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INTERNET PRIVACY TODAY -- WHAT ARE THE ISSUES?
THE NET WAS NOT DESIGNED FOR PRIVACY
When you surf the web, send email, chat, and post to newsgroups, your
computer leaves behind a digital footprint called an IP address.
Footprints in the real world fade with time, but in Cyberspace, your IP
address is recorded alongside the pages you accessed, the contents of your
chat sessions, and even email you thought was long gone. The Internet's
35,000 newsgroups are now fully archived and searchable online as well.
Combined with the tidbits of personal information you reveal casually
online - your name and address for instance - your computer's IP address
can be linked to your real-life identity. Even if you provide false
information to website registration forms, or use password-protected web
services, your personal information can easily be tracked down.
Remember, the Internet was designed for computers to exchange information,
not hide it.
YOUR LIFE IS AN OPEN BOOK
Internet traffic, such as email messages, are just like postcards. Anyone
with a little technical know-how can intercept and read your messages, and
discover who you're communicating with and what you're saying. The same is
true with online chat rooms. It "feels" like you're anonymous, because you
might use an online alias, not your real name. And when your words scroll
off the screen, it's like they're gone forever. This couldn't be further
from the truth. Your IP address is recorded alongside your chat
conversations, which are stored in company database logs. You can never
take back what you say online.
YOU ARE THE TARGET (MARKET)
Where you live, what you earn, where you went to school, your religious
beliefs, who you voted for, your hobbies, your credit history, your
marital status… Marketers want to know as much as they can about you, to
identify what kind of car you might buy or what your next music purchase
might be. The Internet is the perfect tool for marketers looking to
compile detailed personal profiles of millions of consumers.
Why? Because
in the age of cheap data storage, most companies record every mouse click.
It only takes a few tidbits of personal data to connect your computer's IP
address with your online communications, and all kinds of detailed
information about you can be recorded, tracked, aggregated, bought and
sold. If you think this sounds far-fetched, think again. This kind of
surveillance is happening now.
BIG BUSINESS IS WATCHING
Many of the web's most popular sites display banner-type advertising,
almost always provided by one of several huge web marketing companies.
Whenever your computer accesses a page with one of their ads, they take a
snapshot of what you were looking at and put it in your profile. This is
usually accomplished using "cookies" (little pieces of identifying data
stored on your computer's hard drive) to recognize you if you visit any
other partner sites.
So next time you use a major search engine to look for a book, don't be
surprised to find an ad for an online book club at the top of the
page, and to get book club offers in the mail. For a long time. When a
website asks for your birthday in order to display your horoscope, think
about what you're revealing: linked to other info like your postal code
(which you may have given out a few clicks back for the local weather
report), and your IP address, your identity is easily determined.
Suddenly all your habits and opinions are available to the highest bidder.
SO WHAT IF THEY EAVESDROP?
You're a good person with nothing to hide, so why should you care if your
personal information and communications are vulnerable? Lots of reasons.
Beyond the annoyance of being bombarded with marketing messages,
companies, individuals and others may have a stake in learning about you.
Here are some examples of recent privacy breaches that can happen
to you*:
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Bob's father has just been diagnosed with cancer. In an effort to
learn more about it, Bob visits cancer websites and posts several
inquiries to a discussion group. A month later, Bob's insurance company
informs him that he is no longer eligible for a certain rate given his
"condition".
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Mary is in the final stages of the interview process for a big job.
Her employer decides to search the newsgroup archives using her name,
and discovers that several years ago, she was keen on spreading her
controversial political opinions. Mary is quietly passed over in favor
of a less outspoken candidate.
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Kayla gets a phone call from her credit card company: Did she
purchase top-of-the-line stereo equipment and a Mercedes on the same
day? The police eventually catch up to the thief, who gained access to
her card number by exploiting a flaw in the shopping cart software at a
popular online flower shop.
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Rennie loves to chat online with other 12-year-olds. She knows she's
not supposed to give out her address or phone number online, so she
doesn't think anything of telling her chat friends that she's home by
herself everyday from 4 to 6. Luckily, her Internet Service Provider
refused to give out her parents' billing address to the man who called
posing as her father.
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Jean and Mario are visiting the capital of a developing country, and
are shocked at the police brutality they witness during a demonstration.
They post accounts of what they saw to a human rights website, and are
promptly arrested. |
*These examples are based on real-life cases.
WHO CAN YOU TRUST?
Many companies are taking advantage of consumer concern for online privacy
by providing so-called "identity and relationship management" services.
They ask you to fill out forms with ALL your personal information, and
then hand out pieces of it to partner merchant sites. Only you have no
control over what happens to your personal info once it's been transferred
to the merchant. This is the opposite of privacy.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
(surf the web
anonymously & protect your privacy)
cookies a concern, check out Anonymizer's
protection...
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The Anonymizer service, along with their optional
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Anonymizer.com offers services that: Prevent tracking
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removes privacy threats from the pages you view.
PERSONAL DATA AT RISK
| Web Pages You Visit |
| What you shop for & buy
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| Hardware, software, and program files
on your computer |
| Chatroom activity |
| Medical, Insurance, Financial or
Career info you access |
| Computer's IP Address |
| Geographical Location |
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WHO CAN GET IT?
| Advertisers |
| Spammers |
| Visited Web Sites |
| Hackers |
| Employers & Co-workers
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| Family Members |
| Surveillance Agencies |
| Identity Thieves |
| Fraud Artist |
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HOW
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Hides your computer's unique
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Rewrites the web pages you
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The Anonymizer service, along with their
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works with
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private. |
WITHOUT ANONYMIZER, Web sites
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Internet Privacy Law
by Timothy J. Walton |
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Online Privacy Alliance |
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See what you really want to see, privately. |
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Book
Spotlight
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Protecting Yourself Online
The Computer Privacy Handbook : A Practical Guide to
E-mail Encryption, Data Protection, and PGP Privacy
Software
The Complete Guide to E-Security : Using the Internet and
E-Mail Without Losing Your Privacy
 Computer and Internet Use on Campus: A Legal Guide to Issues of Intellectual Property, Free Speech, and Privacy
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As the headlines to
Cassie's story on page one of Sunday, April 7, 2002 proclaim,
"Tragedies can't blunt resolve of family to ease girl's plight" her
friends and family have strengthened their resolve to ensure Cassie will
receive the help and support she and her family so dearly need and
deserve! Happily, Cassis and family received the so badly needed van! |
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