These rights are protected by law. If you infringe these rights, even without malicious intent, you may be subjected to a civil suit or, in some cases, punished for a criminal act. For example, copying a CD of your favorite musician and posting it on your own website without permission infringes the Copyright Law, even if you just want to introduce the musician to many people. Take great care with matters of this kind.
These acts are prohibited by law. Any violation, even on the Internet, will be punished under the law, so don't use the network frivolously.
Unfortunately, some Internet users try to obstruct other users and informants just for fun or with malicious intent by employing various means of interruption. Nowadays, some companies and organizations use “spyware” to secretly collect the users’ personal information for profit-making purposes.
You can learn about computer viruses in detail in the next chapter.
Communication on the Internet is mostly through written words. Although online chatrooms by video and voice have become widespread, most e-mail and bulletin boards involve a lot of exchange of written words only. Literal communication, as opposed to face-to-face communication, sometimes fails to convey subtle nuances of remarks and expressions properly, leading to misunderstanding between the two parties. Carelessly written e-mail messages can unintentionally hurt the feelings of the other party or give the wrong impression, so you should pay more attention to the way you communicate than when you talk face-to-face.
Online problems are increasing in number, in a stream of new swindling ploys and tricks. The Internet is potentially hazardous for people who are ignorant of what dangers there may be. Most problems can be avoided if you have some knowledge of what is out there, so please make a habit of keeping abreast of current threats.
In many cases, loose management of a password causes online problems. Change your initial password to a different one and try not to use combinations of letters that are easily predictable by others. Also avoid using a word in the dictionary as your password. Keeping the same password for a long time is risky. The advice mentioned above will help avoid possible problems on the Net.
The following are examples of Good and Bad practice
→Someone might secretly read your password.
→An existing word in a dictionary is easy to guess or can be detected using a password cracking tool. If you use a word in a dictionary, it might be a good idea to misspell it deliberately.
→These cases entail danger of being detected easily. And don’t forget to change the initial password.
Nowadays, anyone can create their own blog or website on the Net. While it is very easy and convenient, carelessness leads to trouble. You have to expect disclosed information on your website to flow out, and shouldn't disclose information you don't want to make public. Some net users exploit disclosed information, leading to problems such as blackmail and stalking. You should refrain from posting on your website a photograph of you that clearly identifies you or gives away detailed information about your neighborhood, family or friends. On the one hand, disclosing and sharing information is useful. But on the other hand, it is important to be aware of possible risks involved, and to try to stay out of trouble.
E-mail also involves risk of exposure (see "Case studies" below). In articular, when you use WEB e-mail (GraceMail, Yahoo!mail, Gmail, etc.) in a cybercafe or a manga cafe, you have to be careful not to leave your seat or the shop with the display screen open.
It sometimes happens that you suddenly receive e-mail on your PC or cell phone, demanding exorbitant payment for what purports to be subscription or communication charges. Many of these are cases of fraudulent billing. If you have no idea what it is about, just ignore it. If you still feel uneasy, we advise you to consult a consumer protection center or to call a relevant hotline.
Similar cases include "click fraud". If you carelessly click links in e-mail from a stranger or on a bulletin board, you sometimes have a page displayed on the screen that says that you have been registered as a member to the site and demands payment for what purports to be a subscription fee. Some websites add a specific number as if it has identified you, to fan your anxiety. You of course don't have to make any remittance. Please avoid clicking links in e-mails from strangers or on unfamiliar websites.
Here are some examples of actual incidents:
He used his name (e.g. nakamura) as his password for e-mail and provider access. Then someone detected it and used it without his permission. If your password is stolen by someone else, he/she can send e-mail messages against your will, using your password and e-mail address. If it is a password for a shopping site or a service involving charging, you might be asked to pay a large sum of money.
A university student created her own website. She majored in law, so she posted a message, "Let's talk about law together," along with her snapshot on her website. One day, a friend told her that she had found that snapshot in a men's magazine. It was titled, "100 beauties that you can meet on the Net" with their website addresses attached. Later, her website was flooded with highly offensive e-mail.
Widely-used POP/SMTP mail systems copy e-mail messages from the server into the hard disk and saves them. It needs a password to read messages, but once they are saved in the computer file, it is relatively easy for others who share the computer to read them. In some companies, bosses check on all the incoming and outgoing e-mail of full-time and part-time employees. There is also a mail system that automatically checks on mail messages and extracts ones including words like “date” and “compa (drinking party)” that are unrelated to business.
A student received e-mail on his cell phone that said:
[Final warning]
We announce that we have yet to confirm your payment for the content fees for our website. Please remit the amount due by the date below.
Item: Content fees
Amount due: 58,000 yen
Please pay by BANK TRANSFER to
XX Bank, YY Branch
Account No.: 1234567 (ordinary)
If we do not confirm your payment by the due date, we will commission a debt collector to recover the amount due.
XX Corporation
Contact: OO Tel: 03-XXXX-XXXX
Although the student didn't remember having done anything to be charged, he began to worry that he might have accessed some fee-charging website inadvertently. So he quickly called back for confirmation. Then the contact person asked his name and home phone number, saying she needed to identify the caller, to which he responded. Later, the student received a call from a man who called himself a debt collector. The student ended up constantly on the phone, and he was charged a large sum of money for what was purported to be an unpaid additional amount.
* Fee-charging websites are required to obtain the agreement of a user to pay for the charges in advance. If you do not express your agreement, you have no obligation to pay.