Top 5 Softwares that were meant to do good but were used for harm

Technology can be considered good or evil depending upon how people use it. A technology that ensures security and privacy for some people can be also used for conducting illegal transactions. The rate of technological advance has made easier for people to apply it for both- good and ill. Listed below are some of the Softwares that were designed to do good for the world but were turned as weapons to harm.

1. 3D Printing

3D printing has the ability of printing in three dimensions by loading the right design in a computer. This has been applied to make medical implants like crania, jawbones and ears. But unfortunately, this has been converted as a weapon. Defense Distributed, an organization, posted the video of a 3-D printed gun. Though they claim that they took off the design off their website, it still remains dangerous. Imagine someone utilizing the technology for robbing banks.

2. Tor/Onion Router

Developed in 2002, The Onion Router redirects Internet traffic making the tracing of users difficult. For many whistleblowers and dissidents, this has been a boon. The Electronic Frontier Foundation supported the Onion Router during 2004-05. Since it can hide criminal actions, the Silk Road online marketplace took advantage of the technology by dealing with drugs online, which is why the FBI shut it down on Oct 1.

3. Google Maps

Can’t thank Google Maps enough for saving our ass when we’re lost in a strange location right? But who knew this technology in some way helping the terrorists. Terrorist access to information about the location which helps them in attacks. The most dreadful and recent example is the Mumbai attack of 2008 which resulted in Indian government putting some restrictions on the images available in the Google maps.

4. Hackers Playbook

Hackers Playbook was originally designed to help the administrators to deal with problems since they can be used by tech support people to access one’s computer from an office which might be 100 miles away. In no time, they became hackers’ favourite software. They took control of microphones and webcams.

5. Photoshop

Undoubtedly Photoshop has made our pictures look alluring giving them a realistic look and increased the level of confidence in women. By smoothing women’s skin and making them curvier it provides them with an appealing look. Gradually, these are being used to manipulate pictures to harass or blackmail people, especially the women of our society. Nowadays, many methods have developed to distinguish between the falsified pictures and the real ones.