Cyber Ethics: Using Internet Safely

INTERNET has become a proliferated part of our daily life and we cannot deny the fact that we aren't secure in this cyber world. India, being on the top 3 countries which has maximum number of internet users after USA and China, facing increasing number of cyber attacks as well.

Majority of these attacks get successful due to human error, or say, due to our negligence. We all love spending time on internet. From chatting on WhatsApp to watching videos on YouTube, from taking online classes to ordering food, everything is done on internet.

Must Read: Check if you are doing something Illegal Online.

Since we all are very experienced in using internet for various purposes, but still

HOW MUCH OF US KNOW HOW TO USE INTERNET SAFELY?

We perform multiple acts daily over the internet, but we do not know whether they are to be performed or not. I will be sharing with you all some cyber ethics that you, me and each one of us has to follow who are using internet for any purpose.

Also Read: 13 Ways to Secure your WhatsApp Account!!

Cyber Ethics defines the rules to use internet:

Cyber Ethics are the set of moral responsibilities that that governs the acceptable behavior of the user while using computer or internet. These could be understood as some protocols that are defined to minimize the misuse of the internet.

These applies to all those who are using internet or computer devices at any time, whether it is an individual, a group, or an institution.

Some Cyber Ethics:

I’ll be sharing with you all some cyber ethics that applies to our day to day life which includes our daily activities like, social media networking, streaming, data downloading, etc. Firstly, we need to accept that internet is made to provide us the facilities and we must use it ethically.

!! OUR ACT ON THE INTERNET MUST NOT HARM SOMEONE ELSE!!

1. Don’t pretend to be someone else

It is a very pleasant act among the youth to create the fake ID’s over social media to tease their friends or to troll them or to stalk them. Once in a lifetime, most of us might send or received a friend request from the well-known account of Angel Priya and Papa ki Pari account on Facebook. Note that all these were marked as fake ID’s created by a boy.

You must not indulge yourself in any of such activities and be secure while you receive any unknown request on your social account. The person behind these types of ID’s could have any intention, whether just for fun, or to troll someone, or even to trap the person and make them pay a huge amount of money.

Doing so is considered unethical and could lead to risk for others.

2. Don’t troll

Trolling is the act of creating disharmony on the internet by stating some inflammatory, provoking or off-topic messages to any person online, and the person indulged in the act is known as troll. Trolling is a crime in the cyber world and is unethical. Trolling can lead to unwanted consequences and sometimes it gets the worst we can’t think of. Prevent yourself in indulging in such sort of activities, otherwise you have to also face the results.

3. Do not use bad words

Using bad words which are not acceptable over the internet is another unethical act. You must not use any bad words on the public platform. It could be insulting and deeply unpleasant for many other users out there. Although, this could be common among your friend circle and nearby ones, but is not at all acceptable on any public platform and if your friend isn’t comfortable with it. We must respect other’s opinion and should not criticize anyone on the internet.

Image Source: julieduck

4. Hide your personal information

Do not disclose any personal information to any stranger on the internet. Anyone claim to be the employee of any organization or provide some sort of gift hampers from an organization, be aware of such persons and never disclose your identity. Sharing your personal data on social media creates another risk vector, anyone can use your personal data and pretend himself to be you.

Also Read: How Social Media Exposes Your Personal Data?

5. Do not violate copyright

Copyrights are the intellectual property rights provided to the original creator of the content/ data to share and make copies of the work, only for a limited time. Violation of copyright issue is the most common unethical behavior seen over the internet. Never do copy and paste data from internet and present it as your own work, always give the reference for the source and author of the content.

Image Source: wikimedia

6. Do not download pirated applications

Piracy is the illegal distribution of the application for cheaper prices or for free without the permission of the creator. It generally includes cracking a software and make its distribution free, which is a cybercrime and downloading such applications for use is considered as unethical act. Before downloading, make note that most of such applications contains malware and are harmful for the device.

Image Sourec: hypertecdirect

7. Do not download pirated multimedia

While downloading multimedia, you must make sure that it does not have copyright on it. If you are downloading or redistributing multimedia like movies, songs, or any video from YouTube which has copyright in it, that means you are doing illegal activity. These act generally lead to a huge loss to the creator and in terms of the cyber ethics, it is not acceptable.

Also Read: How Fake Apps could be Dangerous and how to Identify One?

8. Do not bully anyone online

Cyber bullying is the act of bullying or harassing using electronics means., like on social media, messaging platforms, gaming platforms, mobile phones, etc. It includes sharing, posting or sending harmful, negative, false or mean content about someone. Cyber bullying can harm the online reputation of every person involved in the act- whether it is the victim or the person doing it. No one must indulge in this act as it can have a negative effect on the person bullied and could lead to depression and such problems.

Image Source: ipleaders

Hope you might have liked the blog, and I hope that you will maintain cyber ethics while using computer devices and internet. Following some simple steps can prevent us and others in getting any risk or danger. Never forget that our security is at our hands and we can make the cyber world a better place for everyone.

Have Some Questions? Ask at: Quora/CyVIN TECH