Harmful Internet Research Articles

Deep Learning Based CAPTCHA Recognition Network with Grouping Strategy

Websites can improve their security and protect against harmful Internet attacks by incorporating CAPTCHA verification, which assists in distinguishing between human users and robots. Among the various types of CAPTCHA, the most prevalent variant involves text-based challenges that are intentionally designed to be easily understandable by humans while presenting a difficulty for machines or robots in recognizing them. Nevertheless, due to significant advancements in deep learning, constructing convolutional neural network (CNN)-based models that possess the capability of effectively recognizing text-based CAPTCHAs has become considerably simpler. In this regard, we present a CAPTCHA recognition method that entails creating multiple duplicates of the original CAPTCHA images and generating separate binary images that encode the exact locations of each group of CAPTCHA characters. These replicated images are subsequently fed into a well-trained CNN, one after another, for obtaining the final output characters. The model possesses a straightforward architecture with a relatively small storage in system, eliminating the need for CAPTCHA segmentation into individual characters. Following the training and testing of the suggested CNN model for CAPTCHA recognition, the experimental results demonstrate the model’s effectiveness in accurately recognizing CAPTCHA characters.

Peer assessment as a method for measuring harmful internet use

Harmful Internet use (HIU) describes unintended use of the Internet. It could be both self-harm and harming others. Our research goal is to develop a more accurate method for measuring HIU by this novel peer assessment. As such, it may become, with our call for more research, a paradigm shift supplementing every rating scale or other type of Internet use assessment. In addition to classic statistical analysis, structural equations have been employed. Results indicate that the true positive rate (TPR) is substantially higher than assessed in other studies.•Peer assessment improvement.•AUC for ROC was computed to establish cut-off points for the used scale.•Results obtained by the Structural Equation model indicate that parental care has a moderate influence on subjects’ attempts to fight HIU.

Media Multitasking, Perception of Media Use for Families, and Obstacles of Its Use

The occurrence of social changes to the use of technology in everyday life makes multitasking media behavior increasingly potential for families. The use of these media raises various perceptions and assessments. This study aims to understand the behavior of multitasking media in parents as an initial information base for applying technology in parenting programs. This study describes the types of media, time of use, differences in media behaviour and perceptions of parents, barriers to the use of technology during parenting learning to the relationship between the number of barriers and perceptions of media use for families in parents. The research method used is quantitative descriptive and correlational. The subjects of this study were determined by purposive sampling technique, with the number of participants as many as 63 parents. This study found that 17.4% of parents were classified as heavy media multitaskers (HMM), 39.7% were classified as medium media multitaskers (MMM), and 42.9% of parents were classified as mild media multitaskers. Print media and television use for parents is relatively high and evenly distributed in computers, music, social media, browsing, and SMS. The duration of media use by parents is still dominated by 1 hour to 4 hours. There is no difference between mother and father with the Sig value (2-tailed)> 0.05, namely 0.087 and 0.084. This study also found that the perception of media use for parents to learn parenting was still moderate. The obstacles in using the media for parenting activities are the number of advertisements that appear, harmful internet content, invalid and reliable information obtained, poor website appearance, confusing content, connection disruption, unfriendly users, no accessible applications offline, no media support, perception of time-consuming that much until the information is too general, and can’t directly ask if learning is done online. However, these obstacles are separate from the perception of media use in parents

Reinforcer pathology of internet-related behaviors among college students: Data from six countries.

Research has demonstrated that repeated engagement in low-effort behaviors that are associated with immediate reward, such as Internet use, can result in a pathological reinforcement process in which the behavior is increasingly selected over other activities due, in part, to a low availability of alternative activities and to a strong preference for immediate rather than delayed rewards (delay discounting). However, this reinforcer pathology model has not been generalized to other Internet-related behaviors, such as online gaming or smartphone use. Given the widespread availability of these technologies, it is also important to examine whether reinforcer pathology of Internet-related behaviors is culturally universal or culture-specific. The current study examines relations between behavioral economic constructs (Internet demand, delay discounting, and alternative reinforcement) and Internet-related addictive behaviors (harmful Internet use, smartphone use, online gaming, and Internet sexual behavior) in a cross-sectional sample of college students (N = 1,406) from six different countries (Argentina, Australia, India, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, and the United States). Using structural equation modeling, Internet demand was associated with harmful Internet use, smartphone use, and online gaming; delay discounting was associated with harmful smartphone use; and alternative reinforcement was associated with harmful Internet and smartphone use. The models were partially invariant across countries. However, mean levels of behavioral economic variables differed across countries, country-level gross domestic product, person-level income, and sex at birth. Results support behavioral economic theory and highlight the importance of considering both individual and country-level sociocultural contextual factors in models for understanding harmful engagement with Internet-related behaviors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

A Thin Line Between Helpful and Harmful Internet Usage: Embodied Research on Internet Experiences Among Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Patients.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to expand upon findings from a prior Delphi study of adolescent and young adults' (AYAs') preferences for cancer resources. Utilizing an embodied approach, this study intended to elucidate a deeper and nuanced understanding of the expressed benefits and risks of engaging in cancer-related online interactions. Methods: Using Gale et al.'s framework method for qualitative, multidisciplinary health research and Thanem and Knights's embodied research methods for the social sciences, an investigative team of embodied researchers (AYA cancer patients turned researchers) conducted semistructured in-depth interviews with AYA cancer patients (n = 10) diagnosed between ages 15 and 39 years. To generate themes, researchers identified commonalities and differences within the qualitative data, and indexed codes according to the agreed analytic framework. Furthermore, by fully engaging with personal reflexivity, bracketing, and analytic memos across data collection and analysis, the investigative team elucidated benefits and risks of embodied research. Results: Findings impart evidence on AYAs' needs for internet-based content at the time of cancer diagnosis, use of the internet to fulfill cancer-related needs, perception of gaps in online cancer resources, and advice to other AYA cancer patients accessing internet-based information and support. Content analysis of interview data on participants' descriptions of personal engagement with the internet revealed beneficial themes of empowerment and harmful themes of fear-inducing consequences. Conclusions: In our rapidly evolving context of postpandemic internet reliance, developers of online cancer content should prioritize and respond to the nuanced vulnerabilities of AYAs. Future research must include socioeconomically disadvantaged participants to better understand practical challenges and promote health equity.

Self-Regulation of Foreign Internet Service Provider on Illegal and Harmful Internet Content: The Status Quo and Improvements

Self-Regulation of Foreign Internet Service Provider on Illegal and Harmful Internet Content: The Status Quo and Improvements

CAPTCHA Recognition Using Deep Learning with Attached Binary Images

Websites can increase their security and prevent harmful Internet attacks by providing CAPTCHA verification for determining whether end-user is a human or a robot. Text-based CAPTCHA is the most common and designed to be easily recognized by humans and difficult to identify by machines or robots. However, with the dramatic advancements in deep learning, it becomes much easier to build convolutional neural network (CNN) models that can efficiently recognize text-based CAPTCHAs. In this study, we introduce an efficient CNN model that uses attached binary images to recognize CAPTCHAs. By making a specific number of copies of the input CAPTCHA image equal to the number of characters in that input CAPTCHA image and attaching distinct binary images to each copy, we build a new CNN model that can recognize CAPTCHAs effectively. The model has a simple structure and small storage size and does not require the segmentation of CAPTCHAs into individual characters. After training and testing the proposed CAPTCHA recognition CNN model, the achieved experimental results reveal the strength of the model in CAPTCHA character recognition.

Preventing Harmful Internet Use-Related Addiction Problems in Europe: A Literature Review and Policy Options.

Internet use-related addiction problems are increasingly being recognized on a European scale due to international health organizations considering gaming addiction. In April 2013, the American Psychiatric Association recognized Internet Gaming Disorder in the fifth Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and in April 2018, the World Health Organization included Gaming Disorder in the eleventh International Classification of Diseases. However, findings on these problems within this period are lacking in Europe, and a preventive approach is missing globally. A detailed critical literature review was conducted using PsycINFO and Web of Science in this five-year period. A total of 19 studies were reviewed and problems identified were: generalized Internet addiction and online gaming and gambling addictions across seven European countries (i.e., Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Greece, The Netherlands, and Denmark). The individuals with problematic use were found to be educated adolescents, usually young males with comorbid disorders, and gaming and gambling disorders were implicated in the most severe cases. Cognitive behavioral therapy was the main treatment, sometimes combined with a systemic approach for adolescents. Prevalence, high-risk populations, and factors contributing to these addiction problems are discussed, and a set of policy options are developed for this region. The implications for early detection, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention in Europe are considered.

Adult content filtering: Restricting minor audience from accessing inappropriate internet content

With the onset of the twenty-first century, the internet world has seen a pervasive development. Smartphones have become the primordial means of communication and social networking. This has granted the minors an unprecedented access to the internet which poses the risk of both unwanted exposure as well as intended access to the harmful internet content such as pornography, violence, unmoderated chat sites, etc. which can have profound effects both in the personal as well as professional life of the minors, and has proved to be catastrophic in the past. The benefits of the proposed reinforced strategy are two-folds; It can actively filter and block internet users, especially minors, from the NSFW content, and it can also act as a watchdog and moderate websites making sure that they don’t trade on illegal contents.

The effects of adolescent’ smartphone addiction on sexual assault and the mediating effects of exposure to harmful internet media

The effects of adolescent’ smartphone addiction on sexual assault and the mediating effects of exposure to harmful internet media

Protecting Children against Exposure to Content Risks Online in Malaysia: Lessons from Australia

Children are the most vulnerable group in any civil society. The rise of digital technology has made them more exposed to threats of content risks through exposure to illegal and harmful Internet content. To make matters worse, legal framework regulating the Internet in Malaysia i.e. self-regulation does not mandate service providers to implement technical measures that could help reduce children’s exposure to content risks. Continuous exposure to content risk could lead to dilution of traditional values among younger generation. In order to reduce this outcome, all Internet stakeholders in Malaysia must take Internet regulation more seriously. This paper consists of three parts. The first part argues that content risks are a real threat to children in Malaysia as seen in previous studies. The second part of this paper presents the outcome of library research and focus group discussions with Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), selected Internet service providers in Malaysia and the Communications and Multimedia Content Forum (CMCF) on the regulatory measures practiced in the Malaysian self-regulation framework. This research finds non-censorship policy that does not mandate service providers to classify nor filter prohibited content to be problematic since it greatly exposed children to content risks. Furthermore, the Content Code, which guides the industrial self-regulation had no enforcement teeth, hence weakened the regulatory framework as a whole. In comparison, Australian co-regulation scheme has been focusing on protection of children online through classification and filtering measures. Lessons learnt from the Australian jurisdiction could be of reference to Malaysia in its effort to reduce children’s exposure to content risks online – as addressed in the final part of this paper.

INFORMATION CULTURE AND INFORMATION SAFETY OF SCHOOLCHILDREN

Introduction. The article is devoted to the problem of interaction between schoolchildren and possible informational risks transmitted on the Internet. Considering the lack of external filters on the way of harmful information streams, it is actually necessary to develop information culture of schoolchildren, their abilities to sensibly and critically interpret the information on the Internet, and choice of adequate behaviour models surfing the Web. The aim of the present research is to analyze the state of informational safety of schoolchildren while using the Internet; gaining an understanding of the role of external restrictions and opportunities of intrapersonal filtration of the harmful Internet content depending on children age. Methodology and research methods. The methodology of the research is based on modern methods aimed to consider the problem of personal socialization in modern information society. Thus, the Internet Initiatives Development Fund (IIDF) questionnaire let the authors define the level of awareness of recipients on the problem under consideration. Results and scientific novelty. The theoretical analysis helped the authors predict the correlation of basic methods in order to guarantee personal safety of schoolchildren taking into account the process of maturity as well as the decrease of external filters that may stop harmful content. Empirical part of the research has enabled to reveal decrease in external control of staying of a child in network in the process of growing up against the background of restrictive attitudes prevalence among teachers and parents. Therefore, the research supposed to improve information culture of schoolchildren from the earliest ages encouraging them to sensibly and correctly interpret the information on the Internet. Practical significance. The practical recommendations to parents and teachers in order to improve informational personal safety of schoolchildren are proposed. The relevancy of information and communication competence increase among teachers and parents is emphasized.

Regulating internet access in UK public libraries: legal compliance and ethical dilemmas

Purpose– This paper aims to consider selected results from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)-funded “Managing Access to the internet in Public Libraries” (MAIPLE) project, from 2012-2014. MAIPLE has explored the ways in which public library services manage use of the internet connections that they provide for the public. This included the how public library services balance their legal obligations and the needs of their communities in a public space and the ethical dilemmas that arise.Design/methodology/approach– The researchers used a mixed-method approach involving a review of the literature, legal analysis, a questionnaire survey and case studies in five public library authorities.Findings– UK public library services use a range of methods to regulate internet access. The research also confirms previous findings that filtering software is an ubiquitous tool for controlling access to and protecting library users from “inappropriate”, illegal and harmful internet content. There is a general, if sometimes reluctant, acceptance of filtering software as a practical tool by library staff, which seems to contrast with professional codes of ethics and attitudes in other countries. The research indicates that public library internet access will be a valued service for some time to come, but that some aspects of how public library services regulate internet access is currently managed can have socially undesirable consequences, including blocking legitimate sites and preventing users from accessing government services. Education could play a greater part in helping the general population to exercise judgement in selection of materials to view and use. This does not preclude implementing stricter controls to protect children, whilst allowing public libraries to continue providing a social good to those who are unable to otherwise participate in the digital age.Research limitations/implications– The response to the survey was 39 per cent meaning that findings may not apply across the whole of the UK. The findings of this study are compared with and supplemented by other quantitative sources, but a strength of this study is the depth of understanding afforded by the use of case studies.Originality/value– This paper provides both a quantitative and qualitative analysis of how internet access is managed in UK public libraries, including how library services fulfil their legal obligations and the ethical implications of how they balance their role in facilitating access to information with their perceived role as a safe and trusted environment for all members of their communities. The findings add to the international discussion on this issue and stimulate debate and policy making in the UK.

PATIENT-BASED DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS: A CALL TO ACTION

Sixty-six percent of Internet users in the United States in 2007 used a search engine to research health information to help themselves make health-related decisions. As a result physicians are increasingly compelled to defend their diagnoses and clarify the information their patients have found. The researchers propose the development of patient-oriented decision support systems by which laypersons can retrieve medical information. Through utilizing semi structured decision support systems that incorporate the latest standards in evidence-based medicine patients and caregivers can receive current, accurate and appropriate information. The exigencies of managed care have increased time pressures among most medical practices. Yet addressing concerns based on potentially misleading or harmful internet based information has garnered an increasing portion of practitioners’ time and mandates urgent attention.

Right Vision, Wrong Expectations: The European Union and Self-regulation of Harmful Internet Content

The regulation of ‘harmful Internet content’ is problematic for states. In trying to balance growing public concerns regarding the effects of harmful content with respect of the fundamental right to freedom of expression, the European Union (EU) has promoted self-regulation. This article argues that the EU position follows the right (and inevitable) direction in the light of the legal limitations harmful Internet content places on state regulation. EU action in support for regulation developed by decentralised and heterogeneous communities of the Internet is reviewed. In practice, this self-regulation is not aimed at defining and prohibiting the distribution of specific content, but rather at providing the technical and legal means to allow the user or group of users to personally decide which content to receive or access. It is argued here that EU expectations of self-regulation are based on two false premises: that the regulation of harmful content is similar to the regulation of illegal content; and that self-regulation can achieve the same goals as a centralised and direct regulatory system. The consequences of unrealistic EU expectations are that the EU is embarking on wrong directions in newly proposed actions and is losing the opportunity to participate more effectively in the regulation of harmful Internet content.

Neural networks for web content filtering

With the proliferation of harmful Internet content such as pornography, violence, and hate messages, effective content-filtering systems are essential. Many Web-filtering systems are commercially available, and potential users can download trial versions from the Internet. However, the techniques these systems use are insufficiently accurate and do not adapt well to the ever-changing Web. To solve this problem, we propose using artificial neural networks to classify Web pages during content filtering. We focus on blocking pornography because it is among the most prolific and harmful Web content. However, our general framework is adaptable for filtering other objectionable Web material.

Social Impacts

In the wake of the Littleton, Colorado, shooting tragedy, public attention has again been focused on the problem of potentially harmful Internet content. Many parents and legislators have proposed that commercially available filtering software is the best way to keep children away from the “red light districts of cyberspace” while also protecting the First Amendment. Civil libertarians and others, however, have noted that Internet content filters do not work as advertised, failing to block much dangerous material and also unjustly blocking benign content. The aim of this article is to assess these competing claims by rigorously testing the effectiveness of four popular filtering programs: CYBERsitter, Cyber Patrol, Net Nanny, and Surf Watch. The findings of this study suggest that current support for filtering software should be reconsidered.