No one denies that the Internet is the most useful tool for research, business, and education, yet the Internet is the subject of a topic that is as controversial as the legalities of abortion or homosexual rights: ethics and the Internet. Many racy, illegal, and controversial materials are available on the Internet such as pornography and pirated software; on the other hand, many educational tools are on-line as well. This brings a need for a case of ethics in the Internet realm.
             A definition of terms used regarding the Internet is necessary for the full understanding of how "unethical" data broadcasts itself around the Internet. The Internet is a worldwide computer network of home, organizational, corporate, and government computers. It is necessary to understand that the Internet is not just composed of web pages, but of files, e-mails, newsgroups, internal computer networks, personal computers, etc.; the media that most often provide the deemed controversial content are explained here. Electronic mail (E-mail) "enables computer users to communicate with and transmit digital material to other ... groups of users" ("Internet"). Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a chat system in which messages are displayed real-time (i.e. messages are transmitted immediately and directly to however many receiving computer, all of which are connected to a remote server). File Transfer Protocol (FTP) allows remote computers to transfer information stored in files (such as reports or software) efficiently ("Internet"). Each medium of spreading information plays a large role in the spread of pirated software (Jordan).
             Software piracy, often called "warez" as a vulgar term by the pirates themselves ("Warez"), is not just a problem to people; it is a problem to the software industry of the world. A 1999 study conducted by the International Planning and Research Corporation for the Business Softwa...