Violation on Privacy

Computer hacking incorporates some degree of violation on the privacy of others, invading the network security, and thus causing damage to confidential files, web page or software. It may also include downloading or alteration of files through unauthorized access.

Computer hacking is the practice of altering computer hardware and software, in order to cause damage to important data on a computer or to simply steal secret information. Computer hackers often aim at home and office computers that are connected to the Internet. The Internet makes PC vulnerable to attacks from hackers from across the globe.

Computer hacking is the break of computer security. It exposes the sensitive data of the user and risks user privacy. These activities disclose the secret user information such as personal details, social security numbers, credit card numbers, bank account data, etc. This can lead to illegitimate use and modification of users’ information.

Computer hacking can also cause theft of significant business information. This can disclose email addresses to hackers which could be used by them to use it for spamming and destroying email privacy.

Impact on Labor Force

Computer Crime has become a very large issue in our society today; this paper will look at this issue from a sociological perspective. Computer crime first is a very new problem in our society today and it is crimes that are committed from a computer. These include embezzling, breaking into other computers, cyber porn and various other crimes that have a drastic affect on the society and the institutions that each of us hold to keep our global society running.

To first understand computer crime one must understand first what crime is. According to Diana Kendall, "crime is a behavior that violates criminal law and is punishable with fines, jail or other sanctions"(Kendall 1999; 161). Yet since computer technology is so new it has really no laws to govern it. A law is formal norms that are enforced, norms being established rules of behavior. Many of the crimes committed on computers often times go unpunished. As stated by David Pitchford in the London journal Focus when writing on pornography on the Internet, " the only way illegal pornographers can be caught is through chance leads, tip-offs and telephone tracing" (Focus 1995; p10-12).

Computer crime despite the many problems it has brought has also brought some needed social controls to the Internet and as stated before some laws have been formed to protect many of the institutions that because of computer crime have become targets for criminals.

Health Risk

Having visual electronics will decrease in social/emotional skills, decrease in peer interaction and increase disrespect of authority from children and teens who have electronics in their bedrooms.

The second reason, knows a thing or two about brain development, I knew that computer use does not tap into the normal brain development and brain stimulation needed to make our young people healthy and happy. Now we have plenty of research to back that up.

The effect of computer video games on the brain is a research area gaining popularity as the percentage of children and adults who play video games is on the rise. Some people believe violence in video games and in other media promotes violent behavior among viewers.

Once a researcher had the chance to observe the effects of video games first hand on two boys, ages eight and ten, when I babysat them earlier in the semester. They were playing the video game "Mario Cart," which is really not a very violent game; the object is to win a car race by coming in first while maneuvering through different courses. When the younger brother won, the older brother got up and started kicking him and yelling insults! Later on that day, the younger brother was playing another video game by himself and when he could not beat the level, he threw down the controller and screamed at the TV. Screen.

Eye strain and repetitive strain injury are two of the more well-known health risks associated with sitting in front of a computer for hours on end. However it now appears that people are also at risk from blood clots, similar to those experienced by long-haul air travellers.

A 32-year-old New Zealand man, who spent up to 12 hours every day on his computer, almost died after developing deep vein thrombosis (DVT). This is a serious condition in which a blood clot forms within the deep vein system, often in the legs. It can become life-threatening if the clot travels to the lungs.


Because the risk of developing DVT is greatest in people subjected to prolonged sitting or immobilization, in recent years, the condition has been increasingly linked to long-haul air travel, even earning the nickname 'economy class syndrome'. 

However in the case of the New Zealand man, no other risk factors for DVT were found. The doctors concluded that he had developed the condition due to prolonged periods sitting in front of a computer, often going for hours without taking a break or even just standing up.

The doctors have warned of the 'potential burden' of this condition in view of the widespread use of computers in all facets of life.

They have dubbed it 'e-thrombosis'.


Health problems will arise when we are exposed to if we use computers too much:

• Sleep disorders – insomnia or often awakening during the nights. Cause is frequent use on PC or laptop right after you wake up. Resolution is pretty simple, don’t lay in bad working, just do something that doesn’t stimulate your brain too much.
• Headaches – often caused by improper environment surrounding computer use. Check your screen position, room lighting, chair, glasses.
• Back pain – caused by improper chair sitting position and prolonged absence of back muscles exercises
• Poor attention span – that very interesting. We are used to do multitasking, working with different programs at the same time and being concentrated on several points on the screen, when feedback is expected. When we are facing only one task, we get bored faster, we can’t concentrate enough on the singular task. Meetings, when you have to be focus on the discussion is a killer. There isn’t too much you can do to correct this, as your brain takes longer to learn another work pattern. 

Impact on Environment

Well, the most harmful effect is that Computers release very high amount of CO2.

Further environmental problems caused by computers include a large amount of energy consumption during the production of computers as well as by the use of computers. "For the manufacturing of a normal PC approx. 30'000 mega joule in energy are used.
The more dangerous effect is the release of toxic chemicals that are used in the manufacture hardware and in the disposal of computers. In the manufacturing of just one 8 inch wafer 4,267 cubic feet of bulk gases, 27 pounds of chemicals, 29 cubic feet of hazardous gases and 9 pounds of hazardous waste are given off. In addition over 3787 gallons of water are wasted. All the chemicals and toxins that are released often end up polluting ground water and harming people’s health. Even cleaning agents for computer equipment (such as chlorofluorocarbons) is bad for the environment even they are very harmful to the ozone layer.

 


The saving of paper is possible in theory; but in practice computers have increased paper use. After a hard disk crash and a virus or two, most of us justifiably mistrust electronic storage methods. It is always safer to make a hard copy—just in case. And the ease of printing constantly tempts us to put out a flashy and colorful memo or letter or report or handout or flier. We know, of course, if we ever stop to think about it, that nine tenths of what we print will never be read—who has the time to read it?—but to see all those neatly-formatted sheets successively emerging from the printer makes us feel so … productive.

The average 24 kg desktop computer with monitor requires at least 10 times its weight in fossil fuels and chemicals to manufacture, much more materials intensive than an automobile or refrigerator, which only require 1-2 times their weight in fossil fuels. Researchers found that manufacturing one desktop computer and 17-inch CRT monitor uses at least 240 kg of fossil fuels, 22 kg of chemicals and 1,500 kg of water – a total of 1.8 tonnes of materials.While computers become smaller and more powerful, their environmental impacts are increasing. The materials- and energy-intense production process, greater adoption of PCs worldwide, plus the rapid rate at which they are discarded for newer machines, add up to growing mountains of garbage and increasingly serious contributions to resource depletion, environmental pollution and climate change. 

 


Sales of personal computers have exploded. The 300,000 "desktop" computer sales in the U.S. in 1980 increased 500% the following year and doubled again a year later. Today, despite the high-tech meltdown of the late 1990s, computer sales grow about 10 percent a year and more than 130 million computers are being sold each year around the world. By the end of 2002, one billion PCs had been sold worldwide.