Security

Introduction

The Internet
-Brief History
-Today's Internet
-Working Basics
-World Wide Web
-Top 10 Reasons

Communication
-Asynchronous
-Synchronous

MultiMedia
-Streaming
-Virtual Reality
*Virtual Tours
*Avatars

Online Sources
-Field Trips
-Lessons/Games
-On-line Courses
-Research
-Scavenger Hunt
-Web Quests
-WebCams

Applications
-GIS
-PowerPoint
-WebCT

Security
-Copyright
-Firewalls
-Filters

The Future
-Internet2
-Wireless Class
-Quicker Band

Even though the Internet is not owned by anyone, there are still rules and regulations that should be observed. When obtaining information from the Internet, it's important to comprehend copyright and fair use laws. Precautions must be used as far as copyright and certain types of information obtained from the Internet. Not all material on the Internet is safe for our children to view. One wrong letter can lead to pornography and objectionable material. Certain issues that need to be considered when accessing the Internet is:

Copyright/Fair Use
Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States to the authors of "original works of authorship." The Internet brings a big threat to copyright laws. The Internet is full of information and it gets confusing what you can and can not use. One should presume that all Web pages, email messages, and newsgroups are copyrighted unless clearly stated otherwise. It is not a copyright violation to link to any web page, but is a violation for a user to take someone's entire link list and incorporate it into a new page without changes. For more information on copyright laws check out: Copyright and the Internet.

How up-to-date are you on copyright laws? Check out this web site to take a quiz, Radford University MultiMedia Center .

Fair use is one of the most important, and least clear cut, limits to copyright. It permits some use of others' works even without approval. But when? Words like "fair" or "reasonable" cannot be precisely defined. The purpose of the Fair Use doctrine is to allow limited use of copyrighted material without requiring prior permission from the copyright holder. It allows educators and students to use a portion of copyrighted material for educational purposes. The problem is there are no set guidelines and it can be confusing as to what is allowable.

For more information on copyright/fairuse be sure to check out Chilling Effects Clearinghouse, Copyright and Fair Use Internet Sites for Educators, and Copyright on the Internet.

Firewalls
Making systems secure is a complex matter. A firewall is a system(s) that enforces an access control policy between two networks. The rules of firewalls is that all traffic moves through a single point. The firewall controls and documents all traffic that flows through it. The firewall blocks traffic, and also permits traffic to flow through networks. Firewalls may prevent employees, teachers and students from accessing certain websites. Basically, a firewall is a barrier to keep destructive forces away from your property. In fact, that's why its called a firewall. Its job is similar to a physical firewall that keeps a fire from spreading from one area to the next.

SonicWALL's Education Editions are special promotion packages tailored to the needs of educational institutions and libraries that need to protect their networks against Internet based hackers and protect students from inappropriate Internet content.

Filters
In December 2000, the U.S. Senate passed "The Children’s Internet Protection Act" to safeguard children from accessing pornographic, violent, and objectionable material on the Internet. This legislation requires that schools and libraries use a technology-based content filtering system in order to receive Universal Service funding. Schools were warned that if they refused to enforce this law, federal funding would be revoked.

Filtering looks at keywords or other content elements to determine acceptability. Filters can be good, but on the other hand they can block legitimate content, plus filters don't always work. Not everyone feels that filtering is great. For more information on filtering check out Filtering in K-12.