Inappropriate data structures

• Starting of the Year 2000 (Y2K) a problem occurred throughout major industries.

• The issue presented was that many software products could not count dates past 1 Jan. 2000.

Computer Malware

• Malware is unwanted damage caused by software that has been designed for this job.

• Examples include, viruses, trojan horses and spyware.

• To protect from these threats, anti-viruses & anti-malware software products were developed to counter them.

  • Viruses; replicate each other and spread. Pretends to look like a legit software.

  • Worms; installs itself onto hard drives. Consumes storage through replication.

  • Spyware; gains user's information and sends it to another party. Used for identity theft.

Reliance on Software

• Software is important for the development of humans, including in services such as gas, electricity and water.

• Motorised transport rely on software as well as government organisations such as banks and hospitals.

Social Networking

• A social networking site is an online group of people who share thoughts and activities with family, friends and those with similar interests.

• However, there are a number of issues in relation to social networks.

  • Privacy- encouraging information distribution, this also enables identity theft and illegal activities.

  • Bullying- especially young people being introduced to social networking with a limited bank of knowledge towards the idea of social networks.

• Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are all popular businesses that adopt the social networking system for their service.

Cyber Safety

• The risks through the internet is a serious concern in today's society. Therefore, cyber safety is a necessity.

• Security software (firewalls) are used to attempt to protect the user.

Information Validation

• Since data on the internet is unregulated and huge amounts of information is available to individuals, this leads to concerns on reliability for some information.

• To validate information, a set of procedures can be executed to evaluate the information;

  • Who is the author?

  • Is the information up-to date?

  • Who is the intended audience?

  • Is the information accurate and unbiased?

  • What is the purpose of the information?