Privacy on the Internet really falls
into four distinct groupings
- PC Privacy: Nearly everything you do on your
computer leaves some sort of trail.
- Activity logs: Web pages are stored in
hidden files called "caches" so that the next time you
visit a site, it loads faster. Lists of the page addresses you
have visited are stored in history files. Cookie trails can
also give away information about where you have been.
These are the areas most people are vulnerable. It is quite
easy for spouses and co-workers to access this information without
any special tools. While it IS possible to remove these
records yourself, it is a multi-step process that you must perform
after each session. Thankfully, there are a number of products on the market that will
erase your tracks. Some are quite expensive - don't believe
those pop-up ads that claim you are already being investigated and that
you must take action immediately - they are the worst kind of
scare-tactic spam. There are some very effective products
from reputable companies, at better prices as well. Check out
QuickClean at Tiger Direct. (or QuickClean as
part of the
McAfee
Antivirus Package with a rebate)
- File remnants: Files that you
have downloaded and deleted are also accessible to a professional
with the right tools. The same holds true for most email you
have sent or received. Emptying the recycle bin does not truly
delete a file, it only changes some entries in an operating system
table so it does not appear in listings - the data is still on the
disk. What you need to address these issues is software that
encrypts the files you wish to keep, and shreds the records of files
you have deleted. QuickClean also takes care of these
remnants.
- Server Privacy: As you use the
internet, there are many ways that companies can peek in on you,
collect usage information, and build logs.
- Spyware: Some applications or plug-ins
have hidden software called spyware. Kazza, Gator, and to a
lesser extent many media players, track all the places you visit and
combine that data with other peoples to sell statistics about
general computer use. Some programs go a step further and keep
information about you individually to sell or to change the
way they place ads on your computer. These programs not only
invade your privacy, but they also slow down your computer for other
activities. An excellent free tool to detect this kind of software
is Ad-Aware by Lavasoft.
If you want a more commercial product for corporate use, use
McAfee
Antivirus Package, which has a spyware checker built in.
- Information Collection: Many web sites
ask for personal information for membership or other benefits.
By US law, these sites should give you an option to "Opt
Out" of any mailing list collection. Be careful when you
give your email address or any other personal information.
Always look for checkboxes with descriptions such as "Share
your information with selected partners" or "Send you
special offers". Be careful to read the descriptions
closely, as many sites use reverse wording such that an unchecked
box is agreement to their terms.
- Other tracking: Since you have a
unique number (IP address) every time you use the internet, it is
possible to track usage back to you individually. Your ISP may be
obligated to keep records of who used what IP addresses for what
periods of time.
- Web sites (as well as FTP and other sites)
often log the IP addresses of computers that connect to them.
Putting these two pieces of information together lets companies as
well as official authorities trace activity directly to you.
One way to get around this is through a Proxy Server. A proxy
server is basically a computer that you connect to and forward
commands to so that it does the surfing and connecting to other
servers for you, and forwards the data back to you. Provided
the proxy server does not keep logs of who it connects to what, your
identify can be protected this way. Because you are
effectively funneling bandwidth through someone else's network and
servers, you typically must pay a monthly or annual fee to use a
proxy server service.
- The oldest and most respected proxy
server service in the industry is
Anonymizer.
This is a great service, because your IP is hidden from every
site you visit - they only see the Anonymizer's IP
address. So it is impossible for web site owners to track
you back to your ISP.
- Usenet privacy: When you connect to a
Newsgroup Server, the provider may log your IP address and keep a
log of what files you messages you have downloaded.
- Anonymous reading - While free
speech rules in the US generally allow you to read any type of
message, there are a few categories of content that are
prosecutable. It is possible for the authorities to
request a Newsgroup providers logs to try to identify persons
who have downloaded files from newsgroups that focus on illegal
content. While the connection to the server is typically
not enough to prosecute a person, it could be enough to request
a search warrant. Most ISPs do track newsgroup usage by
user. Most of the third party usenet newsgroup server providers
in our review table do not. If this is important to you, carefully check the
providers web site for their rules.
- Anonymous posting - While it is
obvious that posting content that has been deemed illegal could
get one in trouble, one can also be prosecuted for posting any
sort of copyrighted material as well. One example of this
is ALSSCAN, which aggressively went after a number of usenet
posters of its copyrighted images. To address this
problem, many usenet newsgroup server providers support X header-less message posting. This means that the tracking
information usually associated with each individual usenet message is
blocked when it is created, so the author cannot be traced. Look for an
"A" in the features column of the provider
list for vendors that support this feature.
Back to the newsgroup server list
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