Exposed!
Privacy Woes on the Net

by Sheri McGregor

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A shiver crept up Shannon Miller's spine when she clicked on a link and her computer hard drive directory appeared on the screen.  

"There were all my files," Miller says. "It gave me the eeriest feeling."  Aghast that her personal letters and bank information might be accessible to strangers, Miller adds, "I felt exposed."  

Though most Web sites and the people behind them aren't looking to read information off your hard drive, Miller's experience demonstrates how 'exposed' Web users really are.

While you ride the waves through the vast network ocean, you leave information trails. The most easily understood trail is data you volunteer by filling in Web site forms. A site may ask you to register before it allows you to get your feet wet. Or you may be asked to participate in a survey, or even enter a contest. Beware of information riptides that can suck you into an advertisement squall. Data you provide in box forms can be saved and later used to track your interests.

Even if you don't fill in forms, you still leave a trail. Web sites can read who your network provider is, including the city it is based in (which may mean what city YOU are in), and can track your movements through their sites. Sometimes a Web site inserts a 'cookie,' or a small file of data, into your browser which allows its owners to easily file away your interests based on what you view.  Later, that data may be used to form an interest bio that a site can pass along to Web marketers, the opportunistic sharks of the virtual surf.

THE CORRESPONDENCE TIDE -- HOW SAFE?  

In terms of privacy, you might be better off putting your message in a bottle than sending through e-mail. Electronic mail passes through a number of 'hands' before it reaches its destination. The content is wide open to possible snooping.

There are a couple of ways to protect your privacy in e-mail. One is through encryption, which changes your readable message into smaller, disguised parts that only the intended recipient can reassemble and read. Encryption software is widely available, even as freeware and shareware.

Another way to secure e-mail privacy is through the use of a re-mailer, a site that allows you to send electronic mail, but remain anonymous. Some choose to use a re-mailer when posting to  newsgroups. This protects them from the scavenging Web marketers who prowl the groups like hungry sea gulls, looking for people's  names to spam with solicitations and advertisements.

TSUNAMI WEB WAVES -- TOO DANGEROUS TO SURF?

As noted above, the people who maintain Web sites aren't usually looking to take something from you. Computer Consultant Richard Gestring says, "It's more likely they're trying to sell something to you."

Should you worry about your hard drive being accessible to strangers? Gestring commented on sites like the one Miller visited. "The software running behind that site is enabled only when you point your Web browser there, and click on a link to activate a specific command."

Your directory of files may bob to the top of your screen, but whether or not the information itself can be fished from your hard drive is questionable.

In Gestring's opinion, the site is using a scare tactic to sell their security software.  "Check your Web browser for built-in security," Gestring advises. "Many of the newer versions come with privacy features." 

Read your help file, and look under 'options' or 'preferences' for a privacy buoy you can enable, then climb aboard for a safe ride on the Web.

Whether or not Internet privacy is a major concern as you've surfed the Web, you are wise to research the subject. What you don't know may be what scavenging Web marketers are counting on for a free meal.