10 COMMUNICATION

Christine 10A/06

Constraints :
There are many types of constraints when using email such as
 Laws for general use of email
 Using email for marketing purposes
 Acceptable language
 Copyright
 Restrictions by employers/schools
 National security
 Accessibility
 Netiquette.

1. Laws
To protect people against the misuse of emails.

2. Acceptable language
You must use acceptable language in emails. These are things you shouldn’t include in your emails
(unacceptable language) :
 Obscene images
 Language that is regarded as abusive, profane, inflammatory, coercive,
defamatory or blasphemous racist, exploitative, violent messages
 Use of illegal materials in messages.

3. Copyright
 Unless you have permission from the owner, sending copyrighted text, images or other files over email is
illegal.
These copyright laws apply to emails, as well as any attachments on the emails.

4. Netiquette : Internet Etiquette

1. Don't be abusive, don't threaten people or use personal violence.
2. Don't send spam
3. Be clear with your message
4. Remember that posts are public in most cases and can be read by anyone
5. Always check your spelling and grammar
6. Respect people's privacy and don't discuss or publish others’ private information
7. Forgive people's mistakes don’t respond to any errors.
8. Don't use capital letters since it looks like 'shouting' in emails, text messages and online forums.
9. Don't plagiarize
10. Don't use too many emoticons

5. Security and password protection

Attacks to the computer includes active (eg: sending a lot of email) and passive attacks (eg : sending
email material without consent.)

Ways of increasing the security of emails :

 using strong passwords when logging on to your email, a combination of letters, numbers and other
symbols
 changing passwords on a regular basis
 using spam filters to remove suspicious emails & move it to a 'junk folder'
 running anti-virus and anti-spam software at all times on your computer to
protect against emails from unknown or malicious sources.

10.1.2 Spam
Spam is any unsolicited email sent over the internet
It is often sent to multiple recipients and can be only annoying or dangerous, because
they may contain viruses or be part of a phishing scam.

Disadvantages of spam
 it uses up people's time
 it generally annoys people
 it uses up valuable bandwidth on the internet, slowing it down
 it can have viruses attached or even be part of a phishing scam
 it can clog up users' inboxes.

10.1.3 Email groups

Some uses of email groups :
 To send out multiple emails if the addresses are all grouped together under a single name
 Companies and organizations can group people together for marketing purposes
(target specific groups)
 companies use email groups to set up meetings

10.2.1 The Internet

From the word “International Network”.
The internet is a worldwide collection of networks that lets users :
 send and receive emails
 chat online (using text, voice and/or video)
 transfer files from computer to computer (using file transfer protocols)
 browse the world wide web.
The internet consists of a large collection of web pages and has been based on the hypertext transfer protocol
(http).

HTTP : “hypertext transfer protocol”

10.2.2 Intranets
From the word “Internal Restricted Access Network”.
An intranet is defined as 'a computer network based on internet technology but designed to meet the internal
needs for sharing information within a single organization or company'.

Intranets are private, limited to a company or organization and is not available to the general public.
Users of intranets can only be :
 internal members of the company, or
 people given various levels of access who are external to the company

Advantages of intranet :
intranets rather than using the internet:
 intranets are safer since there is less chance of hackers or viruses
 Can prevent external links from being mentioned/opened
 Companies can ensure that the information available is specific to their needs
 Keep confidential or sensitive messages within the specified people
 Intranets offer better bandwidth than the internet, there are fewer connection limits than with the
Internet
 Can create extranets

10.2.3 Cloud storage

Cloud storage is a method of data storage where data is stored on offsite servers.

Data redundancy → The same data is stored on more than one server in case of maintenance or repair, allowing
clients to access data at any time.

3 types of systems :
 Public cloud: Customer/client and cloud storage provider are different companies.
 Private cloud: Customer/ client and cloud storage provider are integrated
and operate as a single entity.
  Hybrid cloud: Both public and private cloud used.

Other than that users can store data “in the cloud”
Advantages :
 Data stored in the cloud can be accessed as long as there is internet access--
at any time, from any device, from any place.
 There is no need to carry an external storage device with you
 The cloud provides remote backup of data with advantages to combat data loss/ disaster recovery.
 Cloud storage can restore data if the external storage fails
 The cloud system offers almost unlimited storage capacity.
Disadvantages :
 Bad internet connection, leads to problems accessing or downloading their data/files.
 Costs incurred if a large storage capacity is required
 The potential failure of the cloud storage company can happen, risk losing all backup data

10.2.4 General Internet Terms

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) & (HTTPS) : a set of rules that must be obeyed when
transferring data across the internet. Rules are agreed between sender and recipient when sending data.

A web browser is software that allows a user to display a web page on their computer screen. They interpret or
translate the HTML (hypertext markup language) from websites and show the result of the translation.

URLs or Uniform Resource Locator are represented by numbers, used to access websites.

The alphanumeric format : Protocol:// Website Address /Path/Filename

File transfer protocol (FTP) : A network protocol used when transferring files from one computer to
another computer over the internet.

Internet Service Provider (ISP) : A company that provides users with access to the internet.

10.2.5 Blogs, Wiki, social networking sites

 Blogs
Blogs (web logs) : personal internet journals where the writer (blogger) will type in their observations on
some topic
Blogs can only be changed by the author,
only can be read by other internet users (not changed)
In order, and
usually public.

 Wiki
Wikis : web applications or websites that allow users to create and edit web pages using any web
browser.

anyone can edit, delete or modify the content

so there can be multiple authors.

 Social Networking Sites

Allow people to build online communities by sharing content,
such as photos, videos and music, hobbies, etc.

Members are given free instant messaging and video chatting

Possible to email other members within the community
Members have control over who can access their private or personal data.
10.2.6 Searching internet for information

Why is the internet so popular?

It is very accessible over many platforms. It is usually cheap/free to use.

Advantages :
Regularly updated
Lots of information.
Easily find information using search engines.
Available on many platforms.

Disadvantages :
Users can become distracted
Possible to share illegal content
Can get exposed to inappropriate data such as pornography
Information may be wrong (unreliable)