Protect yourself from the third eye!

In everyday life we see people being too trustworthy of the internet. Most of the time, people lose sight of the fact that social networks are one of the easiest things to be broken into. Because people lose sight of this, they forget not to put their personal information onto the internet and this is one of the quickest ways for bad things to happen to people. These days, there is a location device on every smart phone. This device lets people on the social network know exactly where you are at all times. This is not safe at all. This is how stalkers get their motives to follow people around, because they now know exactly where you will be. This device can be turned off, so people with smart phones need to be aware and make sure it is turned off.
Too much of our lives these days are based on technology and social networks. Once you put something on the internet, it never comes off. It’s even getting to where interviewers and CEO’s of big companies are turning to the internet and social networks to see your life style, and to make sure they aren’t getting involved with a person that is not good for their company. People need to realize that putting pictures up of you getting drunk or tweets that aren’t protected of you getting wasted could potentially hurt your chances of getting a job. Things of this nature can be avoided by realizing people don’t need to know your every move of going out, or what you’re doing at that moment. This comes back to privacy settings also. Remember that every social network should have a privacy setting, and if it doesn’t, stay off of it! One other thing that really sticks in my mind about social networks is putting too much information on them such as your birthday, what town you live in, and where you work. This makes it so much easier for people seeking identity theft to steal your identity. All of these things come down to privacy. Keep what should be private, private. If you have to question it, it probably doesn’t need to be on there. Always remember that someone is always watching.

Job Seekers Beware!

In these bad economic times plus the addition of online job markets, everyone is in a frenzy to find the best paying job the quickest and beat out competition. But not all online employers are as they seem. Already being broke or in a bad situation we may not pay attention to all warning signs that the person contacting us is a fraudulent employer or they are representing the company without the said companies permission. Scams are commonly known for social networking sites and emails, but job correspondence has became a good place to make a buck or two for the thieves.

There are some basic things which every person gives when filling out an online application, such as Social Security number Name, address, date of birth, previous employers etc. but even these in the wrong hands can become an issue. The things which should alarm you or ring a bell should be when the perpetrator ask for your bank account number to direct deposit your check he/she may send in a $20 courtesy but later on may take out money as they please as they will certainly ask for a routing number and other such information needed.

You should avoid dealing with someone who asks for your social security number, asides from the application form , bank account numbers, personal ID, or a so called company which uses a hotmail or msn email address, most con-artist use real company names but then use small time email addresses which give away there scams so watch out for those ones who get around to something smarter.

But those who do get scammed should first off close out any bank accounts which are being leeched, contact the social security office and get in contact with a agent who will help stop credit fraud and other fraudulent activity being done on your name and will help clear any things which are linked to you but you are innocent of. If in case you don't do anything there is no telling what could pop into you mailbox demands for what kinds of payment your bank account being brought down to a nice round ZERO. Other minor steps should be took is to close out any email accounts and give the alias used to scam you to the local authorities.

We all try to stay the safest we can but in these hard economic times a golden opportunity can rob us of our judgement and digital eyesight, but in that case there are some steps we can take to get some temporary relief but in most cases once you get messed up like that chances are your name wont get cleared fully if ever or for a long time.

https://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs25a-JobSeekerPriv2.htm

Resources Available For Internet Privacy.

Hello again readers this post is to explore and examine what options are available to the user concerning his/her privacy on the internet. Recently through our blogs we have had users commenting and inquiring on how to be safe on the Internet. Unfortunately there is not one right answer or an exact way to do this. With that being disclaimed don't feel hopeless. I hope to offer so practical advice, and some paradigm outlooks regarding privacy.

One of the first things to be aware regarding internet privacy is not how much they know about you. More so the question is how much do you know? About what you "say" . An important aspect of privacy and safety has always been self awareness. One of the best ways to protect yourself is understand what type of environment you are in digitally and to understand how your privacy could be invaded. Knowledge of your surroundings is key here. One may not be able to necessarily stop the infringement of privacy on the Internet, but if you can understand how it can be compromised, you can better understand how to protect your self. 

Unfortunately a good bit of the world wide web is still unsafe and unprotected. Many agencies and governments have worked together to come up with some type of protocols and rules. This has helped, but the web is still a fairly new place and is constantly evolving. Personal knowledge is one of the biggest ways of protecting yourself. for example, Amazon.com is known to sell your buying habits and other relevant information to third parties who find it valuable. Although they have done this legally and you may feel it is unethical, it is going to continue every time you buy. So can you stop them? No! But, at least you can be aware of what they are doing and decide if you will shop their or not by reading their terms of agreements.

There is other resources available to users to protect themselves on the web. Most community colleges offer computer courses for a reasonable price, if one feels incompetent on the computer and unsure of what they are doing they can always enroll in a course. Another way is to always read website agreement terms and disclaimers. This may seem cumbersome but, it pails in comparison to being secure. I  will post this link, which is a good starting place for any person trying to sharpen their skill-set on internet. privacy.https://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs18-cyb.htm
To the readers: if anyone has some useful resource tips available please feel free to share, or post comments and opinions with the others.

Does Google Invade People's Internet Privacy

To begin with, here is a short video that explains that many watchdog groups and foreign governments believe that Google disregards its users' Internet privacy.  

In the video, the debate over whether or not Google had infringed upon users' right to privacy on the Internet is becoming a major issue as they continue to gather information on individual users' behavior and viewing patterns.  One of the major issues being dealt with is privacy rights and free speech issues.  Google had two new products, Buzz and mapping devices, disclose more information than they should about the individual users.  It is not just individual organizations and users being alarmed by this issue.  The problem has brought government officials from Canada and New Zealand, along with several other countries to Washington, DC, to settle things out.  

As users, we are beginning to see that as new technology is introduced, personal privacy on the Internet is becoming a thing of the past.  Users' private information is being displayed by Google without their permission.  This can even be seen for job applicants in the workplace.  For example, business owners are able to go online and get information on applicants that the applicants had previously thought was private.  This raises the ethical question of whether or not this type of action is completely ethical when trying to determine the correct person to hire for a job.  

Like any major corporation, Google is out to make a profit.  As an organization that has the ability to completely protect or invade a person's privacy, they have to make the decision of what they believe is more important.  Do they achieve a goal of maximizing profit while infringing upon users' privacy, or do they sacrifice some of their profit in order to protect users' privacy?  Many users would argue that Google is simply out to make money.  If they had cared about people's privacy, then this issue would not be at the forefront of conversation.  

Anti-Spam Laws NOT Enough?

The USA's Federal Anti-Spam Law states exactly this, ""Nothing in this Act shall be construed to have any effect on the lawfulness or unlawfulness, under any other provision of law, of the adoption, implementation, or enforcement by a provider of Internet access service of a policy of declining to transmit, route, relay, handle, or store certain types of electronic mail messages."
By saying this, they are indirectly reliveing therselves from any legal obligations regarding spam. Spam has always been uncsolicited email that we were never interested in, but all at times when you give your email out and they send you to a subscriber list. there are a few ways to take yourself off these lists but sometimes still doesnt work.


When surveys were taken, here is how people responded about spam:
Return Path asked 1,695 consumers "How do you typically act when you no longer want to receive email from a company?"

Epsilon surveyed 119 individuals who had used the "report spam" button:

 65% equated it with unsubscribing from a sender's emails.

Silverpop asked 400 consumers what they thought spam meant in relation to email:

- 40% said "email I don't want to receive."

- 35% said "email from any commercial entity"

http://www.graphicmail.com/site/articles/resources_article_delivery_spam_legal.aspx

Net Marketing Towards Children

For years now the internet has been a tool for business, correspondence and government information but has slowly been rolled to the younger generations who have made it the dynamic place it is. The newest group to enter onto the internet is the absolute youngsters kids younger than 13 years of age. I myself have a cousin she is 5 but has been using the internet since the age of 3. My friend who is a
Computer Programmer, he works day and night on computers his daughter is 3, she has an Ipad and knows how to fully function it, to many adults amazement she also downloads apps and updates them or if she comes to a wall she will come ask for help. But this is our future we hear stories about children as young as 11 creating amazing things but also many young children getting kidnapped and as we previously covered many getting sexually assaulted due to their parents negligence or other questionable reasons finding themselves on chat rooms with people of evil intent or interacting with people who conceal their identity to take advantage of children.

The Biggest thing going on right now is the marketing for children, when they see something which a peer is playing with it looks cool enough they want it. Go on any children's  website the games are sponsored by food company's toy company's etc. Children are also asked to fill out information on these game website's, but many websites aren't the most reliable or children safe which could be an issue unto its own. But many websites may claim to offer prizes or cash based on the childrens interest in a particular game or food in which the child will be tempted may go to a unknowing parent and acquire information from them which could particularly put the child and his family at risk of identity theft of the child or the parent if the wrong information is given away.

 Many websites collect data of visitation and usage, cookies are often placed on the target computer at which children are targeted with the proper toy or message at which many times children will take a parents credit card and purchase things. As it is an ever growing phenomena kids under 13 are finding it cool to be on Facebook and other sites which they arent supposed to be approaching. Congress in 1998 passed the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) which was placed in effect in 2000, this act covers the sites aimed specifically at children and collect their information, but also sites which can make information collected on children public. They have given some guidelines or requirements to children which cater to the under 13 group which have been compiled on a privacy rights website 

COPPA requires that web sites and online services directed to children under age 13 must:

• Post a clearly written privacy policy with links to the notice provided on the home page and at each area where the site or online service collects personal information from children.

• Describe the kinds of information collected from children, for example, name, address, e-mail address, hobbies, and age. (Note: This requirement applies to all information, not just “personal information.”)

• Explain how the information is collected – whether directly from the child and/or behind the scenes through ”cookies.” (explained below)

• Explain how the web site operator uses the personal information, such as marketing to the child or notifying contest participants, and whether it is disclosed to third parties.

• Provide parents with contact information – address, phone number, and e-mail address – for all operators collecting or maintaining children’s personal information.

• Obtain parental consent before collecting, using, or disclosing personal information about a child.

• Provide parents with the ability to review, correct, and delete information about their children collected by such services.

• Maintain reasonable procedures “to protect the confidentiality, security, and integrity of personal information collected from children.”

   https://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs21-children.htm

These are just a few Marketing privacy concerns which specifically deal with children, such as my cousins or nieces and nephews playing games online or even researching for their homework they are being targeted and pried away from their purpose for companies pursuits which deal with marketing and product creation and testing. So people need to pay attention to their children's net usage website visits up until the parents believe the child is mature or safe enough to navigate themselves.

Thrid Party Sharing, Cookies and Internet Martketing, Oh My!

Hello readers, in this post we are going to talk about the internet marketing, cookies and having your information shared with another party. Most of us would know that the internet has become a useful tool that most of us take advantage of every day. In the mid nineties to present we saw the dot com boom and the exponential growth of the internet. Now more than ever e-commerce has really began to shape the way we buy products, sites such amazon sell us goods at a much lower price by eliminating much of the retail infrastructure. We all really enjoy this, but at the same time it is not a perfect model. Much of your buying habits and information is tracked to: up-sell, cross-sell, and market new products towards you. With your information being shared is it very fair?  A thought I would like to add is the possibility of having an option to share information voluntarily. And if shared possibly receive a compensation (i.e. discounts, percentage of information shared, etc...) Feel free to share if you would do so.

How about cookies? Ah yes, we all love cookies, especially chocolate chip! No, not those cookies. Cookies are small file added onto your computer to monitor your spending habits, sites you visit, and other pertinent information relevant to the businesses. They tend to sometimes have a negative connotation, but they are not solely bad. Like anything thing else they can be abused and misused, on the other hand they can be very helpful. One helpful use is that they, help make the website personal to your own tastes and preferences. So how does it pertain to privacy? When a cookie is place on your computer your are free to delete them, but there is never any permission asked when they are place on your computer, once again is that crossing boundaries?

Last I want to talk about Internet marketing. With most the world switching to computers, it is important for businesses to reach the people in way that is beneficial, because most traditional forms are fading. Is Internet marketing turning into to too much spam? I read an article that deals with the ethics of spam and cookies. The article goes into the discussion about what are some ethical issues being crossed via spam and cookies. The writers doesn't so argue one side or the other, but mearly raises deeper questions. How do the readers feel about spam, or pop-ups that will not go away unless the computer is shut down feel free to share.

Works Cited

Palmer, Daniel E. "Pop-Ups, Cookies, And Spam: Toward A Deeper Analysis Of The Ethical Significance Of Internet Marketing Practices." Journal Of Business Ethics 58.1 (2005): 271-280. JSTOR Arts & Sciences VI. Web. 6 Nov. 2011.

Internet Privacy Laws: Time for Change

With the Internet's rapidly increasing role in society today, privacy is becoming the most important issue being faced.  Internet privacy ranges from a variety of things including identity theft, children using chat rooms, companies using techniques to track Internet users' habits, personal information, and several other serious issues.  These are issues that both individuals and companies face together.  The laws that were put in place in the 1980's and 1990's are still the same ones being used today.  Many of the capabilities and uses of the Internet today were not as widespread or even beginning during the time of these laws.  With this being said, it is time for there to be new and improved rules and regulations to help protect online privacy.


In the article, "Privacy - Internet Law," on US Legal, it states, "Congress has been reluctant to enact legislation, relying upon a privacy law last revised in 1986 and passing only one new Internet privacy law in the 1990s" (Privacy - Internet Law).  It later goes on to state that there has only been two federal laws that make up the legislation on Internet privacy.  First, in 1986, Congress updated the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which was originally passed in 1968.  This updated ECPA protects the privacy of e-mail and other forms of communication.  It established rules for information access.  The problem that people run into with this being the primary law for Internet privacy is that it is outdated.  When the ECPA was enacted, e-mail and cell phone use was at a minimum and just beginning to take place, while other popular Internet applications today, like social networking cites, had not even been close to being started.  


In addition, really the only other privacy law pertaining to online activity is the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998.  This act was passed to ensure that children participating in online activities would be protected.  Many websites required too much information from children, and this is something that could possibly pose as a threat to children in the midst of criminals, more importantly sexual predators.  


Since these acts were put into place, little has been done to protect the individual citizen's privacy on the Internet.  One would think that there would be new laws in place that are more relevant and specific considering how much the Internet has changed since then.  There was the Patriot Act of 2001, but that was put in place more so because of the terrorist attacks, not to help protect the individual citizen from more common, individually impacting crimes.  The Patriot Act gave the government more investigatory powers, including the power to intercept e-mail and track Internet usage from those individuals suspected of terrorist and criminal activities.  Even this has caused some major debate on whether this is completely ethical.  


In conclusion, with the Internet expanding and technology dominating the social and business aspects of life, new regulations need to be put into place in order to protect online privacy.  It is difficult to understand how certain rules and regulations can apply to things that were yet to be in existence when the laws were put into place.  

Protecting your information online

Many people are unaware of how truly dangerous it is for one to put their personal information on the Internet. In the article that we read, it talks about this very subject. The dangers of putting your information online are serious and can depict ones lifestyles in a very true way. Criminals know more than one way to hack into someone's online accounts without them ever knowing until information has been leaked into the hands of the wrong people.

When using certain websites such as bank websites, and when purchasing things online it is very important to know that the information that you are putting on there is secure. Generally websites will make sure you are aware that the information that you are using is secure and say that your information is not accessible to people.

But are these warnings really reliable? If people are aware of these dangers, most wouldn't use the Internet for things that are not as important as their own safety. Overall, internet safety knowledge is so important and all should be aware. we all should project ourselves from giving out information we do not want others to have access to.

Online Password Security

The most pressing concern for each online user is the password. You can have passwords for many things such as a gaming website all the way up to your online banking. Password security is very important to each person since much private information is stored online for a lot of people, also taking in the fact that cloud computing is taking over people will be putting a lot of critical company files online no matter if they are encrypted, if the criminal gets their hands on that encryption password then all that information may become public.

Going online and just searching you can find many tips on how to secure your passwords and what to keep as a password and what not to keep as one. We found a comprehensive site on this matter, which is Mac based, but it covers the worries of everyone: http://macmost.com/online-password-security.html. Essentially what is happening these days is people are creating programs that will keep on trying to break through you security barrier by continually trying common password types.

Maybe the top 100 easy passwords such as abc123, which no one should keep as this is the easiest guess. 

The biggest mistake you can make is keeping the password for all your web accounts the same as this is potentially the key to everything. Once one password is discovered go and plug in to each website and voila you have this persons email accounts, Facebook, Amazon, write what you like and buy what you like it was all given to you on a golden tray. Do not use dictionary words or pet/family member names these are very easily guessed if someone is personally attacking you. When given the security question option make your own question rather than using a default as your mother’s maiden name may be easily guessed.

Change your password often and don’t keep it simple it may be hard to remember at first but if you use a desktop or a laptop you always keep on hand store it on a protected password file on your computer as this will not be easily accessible to a hacker. I have discovered a mix of letters and numbers maybe the best password with differentiating between capital and lower case letters, which at first is hard to remember but with repetition you can memorize it.  A good example for a password would be something difficult like this: Ng42tH6L8, but it may not be possible for even you to remember this so keep it meaningful to you and at the same time don’t make it if you’re a 49ers fan something like your email address is big49erfan@gmail.com your password shouldn’t be fanof49er. So keep it simple enough you will remember but others wont be able to guess it.

Sexual Predators Online: Protecting Our Youth.

The Internet this day and age has changed to appeal to many new demographics. Children of all ages are able to access the Internet and communicate with outside sources. It is necessary that parents exercise caution when  deciding what sites to allow there children on. Internet is a huge danger to children's safety and we will discuss how to monitor this usage for their protection against sexual predators online.

The main three ways that children  are contacted by predators are by chat room, email, and instant messaging. On the website, http://www.protectkids.com/dangers/onlinepred.htm, there are some frightful percentages that every parent should know. There are over 13 million children between the ages of 10 and 17 years old that use chat rooms and instant messaging. 1 out of every 5 of these children have likely been contacted by a sexual predator. Also, 89% of solicitation occurs on instant messaging. For these sole reasons it is necessary for the parent to monitor their children's activity, and here are some tips to do so.

Under the section IM/Chatroom tips, it outlines some helpful tips for parents to monitor chat room use. here are some of the most helpful tips. Set your computer in a room where you can watch your child's activities. Block instant messages from people you and your child don't know. The biggest tip is to realize that chat rooms and instant messaging are the playgrounds for sexual predators. it gives them the security that no one knows their true identity, which is a scary thing. So parents, be cautious and protect our youth.

Ethical Issues for Internet Service Providers

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are companies that connect their customers to the Internet.  ISPs include companies such as AT&T, Time Warner Cable, Comcast, Widestream, Verizon, and several others.  ISPs use wireless or fiber-optic means for transmitting the communication on the internet to both individuals and businesses.  Each computer has an Internet Protocol (IP) address that allows you to access the Internet.  The ISP in which a customer uses knows that person's specific IP address.  Although ISPs are providing individuals with the opportunity to access the Internet, some companies actually observe their customers behaviors in order to get a better understanding of how to market towards them.  With this being said, problems have arose from this.  Many people argue that this is a complete breach of privacy.  This allows for other individuals and companies to discover information about a particular person that he or she may not want others to know about.

For the most part, ISPs collect only enough information on their customers in order to complete transactions for billing and service, but when the information is sold to third party companies, people believe their Internet privacy has been completely disregarded.  Also, another major issue that some believe to be a problem is government institutions being able to access an individual's personal information without that persons consent.  These institutions are able to access the information with the Provider's consent.  Does this mean they are able to access the information regarding a criminal activity without a warrant?  According to Martha Arias, Immigration and Internet Law Attorney, in the article, "Can EU Internet Service Providers Provide Information Regarding Copyright Infringers," she writes, "It is also clear that privacy laws in the United States (U.S.) and the European Union (EU) protect personal identifiable information found in databases, and that Internet Service Providers (ISP), specifically, can only reveal this information to public authorities conducting criminal investigations or for national security purposes" (http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=2246).  She then explains that in the 2007 Spanish case Productores de Musica de Espana (Promusicae) v. Telefonica de Espana SAU, there was an argument over whether intellectual property owners were able to work with ISPs in order to seek out those people who had committed copyright infringement.  It was ruled that individual companies could not use personal information stored by ISPs to seek out those who committed infringement.  "The facts of this case show that IPS in Spain were required to store certain data about individual users so this data could be used by criminal authorities or for public security and national defense."  Although, this case ruled that only government authorities could access that information, some people still disagree with this idea.  Some believe that the government is constantly watching over them, ultimately disregarding the idea of privacy.


In conclusion, with technology increasing at such a rapid pace, the abilities one has with the Internet to perform a variety of activities, whether legal or not, are increasing as well.  There are both legal and ethical issues that come into account when using the Internet.  As users, people need to make sure that they understand the privacy statements associated with certain websites, and ISPs need to ensure their customers that they only use the information gathered specifically related to what is required for Internet service, such as IP addresses and billing information.  

What is The Balance Between Network Information Shared ( To Authorities) and Personal Privacy.

With criminal acts on the internet on a the rise, most law abiding citizens are happy to find criminals caught online through computer forensics. The underlying question that arises with it is at what cost? The Internet is a well sought after place to get away with crime thanks to the anonymity of its use. To counter this government, F.B.I, and police are seeking ways to improve, trace, and identify the criminals. Although it is good for tracking criminals, many people also feel it encroaches on their privacy.  Rather so, it is a slippery slope on one hand helps to protect society from malicious criminals, on the other privacy goes down and user information is now available for theft.

Many of us have seen forensic shows, and other programs of criminals being caught in action over the Internet and by tracing their computer via of computer forensics. I found an article, that deals with this issue. The article is called "Privacy Preserving Network Forensics" The article deals with the problems associated with Network forensics, and what is going to far on the the regulatory side of network forensics and how to find a balance.  They believe for regulatory purposes physical computing devices should be named and registered, the system should stay intact, so if a case comes later evidence will still remain. Also they wish the that such evidence would not be seen as dismissive in  court, and held as prima-facia. For the Privacy side they believe that the information should be stored and encrypted securely so that it may not be stolen, they also believe that when their digital fingerprint is to be required they be fore-warned, and shown the name their print is attributed to.
 GEOFFREY M. VOELK ER, et al. "Privacy-Preserving Network Forensics." Communications of the ACM 54.5 (2011): 78-87. Business Source Premier. EBSCO. Web. 14 Oct. 2011.

We all know that network attribution and privacy are both needed in balance, much as many other things in life. The question to the readers is, in your personal opinion what is the balance needed in this topic? Also how much information would you be willing to share to help keep society safe ? Last is the privacy trade off worth the loss anonymity given to stop criminals?

Social Networking: How public should we make ourselves.

The Internet and social networking are quickly integrating into a "if you have one you need the other" type of thing. Nearly everybody uses some sort of social networking platform to display themselves either to friends or in a professional manner, trying to keep both worlds separate so those Saturday night wild party pictures don't end up in the bosses' inbox. There are numerous articles all over the net about people mostly celebrities whose accounts were hacked and not so friendly statements were made which could ultimately lead to a downfall or a loss of revenue. Also on the same level many people lose jobs because their company has some policy against conduct which could tarnish the company name or either photos or videos of their private networking profiles become somehow public material and this leads to firings or demotions in the workplace because these photos or comments go against company policy or are just improper in nature.

When using social networking usually some basics of net usage have to be revisited, such as don't give out credit card and social security numbers, bank account info because people who may be your friends or maybe seem to be so may use this easily acquired information for their benefit and it will only be your fault. One big mistake people make time and time again is when they leave home for a vacation they leave their home empty and constantly write on their Facebook walls "gone for the week with the family to Madrid" or something to the effect telling people you are gone and my house is empty please come rob it. Especially if you haven't set up any sort of controls on you social network pages such as a common mistake many Facebook user's make your page is accessible to the whole world including your prying neighbors who may just fancy your 54' Hi-Def TV enough to break in and take it with them for no one to find out and only yourself to blame, for telling the whole world I am not home make yourself comfortable with my possessions. Also with the advance of smart phones you can tweet or update your status anywhere, but beware of leaving you accounts open on your phone as if it falls into the wrong hands things maybe said which you would never fathom to utter leading to embarrassing situations, or even worse if your account is hacked all your information can be stolen pictures published without your permission. As technology advances so do the problems which accompany it so we must make sure we are protecting ourselves and our loved ones by taking the proper security measures and cautions as needed on the net to maintain privacy.

The main reason people use Social Networking is to connect with friends family and co-workers to keep in touch etc. in the case many people share private information. these companies have policies which you should check to make sure your information is not being sold to the highest bidder or if the controls prevent you from having your pictures copied by someone you don't know.  There are many internal applications on websites such as Facebook which ask you before you opt in that we will access your personal information from your page and may use it in the future to provide you with future improvements or something you may be interested in. This essentially means that we may send ads to you use your picture and information for our project usage, if you think the company is trustable and has a good reputation use it otherwise nobody knows where your information will end up. So on a Social networking site make sure you dont put soemthing on their you may regret in the future or may jeopardize your career ladder.
http://www.net-security.org/article.php?id=1331

Online Banking Privacy

The days of going to the bank to complete transactions are beginning to be a thing of the past.  In today's society, people are turning to the Internet for banking. With this being said, it is important that people take the necessary precautions to protect themselves and their account from fraud.  There have been countless occasions where an individual using online banking becomes the victim of identity theft.  Identity theft is seemingly becoming the newest, safest way to rob a bank.  According to Jared Thorne and Andy Segal in the CNN article, "Identity Theft: The New Way to Rob a Bank," identity theft losses to financial institutions account for $47 billion, as where the traditional bank robberies in the United States account for around $77 million (http://articles.cnn.com/2006-05-18/us/identity.theft_1_identity-theft-bank-employee-bank-heist?_s=PM:US).  As one can see, identity theft is a major issue when it comes to Internet banking.  People are scared that Internet hackers will be able to break into the systems and steal their money.  Before people completely forget the idea of banking online, they should look for ways in which banks are increasing their privacy protections for online users. 

Banks today realize the importance of providing a safe and secure way for their customers to bank online.  As a result, they go through great lengths in order to protect one's security and make sure his or her financial information is secure.  For example, banks will time your sessions online.  At Bank of America, if one leaves his or her bank account on for a certain amount of time without using it, the session will automatically be logged out.  Personally, I use Bank of America, and they use a SiteKey for identification purposes.  This is a photo that is shown before I log in to my bank account online.  Only the bank and myself know this photo.  Other banks use this feature as well.  For example, in order to protect individuals online, Nationwide Bank uses password-controlled entry, SafeKeys, multiple levels of firewalls, Security Sockets Layer, and additional security measures (http://www.nationwide.com/secure-online-banking.jsp).  All of these provisions have helped enhance the privacy and security of online banking.

Although the individual banks work to protect the privacy of their customers, it is also important for the clients to take the necessary precautions to protect their own identity as well.  Nationwide gives a list of tips that customers can use themselves, along with the banks security settings, that will help secure their identity (http://www.nationwide.com/protection-from-identity-theft.jsp).  Some precautions that individuals can take themselves include securely disposing printed account statements, not leaving personal information where others can see them, not giving personal information out over the phone, and most importantly, keep and list and monitor your financial transactions.  Taking part in the precautionary steps, along with the security settings by the banks, will help ensure privacy while partaking in online banking.

How safe do you feel on the Internet?

In today's technological and global society, the Internet plays an ever increasing role in everyones daily lives.  Every facet of one's life is affected by different aspects of the Internet.  People use the Internet for social networking, online retail, personal information management, entertainment, research, paying bills, banking, and other personal needs.  Since most people use at least one of these utilities on the Internet, most people would find this topic pertinent to their personal security.  With that being said, people tend to take a naive approach to their security.  For example, as we have seen in the past, with social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, people's personal information has been compromised. 

There are constantly stories of where individuals have their personal security breached when using the Internet.  There are several issues that are being faced today that need to be improved upon.  The problems with the Internet vary in their level of sophistication, anywhere from a simple stalker on a social networking site to an extremely serious issue such as identity theft.  As Internet users, we need to be more aware of these types of issues and take the necessary steps in order to improve upon them.

To all of the readers, how important is Internet privacy in your daily lives?  What are some stories that you have heard about or has any type of breach of security happened to you on the Internet?  Also, what are some ways in which privacy on the Internet can be improved?  In this technological age, certain precautions have to be taken in order to ensure privacy, but the level in which the measures taken to improve security for the individual citizen is often times up for debate.