Chapter 4 61 Safe use of information and communication technology Usually, Internet addicts suffer from sleep deprivation as they often stay up late on the computers. This affects their performance at work or in school. If a person suffers from Internet addiction, he or she will feel bored, joyless, nervous or even irritated when he or she cannot go online. As time goes on, the user may want more time on the computer and with better and faster software or gadgets. Negative effects of Internet addiction Physical effects Weight gain or loss Dry eyes Neck pain Backache Insomnia Carpal tunnel syndrome Using the computers for a long period of time can have physical effects on the users. There is a nerve passing through our wrist into our hand. Excess pressure on this nerve due to repeated motion, incorrect positioning of the wrist and prolonged exposure to vibrations triggers the pain and numbness in the fingers. This is known as the carpal tunnel syndrome.
62 Computing Science Primary 6 Real personal interactions involve not only words but also eye contact, tone of voice and body language which includes posture, facial expressions and hand gestures. Internet addicts are losing on these social skills and their abilities to have a proper face-to-face communication with peers. Extensive use of social media also causes the mastery of the language to deteriorate. Users tend to use abbreviations and acronyms. Nowadays, we see friends and even family members having meals together but they are not communicating with each other. They are engaging with their devices instead. People with addiction to social media features such as instant messaging make a lot of virtual friends online. They seem to communicate more with their online friends than with their face-toface friends. Watch this video to know more about abbreviations and acronyms commonly used in the social media. http://tiny.cc/0ol2hz
Chapter 4 63 Safe use of information and communication technology Abbreviations and acronyms such as ‘u’, ‘lol’, ‘btw’ and ‘cu’ ruin the grammar and syntax. Sometimes emoticons and emoji are used to express our feelings without actually having to write them. Ways to overcome Internet addiction There are a few ways to overcome this problem. Pursue other activities – During your free time, take up a sport or a hobby. You can attend talks, concerts and even a sport game with friends. On the other hand, you can also lend a hand at home. Start to interact with people in person. Admit you have a problem – You must admit that you have an Internet addiction problem and want to overcome it. Inform your family and friends. Ask for their support. Limit your screen time – Create a schedule to go online such as 30 minutes after class or 2 hours on weekends. You may set a timer to remind yourself. Hi! How RU? Y not C a movie 2NITE? GR8! I‛ll wait 4 U. Don‛t B L8
64 Computing Science Primary 6 Set new passwords – Ask your parents to set new passwords on the computer and keep them away from you. This way, you will not have easy access to the computer. Uninstall software – If you are addicted to certain application software such as Facebook and Instagram, uninstall or delete the application software from your mobile phone. You can check those accounts when you have access to laptops and desktops. Ace is a 12-year-old boy. He is addicted to the Internet. He keeps thinking of the online game he is interested in – how to score more points and how to level up. He seldom talks to his family members. He does not want to follow his parents out for shopping or visiting. He just wants to play his online game. 3 Discuss among your classmates the following. (a) How does this behavior of Ace harm himself? (b) How should Ace overcome his problem? (c) How should his parents and friends help him to overcome his problem? What conclusion can you make from this story? Should we ban the Internet from children?
Chapter 4 65 Safe use of information and communication technology Malware Malware or malicious software is any software that is harmful to the computer systems. It seeks to invade, destroy or disable computers and networks, usually without the knowledge of the owners. Types of malware There are a few types of malware. These are the most common ones. What is the difference between a computer virus and a computer worm? Worm – This software replicates itself and destroys data in the computer. It does not need a host program. It infects a computer via a downloaded file. Virus – A virus is attached to a host program. Once the host program is downloaded, the virus stays dormant until the host program is opened and used. The virus also destroys data in the computer. Trojan – Trojans disguise as legitimate and helpful programs and trick users to download them. Once downloaded, the malware can do a lot of damage to the computers including stealing data. Ransomware – Ransomware locks the infected computer until the owner pays to resume the use of the computer. However, sometimes the owner might not get back all the data even when the ransom is paid.
66 Computing Science Primary 6 Spyware – This malicious software is designed to spy on the victim. It is secretly implanted on the computer and the attacker can gather information through it without the owner's knowledge. Adware – This malware creates pop-up advertisements on a computer without the permission of the user. It is not very dangerous but exposes the user to unwanted but potentially malicious advertising. There are a few signs that indicate our computers are infected with malware. The computers might be running extremely slow showing a lot of undesired pop-ups and advertisements crashing frequently whereby the software stops functioning and exits by itself sending and receiving a lot of strange emails experiencing sudden change in settings Detecting malware How do we know if our computers are infected with malware? Visit this website to know what you should do if your computer is infected by malware. http://tiny.cc/tum2hz
Chapter 4 67 Safe use of information and communication technology Protecting computers from malware Here are some ways you can protect your computers from malware. Update your operating system. Operating system developers are always issuing new security patches to fix security leaks. It is important that our computers have those patches to be secure and updated. Install anti-virus or anti-malware software. A good anti-virus or anti-malware software scans the computer to catch malware early and prevent it from spreading. Always run a scheduled scan regularly. It also needs its regular updates. Be careful about suspicious emails, links and websites. Sometimes they contain harmful malware. There are websites that are created to mimic those well-known companies to trick people into exposing their personal information. We must always be cautious. Install software from trusted sources. Installing software from illegitimate sources can be very dangerous as the software may contain malware. Limit what newly installed software can access. Usually when we install a new software onto our devices, the devices will ask for our permission to allow the software to access the camera, GPS, gallery and even contacts. Limit their access. The more access to device, the more vulnerable the device to be attacked by malware.