(This is the Online column, written for The Southland Times)
I’m sure my clever readers don’t need to be told that this week is Privacy Awareness Week.
However, online privacy is a huge issue (even for the well-informed) so this week is probably a good time to double check your own methods of protecting your privacy and perhaps spend some time with less tech-savvy friends and family to ensure they are also taking the right precautions.
Spyware, cookies, web forms and spam are all ways you can be tracked by third parties but you could also be leaving a trail by entering too much personal information on message board profiles, chat programs and so on. With easy access to online phone and other directories, it’s easy to cross reference the information a person leaves at different sites and build up a profile of them, along with their personal contact details.
There have been cases in the United States where paedophiles have done just that to make contact with potential victims. Unfortunately, because the internet can seem so anonymous, it’s easy for the ususpecting users to forget just how exposed they are. Especially kids, who tend to go through life thinking they’re bullet-proof.
These days, everyone wants to know what you’re doing, when you’re doing it, for how long, and who you’re doing it with. It’s entirely up to you how much information you give out.
Privacy policies: In these enlightened times, I’d expect any legitimate business website to have a privacy policy. I understand that they like to collect information about me — for example, what operating system I’m using and how long I stayed on the site — but I want to know exactly what they’re collecting and what they intend to do with it, so a privacy policy should clear that up.
It’s a simple exchange of information, kind of “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours” .
E-mail: Got an e-mail account at work? Don’t send anything on it that you wouldn’t be comfortable sending your boss. Remember that your employer has the right to read any and all mail that moves through this account so use some common sense. Also, sign up for a free online e-mail account so you have another address to use when you sign up for things online, from freebies to dating sites and newsletters. If your address gets picked up by the spammers or you meet Mr Psycho on Findabloke, your main e-mail account won’t get bombed.
Educate your kids: Make sure your children know the rules – don’t give out any personal information online. That information includes the name of the school they attend and sports clubs they may be involved in. Ensure their profiles for chat programs and any sites they are registered with such as MySpace – are suitably generic.
Go undercover: If you really want to stay under the radar, try anonymous remailers and browsing. An anonymous remailer is a server computer that receives messages with embedded instructions on where to send them next, and then forwards them without revealing where they originally came from.
Anonymous web browsing is surfing the net while while hiding your IP address and any other identifiable information by using a proxy server for example, using Anonymouse and Proxify.