.4 Combatting and Preventing Cyber Crime</h5> <ul> <li>Cybercrime can be combatted with alertness and legal help.</li> <li>Safety measures to reduce risk include: regularly backing up data, using antivirus software, avoiding pirated software, updating system and browser software, and not visiting untrusted websites.</li> <li>Password safety is crucial: use strong, unique passwords; do not allow password saving on others’ computers; and be cautious with cookies on unknown sites.</li> <li>Conduct online transactions only through well-known, secure sites and secure wireless networks with strong, changed passwords.</li> <li>Digital signatures, the digital equivalent of paper certificates, use a unique digital ID issued by a Certified Authority to authenticate documents.</li> </ul> <p>======</p> <h5 id="116-indian-information-technology-act-it-act">11.6 INDIAN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACT (IT ACT)</h5> <ul> <li>The Indian Information Technology Act (IT Act) 2</li> </ul> <p>======</p> <h5 id="117-impact-on-health">11.7 IMPACT ON HEALTH</h5> <ul> <li>Prolonged use of digital devices can lead to health issues, including physical strain and mental fatigue.</li> <li>Ergonomics helps reduce strain by designing workplaces that are safe and comfortable for users, including appropriate positioning of devices and furniture.</li> <li>Eye strain is a common complaint among users of digital devices, which can be alleviated by periodically focusing on distant objects and taking breaks for outdoor activities.</li> <li>Bad posture, backaches, neck and shoulder pains can be prevented by arranging the workspace as recommended by ergonomics, and avoiding overuse of keyboards.</li> <li>Other health impacts of prolonged use of digital devices include stress, physical fatigue, and obesity. It is important to maintain a balance and enjoy other pursuits, such as sports and hobbies.</li> </ul> <p>======</p>