IT ethics.(14 nädal)

In the most general sense, computer ethics is engaged in researching the behavior of people using a computer, on the basis of which appropriate moral prescriptions and a kind of etiquette norms are developed. The very use of the expression "computer ethics" is very conditional, this discipline is very young, it appeared in the 70-80s of the XX century, and along with it such terms as "information ethics", "cyberethics" are used.The most vivid embodiment of computer ethics was in the development of moral codes. The adoption of the code was dictated by the understanding that engineers, scientists and technologists, by the results of their activities, determine the quality and conditions of life of all people in the information society.The content of individual codes differs from each other, but they are based on some invariant set of moral guidelines that can be conditionally reduced to the following:

1. Do not use the computer to harm others;
2. Do not interfere with and interfere with the work of other users of computer networks;
3. Do not use files that are not intended for free use;
4. Do not use the computer for theft;
5. Do not use the computer to spread false information; 
6. Do not use stolen software;
7. Not to assign someone else's intellectual property;
8. Do not use computer equipment or network resources without permission or appropriate      compensation;
9. Think about the possible social consequences of the programs you write, or the systems that you develop;
10. Use a computer with self-restraints that show your courtesy and respect for other people.

In the framework of computer ethics, a special area is designated, called "hacker ethics", the foundation of which was laid by hackers, pioneers, who were at the source of modern information technologies. And with the development of the Internet, the notion of "network ethics" or "netiquette" (derived from net-network and etiquette-etiquette), which denotes the set of rules that have developed among users of the global network, also comes into use.It's no secret that spending most of your life in front of the monitor - both leisure and working hours - has long become the norm for many. Computerization of society has acquired a grandiose scale. IT professionals - as people who create software and hardware that support the operation of the entire computer infrastructure of society - must be aware of the importance of their activities and their responsibilities. Many people neglect this, not reflecting on the fact that sometimes the welfare of tens, hundreds of thousands of people depends on them.

When you master a new culture - and cyberspace, of course, has its own culture - you can make some mistakes. On the Internet, as in normal life, certain rules of communication are adopted, and very specific. Internet - there is a system, and there is no single unified code of rules (laws) for using the network for it. There are, however, generally accepted standards of work on the Internet, aimed at ensuring that the activities of each user of the network does not interfere with the work of other users.
Remember the main! Do not forget that even through the dead network and computer-stuffed computer you communicate with a living person. And often - with many people at the same time ...
Most of all, the rules of virtual etiquette apply to e-mail. For this you need:

• Regularly check the contents of your mailbox;
• Respond immediately to every letter addressed directly to you. Observe brevity, sometimes quite a few words are enough. Lack of response is equivalent to saying that if you ignored the greeting, you would refuse to shake the outstretched hand or turn your back to your interlocutor;
• In the electronic message always it is necessary to specify its basic theme. This rule did not appear immediately, it was developed gradually, being the result of certain practical requirements. It is necessary to take into account that letters that do not have a clearly formulated theme can be ignored;
• By sending a letter to an unknown addressee, use the usual text code, otherwise it is possible that he simply can not receive it, and communication services will cost less;
• at the end of each electronic message, you must indicate your name, surname, position and place of work, your email number, as well as your phone number and usual mail address, this information should not exceed four lines;
• Do not overload the electronic message with additional materials (photographs, drawings, etc.); Correctly choose the format of the text (the text format will take a hundred times less space than the document of any application); A large number of supplements should be sent only with the consent or at the request of the addressee. Specify whether his mailbox has restrictions on the information received;
• Messages with attached executable files, as well as Microsoft Office documents can carry computer viruses, usually destroying the contents of the destination computer; For a quick response to an e-mail, you just need to use the "Answer" button to get a letter ready for dispatch;
• Answering the letter, you should not repeat all the correspondence entirely, it is enough to reproduce only those fragments that you want to refer to (such citation is not necessary, but it is a certain gesture of politeness to your virtual correspondent who could forget the essence of his Messages or individual arguments in the discussion); Every electronic message from one correspondent to the other is private, that's why each user must follow the rule on the privacy of correspondence, (ie before transferring its contents to other persons, it is necessary to obtain permission from the author); 
• For correspondence not addressed personally to you and not from the author of the message, you should not answer, most often you are being imposed unnecessary commercial information.

Unfortunately, we have to state that in our country there is practically no special research on the problems of computer ethics. Almost all problems of computer ethics are of an "open" nature. The most acute and urgent problems can be regarded as those related to the evaluation of hackers' activities, the protection of copyright and the rights of the individual in the information space. But even in those areas of computer ethics, where a theoretical foundation for the analysis of moral problems has been developed and specific norms, principles and recommendations have been worked out, such as in computer codes, such dilemmas arise that do not have an obvious correct solution.