Abstract
Computers have been playing a significant role in the daily lives of many people and thus, it is not astounding that unpleasant incidents that involve computer usage have turned out to be widespread issues of litigation. In a broad variety of technological, medical, monetary and other realms, individuals make decisions and execute responses founded on the appearance of the screen of their computer.
Whenever there is an error occurs, the question that naturally comes up is how can one share-out blame between the computer and the person using it? Was the computer inadequately designed or was the user negligent? Mostly, interface is the vital part of the computer.
Users basically do not comprehend the interior sphere of computer’s bytes, ram and files. Instead, they comprehend their computer via the interface, wording, illustrations and images that are displayed on their screens.
Body
When the society started using computers, lack of ethical principles regarding their utilization and other related matters brought about a number of problems. Nonetheless, as their usage became extensive and prevalent in different areas of people’s lives, debates on computer ethics brought about some sort of agreement. In the present day, many regulations have been put together as laws by some global national.
Malpractice is a common term and there are different laws against it; all people are expected to understand what constitutes computer malpractice. With today’s internet freedom, new ethical matters arise (Weckert, 2007). Computer malpractices do not act against the law but they are unethical. Basically, ethics is all about making a decision between doing what is right or wrong.
Computing Machinery Association came up with a code-of-ethics: self-centeredness is the root of unethical conducts (Bynum, 2004). Computer users should understand that it is unacceptable and unethical to look through computer files of someone else because it’s like prying into their private matters. It is also considered to be unethical to send someone an impolite text through e-mail.
Unethical conducts can be perceived as punitive issues in some organizations and companies. Malpractice is a conduct that is legal, however it violates a professional code-of-conduct (Stamatellos, 2007).
Some other intolerable computer malpractices include leaving one’s computer terminal not attended and open. Choosing password poorly is also unacceptable; snooping at unacceptable and inappropriate websites and utilization of computer systems for one’s personal usage.
Computer malpractice is generally a professional misbehavior or a bad practice/conduct. It does not essentially entail infringing a law. Strategies of handling a general problem of getting more consequential precautions in a computer-linked enterprise have both technical and non-technical workings. They are normally multifaceted, but turning out to be more understood and better backed-up by the latest computer systems.
The latter are exceptionally extensive, as well as political, social-economic, religious, and other different aspects (Weckert, 2007). A computer-linked misconduct is a behavior that is different from what is preferred or expected.
Such misconducts may possibly be attributed to computer, human beings or ecological/environmental issues. This means that people misuses computers/systems and computers/systems misuses people (Bynum, 2004).
In different countries, there is a malpractice suit that consists of a professional negligence. Malpractice is an extensively debatable kind of lawsuit. Sadly, it is also broadly misinterpreted, with propaganda stretched in private deliberations, in the media, and in political debates (Weckert, 2007).
Unacceptable computer malpractice entails professional misconduct and negligence when offering services related to computer systems. If one offers services to someone, he/she has a legal accountability or an obligation to practice levelheaded care in offering those services.
For instance, if one offers consultant services, his/her obligation is to take sensible care to offer good counseling. If one offers archiving services and information/data support, his/her obligation is to take sensible measures to make sure that he/she copies the correct data and keeps it protected (Stamatellos, 2007).
Computer malpractices are not ethical and many of them are unacceptable. For instance, one should not interfere with computer workings of other people.
Interference can bring about computer viruses; these are small computer programs that interrupt the work of people in a computer by messing up their stored files and getting rid of large quantities of computer memory or by basically showing bothersome and aggravating messages.
Producing and deliberately spreading these viruses is not acceptable and is also unethical. It is also unacceptable to use a computer for stealing purposes (Stamatellos, 2007).
There are people who make use of a computers to burglarize companies’ or banks’ accounts and transfer considerable amounts of money; this is not only a malpractice but a computer fraud as well, and there are lawful measures against it. It is also unethical to make use of other people’s resources without their permission.
Usage of multiuser systems involves operator ids and private passwords to protect data and info and no one is supposed to circumvent this system of authorization. Hacking a computer system to infringe and circumvent its authorization is also considered to be unethical and can be called a computer malpractice (Bynum, 2004).
Appropriating intellectual output of someone else is also a computer malpractice that is intolerable. For instance, programs that one writes for personal assigned projects are his/her personal intellectual outputs (Stamatellos, 2007).
Conclusion
Additionally, copying other people’s programs without their consent is piracy and is not ethical. Copyright laws safeguard intellectual property because it is a type of private ownership.
Generally, Computer malpractice is seen when a person shows hasty and careless conducts or behaviors when making use of computer systems. It is when one fails to display a minimum degree of competence and experience essential in a particular profession. A person guilty of any kind of computer malpractice can be an operator/user or even a computer expert.
References
Bynum, W.T., (2004).Computer ethics and professional responsibility. California, CA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Stamatellos, G., (2007). Computer ethics: a global perspective. New York: NY. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Weckert, J., (2007). Computer ethics. New York, NY: Ashgate.