Topic  Programming

Language
6
LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this topic, you should be able to:

1. Explain the concept of programming languages;
2. State the five generations of computer languages;
3. Identify six characteristics of programming language; and
4. Identify different types of programming languages.

 INTRODUCTION
In this topic, we shall know more about programming language. Computer
programs are developed by using programming languages. A program is a set of
instructions followed by the computer, so that data can be processed. The process
of producing a program is called programming. Programming is part of the larger
software development process which consists of problem specification, program
design, programming, program testing and program maintenance.

6.1 PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE

The computer itself is essentially mindless and cannot think on its own. It requires
instructions from humans to perform certain tasks, ranging from a simple task
(such as performing a 2 + 2 arithmetic operation) to a very complex task (such as
launching a spacecraft to Mars). Therefore, we use a programming language to
communicate with and instruct the computer to perform certain tasks. Instructions
in a program are arranged logically through the process of programming. There
are many types of programming languages that can be used by programmers to
communicate with the computer.
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A programming language is similar to a natural language like English in several

aspects. For example, it resembles words, symbols and syntax. To write a program,
a programmer needs to know the words, symbols and syntax of the programming
language used.

There are many programming languages such as Python, Java, Perl, Eiffel, C, C++,
C# and COBOL. These different programming languages were invented at
different points in time, as shown in Table 6.1.

Table 6.1: Programming Language Evolution

Years Programming Language

1950s Lisp, Fortran

1960să1970s Basic, C, SmallTalk, Pascal, Scheme

1990s C, C++, BETA, Java, Prolog, Python

There are programming languages for specific purposes as well such as

Concurrent C, Orca and Leda for parallel programming, and the Android platform
for mobile programming. Figure 6.1 shows the relationship model between users,
programming language and computer.

Figure 6.1: Relationship model between users, programming language and computer

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6.2 WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW

PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES?
Users can use whatever programming language they know to solve problems.
However, if the user knows only one programming language, the solution
provided may not be optimal and efficient. Therefore, a user needs to understand
the potential of a certain programming language so that he can evaluate the
strengths and weaknesses of the language in solving the problem faced. After
evaluation, he can adopt the most effective method from a list of possible methods
to solve the problem. There are four benefits of understanding programming
languages and they are elaborated in Table 6.2.

Table 6.2: Benefits of Understanding Programming Languages

Benefit Elaboration

Recognising the For example, if the development involves a rapid

advantages and limitations prototype, then it is more efficient to use scripting
of various programming language such as Python rather than using C or C++.
languages and where it is
suitable to use each of them Each language is suitable for one field. For example, to
develop graphical user interface (GUI), it is more
efficient to use C++ or Java rather than C. To perform
many calculations, Fortran is more suitable than Java or
C.

Produces more efficient If a user understands a few programming languages, he

solutions can use the most efficient language to solve the problem.
For example, if the solution requires access to databases,
it is better to use scripting language such as Python for
linking rather than C or C++.

Influences usersÊ thinking For example, an object-oriented language will cause the
in solving problems user to think of a solution based on the object concept
while a logic-based language will trigger the user to
think of the solution based on logic.

Tools for solving problems Most problems are more efficiently solved by experts in
using the computer their respective fields. Therefore, experts in certain fields
can learn appropriate programming languages in order
to solve their problems.

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It is common for a programmer to know more than one programming language.

Normally, each programming language has similar characteristics. After
mastering one programming language, it is easy to master another programming
language because the programming concept is the same ă only the language syntax
changes. There are many types of programming languages and their fields of
applications are based on current needs and trends. Examples of these languages
and their fields of application are shown in Table 6.3.

Table 6.3: Examples of Programming Languages and Their Fields of Application

Programming
Application Year
Language

Fortran Scientific calculations 1956

Lisp Symbol calculation, artificial intelligence 1957

C System development 1974

COBOL Business-oriented system development 1960

C++ Large and complex system development 1984

Visual Basic System development, graphical user interface 1990

Perl Internet, text processing 1990

Java Internet applications, graphical user interface, enterprise 1995

systems

6.3 PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE

GENERATIONS AND EXAMPLES
In general, programming languages can be categorised into five generations.
The first generation is known as the machine language. When computers were first
invented, the language adopted was the machine language, using binary digits of
„0‰ and „1‰ to represent instructions and data. Programs that were written in the
machine language needed no translation into the object code before computer
execution because the machine language format already adhered to the computer
architecture.

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Computer language generation is said to have begun from low level to high level.
A programming language is said to be a low level of one when it resembles the
language that is actually used by the computer. A high-level programming
language, on the other hand, closely resembles the language used by human
beings such as the Malay Language. Table 6.4 shows five programming language
generations and how the programming language is represented in each of the
generations.

Table 6.4: Five Generations of Programming Language

Generation Language Representation of the Programming Language

1st Machine 10010001

2nd Assembly ADD 210(8,13), 02B(4,7)

3rd Algorithmic Over_time := 0

4th Query FIND Name = „MAZLAN‰

5th Natural IF patient is sick THEN examine body temperature

Let us now learn more about the generational programming languages.

(a) First Generation

Programming language for this generation is the machine language. With the
machine language, a programmer can write an optimal program. However,
this method is quite difficult because the programmer needs to remember the
binary code and numbers. That is why the machine language is rarely used
today. The machine language is also dependent on the computer brand and
this adds more difficulties in using it.

An example of the machine language used to represent instructions and data

is as follows:

01011010 00010000 01111100 11101001

(b) Second Generation

Consists of assembly language. The invention of the assembly language is
the first step in the development of software, which is easier and more
effective. An assembly language is easier to remember because of its short
forms. It also depends on the type of computer.

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It uses symbols and words to represent instructions and data, and does not
use binary digits like the machine language. An example of a program in the
assembly language is given as follows:

V86_signal_return:
Call SYMBOL_NAME (save_v86_state)
movl
xorl
call SYMBOL_NAME (do_signal)
jmp restore_all
ALIGN

Since a program in the assembly language is not in the machine language

understood by the computer, it needs to be converted into the machine
language first before the computer can process it. The software called
„assembler‰ is used to convert programs from assembly language to machine
language.

(c) Third Generation

Consists of languages produced in the 1950s, that is, high-level languages.
They are still being used today, for example, C, COBOL and Fortran. They
resemble the human natural languages more than the assembly language.
This makes it easier for programmers when writing their programs. This
generation of languages are also known as high-level languages and is
designed for use in various machines, with minimal change required. With
the third generation languages, users no longer need to write many
instructions like those in the machine language or assembly language.
Instead, users need to type only one instruction to perform something that
requires many instructions in the machine language.

Among the reasons for the invention of the high-level languages are as
follows:

(i) To simplify writing, unlike machine language and assembly language;

(ii) To enable a program to run on more than one machine, as it only needs
to be recompiled before being run on a different machine; and

(iii) To enable a programmer to concentrate on fulfilling usersÊ needs.

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Examples of programming languages produced in this generation are

Algol 68, Fortran, C, Ada, COBOL, Simula, APL, BCPL, Basic, PL/1, Pascal,
Logo and Modula.

Most high-level languages are based on algorithms or procedures. With

procedure-based language, a programmer needs to use programming logic
to solve problems. In other words, a programmer needs to write the
instructions in a certain order for it to be implemented to solve the problem.

Source codes are programs that are written in high-level languages.

These high-level languages need to be converted to machine language, which

is called object code, to enable programs to be executed by the computer. This
conversion process is done by language processors.

There are three types of language processors, as shown in Figure 6.2.

Figure 6.2: Three language processors

(d) Fourth Generation

Known as problem-oriented language. Languages of this generation, also
known as fourth generation language (4GL), require even less instructions as
compared to the third generation languages when performing a certain job.
The definition of this generation is different, depending on vendors.
Normally, this language is combined with a software package like the
database management system (DBMS). A fourth generation language is used
to access information from files and databases.

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Fourth generation language instructions resemble English language

instructions for accessing and formatting data. Languages of this generation
are easy to use. This enables professional and non-professional users to
develop software easily. Some people do not consider fourth generation
language as a procedure-oriented language because it places emphasis on
what needs to be done and not on how it should be done (method). Fourth
generation language will not replace the third generation language because
it focuses more on one task.

Most fourth generation language procedures are automatically generated by

the computer and users only need to state what needs to be done and not
how to do them.

A few examples of the fourth generation languages are as follows:

(i) Query languages such as Structured Query Language (SQL), Query by

Example (QBE) and Intellect. These languages are used to change, edit,
create and access information from databases;

(ii) Report generators are languages used to generate queries and reports
from databases; and

(iii) Application generators perform more than query languages and report
generators. They are tools that generate software according to usersÊ
needs with regard to data required to be processed and reported.

(e) Fifth Generation

Natural languages of programming languages, that is, languages that are the
same as the query languages except that users are not required to learn
words, grammar and syntax. Instead, they use natural languages like
English. The use of natural languages touches on the field of artificial
intelligence, that is, how to make computers think like humans.

SELF-CHECK 6.1

1. What makes low-level programming language different from high-

level programming language?

2. Give two benefits of understanding the programming language.

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6.4 APPROACH: CLASSIFICATIONS OF

PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
Programming languages can be classified according to six characteristics of the
language (see Figure 6.3).

Figure 6.3: Six characteristics of programming language

Each characteristic has its own strengths and weaknesses. Besides these six
characteristics, there are also other characteristics of programming languages such
as:

(a) Constraint programming;

(b) Aspect-oriented programming;

(c) Programming languages based on mathematical notations such as APL

language, which was designed to express algorithms in a very concise
manner.

But for now, we shall focus on the six core characteristics mentioned earlier. The
following subtopics will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each
characteristic.

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6.4.1 Imperative Language

Imperative means instruction, order or command.

Therefore, imperative language is a language in which every instruction for

solving the problem needs to be stated clearly. Each instruction for solving the
problem will be executed step by step. An imperative language can be likened to
a recipe for cooking. In this language, the technique used is „Do A, then, do B‰.
Thirteen examples of imperative languages are shown in Figure 6.4. There are
times when it is also known as procedural language. The basic idea in imperative
language is that users need to state every step that is required in solving the
problem.

Figure 6.4: Thirteen examples of imperative language

6.4.2 Object-oriented Language

Object-oriented language was invented to develop systems that are large and
complex.

The need for an object-oriented language arose when existing languages could no
longer fulfil the needs of systems that are becoming more complex. The advantages
of object-orientation are ease of system management, ability to change system
properly and reusability of components in a new system. The structure of an
object-oriented language makes a program easier to design and understand.
Object-oriented languages handle images, audio, video and sound much easier
than procedural languages (third generation). The basic idea is to focus on objects
inside a system, not on functions that occur inside the system.

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There are four concepts in an object-oriented language, as indicated in Table 6.5.

Table 6.5: Four Concepts of Object-oriented Language

Concept Description

Class Blueprint that defines the variables (or attributes) and the methods
common to all objects of a certain kind.

Object Each object is an instance of a particular class. Many unique objects

can be created from the same class.

Encapsulation Term given to the process of hiding all details of an object that do
not contribute to its essential characteristics. Encapsulation hides
the implementation details of the object and the only thing that
remains externally visible is the interface of the object (i.e. set of all
messages that the object can respond to).

Inheritance Capability of a class to use the properties and methods of another

class while adding its own functionality.

An advantage of the object-oriented language is reusability. Any object that has

been declared as reusable can be used in another program. This simplifies and
speeds up the application development. Object-oriented language was first
introduced in 1970 in Simula language, followed by Smalltalk and C++. Examples
of object-oriented languages are C++, Smalltalk, Java and Objective-C, Pascal,
Delphi, BETA, HyperTalk, Limbo, Python and Eiffel.

SELF-CHECK 6.2

Explain the underlying concepts of object-oriented programming that

makes it advantageous for the purpose of application development.

6.4.3 Logic-based Language

Logic-based language focuses more on problem statement, not on how to solve the
problem. The software system is responsible for solving the stated problem. This
language is based on logic, that is, facts and rules. Facts and rules are stated in the
form of IF-THEN statement. For example, users can state facts and rules as follows:

IF X is-father-of Y AND Y is-father-of Z, THEN X is-grandfather-of Z.

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In writing logic-based program, users make use of Horn Logic - statement that
uses IF-THEN. All facts and rules will be stated in Horn Logic form. Subsequently,
the user will state a problem to be solved. The system will try to solve the problem
based on the facts and rules that have been given. For example, we can produce
the following information based on Horn Logic:

happy (x) <– rich (x), famous (x)

happy (x) <– young (x), in-love (x)
happy (x) <– old (x), wise (x)
famous (x) <– actor (x)
famous (x) <– singer (x)

Subsequently, we can state the following fact:

actor {ali}
rich {ali}

Finally, we can ask the system the following question which means is ali happy?:

? – happy (ali)

The system will answer yes or no based on the information given earlier. An
example of the logic language is Prolog.

6.4.4 Function-based Language

A function-based language emphasises what needs to be calculated and not how
to calculate. The program is in the form of functions, that is, a function that is
almost the same as a mathematical function. The codes written in function
language are normally short and concise. For example, to get all odd numbers
between 1 and 20, a function-based program is given:

[x|x <– [1..20]; x mod 2 = 1]

Examples of function languages are Lisp, FP, Scheme, Common Lisp, Hope,
Standard ML, Miranda, Haskell, Hugs and Lucid.

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6.4.5 Script
Scripting languages are translated languages that are normally produced for a
certain objective. They can be used for developing prototypes rapidly. This type of
language is portable between various types of computer platforms. Systems that
have been developed in scripting languages run slower. Examples of scripting
languages are JavaScript, Python and PHP.

HTML, JavaScript and PHP are the Internet-based scripting languages that are
used to develop applications for the Internet.

6.4.6 Visual Language

Programming that uses a visual language replaces instructions based on text with
icon symbols. Each icon represents an object or general programming function
such as copy, delete, open file and so forth. An example of visual language is
Visual Basic. It is the most popularly used visual language amongst normal and
professional users. Other visual languages in the market are Visual FoxPro and
Visual C++.

6.5 COMMON PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES

Let us learn a few common programming languages in this subtopic.

(a) C
It is a small language with attractive features. The C language is mostly used
in the development of system software and application software.

Programs in C are portable, whereby users only need to recompile

programs of a new operating system in order to produce suitable object
codes.

For example, Linux and UNIX operating systems were developed in C

language. The C programming course is a core subject in computer science
programmes for most university. The C language is quite difficult to learn
for new users but it is a language that has various capabilities and is very
powerful.

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(b) C++
C++ adds on object features to the C language based on ideas from the Simula
language. Initially, it was known as C with Classes language. This language
is mostly used in large and complex systems development such as telephone
switching, graphic user interface system and road traffic control.

(c) Java
Java is an object-based language which was invented in 1995 by James
Gosling. It has the features of C++ and Simula.

Java converts Java programs into byte code, not to object code, where the
byte code can run in any operating system by using Java virtual machine
without any changes to the program. This technique enables any Java
program to be portable among many computer systems. Initially, Java was
mostly used in producing graphics and animations on websites. It is known
as a widely used programming language in the world. Java has been popular
with the slogan „Write once, run everywhere.‰

(d) Perl
Perl is a scripting language that can be used in the processing of text,
common gateway interface, database communication and others. PERL has
portability feature.

In addition, PERL can be used for the following purposes:

(i) Develop web application;

(ii) Administer system; and

(iii) Process textual or numerical data.

(e) Python

Python is a scripting language based on objects which can be used to

develop prototype, process data based on text, communicate with
databases and others.

Among the applications that have been built using Python are web
applications, address book, computer network management and astronomy
software. Python is an alternative to Perl.

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6.6 COMPILER, ASSEMBLER, INTERPRETER

Programs that have been written in a programming language are called source
codes. Source codes are in the form of text or ASCII. It can be written by using the
general purpose editor such as notepad or integrated development environment
(IDE) editor. Examples of mostly used IDE are Borland C++ and Visual Studio.

Now, let us observe an example of a source code used for C programming

language as shown below. The program will display the output „hello world‰
when it is executed.

main ( )
{
printf (“hello world \ n”);
}

This source code needs to be compiled or converted into object code before it can
run in any computer. The compilation process is done by the compiler. If this
program is compiled in Linux, it can only run in Linux; if it is compiled in
Windows, it can only run in Windows.

This problem is said to be non-portable, that is, any software that is compiled in
operating system type A cannot run in operating system type B. The problem of
non-portability arises because the object code produced from the compilation
process is different for different operating systems. The object code is specific for
only one type of operating system.

While the source code is compiled, it will be linked to a library, that is, a set of
existing instructions in an operating system. In Windows operating system, the
library is given extended dynamic loading library (.dll). Examples of libraries in
Windows operating system are vb200.dll and vb3000.dll. The software (or object
code) that is produced requires this library to run. Since the library is only present
in the specific operating system (for example, Windows), the object code that is
produced can only run in Windows system.

Every processor (central processing unit) is built using a different architecture.

Each architecture contains a set of instructions, which are different from one type
to another. Since the set of instructions is different, the machine language of each
processor is also different. The object code that is generated from the compilation
process is in the form of machine language. Since the machine language is
different, the object code produced is also different. Therefore, the object code can
only run in the processor that produces it.

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For example, two types of architecture for the processor are RISC and CISC.
Examples of CISC processors are Intel, AMD and Cyrix while examples of RISC
processors are Alpha, Motorola 6800 and PowerPC. Any program that is compiled
for an Intel processor cannot run on an Alpha processor because both contain
different object codes.

To convert assembly language programs into object code, we need to use the
assembler. The object code produced is not portable. We can use assembly
language to write the program. The assembly language is mostly used in the
development of operating systems and it is used specifically in certain operating
systems.

An interpreter is a computer program that translates high-level instructions line

by line into an intermediate form, which it then executes. In contrast, a compiler
translates high-level instructions directly into machine language. Compiled
programs generally run faster than interpreted programs. The advantage of an
interpreter, however, is that it does not need to go through the compilation stage
during which machine instructions are generated. This process can be time
consuming if the program is long. Interpreter does not convert programs into
object code. Programs in the interpreter are portable, that is, it can run using any
operating system. Programs in interpreter are far slower than programs that are
compiled and run in the form of object code. Basic and Lisp are examples of
programming languages that use interpreter.

 Programming language is an artificial language to communicate with the

computer.

 A program is a set of instructions followed by the computer, so that data can

be processed.

 The importance of understanding a certain programming language is to

evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the language in solving problems
efficiently.

 Programming languages can be divided into stages or five generations

(machine, assembly, algorithmic, query and natural), beginning from the
lowest to the highest.

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 The higher the language is, the nearer it is to the human language form.

 Most high-level languages are languages based on algorithms or procedures.

 Fourth generation language instructions resemble English language

instructions for accessing and formatting data.

 Programming languages can be classified based on six characteristics, namely

imperative, object-oriented, functional, logic, parallel, scripting and visual.

 The imperative language is a language whereby every instruction for solving

the problem needs to be stated clearly.

 Object-oriented language was invented to develop systems that are large and
complex.

 Three important concepts in object-oriented language are class, object and

inheritance.

 Logic-based language is based on logic represented by facts and rules in a form

of IF-THEN statement.

 A function-based language emphasises what needs to be calculated and not

how to calculate.

 Scripting languages are translated languages that are normally produced for a
certain objective.

 Programming using visual language replaces instructions based on text with

icon symbols.

 HTML, JavaScript and PHP are the Internet scripting languages.

 Assembler is used to convert programs from the assembly language to the

machine language.

 Compiler is used to convert high-level language (for example, Basic, C and

Pascal) into object code.

 Interpreter is used to interpret and execute instructions one by one in a high-

level language.

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Assembler Interpreter
Compiler Logic-based language
Encapsulation Machine language
Function-based language Object-oriented language
Imperative language Visual language
Inheritance

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Topic  The Internet

7
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1. Define the term „Internet‰;
2. Discuss the history, development and evolution of the Internet;
3. Explain Internet addressing, applications of the Internet and ways
of searching for information via the Internet; and
4. Discuss the current and future trends of the Internet.

 INTRODUCTION
In this topic, we shall focus on the Internet. You may be familiar with browsing the
Internet, however, do you know what the real capability of the Internet is? Do you
know the definition, history, development and evolution of the Internet? In this
topic, we shall learn about these things as well as how the Internet addresses the
computer that is connected to it. Besides that, you will also learn about the effective
process of searching for information over the Internet. Finally, we will explore the
current and future trends of the Internet. Let us start!

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7.1 DEFINITION OF INTERNET

In organisations such as a government agency, private company or university,
computers are usually linked to a computer network called local area network
(LAN). This enables users to share resources (for example, printers), communicate
via e-mails, shared databases and so forth. When two or more LANs (and other
networks) are combined into one big network, it is called inter-network or the
Internet. Figure 7.1 shows the basic structure of the Internet.

Figure 7.1: The Internet structure

The Internet is the short form of „interconnected networking‰ that refers to the
largest type of global network. Imagine that all computer networks in the world
are linked to form one big network that spans the globe. The network formed is
called the Internet, in other words, a network formed by an interconnection of
computer networks in the entire world. With the Internet, a computer in Kuala
Lumpur can access a computer in China, India, US, Japan, Saudi Arabia and
anywhere else in the world.

The Internet is a grouping of computer networks that is very large and covers
the whole world. It operates using Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol (TCP/IP).

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There were various proprietary networks linking several countries before the
Internet era (for example, the Malaysia Airlines network linking the companyÊs
offices worldwide) but these were not the Internet. The Internet has adopted the
TCP/IP in order to enable various types of computers to work together. The
Internet has been successful in creating a global village whereby a community can
easily communicate with another community without physical and time
boundaries.

The term „intranet‰ refers to a portion of the Internet that is located within
one organisation. „Intra‰ means inside or within.

For example, a portion of the Internet that is located in all the faculties in Open
University Malaysia (OUM) constitutes an intranet. The portion must be guarded
by a firewall (a type of security software) to ensure that outsiders could not simply
come into OUM network to access its confidential files. Therefore, the intranet is
really a subset of the Internet ă one at the organisational level, while the other, at
the global level.

As many intranets were built, companies discovered more competitive advantage

if they link them together. Thus, an extranet is formed by linking two or more
intranets.

SELF-CHECK 7.1

1. In your own words, give the definition of the following terms:

(a) Internet;

(b) Intranet; and

(c) Extranet.

2. Based on the answer in question 1, explain how they differ from

one another.

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7.2 HISTORY OF THE INTERNET

The Internet network has an interesting history. By looking at the history, we are
able to evaluate the advantages, disadvantages, weaknesses, past development
and predict the future trends of the Internet better. The Internet network was born
in the US in 1969. The US Department of Defence formed the Advanced Research
Project Agency (ARPA) which started the network. This organisation was
responsible for upgrading the activities of research and development in the field
of technology in order to compete with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic
(USSR), the predecessor of todayÊs Russia. This was the US response to the success
of the USSR government in launching the Sputnik communication satellite. In the
1970s, the US and the USSR were in a Cold War. Many people thought that the
success of the USSR had awakened the US from a technology slumber.

7.2.1 How the Internet Began

Two main researches in ARPA were intellectual sharing and computer resource
sharing. Intellectual sharing research touched on how researchers could share
opinions among themselves no matter where they were. Computer resource
sharing research touched on how a researcher could use computer resources at
other places easily. It needs to be noted that, during that decade, computers were
very expensive, limited and large. A computer often cost millions of dollars and
occupied one big room. Only organisations like the US Department of Defence and
large companies could afford to own a computer. Personal computers (PCs) were
not yet available.

As a result of that research, a computer network called ARPANET was established

in 1969. It connected four computers that were available at different locations ă
University of California, Los Angeles, University of California, Santa Barbara,
University of Utah and Stanford Research Institute. In 1971, a total of 23 computers
joined ARPANET, mostly universities and research centres. In 1971, e-mail
facilities were introduced into ARPANET. In 1973, the numbers increased several
fold.

In the 1970s, initiatives were taken to create a standard data sharing among various
types of computer networks. At that time, every computer company introduced
network systems that were different from one another. This initiative enabled all
computers of different brands in various types of networks to share data or to
communicate among themselves easily. In 1974, a data sharing technique called
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) was introduced. Later, in 1978, this technique
was expanded to what was called TCP/IP.

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7.2.2 The Internet as a Phenomenon

In 1982, computers connected to the ARPANET network fully used TCP/IP as the
standard for data sharing. This enabled various types of computers in ARPANET
to share data among themselves. The terms „interconnected networking‰
(internet) and „Internet‰ were used from this year onwards. The term „Internet‰
(with a capital I) refers to the computer network that uses TCP/IP, while „internet‰
refers to the grouping of computer networks that uses TCP/IP. The success of
ARPANET in using TCP/IP resulted in many universities and other organisations
joining ARPANET. In 1984, about 1,000 computers were inside ARPANET. The
main activities of the Internet during that time were e-mail, file transfer, remote
login and Usenet.

In 1986, the National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET), a high-speed

network, was formed. This network became the backbone network that connected
universities, research centres and government agencies with the supercomputer
centre. In 1990, the ARPANET network was terminated and its functions were
taken over by NSFNET. In 1997, NSFNET, which functioned as the backbone
network of the Internet at the time, was taken over by a private party.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, Internet usage was still confined to universities,
research centres and government organisations. Its main applications were e-mail,
file transfer, remote login and Usenet. In 1989, a breakthrough occurred in the
European Laboratory for Particle Physics (European Organization for Nuclear
Research [CERN]), a large research centre in Switzerland that was destined to
change the Internet forever. Tim Berners-Lee, a researcher at CERN, proposed an
information sharing technique based on hypertext for the Internet environment.

In 1990, Berners-Lee introduced a protocol for data communication over the

Internet called Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), a technique that can be
used to develop distributed multimedia systems based on networking.

The multimedia system contains graphics, text, audio and video which can be
indexed and accessed easily by users in the entire world. This system has been
given various names like the World Wide Web, also known as the Web, W3 or
WWW. The Internet, in the shape that is most familiar to many of us, was born!
The Web can be defined as a network of various types of information like graphics,
audio, video and its text is based on hypertext. The original term for hypertext was
introduced by Ted Nelson in 1967. Originally, hypertext only involved document
texts but now, it involves documents based on graphics, audio, video and others.

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Ted Nelson worked to develop a hypertext system that was named Xanadu.
The basic idea of the hypertext was once presented by Vannevar Bush in an article
As We May Think in 1947. According to Nelson, hypertext means a collection of
documents or nodes that have links or references among them. Users can read a
document and access other documents via interactive links. The basic concepts in
hypertext are link, accessibility and interactivity. With hypertext, the information
provided is linked among themselves like a cobweb.

The technique of HTTP was introduced to the Internet in 1991.

In 1992, there were 70 sites that offered HTTP and Web services on the entire
Internet. HTTP was still not widely used because there was no Internet browser
that was good and attractive for users. Most Internet browsers at that time were
based on text.

In 1993, a browser based on graphics was developed by Marc Andreessen and Eric
Bina at the National Centre for Supercomputing Application (NCSA) in the US.
This browser, called Mosaic, was given out for free to users. It contains interface
features that are attractive and user-friendly. A combination of ideas from Berners-
LeeÊs hypertext and the Mosaic browser was finally successful in popularising
HTTP on the Internet.

Mosaic software was considered the main invention ă a great application that has
successfully popularised the Internet to general users instantly. At the end of 1993,
within just two years of the HTTP introduction, there were 700 websites.
The Internet began to attract the media and the general public, and a lot of news
concerning the Internet was found in magazines, newspapers and television (TV).

On the commercial aspect, the Internet began attracting the attention of giant
commercial organisations. Many people think that the Internet is the key to their
future business success. Many Internet-based companies have been formed in
large numbers. Marc Andreessen and a few friends set up an Internet technology
company and produced an Internet browser called Netscape. This browser is given
free to all users. The giant Microsoft Corporation was quite late in entering the
Internet browser arena. This company produced the Internet Explorer browser as
a means of dominating the Internet. Competition between these two Internet
browser software brands in attracting the Internet users market was very
interesting. Many people thought that whoever dominates the browser software
will dominate the Internet. The textbox below presents an interesting story about
the Netscape-Microsoft Internet browser software war.

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From 1996 to 1999, there was a war on Internet browser software ă the software
that was used to surf the Internet between software giant Microsoft and
Netscape. Why? Many people thought that whoever managed to control the
market in the Internet browser software would ultimately control the Internet
because the Internet browser is the „vehicle‰ for accessing the Internet.

In 1996, Netscape (company) produced the Netscape Navigator software and it

was given out for free to users. As a result, Netscape controlled 80 per cent of
the Internet browser software. At that time, the Internet was becoming popular.
Many companies began to realise the Internet as an attractive business
opportunity. Many websites were developed, goods began to be sold and
various services were offered. The question was, „How to access the Internet?‰
Users began to use the Internet browser software and whoever was in control
of the Internet browser market would also control the Internet.

Microsoft Corporation entered the Internet browser market quite late. After
realising the importance of the Internet, Microsoft began to set out a strategy to
control the Internet. Remember that Microsoft was controlling 90 per cent of the
PC operating system market (nine out of ten PCs sold were using Windows
95/98/ME/XP system). As a first step, Microsoft produced the Internet
Explorer and it was given out for free to customers. As a result, in 1998, almost
90 per cent of the browser market was controlled by Internet Explorer.

SELF-CHECK 7.2

Describe the role of ARPANET in the historical development of the

Internet.

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ACTIVITY 7.1

1. Surf the web for articles on the Internet between 1997 and 1999.
In the frenzy to popularise the Internet, some reports from the
media could have been sensationalised. Based on current facts,
which statements by the pundits then have now become true and
which statements have turned out to be wrong?

2. In your opinion, what will the Internet be like in the next seven
years to come?

3. Conduct a quick research on Malaysian dotcom companies. Find

out what are the major obstacles in setting up a dotcom company
in Malaysia.

Share and compare your findings with your coursemates in the

myINSPIRE online forum.

7.3 INTERNET EVOLUTION

Some people think that the Internet opened up a new era in the economy. In this
new economic era, a company does not need a building or a physical site. Instead,
it only needs a website to deal with customers. All transactions can be done via the
Internet. Many Internet-based companies, also called dotcom companies, have
been formed all over the world. Many of these companies were listed on the stock
exchanges and received extraordinary responses from investors. For example,
companies such as Facebook gained substantial value shortly after its listing, even
before it reported any profits.

7.3.1 Development of the Internet

It is estimated that the number of Internet users will double every 18 months.
The period from 1997 to 1999 was the period of the Internet explosion whereby the
Internet became a hot topic during talks and discussions. Internet fever began to
reach the masses. Many users became familiar with Web browsing while some
wanted to set up their own individual website and everyone wanted to have an
e-mail account. Various benefits and advantages of the Internet were proposed by
the media as well as other parties. Among the benefits of the Internet were the
possible creation of a global village, removal of boundaries of nations, availability
of information speedily, closing the gap between developed and developing

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nations, opening online education and creating borderless economies. However,

to date, most of these statements have not been achieved fully or they are still being
debated upon.

Although the popularity of the Internet has increased and many dotcom
companies have emerged rapidly, the year 2000 was a difficult year for the
Internet. Weaknesses on the Internet were felt by users. Among problems that
arose were the difficulty in searching for relevant information, network
congestion, unfiltered news, fake news, spread of viruses through e-mails,
inadequate security for financial transactions over the Internet, invasion of
privacy, data theft and widespread online pornographic materials. While the
Internet saw the booming of many tech start-ups, there were also many dotcom
companies that suffered losses and had to close down.

The Internet will continue to develop. Table 7.1 shows the history of the Internet
(five phases) and how it has developed throughout the course of history.

Table 7.1: Five Phases of the Development of the Internet

Evolution Year Explanation

1st Phase Before 1969 Birth of the ARPANET for the purposes of research and
computer resource sharing in the US only. Most users
were scientists, students and academicians. The Internet
was used as a tool for sharing computer resources.

2nd Phase 1970ă1990 Communication like e-mail, FTP and Usenet were used
widely. Usage was still confined to universities and
government agencies. Internet usage concentrated in the
US, Europe and Japan. The Internet was used as a tool
for communication.

3rd Phase 1991ă1997 Hypertext technique was used widely in network

information. The Internet began to attract public
attention because the Internet browser had attractive
and user-friendly interfaces.

4th Phase 1998ă2000 Internet explosion era. The number of users expanded
rapidly. The Internet was used for business transactions.
It became the subject of conversations and many articles
regarding the Internet were written in various
magazines.

5th Phase 2001ăonwards Internet reality era. Many dotcom companies closed
down. The realities of the InternetÊs advantages and
disadvantages were felt. Initiatives to improve the
Internet continued.

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ACTIVITY 7.2

As we know, the Internet dominates almost every aspect of human life

today. Draw a mind map on how it all started, then share and compare
your work with your coursemates in the myINSPIRE online forum.

7.3.2 Internet Timeline

Next, we will continue our study and focus on the Internet timeline, as mentioned
in Table 7.2.

Table 7.2: Internet Timeline and Events

Year Event

1969 Four computers were connected on the ARPANET network in the US. The
computers were from University of California, Los Angeles, University of
California, Santa Barbara, Stanford Research Institute and University of Utah.

1971 The number of computers in the ARPANET went up to 21. The technique of e-
mail communication was introduced.

1973 The University College of London was connected to ARPANET, the first
connection of ARPANET outside the US.

1978 TCP/IP data sharing technique was introduced.

1979 Usenet was introduced. It involved two computers in ARPANET.

1982 ARPANET used TCP/IP completely. Definitions of Internet and intranet were
introduced. „Internet‰ refers to the (worldwide) grouping of computer
networks that uses TCP/IP while „intranet‰ refers to a computer network that
uses Internet Protocol.

1984 The number of computers on the Internet exceeded 1,000 units.

1988 The Internet was massively attacked by „Internet worms‰, which was a
computer software that spread on its own. This incident demonstrated the low
level of safety on the Internet. Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT)
was set up to monitor the security on the Internet.

1989 The number of computers exceeded 100,000 units. A book entitled Cuckoo Nest
was published. This book explained how a group of invaders from Germany
successfully entered some of the US military computers, without permission,
via the Internet.

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1990 ARPANET was terminated and replaced by the National Science Foundation
Network.

1991 HTTP was produced by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN. This became the basis for
the development of the Web on the Internet.

1992 The number of computers on the Internet exceeded 1 million units. Malaysia
gained access to the Internet. The Internet network in Malaysia was managed
by the Malaysian Institute of Microelectronic Systems (MIMOS). The network
was known as JARING and is participated by several local universities
including OUM.

1996 Browser war between Netscape Communicator and Internet Explorer. At that
time, almost 80 per cent of users were using Netscape Communicator.

1997 The backbone function of the National Science Foundation Network for the
provision of the Internet passage was taken over by a commercial company.
Java, a computer programming language which was based on objects was
launched by Sun Microsystem in 23 May 1997. This language received
extraordinary responses. Java enables websites to have various attractive
animations. Search engines were also introduced. There were already 17,618
discussion forums based on e-mails.

1998 The Internet was estimated to have millions of websites. Electronic commerce
(e-commerce) and portal technology began to attract attention.

1999 The number of computers on the Internet was estimated at 76 million units. The
number of web servers was estimated at seven million units.

2000 An estimated one billion websites were on the Internet.

2003 Wi-Fi (wireless LAN) technology was expanding rapidly. It started to become
a main source of connection to the Internet for many compatible devices.

2008 The Internet became more accessible to many people via portable and wireless
devices such as laptops and smartphones as compared to fixed line services on
desktop computers. The shift to mobile access of the Web has accelerated with
the rise of smartphones and later with the rise of tablet computers. Social media
platforms started to rise in popularity.

2018 It is estimated that well over half of the worldÊs population have online access
or are using the Internet. Most of the growth of Internet users has been
attributed to affordable smartphones and various data plans.

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In the Internet history and timeline, we have found rapid development of the
Internet just within a period of 50 years. The Internet began as a research network.
Then, it became a communication and data sharing network (later it evolved into
the Internet becoming a platform for social media and social network) and a
network for e-commerce. The Internet has removed physical boundaries that
divided the world and created a global village that transcends time and space.

ACTIVITY 7.3

The Internet has greatly affected human life today, whether in Malaysia
or the entire world, and it is expected to continue to do so in the
foreseeable future. Imagine if the Internet did not exist today. What
would society be like? What are the activities that users cannot do
without the Internet? Discuss with your coursemates in the myINSPIRE
online forum.

7.4 INTERNET ADDRESSING

A computer needs an Internet Protocol (IP) address to communicate with other
computers on the Internet. Without the IP address, computers cannot reach the
Internet. Do you know that the IP address for the entire Internet is coordinated by
a body with its centre at http://www.internic.net while for computers in Asia,
it is coordinated by Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC) with its
centre in Japan? The distribution of IP numbers in Malaysia is managed by the
Malaysian Institute of Microelectronic Systems (MIMOS).

There are two types of computers on the Internet ă host computers and server
computers. A host computer is a unique computer on the Internet which has an IP
address. IP address is made up of four sequential numbers which are organised in
the format of „a.b.c.d‰. Examples of IP addresses are 202.187.48.7, 202.187.46.197
and 192.228.128.18. Each sequence of a, b, c, and d consists of numbers between
0 and 255. For example, IP address for a host at OUM consists of numbers between
211.25.48.X and 211.25.54.Y. A good analogy for an IP address is the identity card
number. It is unique to a certain host. There are no two hosts on the Internet that
has the same IP address. A computer needs to have an IP address to access the
Internet.

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As a simple rule, if the computer is a PC and has an IP address, then the computer
is a host computer. If a user accesses the Internet using services provided by the
Internet service provider like unifi.com.my, time.com.my or maxis.com.my via a
home computer, the user does not need an IP address. The userÊs computer will be
given an IP address dynamically by the Internet Service Provider (ISP).

Computers can also function as servers, that is, computers that can be accessed by
users on the Internet. A server is a high-powered computer that is used as a
platform for websites, e-mails, electronic discussions, archives, file server and
others. Normally, a server would use UNIX, Linux, Solaris or Windows Server
2019 as its OS.

A server has two forms of identification, namely an IP address and a Fully

Qualified Domain Name (FQDN). Examples FQDN (with IP address in brackets)
for a server are www.thestar.com.my (13.32.8.111) and www.oum.edu.my
(211.25.48.10). The analogy here is that a person has an identity card number and
name, same goes for a server which has an IP address and a FQDN. As a simple
rule, if the computer is highly powered, has an IP address as well as a fully
qualified domain name, then that computer is a server.

FQDNs are used to assist Internet users because it is easier to remember a fully
qualified domain name (thestar.com.my) rather than an IP address (13.32.8.111).
Therefore, every server on the Internet has an IP number and name for
identification. A fully qualified domain name gives a lot of information regarding
a certain server. For example, the server name oumvle.oum.edu.my gives the
following meaning ă oumvle is the host computer, oum is the organisation name
and my is the country name. Therefore, in general, the name oumvle.oum.edu.my
refers to a server located at OUM.

Figure 7.2 presents a breakdown of the IP address of OUMÊs library server,

indicating the different parts of its FQDN.

Figure 7.2: Fully qualified domain name

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The end part of the server name normally shows the location or type of
organisation in which the server resides which is called top-level domain (TLD)
that shows the suffix of the domain name. For examples:

(a) .org refers to a non-commercial organisation;

(b) .com refers to a company;

(c) .my refers to Malaysia; and

(d) .uk refers to the UK.

Because the Internet originated from the US, the domain name for computers in
the US does not have a country name. For example, www.facebook.com.

We can see more examples with explanations of TLD an Internet address end part
in Figure 7.3.

Figure 7.3: Top-level domain (TLD)

Did you know that most server names are in the form of Uniform Resource Locator
(URL) and that has been the basis of HTTP? An example of a URL name is
https://www.oum.edu.my, whereby:

(a) http refers to HTTP (when it is https, it refers to HTTP Secure);

(b) www refers to website;

(c) oum refers to OUM;

(d) edu refers to educational institution; and

(e) my refers to country, Malaysia.

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HTTP is a protocol of data communication for the Web, where hypertext

documents include hyperlinks to other resources that the user can easily access,
for example by a mouse click or by tapping the screen. HTTP was developed to
facilitate hypertext and the Web. Meanwhile, HTTP Secure, which is an extension
of HTTP, signifies the secure version of HTTP, whereby all communications
between the browser and the website are encrypted or have digital certificates
along with security protocols.

SELF-CHECK 7.3

What do you understand by server computer? Explain.

7.5 INTERNET APPLICATIONS

The Internet is a network that was initially developed for research work. It was
mostly used by universities, research centres and government agencies. That is the
reason why there are many documents of academic nature on it. They include
books, technical reports, research output, translations, data, articles, discussions,
program source codes, research software, lecture notes, software guides, pictures
and sound. Normally, the information is free and can be accessed via websites.
Based on this scenario, the Internet can be likened to a huge virtual library, which
contains numerous types of information. Internet applications are supported
through the Web, which serves as an information space where documents and
other web resources are identified by URLs, interlinked by hypertext links and
accessible via the Internet.

The Internet also offers various forms of communication such as e-mail, online
discussion board, Usenet, e-mail based discussion and social media through the
Web. These communication techniques have successfully created a global village.
With e-mail, users can communicate with anyone, anywhere. E-mail is a type of
communication that is cheap and fast. An e-mail sent from the OUM takes only
seven seconds to reach the UK. By using e-mail, users can send attachments such
as Microsoft Word documents, software, zipped files, graphics or audio.
The Internet also offers discussions based on e-mails. Discussions normally focus
on a specific topic. Users need to have and e-mail accounts in order to participate
in the discussions. There are several locations that offer discussions based on
e-mail for free. One such example is https://groups.yahoo.com.

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The Internet also offers various online discussion topics via Usenet. There are over
7,000 topics discussed in Usenet and users can choose from various topics that
interest them. In a Usenet discussion, anyone from any parts of the world can give
his opinion or idea freely. One of the ways to access is by accessing a Usenet server
such as http://dotsrc.org/usenet.

Internet has become the platform or host to various social media and social
networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and many more.
All these sites have the features of Web 2.0, which is a term for sites that allow
users to connect, interact, contribute and collaborate with each other, rather than
being websites with static pages or just for retrieving information. Web 2.0
provides users with the opportunity to effectively present their ideas, lead online
discussions, share educational content and document files as well as collaborate
with each other in real time. Some of the Web 2.0 applications are Google Docs,
Prezi, Pinterest and many others.

On the Internet, you can also search and obtain various types of information for
reference and reading. A user can get the entire literary works of William
Shakespeare, translations of the Quran, sayings of Prophet Muhammad PBUH,
classical Malay literary works, recipes for cakes, lecture notes, US Central
Intelligence Agency reports on Malaysia and many more. Many foreign and local
universities have placed their lecture sources such as notes, sample examination
papers and online software onto the Internet to be accessed by and for the benefits
of the students. An example of a lecture website is http://www.vlib.org.

The Internet is also a large archive of computer software. It contains various types
of software such as graphics, word processing, databases and games. A type of
software that is getting wide attention on the Internet today is the open source
software. The open source software consists of high quality software and can be
obtained together with the program codes.

The Internet also offers various news sources which are up to date and fast via
newspaper and television websites.

Examples of news websites are:

(a) https://edition.cnn.com

(b) https://www.thestar.com.my

(c) https://www.bharian.com.my

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Users can also buy various things via the Internet. For example, users can buy
reference books from companies in Germany via the Internet. Purchases via the
Internet normally require credit cards. It is estimated that total sales via the
Internet, also called e-commerce, could reach up to billions in the near future.

Examples of popular e-commerce websites are:

(a) https://www.amazon.com

(b) https://www.ebay.com

(c) https://www.lelong.com.my

The Internet also offers a variety of entertainment such as music, videos, movies,
blogs and games. On the Internet, you can also find various websites that have
been built by marketers for the purpose of promotion and advertising. Users can
visit the website of a museum, a university, a company or of an individual person
and view the various types of information being displayed. The websites contain
a variety of information in the form of text, audio, video, graphics, cinema,
software and so forth. In other words, there are numerous materials on hundreds
of websites that can be accessed through the Internet.

Based on the discussions, we can think of the Internet as a very large virtual
environment, without boundaries, without a clear map and without anyone in
control, and it covers the entire world. It can be said to contain a reservoir of
knowledge about the world. It also offers ways of communicating to human beings
effectively and speedily.

We can see the summary of things available on the Internet in Figure 7.4.

Figure 7.4: Things available on the Internet

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ACTIVITY 7.4

In your opinion:

(a) How has the Internet benefited individual users and the society at
large?

(b) What problems have you encounter with the Internet? What
processes can be improved on the Internet?

Share your thoughts in myINSPIRE and compare your opinions with

those of your coursemates.

7.6 SEARCHING FOR INFORMATION OVER

THE INTERNET
The Internet is a big source of information. How do we obtain the information that
we want on the Internet efficiently? Users need to understand this approach
because it will help them to search for information and use the information
efficiently.

Searching for information involves the process of searching the place where the
required information is present. This is an important process. Many users spend a
lot of time exploring the Internet and searching for information but to no avail.
The user ends up obtaining information that is not relevant and/or out of date.

Two main ways of searching for information over the Internet are through search
engines and portals. Other minor approaches that can also be used are the Usenet,
FAQ, e-mail discussion forums and archive sites. Examples of components that are
used to search for information on the Internet can be seen in Figure 7.5.

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Figure 7.5: Components that are used in searching for information on the Internet

Manipulation of information involves the process of transforming the information

and using the acquired information wisely. Often, users spend their time obtaining
information that ultimately cannot be used because they do not know how to
manipulate the information. This will indirectly waste time and energy.

The Internet security level has improved a lot. This can be seen on especially on
online banking sites such as cimbclicks.com and maybank2u.com. Even so, there
are still hackers who are able to access the host computer without permission.
If they managed to successfully invade the website, they will be able to steal data,
change sites, steal credit card numbers and perform other transactions.

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ACTIVITY 7.5

Discuss the strategy to handle the following issue on the myINSPIRE

forum.

Users are still questioning the level of data security over the Internet for
e-commerce transactions. There have been thousands of stories of stolen
credit card numbers by intruders from company servers. What is the
guarantee provided by companies that the credit card numbers used in
e-commerce transactions are safe?

7.6.1 Search Engine

The first step in searching for information is to use a search engine. Users can use
one or more key words to search for the desired information. The search engine
will search for Websites based on the key words. Can you name some examples of
popular search engines? Figure 7.6 shows an example of a popular search engine
ă Google.

Figure 7.6: Google search engine

Source: http://www.google.com.my
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Search engines are not intelligent but they are also not dumb either. They function
based on robot and index.

A robot is a kind of software that is sent by the search engine to wander

around the Internet.

How does this robot work? A search engine will send many robots to wander
around the Internet. These robots will bring back data on the web servers visited.
Based on the data brought back by the robots, an index will be built. This index
basically contains key words and identifies in which servers the key words are
present. Every search engine has different techniques in building the index.
Therefore, two different search engines will give different answers for the same
key words. Since the size of the Internet is very large, not all Internet servers will
be accessed by the robots. When users make a request based on key words in a
search engine site, the search engine will refer to the index to obtain relevant
servers. The search engine will always perform the updating process over the
index.

7.6.2 Portals
The second best way to access information is to use portals. A portal is a server
that contains a directory of several servers on the Internet based on categories of
information available on the servers. Users can find information by accessing the
servers in related categories.

Examples of popular portals are:

(a) http://www.igoogleportal.com

(b) https://www.yahoo.com

(c) https://www.wikipedia.org

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Portals require human beings to arrange and classify servers according to

categories. This method produces a list of servers that is more orderly and can be
used easily. For example, if a user wants to know more about the Java
programming language, he can access servers that are available in the category of
computer programming language. This method often produces information that
is suitable and relevant. Commercial portals are those like
https://www.yahoo.com and https://www.aol.com. An example of a portal
(website) for the Malaysian governmentÊs official information and usage for
citizens and non-citizens is shown in Figure 7.7.

Figure 7.7: Portal of the Malaysian Government

Source: https://www.malaysia.gov.my/portal/index

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7.6.3 Other Methods

In addition to search engines and portals, users can also find information through
forums and frequently asked questions (FAQ), as shown in Figure 7.8.

Figure 7.8: Archive website frequently asked questions

Source: http://www.faqs.org

Just remember that Usenet is an online discussion corner. There are various
discussion corners in Usenet. In one discussion corner, new users may be asking
very trivial questions in the eyes of experienced users. Often, whenever trivial
questions are asked in the discussion corner, experienced users would say ă
„RTFM or the FAQ‰. Do you know the meanings of these abbreviations?

The acronym RTFM means „read the fine manual‰. In other words, the new user
should have read the manual first before asking trivial questions or simply refer to
the FAQ, which is a document in the form of questions and answers. Questions in
the FAQ are those that are often asked in the Usenet discussion corners. More
details about Usenet and FAQ will be deliberated in the upcoming topics in this
module.

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Besides FAQ and RTFM, users can also search for information on the archive
server, that is, a server that contains a lot of information on specific topics. The
address of the archive can normally be obtained from FAQ portals or documents.
Many hosts on the Internet serve as archives or centres of information gathering in
certain fields.

Examples of websites that serve as archives or centres of information gathering in

certain fields are:

(a) http://www.stat.cmu.edu ă Archive in the field of statistics and data

science;

(b) https://www.ibiblio.org (former website is http://www.metalab.unc.edu)

ă Archive for open source software; and

(c) https://.filehippo.com ă Archive for Windows software.

SELF-CHECK 7.4

1. How can users find useful information on the Internet within a

short period of time?

2. Explain the advantages of communication through:

(a) E-mail; and

(b) Usenet.

7.7 INTERNET LAWS

It is not easy to regulate the Internet due to the vast distribution of its networks
that crosses many nations and jurisdiction. Moreover, the Internet is not owned by
any one person or entity but shared by many, even if web domains, server hosts
and end user devices are owned by people and corporations. As such, it is difficult
to enact laws to govern and control the usage of the Internet that can be
consistently applied to all users. For example, the propagation of politically
sensitive materials and immoral content such as pornography are generally
allowed in most advance democracies due to the concept of freedom of speech.
The same materials can be accessed by users even in places that prohibits them,
including Malaysia, which have laws such as the Sedition Act, Film Censorship
Act and the Penal Code that essentially makes such materials illegal.

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In summary, cyber laws in Malaysia may not be used to stop the broadcast of
illegal materials outside of Malaysia. The act only has jurisdiction over websites
operating in Malaysia. In line with the progress of the Internet, the Malaysian
government has gazetted the Computer Crime Act 1997 and Communication and
Multimedia Act 1998 to deal with unhealthy activities over the Internet.

Nowadays, there are many crimes committed through the Internet. There are also
individuals who abuse the Internet as a source of reference for their criminal acts.
For example, misuse of chat or social networking site to lure women or teenagers
for various purposes are not healthy. This is quite dangerous isnÊt it? Various laws
have been enacted in recent years to provide effective protection to women and
children. Furthermore, various methods have been used to provide education and
training as well as creating awareness among Internet users, regardless of gender
and age, to better protect themselves and use Internet safely.

With most of the data available online and easily accessible to many people,
concerns about data privacy has been increasing among Internet users. In order to
provide better data protection to both online and offline users, laws and
regulations such as MalaysiaÊs Personal Data Protection Act 2010 and European
Union General Data Protection Regulation have been introduced and adopted.

7.8 INTERNET TODAY AND THE FUTURE

Originally, the Internet was developed as a network for research and academic
purposes. Therefore, most of the original information on the Internet was of the
academic type. When the Internet was first set up, there was trust among all the
Internet users. Therefore, security issues on the Internet were not that important.
The Internet also provided an infrastructure for communication and intellectual
sharing via e-mails, Usenet and discussion corners.

Today, activities on the Internet include e-commerce, news, multimedia material,

hypertext, websites, entertainment and many more. These activities give rise to
issues that were not previously important such as access, information filter, userÊs
privacy, Internet passage congestion and data security. These concerns began to
get more attention of late. It was predicted that the Internet will become a basic
need for every household, just like the telephone or TV in the near future.
The Internet of things (IoT) is a description for computing setting in which
everyday devices, or things, are connected to the Internet. Sensors connected to
these devices collect, share and transmit data to and from the Internet to other
devices or servers online.

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Businesses will also increase via the Internet. Various steps are being taken to make
the Internet more widespread and easy to use by users, for example, Internet access
via TV, fourth and fifth generation (4G and 5G) approach to mobile phones as well
as the use of optical fibres and high powered lines to houses.

Based on earlier discussions, we also find that the Internet has its own set of
problems. By understanding the problems, users will be aware of its limitations,
future of the Internet and will not easily believe everything that is found on the
Internet. The Internet is a virtual space and has a very wide coverage.

There are five major trends that are related to future Internet, as shown in
Table 7.3.

Table 7.3: Five Key Trends that are Related to Future Internet

Trend Description

We always For example, we access e-mails in the office or at home via a

communicate using a laptop. If we are mobile, for example, at the airport, we can still
variety of devices in be connected to the e-mail by using other devices such as
various places smartphone or tablet.

We use a variety of For example, online banking, online games, Internet TV, digital
online services every movies, video on demand, magazine subscription or online
day newspapers, online purchases, online distance learning and
social networking.

The Internet has Users will be powered by equipment and low cost devices that
evolved rapidly from will allow them to create their own content. This will make the
the concept of products and services more personal. To make the content and
sharing information products more attractive, the collaborative concept will be
to collaborative adopted for the production and better service. This will spark a
publication phenomenon that will change work ethics and commercial and
social activities amongst the Internet users.

The number of smart The smart products are used to collect and process data. This
products increases information could then be used in the subsequent preparation
every day of information in order to facilitate decision making.

Personal information In future, different devices can be used to collect information

spreads in various about other users (such as location, time and behaviour). Data
systems and accumulated will be used as a set of system to indicate the
networks particular user. If there is demand, this can be disbursed
quickly to other parties.

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Info graphics from the following websites may also provide you with an overview
of the future developments on the Internet:

(a) https://www.visioncritical.com/internet-of-things-infographics/

(b) http://dailyinfographic.com/2016-the-year-of-the-zettabyte-infographic

(c) http://www.smashingapps.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/The-
Internet-in-2020.jpg

ACTIVITY 7.6

In your opinion, is the Internet bandwidth of today capable of satisfying

Internet users in the future? Or will the technology continue to play
catch-up with Internet congestion? Try to discuss the issue with a
coursemate and post your conclusions on the myINSPIRE online forum.

 From 1969 until today, computers and the Internet have undergone five phases
(before 1969, 1970ă1990, 1990ă1997, 1997ă2000 and 2001ăonwards) and have
become a major part of our life.

Ć The Internet is a grouping of computer networks that is very large and covers
the whole world. It operates by using TCP/IP.

Ć The term „intranet‰ refers to a grouping of some LANs within an organisation

(intra means inside or within).

Ć The Internet began in the US with the birth of ARPANET, which was intended
for research and sharing of academic resources. ARPANET has grown rapidly
but was later replaced by the National Science Foundation Network.

Ć HTTP and the Web have sped up the already rapid development of the Internet
even more.

Ć There are two types of computers on the Internet, namely host computer and
server computer.

Ć A host computer is a unique computer on the Internet which has an IP number.

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Ć IP address contains four sequential numbers ă a.b.c.d. Some examples of IP

addresses are 202.187.48.7, 202.187.46.197 and 192.228.128.18.

Ć The computer can also function as a server, that is, the computer can be
accessed by other users on the Internet.

Ć The server has two forms of identification, namely IP address and fully
qualified domain name. A fully qualified domain name is much easier to
remember compared to the IP address.

Ć There is a lot of information on the Internet about various things. The

information can be obtained through search engines and portals via the World
Wide Web.

Ć Cyber laws in Malaysia cannot be used to stop the broadcasting of illegal

materials from outside Malaysia. Actions can only be taken on websites which
operate in Malaysia.

Ć There are several major trends associated with the future of the Internet
including the existence of online services and the growing number of smart
products.

ARPANET Intranet
Cyber law Internet
Domain Internet Protocol (IP)
E-mail National Science Foundation Network
(NFSNET)
Extranet
Search engine
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Security
Fully qualified domain name (FQDN)
Transmission Control Protocol/
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
Hypertext Usenet
Information Web

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Topic  Software on
the Internet
8
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1. Describe seven types of software that are available on the Internet;
2. Distinguish between shareware and freeware;
3. Explain the concept and advantages of open source software;
4. Explain the terms File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and Telnet;
5. Discuss ethics and the use of smiley icons, acronyms and signature
to communicate effectively in e-mails;
6. Explain Usenet and frequently asked questions (FAQ); and
7. Discuss the Internet phenomenon.

 INTRODUCTION
In this topic, we shall learn about the various software that are available on the
Internet. Some software can be obtained free of charge while others have to be
purchased. This topic will also discuss a popular Internet communication
technique, that is, e-mail. In the beginning, e-mails were text-based but now, you
can even send several types of data together with the e-mail such as text
documents, graphics, audios, PowerPoint presentations and many more. We will
also discuss matters related to e-mail such as ethics, the smiley icons and many
others. Finally, we will discuss about the Usenet and frequently asked questions
(FAQ). Are you ready?

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8.1 INTERNET SOFTWARE

There are seven types of software and software services on the Internet as shown
in Figure 8.1.

Figure 8.1: Seven types of software on the Internet

We will look at the types of software in more detail, starting with shareware and
freeware in the next subtopic.

8.2 SHAREWARE AND FREEWARE

In Figure 8.1, one of the software is known as shareware. Do you know what is the
purpose of this software?

Shareware is a type of software that can be used free of charge within a certain
period of time.

After that period, if the user continues to use the software, he needs to send
payment to the programmer of the software. This allows the consumer to make a
choice whether to continue using it or to switch to another application.

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Do you know some of the examples of this software? Examples of shareware are
WinZip (see Figure 8.2) and McAfee (antivirus).

Figure 8.2: Winzip

Besides shareware, there is also freeware. It is available free of charge from the
Internet. Often, this software has specific charges to users who want to add
functionality or upgrade the software. If not, the user will remain with the basic or
normal functions of the software.

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An example of freeware is the AVG antivirus software (refer to Figure 8.3).

Figure 8.3: AVG antivirus software

8.3 OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE

Another type of software that we are going to learn about is open source software.
Do you know why this software gets a lot of attention in the Internet now? What
does it refer to?

Open source software is a software that can be obtained without any cost,
together with its source codes that is licensed to be studied, changed and
redistributed freely to others.

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Distribution of the software together with its source codes has the following
advantages:

(a) Users can modify the software and are not tied or bound to any company;

(b) Users have the opportunity to remove errors that may be present in the
source codes; and

(c) Users can also learn how the software is built based on the source codes.

The open source software begins with the GNU project (GNU is not UNIX). It is a
project founded by Richard Stallman from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) at the beginning of 1980s. The original aim of this project was to
produce a system based on UNIX for free of charge use. This project has been
successful in producing software of high quality such as GNU Compiler Collection
(GCC) compiler, Lisp program compiler, Emacs editor and others. All GNU
software programs use the copyright called GNU Public Licence (GPL) which
states that anyone can modify the program source code but the modification must
be shared with other users. Basically, GNU encourages software and source code
sharing among users so that high quality software can be produced.

The GNU Public Licence concept is the opposite of the commercial software
concept. Commercial software would tie users to the software company. If the
software contains errors, users will have to wait for the newer version to be
produced and this will take a long time. If the software company raises the price,
users will have to accept that and pay more for the latest version of the software.

Users can make any modification to the source code of the open software but users
are requested to share the modification with other users via the Internet. With this
intellectual sharing, it is hoped that the software will be continuously modified so
that it will become a high quality software.

Examples of open source software which are widely used today are Linux
(operating system), Apache (web server), GNU Compiler Collection (C language
compiler), Perl (high-level programming language) and R (statistical software).
We can see the definitions of GNU Public Licence software in Table 8.1.

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Table 8.1: GNU Public Licence Software Definitions

GNU Public
Definition
Licence Software

Linux Operating system for a computer. It is an alternative to

commercial software such as Windows 95/98/ME/NT, Mac OS
and Sun Solaris. It is widely used in universities, research
centres, private companies and the public. It contains lasting
characteristics (Linux can operate for years without stopping),
multiprocessing, multi-user and other sophisticated
characteristics. Today, Linux system has a desktop environment
similar to Windows 98/ME/NT in terms of user-friendliness.
It can be installed together with Windows 98/ME inside one
computer.

TeX A document processing system. It is used to produce various

types of documents and books, especially those that involve
many mathematical expressions. Detailed information can be
obtained on the website http://www.tug.org. TeX was
produced by Donald Knuth, a famous mathematician and
computer scientist. One of his writings is The Art of Computer
Programming in three volumes.

LibreOffice High quality office software which contains word processing,

spreadsheet, database and presentation software, free of charge.
This is an alternative to the Microsoft Office or Open Office.
All types of documents in Microsoft Office can be read by
LibreOffice. Many government organisations today have
changed to LibreOffice. Users need a minimum memory of 64MB
and at least a Pentium processor to use the LibreOffice with
comfort.

GNU A project started by Richard Stallman at the Massachusetts

Institute of Technology in 1981 to produce a free UNIX system.
Among the software products of this project are GNU Compiler
Collection C compiler, Emacs editor, R statistical software, Perl
language, Awk processor and Fortran g77 compiler. All GNU
software use a GNU Public Licence.

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Python An object-oriented programming language. It can be used for

building a prototype, Internet programs, data processing,
scientific calculations and more. Among organisations that used
this language are National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, Disney, Boeing and Google. Detailed
information at www.python.org.

R Software for data analysis. It can be obtained for Windows

98/ME and UNIX systems. It contains various facilities for
statistical analysis such as regression analysis, time series and
hypothesis testing. The R website is at http://www.r-
project.org. It is an alternative to commercial software like
Statistical Product and Service Solutions, and Statistical Analysis
System, better known as SPSS and SAS respectively.

There are thousands of high quality open source software available over the
Internet for users. You can visit the following website for detailed information on
open source software:

(a) http://www.opensource.org

(b) http://www.gnu.org

SELF-CHECK 8.1

1. What do you understand by the term GNU Public Licence? Explain.

2. Give two examples each of shareware and freeware that are

available on the Internet.

3. Explain the differences between shareware and freeware.

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8.4 FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOL (FTP)

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a technique of downloading data from any FTP
server on the Internet onto the userÊs computer.

We can see an example of the website as shown in Figure 8.4:

Figure 8.4: FTP using Firefox at host

Many servers offer anonymous FTP services, which means the server allows
anyone, anywhere to download data from it.

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Users can use a variety of software to manage the files on the server. Among the
commonly used software is CuteFTP (see Figure 8.5).

Figure 8.5: CuteFTP display

8.5 TELNET

Telnet is a technique of communicating with a server and using the facilities

that are available on the computer.

To use Telnet, a user needs to have a user account on the server to be accessed.
The Telnet technique can be used to access servers at foreign university libraries,
Usenet server, Internet Relay Chat (IRC) server, multi-user domain server or
database server.

Let us look at an example of the use of Telnet. Suppose a user wants to perform
complex calculations that require high performance computers (super). What
should he do? The user can proceed to the supercomputer centre in Malaysia
located at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Jalan Semarak, Kuala Lumpur to

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perform the tasks. A supercomputer is a type of computer with high capability and
cost. It can be used to perform simulations, car modelling, complex calculations,
weather forecasting and many others.

Besides that, the user can access the supercomputer via the Internet. The user can
Telnet to the supercomputer and perform computations on the computer
remotely. The Telnet technique enables the sharing of supercomputer resources
for all users wherever they may be in Malaysia.

8.6 E-MAIL
An e-mail is a communication technique between users on the Internet. In the early
days, e-mails were only text-based. Today, users can send various types of data
together with the e-mail, for example, Microsoft Word documents, PowerPoint
presentations, Excel spreadsheets, graphic .jpg, audio .mp3 and others. The
computer server that manages the e-mail is called the Simple Mail Transfer
Protocol (SMTP) server.

To use e-mails, users need to have an e-mail account on the e-mail server. Most
organisations like universities and private companies give out free e-mail accounts
to their staff. If users use the services of tm.net.my (Telekom Malaysia), they are
also given free e-mail accounts.

There are websites that offer free e-mail accounts such as Gmail at mail.google.com
and Yahoo! Mail at mail.yahoo.com. Users can access the websites and register for
the e-mail accounts. These free e-mail websites are popular among students and
other individuals.

An e-mail account contains two parts ă account name and the name of the SMTP
server (domain name). For example, a user with the name Anis Shafiqah has an
account name of anis_shafiqah on the host server SMTP oum.edu.my. If the user
registers at www.oum.edu.my with that account name, the userÊs e-mail account
will be [email protected]. The account name has a minimum of eight
characters and a maximum of 32 characters, on condition that it does not contain
special characters or space.

The following e-mail account names are not valid: „anis shafiqah‰ and
„a shafiqah‰. On the other hand, the following account names are valid:
„anis_shafiqah‰ and „a_shafiqah‰. Select a good account name that is suitable and
can be easily remembered by other users. Names such as „brutal99‰, „lanunlaut‰,
„amy89810‰ and „mahakaya‰ are certainly not suitable. Imagine the feelings of the
receiver when he receives an e-mail from someone with the name,
[email protected].

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To read an e-mail on the user account on the SMTP server, users can use two
techniques:

(a) Users can use the server software and access the said SMTP server; and

(b) Users can download the e-mail from the SMTP server onto a personal
computer using the Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3) technique.

If the user is an Internet subscriber with an telecommunications service company,

the Post Office Protocol 3 technique/protocol is used to download e-mails from
the service providerÊs server onto their personal computer. The e-mail client
software that can be used are Eudora, Pegasus and Microsoft Outlook. We can look
at an example of the Gmail e-mail communication website as shown in Figure 8.6.

Figure 8.6: Gmail website

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8.6.1 E-Mail Discussion

With e-mails, users can participate in various e-mail discussion corners. There are
thousands of discussion corners covering various interesting topics such as
economics, science, computers and religion. You can participate in these
discussion corners by writing an e-mail to the server that manages the discussion
corners. Normally, e-mail discussions are managed automatically by the computer
and without human intervention. Do remember that users communicate with the
computer via e-mails. Therefore, they follow the instructions to participate or to
exit from the discussion corner correctly. A list of e-mail discussion corners can be
obtained at http://www.groups.yahoo.com and http://www.tile.net.

The advantages and disadvantages of participating in discussion corners are

briefly listed in Table 8.2.

Table 8.2: Advantages and Disadvantages of Participating in E-Mail Discussion Corners

Advantages Disadvantages

Can discuss with and pose questions The number of e-mails received may be a
to many Internet users who are lot. Certain active discussion corners will
knowledgeable in certain fields. see more than 200 e-mails a day.

Answers to questions may be obtained Users need to spend a lot of time reading
very quickly. e-mails.

Can share opinions and information with Most e-mail contents are rubbish and not
people who have the same interest. beneficial.

Low cost. ă

8.6.2 Ethics of E-Mail Discussion

Several ethical issues that need to be observed during e-mail discussions are as
follows:

(a) Observe traditional customs during discussions. Always respect other usersÊ
opinions even if they disagree. Agree to disagree;

(b) Remember that it is a virtual discussion corner. Users do not know other
users or their background. Other users may be older or may have more
experience. They may be a professor, researcher, program expert, chief
executive officer, coursemate, neighbour or others;

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(c) Show good conduct. This demonstrates your personality to other users. If a
user is noisy and obnoxious during the discussion, most likely his questions
will not be entertained by other users;

(d) Share your expertise and ask questions if you need the expertise of other
users. By sharing, a user can establish communication with other users;

(e) Respect the privacy of other users. Do not discuss private issues;

(f) Be willing to forgive other usersÊ mistakes and be ready to help in solving
problems. Do not entertain those who like to quarrel;

(g) Discussion forums are archived. Maybe in 10 yearsÊ time, if users search on
the Internet, they may find their old e-mails again. Therefore, be careful
when writing them; and

(f) Do not post usersÊ private e-mails onto the discussion forum without the
permission of the concerned users (very important). This violates the privacy
act of certain countries.

8.6.3 Smiley
An e-mail content in the form of text makes it difficult for users to express emotions
like anger, happiness, hatred, tears and laughter. Therefore, the smiley icon
technique is used. A smiley contains text-based symbols used in e-mails to
represent a certain emotion such as anger, hatred and laughter. To view a smiley,
users need to tilt their heads 90 degrees leftwards. Nowadays, most e-mails have
options for smiley icons (see Figure 8.7):

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 TOPIC 8 SOFTWARE ON THE INTERNET  179

Figure 8.7: Usage of smiley icons in e-mail

The following e-mail note has no smiley icons:

What to do. It is luck. Maybe you can help.

Is it less effective or impactful? Let us change it into a more effective e-mail and
have better impact by using the smiley icons:

What to do. It is luck. :-( May be you can help. :-)

The smiley symbols or icons used are :-) and :-(. The second e-mail shows that the
writer feels sad and jokingly asks if the receiver can help him.

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There are hundreds of smiley symbols and there are most common ones are shown
in Table 8.3.

Table 8.3: The Smiley Symbols

Symbol Meaning Symbol Meaning

:-) Smile ;-) Smile, wink

:-( Sad, do not agree :-p Taunting

8-) Wearing glasses :-O Eye surprised

Do you know how the smiley icon was started? You can visit the following website
to learn the history of smiley icon and how it began:

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~sef/sefSmiley.htm

ACTIVITY 8.1

You can visit the Yahoo! Messenger website at http://messenger.yahoo.

com/features/emoticons/ to see a variety of interesting smiley icons.

In your opinion, what other icons can be added? Try to find other icons
from other websites. Compare the ways and means of how they are
written.

ACTIVITY 8.1

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8.6.4 Acronyms
What is ASAP, ROTFL, RTFM, YMMV, BTW? These characters are acronyms or
short forms that are used to represent phrases that are normally used on the
Internet. In Table 8.4, nine of the popular acronyms are shown. Acronyms are used
in order to facilitate users to write quickly, without the need to type full sentences
in the e-mail, discussion and chat. This can save time and reduce spelling errors.
In fact, space can also be saved!

Table 8.4: Nine Popular Acronyms

Acronym Expression Meaning

ROTFL rolling on the floor laughing Laughing while rolling on the floor,
a cynical expression

BTW by the way By the way

RTFM read the fine manual Advised to read the manual before
asking

AFAIK as far as I know As far as I am concerned

ASAP as soon as possible An advice to speed up

FYI for your information For your information

IMHO in my humble opinion My view point

OTOH on the other hand On the contrary

YMMV your mileage may vary It may be different with you

ACTIVITY 8.2

If you receive the following e-mail, what can you understand from it?

„Please send the program ASAP. Your proposal makes me ROTFL.

Regarding the TeX program, please RTFM. I experience power upgrade
of 20 times after adding more RAM, YMMV. BTW, I am going to Ipoh
tomorrow. IMHO, SarahÊs proposal is better than AnisÊ proposal.‰

Share your interpretation of the message in the myINSPIRE online

forum.

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8.6.5 E-Mail Signature

An e-mail signature is a message at the end of an e-mail. It may contain the address
of the user, web address, words of wisdom, graphics, text and so forth. Its purpose
is to give a unique personality to the e-mail. An example of an e-mail signature is
displayed in Figure 8.8.

Figure 8.8: Example of an e-mail signature

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8.6.6 Using E-Mails Effectively

Guidelines on the effective use of e-mails are shown in Table 8.5.

Table 8.5: Guidelines on the Effective Use of E-Mails

Guideline Explanation

Ensure that your e-mail This makes it easier for the receiver to read your e-mail.
content is short and It is not proper to send a long-winded e-mail, hoping that
precise. the receiver will read it. Remember, the receiver is also
busy with other work and may be receiving hundreds of
e-mails a day.

Ensure that an appropriate This will help the receiver to determine the importance of
and concise title is used. the e-mail received.

Do not enclose a large- This would cause problems to the SMTP. Limit the size of
sized attachment. your attachment to less than 1MB. There are cases when
users send e-mail attachments of 50MB in size.

Ensure that the e-mail sent Use the virus scanner to examine the e-mail received.
or received does not
contain virus.

Process your e-mail in a For example, before going out for lunch, solve all your
batch. e-mail communications immediately. Do not postpone.

Archive all important For future reference or evidence.

e-mails.

Do not subscribe to many For example, if you subscribe to five discussion corners
e-mail discussion corners. and each discussion has 100 e-mails a day. As such, you
will receive an average of 500 e-mails a day. Much of you
time will be used just to read the e-mails.

Do not reply to e-mails E-mail enables you to reply directly even to those whom
while you are angry. you are not comfortable with. You may regret sending the
reply. Once sent, an e-mail cannot be retracted.

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8.7 USENET

Usenet is an Internet discussion forum that is open, independent and free.

A Usenet discussion does not involve e-mails. Users do not have to register with
any server to enter Usenet. A user simply need to have Internet access to access a
usenet news server and participate in the message threads or read Usenet postings.
Servers are usually operated by public universities or local Internet service
provider.

Usenet discussion is divided into a number of major topics. These topics are later
broken down into more specific subtopics (see Figure 8.9). Therefore, users can
easily search for discussion forums that are of interest.

Figure 8.9: Examples of Usenet discussions

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 TOPIC 8 SOFTWARE ON THE INTERNET  185

For example, a user wants to read an article in the C programming language

discussion corner. The user can access the discussion corner comp.lang.c. If the
user wants to read about Malaysia, he can access soc.culture.malaysia. An example
of an article in comp.lang.c is shown in Figure 8.10.

rom: holism ([email protected])

Message 18 in thread
Subject: Re: Learning C
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Date: 2001-04-11 21:43:55 PST

>> Anyone have any suggestions for a good introductory book on C?

>

The C Programming Language by Kernighan and Richie is a pretty

awesome book. Lots of short and sweet examples from the guys who
created the language. It’s just the C language minus most of the fat
you find in beginner books, so if you already know basic programming
concepts it should be a good book to get you into C.

Nick

Figure 8.10: Example of an article in comp.lang.c discussion forum

In Usenet discussion forums, users can share opinions, request for help, argue,
spread rumours, sell items, fire at someone, criticise someone, get to know each
other and others. There is no filtering of the Usenet contents. Therefore, the Usenet
contents may be true or false. Users are reminded not to readily believe stories
such as get-rich-quick-schemes or pills for preventing old age that are available in
Usenet.

In Usenet discussion forums, the same questions may be occasionally asked by a

new user. To avoid this, veteran users of discussion forums have taken the
initiative to produce a document called frequently asked questions (FAQ).

Frequently asked questions (FAQ) is a document containing questions that

are frequently asked by users and the answers to those questions.

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Therefore, FAQ originate from various Usenet discussion forums. For example,
if there is a new user involved in comp.text.tex discussing TeX document
processing software, the user may want to know the background of TeX, its
history, how to use TeX and so forth. The new user can ask these questions in
comp.text.tex. However, a better way is for the user to read the FAQ in the
comp.text.tex discussion forum. Normally, each discussion forum has a FAQ sent
to the forum every month.

Learners are recommended to browse the website http://groups.google.com and

read several Usenet discussion pages like soc.religion.islam, soc.culture.malaysia,
comp.lang.c, sci.math and others to see how Usenet discussions operate. After that,
you can participate in a discussion forum that is suitable for you.

It is wise to read the FAQ first before posing questions because it contains useful
information for new users to refer to and to know. An archived FAQ document is
available at the website http://www.faqs.org and has been discussed in Topic 7.

SELF-CHECK 8.2

List the advantages and disadvantages of Usenet. How would you

evaluate the validity of its contents? Explain.

8.8 THE INTERNET PHENOMENON

The growth of the Internet with the advancement of hardware and software
development in various computing devices such as personal computers,
smartphones, cloud computing and wearable devices has created a phenomenon
in various ways.

One of the phenomena of the Internet is the addictive use of social network
websites and applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LINE, Google+
and many more. So, what do you know about social network websites?

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Boyd and Ellison (2013) in their article titled Social Network Sites: Definition,
History and Scholarship have defined the social network websites as web-based
services that allow individuals to:

(a) Construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system;

(b) Articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection; and

(c) View and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within
the system.

Facebook is the most popular social network site that allows users who are part of
the same „network‰ to view othersÊ profiles, unless a profile owner has decided to
deny permission to those in their network. Figure 8.11 shows the interface of the
Facebook website for Open University Malaysia.

Figure 8.11: Facebook of OUM site

Source: www.facebook.com/openunimalaysia

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Other popular social network sites, geolocation applications and trending social
media applications that are based on the Internet and cloud storage are Twitter,
YouTube, Foursquare and Instagram. These software or applications have created
their unique approach and phenomenon for their users.

The other trend on the Internet that is currently attracting many users is the growth
of smartphone usage. It led to the active development of mobile applications in
accessing data over the Internet. In addition, cloud computing allows accessibility,
storage and online communication such as through Google ChromeOS or
Chromebook, Box, Dropbox, Google Drive and others. Last, but not least, is the
wearable computing such as Google Glass and smart watches. All these new and
developing technologies cater to the growth of the Internet around the world.

SELF-CHECK 8.3

Discuss the Internet phenomenon and predict the future of software and
applications used for the Internet.

 There are various types of software on the Internet. Some of them are
shareware, freeware, open source software, protocols, file transfer, Telnet,
e-mail and Usenet.

 Shareware is a software that can be used by users free of charge within a

specific period.

 Freeware is also available free of charge from the Internet.

 The open source software begins with the GNU project (GNU is not UNIX),
a project founded by Richard Stallman from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology at the beginning of 1980s. The original aim of this project was to
produce a system based on UNIX for free of charge use.

 Among the advantages of open source software is that users can change or
modify the software and they are not tied to any company.

 File Transfer Protocol is a technique of downloading data from any File

Transfer Protocol server on the Internet onto the userÊs computer.

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 Telnet is a technique of communicating with a server and using the facilities

available on the computer.

 The e-mail is a communication technique between users on the Internet.

 There are several ethical issues that need to be observed during e-mail
discussions.

 A smiley contains text-based symbols used in an e-mail to represent a certain

emotion such as anger, hatred or laughter.

 Acronym or brief phrases are used to represent commonly used phrases on the
Internet.

 Usenet is an Internet discussion forum that is open, independent and free of

charge.

 Usenet contains frequently asked questions (FAQ). It is a document that contains

the answers for the most frequently asked questions by consumers.

 The Internet has grown to be a phenomenon in various aspects of our daily life
including the way we communicate, share and work. There are many software,
applications and websites available for social networks, communication, cloud
computing, wearable computing and many more technologies to fulfil our
needs.

E-mail Open source software

Freeware Shareware
Frequently asked questions (FAQ) Smiley
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Telnet
GNU Project Usenet

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Ellison, N. B., & Boyd, D. M. (2007). Social network sites. Journal of

Computer-Mediated Communication 13(1), 210ă230. Retrieved from
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00393.x

Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

Topic  Communication

9
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1. Describe four basic elements of communication;
2. Identify communication as an important component of information
technology (IT);
3. Explain the functions of coder-decoder in a communication system;
4. Describe two types of electromagnetic signals for data
transmission;
5. Identify two modes of transmitting data;
6. Identify three techniques of controlling data flow direction;
7. Identify three types of wires used as media for transmission; and
8. Explain the concept of cellular radio technology.

 INTRODUCTION
Communication is simply the transfer or exchange of messages, ideas, thoughts,
information or knowledge by means of whatever forms like words, writing,
behaviour or even body language. Data communication is a more specialised term,
targeting at the collection and distribution of electronic data in the form of text,
voice, pictures, graphics, video and others via the communication network.

Four important elements need to be understood before any types of

communication can happen. The elements are message, sender, receiver and
media. In this topic, we shall study each of these elements in detail.

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9.1 IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF

COMMUNICATION
Communication is a process of sending data or information from one person
(or device) to another person (or device). Data or information can be in various
forms including text, images, audios, signals, videos, graphics and others.
Communication can happen between people, computers, computers and people,
tools, and others. Communication cannot take place if two people speak at the
same time and none listens. Examples of daily communication are face-to-face
conversations, reading books, looking at the beauty of nature, reading or receiving
letters, watching television, listening to speeches and certainly listening to lectures.
Networking is a mechanism for communication.

There are four elements for each type of communication to happen. The elements
are message, sender, receiver and media as illustrated in Figure 9.1 during a
telephone communication.

Figure 9.1: Communication via telephone

Let us learn about each of the elements in detail.

(a) The Sender

The sender is the message transmitter or the place where a message begins.
The sender may be a person, an application, a machine that can create
messages or replies without human assistance, system user, sensor, staff card
reader or other input devices.

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(b) The Message

Certainly, when you communicate, a message is needed. A message exists in
various formats and forms. A message can be in the form of a file, request,
reply, status, control or mail. When we ask someone, the message of asking
may be in the form of voice, letter, eye movement or body movement. There
are long messages, for example, letters. There are short messages, for
example, an order to „read‰. When we access a website, for example, we type
the address of the website www.oum.edu.my. The website address is a
message that we send to the website concerned or we can ask the computer
software to search for the website concerned. Thus, we are the sender, the
computer is the receiver, the website address is the message and the Internet
is the media.

(c) The Receiver

It can be a situation where there is the presence of a message, media and
sender but there is no receiver. Without a receiver, communication cannot
happen. For example, we can cry for help in a jungle. In this case, there is a
message, a sender, a media but there is no receiver. Hence, there is no
communication taking place. The receiver is the target of the message.
The receiver may be a computer, terminal, printer, people, remote control
device and others. In a computer network, the receiver and the sender can be
present inside the same computer. For example, sender of an e-mail
[email protected] sends an e-mail to [email protected]; both the sender
and the receiver are present inside the same oum.edu.my e-mail server.

(d) The Media

A message is carried from the sender to the receiver via the communication
media. The media is the channel or vehicle for carrying the message. For
example, in a communication that involves two people talking face-to-face,
the medium is the air while in a telephone conversation, the medium could
be the telephone line, a microwave, a wireless or a combination of these.

9.1.1 Coder and Decoder

Think of how the message we send can be understood by the receiver. The message
needs to be altered into a suitable form so that it can pass through the media and
is altered again into a form that can be understood by the receiver. In this aspect,
coder and decoder are required. The coderÊs function is to code the message of the
sender so that it is altered into a suitable form for the media and the decoder
converts it back into a form that is understood by receiver. Figure 9.2 clarifies the
general situation of coder and decoder in a communication system.

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Figure 9.2: Communication system

9.1.2 Message Understanding

Even if the four elements (sender, receiver, media and message) are present but
the message is not understood, the actual communication still does not take place.
In human communication, language becomes the main obstacle that often requires
a third party, that is, translator. In a computer communication, data representation
code or information becomes the obstacle. As such, there is a standard code that
represents data, namely ASCII, EBCDIC and the latest is Unicode.

9.1.3 Error Detector

In a communication between the sender and the receiver, there is a need for an
error detector to ensure that the data sent is the same as the one received by the
receiver. This error may be described as noise or interference in the process of
transmission via the media, just like the climatic condition when the medium is
the air or microwave. If communication happens between people, the person
himself can perform the detection and correction of errors based on human ability.
If communication happens between computers, error detection is much needed to
provide a scheme of detection and correction of the message error by attaching
additional data or information while sending the data so as to increase the
opportunity for error detection. This scheme will be discussed later.

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9.1.4 Security
When data is sent, it will become an attraction for eavesdropping. An example is
buying goods via the Internet using credit cards. The credit card number sent via
this medium will be easily stolen, if security measures are not taken. Among the
security measures often used is encryption. We shall discuss this issue in the next
topic.

SELF-CHECK 9.1

1. Communication comprises a number of elements of which message

is one of them. What are the other elements?

2. Explain the functions of the following communication elements:

(a) Receiver; and

(b) Error detector.

3. What are the functions of the coder and the decoder in a

communication system?

4. What is the purpose of having standardised codes in

communication among computers?

5. Humans communicate using various methods such as speaking

and signing, among others. The progress of IT has enabled us to
communicate via various new methods. Can you identify the
techniques of communicating via computers?

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ACTIVITY 9.1

Identify the sender, receiver and media in the following communication:

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9.2 BASICS OF DATA COMMUNICATION

Data communication refers to the form of electronic communication, which

usually involves data transmission between users and computer, computer
and computer, and computer and devices. Features of data communication
include the types of signal, mode of transmission, data flow direction and rate
of transmission.

Can you imagine how electromagnetic signals that carry information are delivered
to the receiver?

Electromagnetic signals can be used to deliver information through various

transmission media. Two forms of signals that can represent information for
transmission via the communication lines are:

(a) Analogue Signals; and

(b) Digital Signals.

9.2.1 Analogue Signals

Analogue signals are continuous. In other words, when signals are sent via the
media (such as telephone wire), the electrical signals that are transmitted are
represented in the form of a continuous sine wave as shown in Figure 9.3. The sine
wave has three parameters, namely the frequency, amplitude and phase
(see Figure 9.4).

(a) Frequency
Refers to the number of recurring waves (see Figure 9.3). It is measured in
hertz (Hz), which is one cycle per second. Signals with 40Hz recur
40 cycles per second.

Figure 9.3: Wave frequency

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Figure 9.4: Sine wave

(b) Amplitude
Refers to the height of the wave or the waveÊs highest energy level,
as shown in Figure 9.5. Amplitude is measured in various units,
for example, voltage (V) or decibel (dB). The stronger the signal, the higher
is the amplitude.

Figure 9.5: Wave amplitude

(c) Phase
Refers to the rate of signal change with time or the measure of time
shift of the waves and is measured in degrees (À). Signals with the
same frequency can have different phases when they are compared.
In Figure 9.6, the bottom wave (b) has a different phase (phase 180À)
compared with the top wave (a). One complete wave cycle begins at a point
and continues until it reaches the point again. A shift in phases happens
when one cycle is not yet complete but another new cycle has already begun,
that is, before the previous cycle has completed fully. This happens at
point 1 in Figure 9.6(c).

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Figure 9.6: Signal phases

Analogue signals are used in low-speed telephone lines. Analogue signals

are transmitted via public switched telephone network (PSTN).

9.2.2 Digital Signals

Unlike the analogue signal, which is like a continuous sine wave, the digital signals
are a discrete wave. In the digital transmission, a series of discrete pulses are
transmitted or sent, carrying digits of 0 and 1. These 0 and 1 values are similar to
the binary data representation in the computer.

Digital signals are in two states only, either low voltage and high voltage, off
and on or 0 and 1.

Normally, digital signals are represented as rectangular waves as shown in

Figure 9.7.

Figure 9.7: Digital signals

Digital signals cannot be transmitted via public switched telephone network,

except after they have been changed to analogue signals. The process of changing
digital signals into the analogue one is called modulating, while the reverse
process is called demodulating.
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SELF-CHECK 9.2

Explain the differences between analogue and digital signals.

9.3 MODE OF DATA TRANSMISSION

Computers that have been networked perform their jobs individually. Destination
computers do not know when the information from source computers would
arrive. Therefore, there needs to be a strategy to enable the destination computer
to realise that the source computer has sent through the information, and that the
information has arrived to enable it to act on the information. The strategy of
making this known is called mode of data transmission.

Data transmission between two points or between two computers can happen in
two forms, namely in parallel or in series. Data that is sent through the parallel
transmission will be delivered in one go, normally in one byte (8 bits)
simultaneously. If 8-bit data is sent, 8 parallel wires will be used to send the data
ă each bit is sent via separate wires, as shown in Figure 9.8. Extra wires are needed
to send data between the sender and the receiver. These signals allow the data to
be sent in a proper sequence.

Figure 9.8: Parallel transmission

Printers, for example, receive data from the computers via the parallel ports that
are transmitted in parallel, that is, character (byte) by character (byte). This
transmission is suitable for short distances. Parallel transmission is not practical
for data communication. Computers normally transmit data in serial form because
of the high speed. Centronics parallel interface is an example of the parallel format.

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Serial transmission is transmitting data serially, that is, the data is being sent one
bit after one bit (see Figure 9.9).

Figure 9.9: Serial transmission

Serial transmission is slower than parallel transmission but is more suitable for
long distances. Serial transmission is the normal method of data transmission in a
communication network. In data communication, the data is transmitted serially.
Two modes of transmission for serially transmitted data are asynchronous
transmission and synchronous transmission.

9.3.1 Asynchronous Transmission

This type of transmission has become popular after the invention of
teletypewriters that were used to send telegrams. Characters are sent one by one.
The time of transmission also cannot be determined but the characters can be sent
at any time. To enable the destination computer to realise that one character has
arrived, each character is wrapped with one start bit and one stop bit as well as
one parity bit, as shown in Figure 9.10.

Figure 9.10: Asynchronous transmission

Each character can be separated by a different time space, which means that there
is no synchronisation between the sender and the receiver, especially when there
is no data being sent. Synchronisation is achieved only at each character. The
receiver will synchronise with the sender when start bit is received. Several
agreements between the sender and the receiver include the number of bits per
word, parity check (whether odd or even), speed of transmission and how the
message is ended.

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For sending each character, two additional bits are also sent. For example,
when sending 100 characters, the total bits being sent are 1,000 bits (eight bits
per character + two bits for start/stop  100). These 1,000 bits are equivalent to
125 characters, where 25 additional characters constitute the overheads for the
asynchronous transmission. The asynchronous transmission is clearly not efficient
for sending large amounts of data. However, it is suitable for low-speed data
communication, normally up to 32,000bps.

9.3.2 Synchronous Transmission

One weakness of the asynchronous transmission is the overhead that needs to be
carried during data transmission. In the synchronous transmission, a high
efficiency level is achieved by sending a group or a block of characters at one go
and to replace the wrapper bits (start and stop) by header and trailer.

Figure 9.11: Synchronous transmission

The receiver will check the data bits received until a header is found which
contains Synchronous Idle (SYN) characters and start bit, as shown in Figure 9.11
above. Next, both the sender and the receiver will mutually synchronise between
them. The receiver will receive all characters until a tail is found containing the last
character and SYN character. Data block (or packet) size varies from a few
characters to hundreds of characters. The bigger the data block, the faster the
transmission will be.

Synchronous transmission is faster and more efficient than the asynchronous

transmission. The efficiency level of synchronous transmission is up to 98 per cent
while that of asynchronous transmission is only up to 80 per cent. However, if
there are errors in the synchronous transmission, the entire block of data
(all characters) will be spoilt whereas only one character will be spoilt in the
asynchronous transmission. The hardware used to perform synchronous
transmission is more expensive and more complex than that for the asynchronous
transmission. Any type of data can be transmitted synchronously while only
characters can be transmitted by the asynchronous transmission.

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SELF-CHECK 9.3

1. Explain the mode of data transmission.

2. Clarify the differences between synchronous transmission and

asynchronous transmission.

9.4 DATA FLOW DIRECTION

Data communication network has three categories of line operation to control data
flow, namely simplex, half-duplex and full-duplex lines. The three flow types of
data transmission have advantages and disadvantages.

9.4.1 Simplex
Simplex transmission allows data to move in only one direction, similar to the one-
way traffic (see Figure 9.12).

Figure 9.12: Simplex transmission

Examples are television (TV) broadcasting and radio broadcasting. Other

examples are terminals receiving data only (like normal TV) that displays share
price data at the share trading centre and displays plane arrival or departure
information at the airports, sensing devices at the traffic light crossing that track
the arrival of vehicles and printers. All these examples confirm the data flow in
only one direction.

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9.4.2 Half-Duplex
Half-duplex transmission confirms that data moves in two directions but only one
direction at a time. For example, moving through a very narrow bridge allows you
to move only one car at one time, climbing the road to FraserÊs Hill where going
up and coming down are fixed at different hours, people who communicate using
walkie-talkie or radio taxi as well as communication between two computers using
modems (see Figure 9.13).

Figure 9.13: Half-duplex transmission

This technique is quite slow because of:

(a) The time for the device to change its role from sender to receiver or vice
versa;

(b) The waiting time while the sender device transmits a message to confirm
readiness to receive data to the receiver device; and

(c) The waiting time for the sender device while waiting for the reply on the
readiness to receive data from receiver device.

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9.4.3 Full-Duplex
Full-duplex transmission allows data to be sent in two opposite directions all the
time, just like the two-way street (see Figure 9.14).

Figure 9.14: Full-duplex transmission

This technique allows the communication device to be capable of sending and

receiving data completely and independently. This technique also increases the
efficiency of the transmission system as compared with the half-duplex mode of
transmission. The required device here is more expensive than the two earlier
mentioned types but the transmission is faster.

ACTIVITY 9.2

1. Based on the simplex, half-duplex and full-duplex types of

communication, discuss which type of communication is the most
effective in terms of the cost factor.

2. Data moves in three types of flow. Discuss the advantages and

disadvantages of each of the flows.

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9.5 RATE OF DATA TRANSMISSION

Transmission rate can be said to be the bit rate or the baud rate.

Bit rate is the real measure of the number of bits transmitted every second.
Bit rate or data rate is measured in bit per second (bps). For example, modem
speed is 14,400bps.

Baud rate is a measure of the number of changes of line states per second.
Change of line state means a change from state 0 to state 1 or vice versa, for
the digital signal. For the binary digital signal, baud rate = bit rate.

The rate of transmission depends on the frequency and the bandwidth.

Frequency refers to the amount of data being sent via a channel or line at wave
frequency ă the cycle of waves per second. Frequency is stated in Hertz (Hz)
or cycles per second.

Bandwidth is the difference between the highest and the lowest frequency
that is supported by a certain channel or line.

Data can be sent at various frequencies within a certain bandwidth. The maximum
transmission speed depends on the available bandwidth. The bigger the
bandwidth, the higher the transmission rate or the speed of transmission will be.
There are three grades of bandwidth. Let us learn more about each grade of
bandwidth in Table 9.1.

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Table 9.1: Grades of Bandwidth

Bandwidth Description

Voice band This bandwidth is present in PSTN, the traditional telephone network.
It is called voice band because PSTN is originally built for voice
communication instead of data. The width of its bandwidth is 4,000Hz,
which is sufficient for sending voice. Since its bandwidth is limited, it is
used for communication at the rate of up to 28.8Kbps.

Medium Normally used for communication that involves mainframe computers

band and minicomputers. Its normal speed is between 56Kbps to 264Mbps.

Broadband It involves the satellite, microwave, coaxial cable and optical fibre. It is
used for high-speed computers and has a speed of between 56K to
30Gbps.

SELF-CHECK 9.4

1. State the differences between bit rate and baud rate. When will both
the bit rate and the baud rate be equal?

2. State the advantages and the disadvantages of each technique of

data flow direction.

3. List the three types of bandwidth grades.

9.6 DATA TRANSMISSION MEDIA

In this subtopic, we shall focus on the transmission media. Transmission media
depends on the form of data that is altered for communication. Among the basic
forms of data that can be altered for communication are electrical pulses, light
pulses, electromagnetic waves and infrared waves.

The types of transmission media for carrying signals depend on the types of
signals. Twisted pair wire and coaxial cable carry signals in the form of electrical
pulses. Light pulse signals can be carried via optical fibre cable. For the
electromagnetic wave that penetrates the air, it requires the support of microwave
and satellite systems. The three forms of data ă light pulses, electromagnetic waves
and infrared waves ă are all the types of waves that come with the wireless type of
transmission media.

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Transmission media can be classified as guided (via the physical media such as
twisted pair wires, coaxial cables and optical fibre cables) or unguided (via air,
vacuum and water).

9.6.1 Twisted Pair Cable

Twisted pair cable is the medium that is normally used to send data in the form of
electronic pulses. It is also known as twisted pair wire. Twisted pair cable consists
of a number of coloured and shielded wires that are twisted to create magnetic
fields and therefore, will reduce noise interference. Normally there are four or
eight wires (forming two or four pairs). In general, each pair of wires supports one
voice channel. This type of cable is often used for telephones. Twisted pair cables
are cheap and easily obtainable but the signals that pass through them are easily
lost and interrupted, and its transmission rate is low. An example of a twisted pair
wire is shown in Figure 9.15.

Figure 9.15: Four twisted pair wires

There are two types of wires or cables, namely unshielded twisted pair (UTP) and
shielded twisted pair (STP). Unshielded twisted pair cables are cheaper and easier
to handle but can be interrupted easily and have a shorter coverage distance as
compared with shielded twisted pair.

Besides being classified into unshielded twisted pair and shielded twisted pair,
twisted pair cables are also classified according to categories set by EIA/TIA-568.
In general, the factors that differentiate between these categories are the thickness
of wires according to American wire gauge (AWG) and the error features.

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9.6.2 Coaxial Cable

Coaxial cable, also called shielded cable, is made up of one or more copper wire
strings that are shielded by insulator and covered with iron mesh. This cable is
widely used to support long distance connections. It offers higher rate of data
transmission as compared to twisted pair cable and can be used to send all types
of data (not limited to voice or text). Examples of coaxial cables include TV cable
(usually used to connect the TV to the antenna) and the short link between a
computer and the local area network. This type of cable transmits data or signals
by way of electrical pulses.

In a voice communication system, every coaxial cable can support about 60 voice
channels. Such cables that support multiple voices are called bandwidth coaxial
cables with a speed of up to 100Mbps. This type of cable is called thick coaxial
cable, thicknets or 10Base5, which is also called thick Ethernet.

Another type of such cable is the basic band coaxial cable that is used to send data
at high speed such as in the local area network (LAN). The cable that is often used
in the local area network is the RG-58AU cable, often called the thin coaxial cable,
thinnets or 10Base2, which is also called thin Ethernet ă with a speed of up to
10Mbps. An example of the coaxial cable can be seen in Figure 9.16.

Figure 9.16: Coaxial cable

Coaxial cable offers bandwidth and a degree of immunity from highly unstable
signals. In addition, this cable is cheap to install and complies with existing
standards. However, this cable incurs high cost for long distances because of the
need for repeaters. The safety level of this cable is not yet high. Termination and
connecting points of this cable need to be done correctly to avoid spoilage that can
create congestion in the network, thus, preventing access to it.

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9.6.3 Fibre Optic Cable

Optical fibre is a medium in which data is transmitted in the form of light pulses.
Optical fibre technology is a new communication technology that is low cost, high
volume of transmission, low error rate and safe for the message. Signals are
converted into light pulses and shot by laser via shielded optical fibre. That light
will move and refract along the cable shield. This fibre can transmit data at a speed
of 80Gbps. A picture of the optical fibre cable can be seen in Figure 9.17.

Figure 9.17: Optical fibre cable

Optical fibre is made from silicon fibre or silica, which is thinner than the human
hair. It can be used to transmit various types of data such as video, pictures,
multimedia, music and graphics. Since the data is transmitted via light, it is not
affected by electronic interference and that will reduce errors in data transmission.
This fibre is also lighter than coaxial cable. Optical fibre cable is used for linking
long distances or linking between continents. Each fibre can support multiple voice
channels or TV channels.

9.6.4 Microwave System

Microwave does not use cables as its transmission media but uses air or sky space.
Microwave uses the radio system, which uses high frequency to send and receive
data. Microwave signals are sent in the form of line of sight. These signals cannot
be bent according to the surface of the earth or to avoid hills, mountains and tall
buildings. Therefore, relay stations are used to link up microwave signals.
The number of relay stations depends on the shape of earth, normally 30kmă50km
between each other. Relay stations are normally placed on top of tall buildings,
hills and tall towers. The frequency of microwave transmission is normally

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measured in increments of two hertz until 40GHz. Figure 9.18 is a simple diagram
that describes how relay stations are used to provide coverage over a geographic
region.

Figure 9.18: Wave relay station

Microwave technique is used for high volume communication and over long
distances. Parabola discs and towers require high costs to be built. Therefore, the
cost of a microwave system is expensive and it is for long distances. This technique
is suitable for communication between tall buildings in city areas, especially when
the cost of installing optical fibre cable is very expensive. Now, microwave systems
are often used to link up networks between buildings in campuses and towns.

For a medium-sized microwave system, the cost is average, it can be divided into
sub-channels and can be extended over long distances. However, it can be easily
interrupted by noise from the weather and electricity as well as the need to
overcome the line of sight problem including geography. The use of microwave
also follows tight rules in order to avoid overlapping.

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9.6.5 Satellite System

The satellite approach is used when the transmission distance is long and there
exists many obstacles. Data or signals that are carried via the satellite are in the
microwave form to represent voice, data and video. Satellite is an electronic device
that contains up to 100 transponders (small, specific radios) that receive,
strengthen and resend the signals.

Satellite acts as a relay station between one earth station and another earth station.
The signal frequency that is uplinked to the satellite is different from the signal
frequency that is downlinked to the earth station. Types of satellites are classified
according to their locations from the earthÊs surface as well as the signal frequency
to uplink and to downlink. Figure 9.19 illustrates how a satellite system relays
signal.

Figure 9.19: Satellite system

Global positioning system (GPS) is a navigation system that uses satellites to

determine a userÊs position anywhere on the earth. The GPS technology was first
used by the US military in the 1960s. It was later expanded into civilian use over
the next few decades. Today, the GPS receiver is included in many commercial
products such as automobiles, smartphones, exercise watches and geographic
information system (GIS) devices.

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Satellite system is expensive but cost effective for sending large volumes of data.
The satellite coverage area on earth is called footprint. The position between the
satellites needs to follow certain rules in order to avoid signal interference between
each other. There are three advantages and seven disadvantages of using the
satellite system, as presented in Table 9.2.

Table 9.2: Advantages and Disadvantages of Using the Satellite System

Advantages Disadvantages

 Satellite footprint offers a large  Signal gets noisier while its strength
geographical area of coverage. deteriorates as distance increases.
 High loading enables large volumes  Limited lifespan of 7 to 10 years, after
of data to be transmitted. which the satellite will run out of real
orbit.
 Low cost per user.
 Data transmission can be intercepted
and decoded, unless they are
encrypted.
 Satellite transmission can be
intercepted by other people.
 High cost of installation and
operation.
 Requires a decoder and parabola
dish.
 Delay in receiving the signal.

9.6.6 Infrared
Infrared (IR) technology is a data transmission in the form of infrared radiation,
without going through wires. This approach is limited to only a small area and is
based on the line of sight. The transmission rate is about 10Mbps. This technology
can be used for wireless computer network. Mobile computers and devices such
as the mouse, printer and smartphone may have an IrDA port that enables the
transfer of data from one device to another using infrared light waves. The most
common example of infrared communication is your TV remote control The
infrared signals allow you to change channels, increase or decrease the volume
and perform many of other remote operations without having to leave the couch.

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9.6.7 Radio
Radio frequency technology that utilises the wireless transmission is divided into
two types, namely high frequency and low frequency. High frequency radio
technology such as the cellular radio can penetrate office walls but has limited
coverage. Low frequency radio technology utilises the radio spectrum technology,
has a big penetrating power and wide coverage but has a problem of interference.
Radio spectrum technology utilises the normal radio frequency such as amplitude
modulation (AM), frequency modulation (FM) and short wave. This technology is
normally used for pagers.

Pager is actually a radio receiver that receives a message or signal at a certain

frequency sent by a sender.

Cellular radio technology is designed for mobile computing and is mainly used by
mobile phones, also called the cellular telephone. In Malaysia, there are many
cellular telephone operators like Celcom, Digi and Maxis. Cellular technology uses
radio frequency and cell sites. A cell site is a geographical area of a roughly circular
shape where cellular phones can get signal coverage and thus operate within that
specified physical area. Users move from one cell to another cell. Each cell is linked
to the master cell site that provides a link to the normal telephone network.
The radio frequencies which are available to the cellular network are limited.
As such, a key feature of cellular telephone service involves the reuse of
frequencies across different cells in order for an operator to accommodate a large
number of users. Users themselves sometimes resort to installing amplifiers or
boosters on their own phones in order to improve the signal strength of their
equipment.

Cellular radio technology can also use low earth orbit satellite. Examples of cellular
radio satellites are Iridium and Teledesic. Cellular radio technology has seen a lot
of development and various cellular technologies have been introduced of late, for
example, 5G networks.

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9.6.8 Telephone Network

The telephone network that is used by the public is called PSTN. It traditionally
handles voice but can also be used to carry small amounts of data. PSTN is also
sometimes called plain old telephone service (POTS). Currently, PSTN signals are
also carried by various new transmission media such as optical fibre, microwave
system and satellite system. Data in PSTN can be sent via dial-up lines, leased lines
or dedicated lines. For many parts of the world, POTS remains the basic form of
residential and small business communication service.

 Communication normally involves only humans. However, it also occurs

between humans and computer, as well as computer and computer ă this
electronic form of communication is known as data communication.

 The sender is the message transmitter or the place where a message begins.
The sender may be a person, software application, machine that can create
messages or replies without human assistance, system user, sensor, staff card
reader or other input devices.

 A message can be in the form of a file, request, reply, status, control or mail.

 The receiver may be a computer, terminal, printer, people, remote control

device and many others.

 A message is carried from sender to receiver via the communication media.

The media is the channel or vehicle for carrying the message.

 The cellular radio technology concept is becoming more popular now. Many
communication companies like Maxis, Celcom and DiGi use this technology.

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Analogue signal Media

Asynchronous transmission Microwave system
Coaxial cable Networking
Coder Radio
Communication Receiver
Data communication Satellite system
Decoder Sender
Digital signals Simplex
Fibre optic cable Synchronous transmission
Full-duplex Telephone network
Half-duplex Twisted pair wire
Infrared system

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Topic  Ethics, Privacy
and Digital
10 Security
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1. Explain the ethics guidelines of using technology;
2. Discuss issues related to information privacy; and
3. Describe various types of digital security risks and ways to
safeguard it.

 INTRODUCTION
We are vigorously going through the process of information revolution where the
development and use of information and communications technology (ICT) has
revolutionised our capability to extract, manipulate, store, communicate and
present information. The main characteristics of this era are a rise in the number
of knowledge workers, a world that has become more open in the sense of
communication and the sharing of data. However, this paradigm shift brings new
ethical problems such as privacy right which is threatened by the risk of the free
flow of information over the networks or devices. This topic will address the
concerns in ethics, privacy and security from the aspect of guidelines, techniques,
risks and safeguards in dealing with the way technology is used.

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10.1 ETHICS
The technology revolution has generated a lot of controversy. One of the
controversies concerns questions about what is (and what is not) ethical with
regard to the activities involving information technology. The standards that
determine whether an action is good or bad are known as ethics. Computer ethics
refers to the moral guidelines that govern the use of computers, mobile devices,
information systems and related technologies. Frequently discussed aspects of
computer ethics are information accuracy, intellectual property rights, codes of
conduct, green computing, information privacy, unauthorised use of computers,
software theft and many other concerns on the usage of the various technologies.

The advancement of technology has created a world without borders. We can now
interact with anyone regardless of location. In addition, data can be moved from
one location to another. Even your confidential data that used to be kept in your
drawer, can be easily assessed now if the data has been converted into the
electronic form. Behind the facilities provided by these technologies, we need to
be aware of irresponsible parties who will take advantage of our carelessness when
using IT in our daily activities. Now, more than ever, it is very important to
emphasise computer ethics in the usage of such technologies.

In most organisations, computers are used to help the management ensure smooth
and efficient running of the business operations. Top management also uses
computers to facilitate in making important strategic decisions. Ethical problems
are often discussed in human resource management. This is because information
technology (IT) has opened new ways of conducting ethical and unethical business
processes electronically. Computer users are now confronted with series of ethical
issues especially when they perform duties in the office. Examples of situations
that could raise questions about ethical or unethical use of IT include:

(a) An employee who uses his computer at work to send personal email
messages;

(b) A supervisor who reads an employeeÊs email message;

(c) An employee who uses her computer at work to complete a homework

assignment for school;

(d) A student who copies text from the Web and uses it in a research paper for
his English composition class;

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(e) An employee who sends political campaign material to individuals on her

employerÊs mailing list; and

(f) A person who makes unauthorised access to an organisationÊs network and

reports any vulnerabilities discovered to the organisation.

ACTIVITY 10.1

Engage a coursemate in a discussion on ethics based on the situations

mentioned in Subtopic 10.1. You may also add in scenarios based on your
personal work experiences.

List down what is considered ethical or unethical, share and compare

your list with your coursemates in the myINSPIRE online forum.

The following subtopics will discuss ethical issues related to information accuracy,
intellectual property rights, codes of conduct and green computing.

10.1.1 Information Accuracy

Information accuracy represents the legitimacy, precision and authenticity with
which information is rendered. Because of the pervasiveness of information about
individuals and organisations contained in information systems, special care must
be taken to guard against errors and to correct known mistakes.

Information accuracy is important because many lives may be dependent on it, for
example, the medical information at hospitals, therefore, the information must be
accurate. To obtain accurate information, we need the right value. If someone gives
inaccurate information, it is difficult to find out who made the mistake. Many
situations or actions can lead to inaccurate information. The most common case is
when the user enters a wrong value or data. Moreover, inaccurate information may
accrue from typographical mistakes. To avoid such mistakes, the organisation
must find hire those with relevant experience and skills in data entry, and it must
use programs which can discover typographical mistakes.

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10.1.2 Intellectual Property Rights

Intellectual property (IP) refers to unique and original works such as ideas,
inventions, art, writings, processes, company and product names and logos.
Intellectual property rights are the rights in which creators are entitled for their
work. Certain issues arise surrounding IP today because many of these works are
available digitally and can easily be redistributed or altered without the creatorÊs
permission.

A copyright gives authors, artists and other creators of original work the exclusive
right to duplicate, publish and sell their materials. A copyright protects any
tangible form of expression. A common infringement of copyright is piracy, where
people illegally copy software, movies and music. Many areas are not clear-cut
with respect to the law because copyright law gives the public fair use to
copyrighted material. The issue surrounding the phrase, „fair use‰ allows the use
for educational and critical purposes.

10.1.3 Codes of Conduct

A code of conduct is a written guideline that helps determine whether a
specification is ethical/unethical or allowed/not allowed. An IT code of conduct
focuses on acceptable use of technology. Employers and schools often specify
standards for the ethical use of technology in an IT code of conduct and then
distribute these standards to employees and students. Figure 10.1 shows the
preamble to one such example:

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Figure 10.1: Sample code of conduct in using ICT resources

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ACTIVITY 10.2

Use the link below to download the full code of conduct shown in
Figure 10.1:

http://www.southsidemontessori.edu.au/uploads/1/0/9/5/10956261
5/code__it.pdf

Review the code of conduct. Is there anything in it that is relatable to your

place of work? Is there any item that can be improved on? Share your
thoughts in the myINSPIRE online forum.

You may also find examples of codes of conduct online that define acceptable
forms of communications for websites where users post commentary or other
types of communications such as blogs, wikis and online discussions.

10.1.4 Green Computing

Green computing involves reducing electricity and environmental waste while
using a computer. People often use and waste resources such as electricity and
paper while using a computer. Green computing is the practice of using computer
and other IT resources effectively and efficiently.

Nowadays, IT has radically changed our work and life while enhancing our
productivity, economy and social well-being. However, most people do not realise
that IT has also been contributing to environmental issues. Computers and other
IT infrastructure absorb significant measures of power, and is expanding day by
day, placing a substantial weight on our electric grids and adding to greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions. In other words, IT is both a solution and a problem for
environmental sustainability.

Green computing started in 1987 when the World Commission on Environment

and Development issued a report entitled Our Common Future, which proposes
the fundamental idea of sustainable development. The US Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) launched the Energy Star programme in 1992 to serve as
a sort of voluntary label granted to computing items that succeeded in minimising
the utilisation of energy while maximising productivity. Energy Star was intended
to advance and lower energy consumption, decrease GHG emissions caused by
power, climate control equipment and different advance technologies. Table 10.1
comprises a list of suggestions to make computing healthy for the environment
and in accordance with Energy Star recommendations.

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Table 10.1: Green Computing Tips

Green Computing Tips Logo

Conserve Energy:
 Use computers and devices that comply with the Energy Star
programme.
 Do not leave a computer or device running overnight.
 Turn off the monitor, printer and other devices when not in
use.

Reduce Environmental Waste:

 Use paperless methods to communicate.
 Recycle paper and buy recycled paper.
 Recycle toner and ink cartridges, computers, mobile devices,
printers and other devices.
 Telecommute.
 Use videoconferencing and VoIP for meetings.

In Malaysia, green computing is also known as green technology. It has been

identified as one of the key drivers of national economic growth. In April 2009,
the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water was established to promote
sustainable energy and water for all. Now the ministry is known as the Ministry
of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (MESTECC).
It is responsible for promoting innovation in the management of strategic
resources by ensuring availability, reliability and affordability of energy and water
services as well as to champion the application of green technology to promote
green economy and green living. The Malaysia government has also established a
fund ă the Green Technology Financing Scheme (GTFS) ă amounting to
RM1.5billion to promote green computing technology. The Ministries of Education
and Higher Education are also working with MESTECC in promoting and
integrating green topics in the education system in order to create awareness
among the young.

ACTIVITY 10.3

Discuss with your coursemates in the myINSPIRE online forum on how

we can contribute to green computing initiatives at work, home and
school.

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10.2 INFORMATION PRIVACY

Information privacy refers to the right of individuals and companies to deny or
restrict the collection and use of information concerning them. In the past,
information privacy was easier to maintain because information was kept in
separate locations. Each retail store had its own credit files. Each government
agency maintained separate records. Doctors had their own patient files.

Today, huge databases store data online. Much of the data is personal and
confidential, and should only be accessible by authorised users. Many individuals
and organisations, however, question whether this data really is private. Some
companies and individuals collect and use this information without your
authorisation. Websites often collect data about you so that they can customise
their advertisements and send you personalised e-mail messages. Some employers
monitor their employeesÊ computer usage and e-mail messages.

Technology has facilitated the process of data collection and storage. For example,
banks store data on every customer. The data includes age, marital status, total
savings, total loans, savings conducts and others. Universities keep student
records, which include academic achievements, co-curricular activities, types of
studies, types of financial support, age, parentsÊ occupations, nationality and many
others. The Road Transport Department (RTD) keeps car ownerÊs names and the
related details. All these are examples whereby individual privacy can be misused
or abused by the keepers of information.

If customers have credit cards, the banks will have data on spending habits,
methods of debt repayments, types of purchases, income and others. Therefore,
bank and road transport officers may use these data to sell to some interested
parties for marketing and other purposes. All the data that are stored in banks,
universities and RTD are personal private data which can be used for evaluating
an individualÊs lifestyle.

The following are examples of privacy questions that need to be highlighted:

(a) Who has the right over the data?

(b) Can banks sell personal data of individuals to other companies for marketing
purposes?

(c) Can banks provide information on individual savings to other banks for the
purpose of loan approval?

(d) How can individuals determine that their personal data which is kept by the
authorised parties is accurate? and

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(e) Can the RTD commercialise information of its databases concerning cars and
their owners?

The Internet has expanded the issue of privacy even more widely. With the
Internet, users can use e-mails for communications. Privacy issues that may arise
from the use of e-mails include:

(a) Whether the contents of e-mails are secured against intrusion;

(b) Whether the contents of e-mails are regarded as personal items that cannot
be publicised to other parties;

(c) Whether the employer has the right to read e-mails of his employees;

(d) Whether the government has the right to filter e-mail contents; and

(e) Whether the contents of e-mails can be used in court as evidence.

E-mails that are sent through the Internet can be read by anyone, anywhere. The
e-mail is like a postcard. All e-mail messages are open for all to read. A number of
techniques have been introduced to ensure the safety of messages in e-mails. One
of the techniques is to encrypt the message, whereby it is converted into a form of
codes. The codes will be reconverted back to the actual message upon reaching its
destination. Research on encryption is still ongoing and various techniques have
been devised to better safeguard against intrusion by irresponsible persons.

Privacy rights is also an ethical issue because many records, which are stored by
non-governmental organisations are not covered by existing laws. In spite of that,
individuals have shown that they are very concerned with the control issue of who
has the right over personal information and how it is used.

10.2.1 Cookie
A cookie is a small text file that a web server stores in your computer. Cookie files
typically contain data about you such as your username, postal code or viewing
preferences. Websites use cookies for a variety of purposes.

Most websites that allow for personalisation use cookies to track user preferences.
These cookies may obtain their values when a user fills an online form which
requests for personal information. Some websites, for example, store usernames in
cookies in order to display a personalised greeting that welcomes the user by name
to the website. Other websites allow users to customise their viewing experience
with preferences such as local news headlines, local weather forecast or stock
quotes.

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Some websites use cookies to store usernames and/or passwords so that users do
not need to enter this information every time they sign in to the website. Online
shopping sites generally use a session cookie to keep track of items in a userÊs
shopping cart. This way, users can start an order during one web session and
completes it on another day at another session. Session cookies usually expire after
a certain time, for example, a week or a month.

Some websites use cookies to track how often users visit a site and the webpages
they visited while at the website. Websites may use cookies to target them with
relevant advertisements. These websites store the userÊs interests and browsing
habits in the cookie.

Some websites sell or trade information stored in your cookies to advertisers,

a practice many believe to be unethical. If you do not want your personal
information to be distributed, you should limit the amount of information you
provide to a website or adjust how your browser handles cookies. You can
regularly clear cookies or set your browser to accept cookies automatically, prompt
if you want to accept a cookie, or disable all cookies use.

SELF-CHECK 10.1

1. Explain how cookies work and what they are used for.

2. Give two examples of privacy issues on the Internet.

10.2.2 Privacy Law

The Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), enacted in June 2010, has significant
impacts on how personal data is processed by organisations and business entities
as it protects the data of private citizens from being misused. Personal data is
defined as any information collected or processed in connection with a commercial
transaction by any automatic operation equipment (such as automated teller
machine, public kiosk, personal computer, web browser and mobile app) which is
capable of identifying a person, also known as a data subject. The above definition
will include information such as name, address, identification card or passport
number, email address, telephone number as well as banking details.

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The PDPA prohibits data users from collecting and processing a data subjectÊs
personal data without his consent. The Act also prohibits data users from
disclosing or making its data available to any third party without the consent of
data subjects. It requires data users to inform data subjects on the purpose of its
data collection, the class of third party who may have access to the data and the
choices that data subjects have on how the data is to be used.

The Act also imposes a duty on data users to put in place adequate security and
indemnity measures to prevent the theft, misuse, unauthorised access, accidental
disclosure, alteration or destruction of data under their care. The Act also provides
for the rights of data subjects to access, modify and update their personal data.
There are exceptions to the PDPA. It does not apply to credit reporting business,
data collected/processed for the prevention or detection of crime, for the purpose
of preparing statistics and research, in accordance with a court order or for the
purpose of discharging regulatory functions.

10.3 DIGITAL SECURITY

Today, people rely on technology to create, store and manage their critical
information. Thus, it is important that computers and mobile devices, along with
the data and programs they store, are accessible and available when needed. It also
is crucial that users take measures to protect or safeguard their computers, mobile
devices, data and programs from loss, damage and misuse. For example,
organisations must ensure that sensitive data and information such as credit
records, employee and customer data, and purchase information is secure. Home
users must ensure that their credit card numbers are secure when they make online
purchases.

A digital security risk is any event or action that could cause a loss of or damage
to computer or mobile device hardware, software, data, information or processing
capability. While some breaches to digital security are accidental, many are
intentional. Some intruders do not disrupt a computer or deviceÊs functionality;
they merely access data, information or programs on the computer or mobile
device before signing out. Other intruders indicate some evidence of their presence
either by leaving a message or by deliberately altering or damaging data.

An intentional breach to digital security often involves a deliberate act that is

against the law. Any illegal act involving the use of a computer or related devices
is generally referred to as a computer crime. The term cybercrime refers to online
or Internet-based illegal acts such as distributing malicious software or committing
identity theft. Basically, digital security risks are caused by cyber criminals,
computer crimes and calamities. Now, let us take a look at the threats in detail
regarding computer criminals, cybercrime and disaster recovery.

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10.3.1 Disaster Recovery

Disaster recovery is a set of policies and procedures which focuses on protecting
an organisation from any significant effects as a result of a negative event, which
may include man-made (hackers, viruses and others) or natural disasters. Disaster
recovery helps in designing strategies that can restore hardware, applications and
data quickly for business continuity. The following information in Table 10.2
describes how an organisation might implement a disaster recovery plan.

Table 10.2: Consideration for Disaster Recovery

What to Include
Disaster Type What to Do First What Might Occur
in the Plan

Natural  Shut off power  Power outage  Generator

(earthquake,
 Evacuate, if  Phone lines  Satellite phone, list
hurricane,
necessary down of employeesÊ phone
tornado, etc.)
numbers
 Pay attention to  Structural
advisories damage to  Alternate worksite
building
 Do not use  Action to be taken if
phone lines if  Road closures, employees are not
lightning occurs transportation able to come to
interruptions work/leave the
office
 Flooding
 Wet/dry vacuums
 Equipment
damage  Make and model
numbers, and
vendor information
to get replacements

Man-made  Notify  Data loss  Backup data at

(hazardous authorities (fire protected site
 Dangerous
material spill, departments,
conditions for  Protective
terrorist attack, etc.) of
employees equipment and an
fire, hacker, immediate
evacuation plan
malware, etc.) threat  Criminal
activity such as  Contact law
 Attempt to
data hacking enforcement
suppress fire or
and identity
contain the spill,  Make and model
theft
if it is safe to do numbers, and
so. Evacuate, if  Equipment vendor information
necessary damage to obtain
replacements

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10.3.2 Cyber Criminals

Cyber criminals are individuals or teams of people who take advantage of a
computer and network system or make it a target, or sometimes both, in order to
commit a crime. Table 10.3 shows the types of cyber criminals.

Table 10.3: Types of Cyber Criminals

Type Description

Hacker Someone who accesses a computer or network illegally.

Cracker Someone who accesses a computer or network illegally but has the
intention to destroy data, steal information or other malicious actions.

Unethical Unethical employees may break into their employersÊ computers for a
employees variety of reasons. Some simply want to exploit a security weakness.
Others seek financial gains from selling confidential information.

Cyber Someone who demands payment to stop an attack on an organisationÊs

extortionist technology infrastructure. This criminal threatens to expose confidential
information, exploit a security flaw or launch an attack that will
compromise the organisationÊs network, if he is not paid a sum of money.

Cyber Someone who uses the Internet or the network to destroy or damage
terrorist computers for political reasons. Cyber terrorism usually requires a team
of highly skilled individuals, millions of dollars and several years of
planning.

The next subtopic shall continue the discussion on cyber crimes, focussing on the
types of criminal activities in the cyberspace.

10.4 CYBER CRIME

Cybercrime is any criminal activity that involves a computer, network device or a
network. While most cybercrimes are carried out in order to generate profits for
the cyber criminals, some cybercrimes are carried out against computers or devices
directly to damage or disable them while others use computers or networks to
spread malware, illegal information, images or other materials. Some cyber crimes
do both such as target computers to infect them with viruses, which are then
spread to other machines and sometimes to the entire network.

There are several cyber crime activities that can take place such as Internet and
network attacks, unauthorised access and use, software theft and information
theft. The following subtopics will explain them in details.
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230  TOPIC 10 ETHICS, PRIVACY AND DIGITAL SECURITY

10.4.1 Internet and Network Attacks

Information transmitted over the networks has a higher degree of security risk
than information kept in an organisationÊs premises. In an organisation, network
administrators usually take measures to protect the network from security risks.
On the Internet where no central administrator is present, the security risk is
greater. Internet and network attacks that jeopardise security include malware,
denial of service attacks, phishing and many others attacks. The following are
details of the attacks:

(a) Malware
Also known as malicious software, it consists of programs that act without a
userÊs knowledge and deliberately alter the operations of computers and
mobile devices. There are many types of malware, for example, computer
viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware and adware. Malware does the
damage after it has been implanted or introduced into a targetÊs computer.
It can trigger in a variety of ways such as when a user opens an infected file,
runs an infected program, connects an unprotected computer or mobile
device to a network or when a certain condition or event occurs, for example,
when the computerÊs clock reaches a specific date that is intended. It can take
the form of executable code, scripts, active content and other software.

(b) Denial-of-Service (DoS) Attack

It is an attack meant to shut down a machine or network, making it
inaccessible to its intended users. DoS attack accomplishes this by flooding
the target with traffic or sending information that triggers a crash. In both
instances, the DoS attack deprives legitimate users (employees, members,
or account holders) of the service or resource that they expected.

(c) Phishing
This attack can be traced as far back as 1987. Since then, the risk of falling
victim to a phishing attack has increased incrementally due to the world-
changing adoption of Internet users and the constant pool of personal
information available through social media. Phishing attacks are an email-
based form of social engineering. Disguised as legitimate communication,
the fraudulent email tricks the recipient into responding by enticing them to
click a link, open an attachment or directly provide sensitive information.
Phishing attacks have become one of the most prevalent methods of
cybercrime because they are effective due to their ability to bypass detection
methods and offer low risk as there is little chance of capture or retribution.

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E-mail is simple to deploy, making it easy to send large quantities of

messages in a single attempt. Adding to the ease of deployment is the
availability of low-cost phishing kits that include website development
software, coding, spamming software and content that can be utilised to
create convincing websites and e-mails.

In brief, to safeguard from Internet and network attacks, several prevention can be
practised including the use of antivirus software, be suspicious of unsolicited
e-mail attachments, scan any removable media for malware before using it,
implement firewall solutions and back up regularly.

10.4.2 Unauthorised Access and Use

Unauthorised access is when someone gains access to a website, program, server,
service or other systems using someone elseÊs account or other methods.
For example, if someone keeps guessing a password or username for an account
that was not his until he gains access, it is considered unauthorised access.

Unauthorised access could also occur if a user attempts to access an area of a

system he should not be accessing. When attempting to access that area, he would
be denied access and possibly see an unauthorised access message on the screen.

Some system administrators set up alerts to let them know when there is an
unauthorised access attempt so that they may investigate the reasons. These alerts
can help stop hackers from gaining access to a secured or confidential system.
Many secured systems may also lock out an account that has had too many failed
login attempts.

Unauthorised use refers to the use of a computer or its data for unapproved or
possibly illegal activities. Unauthorised use includes a variety of activities, for
example, an employee using an organisationÊs computer to send personal e-mail
messages, an employee using the organisationÊs word processing software to track
his childÊs soccer league scores or a perpetrator gaining access to a bank computer
and performing an unauthorised transfer.

Among the measures that can be used to curb this activity include activating the
access control that will limit who can have access to the a computer, device or
network, determining when they can access it and what actions they can take while
accessing it. Setting up usernames and passwords or using biometric devices to
grant access control can also be added in.

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10.4.3 Software Piracy

Software theft or piracy is defined as unauthorised or illegal copying, sharing or
usage of copyright-protected software programs. Software theft may be carried
out by individuals, groups or, in some cases, organisations who then distribute the
unauthorised software copies to users.

Software theft is committed when someone performs any of the following:

(a) Steals software media;

(b) Deliberately erases programs;

(c) Illegally copies or distributes a program; and

(d) Registers or activates a software program illegally.

To protect software media from being stolen, owners should keep original
software boxes and media or the online confirmation of purchased software in a
secure location, out of the sight of prying eyes. All computer users should back up
their files and drives regularly, in the event of theft.

Many manufacturers incorporate an activation process into their programs to

ensure the software is not installed on more computers than legally licensed.
During the product activation, which is conducted either online or by phone, users
provide the software productÊs identification number to associate the software
with the computer or mobile device on which the software is installed. Usually,
the software can be run a preset number of times, has limited functionality or does
not function until it is activated.

10.4.4 Information Theft

Information theft occurs when someone steals personal or confidential
information. Both business and home users can fall victim to information theft.
An unethical company executive may steal or buy stolen information to learn
about a competitor. A corrupt individual may steal credit card numbers to make
fraudulent purchases. Information theft is often linked to other types of
cybercrimes. For example, an individual might gain unauthorised access to a
computer first and then steal credit card numbers stored in a firmÊs accounting
department.

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Most organisations will attempt to prevent information theft by implementing the

user identification and authentication controls. These controls are best suited for
protecting information on computers located on the organisationÊs premises.
To further protect information on Internet and networks, approaches like
encryption or digital signatures and certificates can be used. Encryption is the
process of converting data that is readable by humans into encoded characters to
prevent unauthorised access. Digital signature is an encrypted code that a person,
website or organisation attaches to an electronic message to verify the identity of
the message sender. Digital certificate is a notice that guarantees a user or a website
that it is legitimate.

SELF-CHECK 10.2

1. Describe two types of Internet and network attacks.

2. Differentiate between software piracy and information theft.

 Ethics is the standards that determine whether an action is good or bad while
computer ethics are the moral guidelines that govern the use of computers,
mobile devices, information systems and related technologies.

 Information privacy refers to the right of individuals and companies to deny

or restrict the collection and use of information about them.

 A digital security risk is any event or action that could cause a loss of or
damage to computer or mobile device hardware, software, data, information
or processing capability. The common digital security risks are caused by cyber
criminals, computer crimes and calamities.

 Disaster recovery is a set of policies and procedures which focuses on

protecting an organisation from any significant effects as a result of a negative
event, which may include man-made or natural disasters.

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Code of conduct Ethics

Cookie Green computing
Cybercrime Information privacy
Cyber criminal Intellectual property
Digital security Malware
Disaster recovery Phishing

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