The Personal and Social Impact of Computers - Principles of Information Systems - page 579

errors, failures, and other computer problems that make computer output incorrect or not
useful, caused mostly by human error. This section explores the damage that can be done as
a result of computer waste and mistakes.

Computer Waste
The U.S. government is the largest single user of information systems in the world. It should
come as no surprise, then, that it is also perhaps the largest abuser. The government is not
unique in this regard—the same type of waste and misuse found in the public sector also
exists in the private sector. Some companies discard old software and computer systems when
they still have value. Others waste corporate resources to build and maintain complex systems
that are never used to their fullest extent.
A less dramatic, yet still relevant, example of waste is the amount of company time and
money employees can waste playing computer games, sending unimportant e-mail, or
accessing the Internet. Junk e-mail, also called spam , and junk faxes also cause waste. People
receive hundreds of e-mail messages and faxes advertising products and services not wanted
or requested. Not only does this waste time, but it also wastes paper and computer resources.
Worse yet, spam messages often carry attached files with embedded viruses that can cause
networks and computers to crash or allow hackers to gain unauthorized access to systems
and data.
A spam filter is software that attempts to block unwanted e-mail. One approach to fil-
tering spam involves building lists of acceptable and unacceptable e-mail addresses. The lists
can be created manually or automatically based on how the users keep or discard their e-mail.
Another approach is automatic rejection of e-mail based on the content of the message or
the appearance of keywords in the message. Rejected e-mail automatically goes to the spam
or junk e-mail folder of your e-mail service. CA Anti Spam, SpamEater Pro, ChoiceMail
One, and Spam Buster are among the most highly rated anti-spam software and cost from
around $20 to $50 . 1 Many e-mail programs have built-in spam filters.
A word of caution: some spam filters might require first-time e-mailers to be verified
before their e-mails are accepted. This can be disastrous for people in sales or customer service
who are frequently receiving e-mails from people they do not know. In one case, a spam filter
blocked e-mail to close a real estate deal valued at around $175,000. The deal never closed
and the real estate was sold to someone else because of the blocked e-mail.
Image-based spam is a new tactic spammers use to circumvent spam-filtering software
that rejects e-mail based on the content of messages and the use of keywords. The message
is presented in a graphic form that can be read by people but not computers. The images in
this form of spam can be quite offensive.
When waste is identified, it typically points to one common cause: the improper man-
agement of information systems and resources.

Computer-Related Mistakes
Despite many people's distrust of them, computers rarely make mistakes. Yet even the most
sophisticated hardware cannot produce meaningful output if users do not follow proper
procedures. Mistakes can be caused by unclear expectations and a lack of feedback. A pro-
grammer might also develop a program that contains errors. In other cases, a data-entry clerk
might enter the wrong data. Unless errors are caught early and prevented, the speed of com-
puters can intensify mistakes. As information technology becomes faster, more complex, and
more powerful, organizations and computer users face increased risks of experiencing the
results of computer-related mistakes. Consider these examples from recent news.
•

Shares of Moody's Corporation rating agency fell more than 20 percent following a
Financial Times report alleging a computer coding error boosted the investment ratings
of a particular class of debt instrument four levels to Aaa (the highest possible rating) and
wasn't immediately corrected after it was uncovered. 2

•

An internal investigation by NASA concluded that multiple programming errors caused
the eventual loss of the Mars Global Surveyor orbiter spacecraft in January 2008.
Fortunately, by the time of the loss, the orbiter had lasted four times longer than expected
and was successful in mapping the surface of Mars and studying its atmosphere. 3