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Home PC Security and
Privacy (continued) |
Privacy on the Internet
When you browse the Internet you could be
doing it for any number of reasons - shopping,
banking, information searches, playing on-line
games, looking for files, or even indulging
more libidinous interests. Whatever the
reason you use the Internet, it should be
of no business to anyone. Or so you would
think. Now that the Internet has become
the next big money making venture, companies
big and small are doing whatever they can
to get your business.
This means advertising, marketing and of
course the gathering of information. In
this case, user information. The more a
company knows about you, the better they
can target you with their products. This
collection of user information, which is
stored in huge databases and then sold to
businesses, should be a concern to everyone.
What information is being collected? Who
has access to it? What do they do with it?
And how do they get it? The following will
discuss how information about you is collected,
and what you can do to prevent it.
Cookies. Most people have heard of
cookies, but if you haven't, cookies are
small text files that a web server sends
to and stores on your PC. A cookie can store
your log-in and password information for
a web site that requires a sign on. It can
remember your usual destinations within
a site so the site can greet you with relevant
information. A cookie can also be used to
track where you go and what links you click
at a web site.
Most cookies are innocuous, and can even
be beneficial. However, if you find cookies
to be intrusive, and would rather not have
a web site know where you are going and
what you do at that web site, then use a
cookie blocking program. There are
numerous cookie blocking programs to choose
from. Some free, some not. Some are incorporated
into other privacy type programs and offer
various configuration options.
Web bugs. A Web bug is a small file,
usually a 1x1 pixel graphic file such as
a .GIF file that monitors browsing behavior
without the user's knowledge. Web bugs cannot
be detected by users because they are to
small to see and match the color of the
page's background. Web bugs can collect
information such as the computer's IP address,
what type of browser is being used, the
time the page was viewed, and extract information
from cookies previously set from that web
site.
Although Web bugs are supposed to be used
mostly to improve a user's web site experience,
the fact that users do not know of their
presence should alert you about privacy
concerns. Do you want to be tracked when
you are on the Internet? Do you want your
name, address and email name in a database
somewhere with the types and names of web
sites you like to visit? That's what Web
bugs and cookies can be used for.
What can you do about Web bugs? Not much.
There are no programs that will prevent
the collecting of information from Web bugs
because they're embedded within the HTML
code on a Web page. However, since Web bugs
are frequently used in conjunction with
cookies, if you block cookies, you will
be disabling at least one aspect of Web
bugs.
Update:08.27.02 I have come
across 2 programs that claim to stop Web
Bugs:
SpyStopper
and Smasher.
I haven't tried them yet, but you
might want to give them a go.
Registering at Web Sites. This
is becoming more and more common. Even
for web sites where you are purchasing nothing,
you are asked to register. Don't do
it! Unless you are buying a product
or service and your personal information
is legitimately needed, then don't give
a web site information such as your email
address, home address, phone number and
so on. This information is added to
a database, and depending on the Privacy
Policy of the web site, can be sold to whomever
they want. If you go to a web site
that requires registration before you can
use the web site, enter bogus information.
Spyware. Spyware is particularly
odious, and is becoming all to common. It
is a new tool used by marketers that allows
them to collect information without you
knowing anything about their intrusive activities. Spyware
is software that is hidden in an otherwise
legitimate program. When you install
the legitimate program, you are unwittingly
installing a spyware program. The
spyware will sit on your PC and secretly
send information back to the program's owner.
Spyware can collect information about
your browsing habits, what files you upload
or download, personal information, computer
information and much more. To marketers
this is a very useful tool. Once again
they can gather personal information that
can be compiled, stored and sold.
How do you combat spyware? There
isn't much on the market right now as far
as anti-spyware programs except for Ad-aware.
Ad-aware
is made by Lavasoft and comes in both a
free version and a more advanced version
you can pay for. Ad-aware will scan
your PC for known spyware programs and give
you the option to delete this nasty software.
Of course Ad-aware can only delete
spyware it knows about, so it isn't perfect.
However, Lavasoft does a good job of regularly
updating Ad-aware so it is as current as
possible.
Update:09.02
Other Anti-Spyware programs are now making
their way onto the market. Obviously,
there is a need for this software. Most
notable of these new programs is Pest
Patrol by Sunbelt Software. It is
worth taking a look at, and they have a
trial version.
Along with Ad-aware, your firewall software
will aid you in preventing spyware from
sending information back to it's owners.
If your firewall software watches
for programs, on your PC, that try to send
data out to the Internet, you will be notified
when the spyware tries to access the Internet.
You can then decide if you want to allow
or deny Internet access to the program.
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