Egypt Lately & what we can learn from it...

Thursday, January 13, 2011

The Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics

The Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics
posted 22 hours ago by Jess Maher


Written by the Computer Ethics Institute
by the Computer Ethics Institute
Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people.
Thou shalt not interfere with other people's computer work.
Thou shalt not snoop around in other people's computer files.
Thou shalt not use a computer to steal.
Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness.
Thou shalt not copy or use proprietary software for which you have not paid.
Thou shalt not use other people's computer resources without authorization or proper compensation.
Thou shalt not appropriate other people's intellectual output.
Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the program you are writing or the system you are designing.
Thou shalt always use a computer in ways that ensure consideration and respect for your fellow humans.
Computer Ethics Institute

Contact: Stuart Allen
sallen (at) computerethicsinstitute.org
This page last updated on August 11, 2008 by Webmaster.

http://www.ushistory.org/documents/declaration.htm

How important is your Social Media imprint to you? Should we be making sure we have back ups?

I wish I had knew more about this topic earlier- my Dad passed away two months ago, as an avid social media user himself he and I actually had a conversation about what he would want to happen to his "online pressence" in the envent that something did hypothetically happen, he simply said (his sudden death and sense of humor make me feel this must be quoted word for word) "I don't care, I would be dead. What would be important is what you guys would want to do with it! Seeing as your Mum still refuses to join Facebook, like she did once upon a time with Internet Banking too if you remember carefully, it would be up to you."

I immediately when I heard of his death, wanted to protect and save all my correspondence, messages and words from him online but ignorantly also thought it was best to request the page to be memorialised immediately as his high profile image may invite unwelcome activities I thought... I wish I hadn't... the more I look at death & social media & ownership & digital rights, the more it makes me aware we need some better answers before the "digital natives" are anywhere near old enough to worry about the kind of things I have been struggling with trying to keep, claim or save anything of someones life online...



Backing up our virtual realities....



In Cloud We Trust: First Round invests in Backupify | Tuesday, February 16, 2010 at 09:10AM by Charlie O'Donnell | www.thisisgoingtobebig.com
With this round, Backupify is going to be able to sharpen its product and business focus, and make some much needed engineering hires. The origin of this company is pretty interesting. Back in late 2008, I noticed that one of my Flickr contacts seemed to be short a few photos--like, a few thousand of them. For some reason (which I later found out was just an expired credit card) their account was only showing the last 250 photos they took. I freaked out. I realized that I had been using Flickr for so long that I had switched computers several times and no longer had many of my originals. The single point of failure for all my digital memories was now Yahoo! You can imagine how comfortable that made me feel. I immediately started looking for backup solutions. http://www.thisisgoingtobebig.com/blog/2010/2/16/in-cloud-we-trust-first-round-invests-in-backupify.html











BACKUPIFY BLOG POSTS INCLUDE...


Why Can’t I Restore My Twitter and Facebook Data?

by Kristin on January 12, 2011 | http://blog.backupify.com/2011/01/12/why-cant-i-restore-my-twitter-and-facebook-data/

With over 28,00 Facebook accounts, 600 Fan Pages and 34,000 Twitter accounts backed up and under management at Backupify, many start to wonder what they can actually do with this data. The biggest question we get from users is how they can restore a lost or corrupted Facebook Profile, Fan Page or Twitter account.

The bottom line answer is that Twitter and Facebook don’t allow us to truly restore data back into the service. This is due to the fact that we can’t ‘backdate’ content to the time it was originally posted.

We wish this process was easier. As soon as Twitter and Facebook allow backdating of data, we’ll be able to perform a true restore of these services.

For the time being, you can use this data for:

Assurance that it’s never truly gone
To save links and photos you’ve shared regardless of if they’re not available on the actual service
To have in the case of a needed restore when the APIs allow for backdating
Plenty of users just want their lost Facebook photos or misplaced Twitter links back, even if they can’t backdate them into Facebook or Twitter. For those users, Backupify has got your back.

http://blog.backupify.com/









From the FAQ Section on Backupify.com

Why should I backup my online data?

The short answer is that your online data is important and Backupify is an easy cost effective way to protect it from loss. The longer answer is that much of the data you generate today is not stored on your computer. You have data locked up in Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Google Docs, Basecamp, and all the other online services you use. Backupify is not just about backup, it is about controlling your data yourself instead of having it stored in hundreds of services all around the web. Your online data is just as important as the data on your computer. Both should be backed up. You can read more about reasons for backing up your online data in this blog post.

Am I likely to lose my online data?
It is unlikely that an online service will simply lose your data, just as it is unlikely that a hard drive will just delete a file. It does happen occasionally, but your real concerns for cloud services are hackers, viruses, user error and legal issues. Many services can shut off access without warning if they think you violated their terms of service. Many hackers are targeting online accounts because they are easier to access than your computer. On top of that, roughly 1/3 of all data loss is due to simple user error. These are the kinds of risks that Backupify can minimize.
What is your privacy policy? What will you do with my data?

We don't do anything with your data once it is backed up.
We don't look at it, we don't sell it, we don't analyze it, we don't modify it. Our privacy policy is that you own your data and you should be in control. We don't own your data, we just provide software to give you more control over your stuff. We charge for our service, so we never have to resort to analyzing your data so that we can sell advertising against it or anything like that. You will never get email from us unless you opt-in for it.

Backupify was started on the premise that your data is yours and you should not leave it locked up in all of these online systems. We believe strongly in freedom and privacy.




HOWEVER, when I signed up to this service, like most online registrations, by clicking the "Create Account" button, I was agreeing to the Terms & Conditions of this site and their services provided. When exploring these I found the following exerts particularly intriguing... I was quickly advised by concerned other half, that these kinds of statements are "standard clauses" in these types of contracts- but I wonder how many of us, "users" are aware of this???




Terms of Service


By using the backupify.com web site ("Service"), all services of Backupify, LLC ("Company"), you are agreeing to be bound by the following terms and conditions ("Terms of Service").

Company reserves the right to update and change the Terms of Service from time to time without notice. Any new features that augment or enhance the current Service, including the release of new tools and resources, shall be subject to the Terms of Service. Continued use of the Service after any such changes shall constitute your consent to such changes. You can review the most current version of the Terms of Service at any time at: https://www.backupify.com/tos.

Violation of any of the terms below will result in the termination of your Account. While Company prohibits such conduct and Content on the Service, you understand and agree that Company cannot be responsible for the Content posted on the Service and you nonetheless may be exposed to such materials. You agree to use the Service at your own risk.



Account Terms
You must be 13 years or older to use this Service.
You must be a human. Accounts registered by "bots" or other automated methods are not permitted.
You must provide your legal full name, a valid email address, and any other information requested in order to complete the signup process.
You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account and password. Company cannot and will not be liable for any loss or damage from your failure to comply with this security obligation.
You understand that the Company offers a service that connects various lifestream service APIs to Amazon S3's storage service. As such, we can not guarantee the integrity, uptime, or anything else regarding the S3 storage system.
You agree that you will not hold the Company liable for failures with the S3 storage service.
You may not use the Service for any illegal or unauthorized purpose.

General Conditions

You understand that the technical processing and transmission of the Service, including your Content, may be transferred unencrypted and involve (a) transmissions over various networks; and (b) changes to conform and adapt to technical requirements of connecting networks or devices. The purpose of the Service is for backup of data in case of loss. Links to files stored by the Service may not be placed in the public domain. If you place a link to one of your files on a public website, your account will be terminated and you will be billed for any bandwidth used above and beyond the necessary bandwidth to transfer the files for storage.

The failure of Company to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the Terms of Service shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision