Internet Privacy
Everything you need to know about, and to implement privacy on the internet
Everything you need to know about, and to implement privacy on the internet
INTERNET PRIVACY TODAY -- WHAT ARE THE ISSUES?
Surveys show that privacy is the #1 concern of Internet users today. For the first time in history, our speech, communications, beliefs, preferences, orientations and daily activities are being digitally archived. Personal and private information is gathered every time we use the Internet.
This information is compiled and sold by marketing companies without our knowledge or consent. The data is readily available to interested third parties, including our friends, enemies, neighbors, employers and others. It is becoming increasingly difficult to escape your past -- that posting you made in your college days to some radical newsgroup, the shrine you put up on your homepage to a certain celebrity... we live in a world where everything is recorded.
Internet users who use the Net to discuss health problems (depression, alcohol abuse, cancer); politically sensitive topics (abortion, criticism of governments or corporations, sexual orientation); human rights work (Internet communication in unfriendly countries or regimes) and other sensitive topics have no means of protecting their privacy.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Web browsing can leave a trail. Organizations keep a log of your browsing path and can disclose it without your knowledge. Websites can even determine which pages were viewed and which were not. If a site's logs were raided, your address, and accordingly, your identity would be exposed. Registration information at web sites can be collected and sold to any number of database services that can, with other information collected elsewhere, be compiled to create an eerily accurate individual profile.
Email is like a postcard. Because a message is sent to a server before being forwarded to you by your Internet Service Provider, people with access to that system can read any mail you send and receive without having access to your computer or your password.
Newsgroups archive postings. Internet users all over the world can easily access anything you post to newsgroups. Messages you casually throw off to friends are stored and could be retrieved years from now, out of date, out of context and regarded as a representation of you and your opinions. Popular databases like DejaNews archive each posting made to the Internet's 35,000 newsgroups. By simply typing in your name, anyone can instantly access anything you've written online.
Chat rooms offer the illusion of anonymity. People don't understand that what you say online, even in the most casual setting, is saved and treated as public record. Chat rooms are strange places because they offer the illusion of anonymity through aliases. Aliases do not offer true anonymity because it is possible to determine the IP address of the alias which can be used to track down your true identity.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Wizardscave.com realizes that online privacy is one of our customers' main concerns. To address these concerns, we have affiliated ourselves with Zero-Knowledge Systems, makers of Freedom -- an Internet privacy software solution that prevents your personal data from being revealed without your knowledge or consent. For more information on how you can take advantage of Freedom, please click on the link below:
FREEDOM - THE INTERNET PRIVACY SOLUTION
To download Freedom now, please click on the link below:
PRIVACY ON THE INTERNET -- WHAT ARE THE ISSUES?
Archiving
As a digital medium, the Internet has the ability to record and
archive our entire online existence, creating a permanent record of our
daily online activities. The Net is akin to a public forum, where what we
say instantly becomes public record, accessible to anyone who's interested.
Email invites a feeling of casualness, encouraging us to write comments to
friends or colleagues as if we were talking by the water cooler. These
messages, however, don't trail off into thin air like innocent office
chatter. They leave permanent digital records that can be catalogued and
later retrieved. In fact, this information can even be used by individuals
to assume our identities and correspond online pretending to be us! Email
messages we send openly display who we are, who we're writing to and what
we're writing about. Whether an email contains confidential personal
information or a simple message to a friend -- we have a fundamental right
to privacy that is being ignored.
Profiling
Our personal information is being collected all over the Internet.
One site might ask for your birthdate, another might ask where you
live while a third wants to know how much you earn. These little
requests for information often go unnoticed. What we don't realize,
however, is that behind the scenes, this information is pooled into large
databases by information aggregating companies -- some of which hold data
on over 176 million individuals and 96 million households. Combined with
your credit information, education history, medical records, census info
and more, the data is used to create eerily accurate profiles. These profiles
are then made available to third parties that resell the information to
marketers and advertisers, often without our knowledge or consent.
The Inability To Separate Online Identities
In the physical world, we tend to act differently depending on the
situation we're in, who we're with, who's watching, etc. For example, Susan
might act one way in a conversation with her friends, but completely
different in an interview with a potential employer. Both "identities" are
really Susan, but the two are never related. Many people use the Internet
for a number of different activities. These different activities are
currently all related back to a single digital identity. Everything Susan
says or does online is automatically tied in to her actual identity.
HOW DO THESE ISSUES AFFECT ME?
The dangers of archiving, profiling and identity on the Internet can lead to many things, including:
WHAT ABOUT WEBSITE PRIVACY POLICIES?
With the growing public concern over Internet privacy, many companies have put up privacy policy pages. These pages outline how a company gathers information about its users and what it does with that information. Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing if a privacy policy is being enforced, and even if it is, mistakes still happen:
| Recently, a major Japanese auto-manufacturer mistakenly compromised the privacy of 24,000 of its customers. The company had put up an opt-in email list on their website for consumers interested in receiving information on new model releases. When they sent the information out to eager potential customers, they accidentally cc'd the addresses of each person on the list to each recipient - all 24,000! |
This is also an example of one way that spammers and other malicious individuals can get hold of your email address. This simple mistake can give a spammer not only your email address, but an idea of the income you earn, where you live, information about your family, etc...
Even the best intentions can lead to disaster. Mistakes, similiar to the one above,
are becoming all too common as companies scramble to manage the mountains of
information they gather from consumers. While a privacy policy is an important
first step in gaining consumer trust, their proper implementation needs to be
carefully considered - the best privacy policy is meaningless if it falls prey to
human error.
HOW CAN I PROTECT MYSELF AND MY FAMILY? Zero-Knowledge Systems is proud to present Freedom -
the first product to provide Internet users with complete control of their
online privacy by offering them the ability to create and manage multiple
digital pseudonyms (identities) for online communications. A digital
pseudonym lets you create a unique online identity for yourself (which may
or may not be like your true self) that you can use to perform all your
Internet-related tasks. Freedom pseudonyms ("nyms") are email addresses,
ending in freedom.net, for example -- susan@Freedom.net.
Users can create up to 5 nyms for various Internet activities. For example,
Susan might opt to create citizen@freedom.net, in addition to susan@freedom.net,
which is used for regular correspondence . She uses the citizen@freedom.net identity
to surf activist web sites, email her political contacts, chat in political chat
rooms and post to political newsgroups and discussion lists. This enables Susan
to actively participate in these forums without her political or social views being
linked to her actual identity. With Freedom, Susan is able to benefit from
the continued use of private identities, which are unique and persistent,
yet completely removed from her actual identity. No one - not even
Zero-Knowledge Systems - can find out who is behind a digital identity. WHAT UNIQUE PRIVACY PROTECTING FEATURES DOES FREEDOM
OFFER?
Wizardscave.com realizes that online privacy is one of our customers'
main concerns. To address these concerns, we have affiliated ourselves with
Zero-Knowledge Systems, makers of Freedom -- an Internet privacy software
solution that prevents your personal data from being revealed without your
knowledge or consent. To download Freedom now, please click here: For more information on how you can take advantage of
the Freedom solution, please click on the link below: THE FUTURE OF INTERNET PRIVACY It's Saturday morning and you hop on the Net looking for some
info on smoking related illnesses 'cuz your best friend's been
thinking of quitting lately and you figured you'd help out with
some cold, hard facts.
You hit a few web sites, buy a book on the evils of tobacco, and
sign up for a newsletter that delivers a "tip of the week" for
people looking to kick the habit.
A few months later, it's time to renew your medical insurance
at work but your boss informs you that in order to qualify,
you'll need to take a complete medical and chest x-ray.
Why?
Because your company's insurer drew the wrong conclusion after
buying your profile from a marketing firm that's been tracking
your online habits.
Sound invasive? - it is.
Right now, companies are working on new computer technology that
will enable many of our household appliances to be networked
through the Internet.
Your microwave is on the fritz? No problem, hit a few buttons
on the console, and the unit will instantly seek out the
manufacturer's website through its Internet connection and
download the code it needs to correct the problem.
Out of eggs? Your refrigerator is also Net-ready, and through it
you can email your local grocer to fill out your next food order.
But as more and more of the products we use each day become Internet-
connected, the personal information they collect will be fed to
marketers - and bought and sold without our knowledge or consent.
Those eggs your fridge has been ordering online for you - coupled
with some high-fat foods and cheeses - set off a few warning
bells at your insurance company which recently purchased this
information. Don't be surprised to see your premiums go up next
year, or when ads for cholesterol-lowering products start to
appear on your PC.
It's no longer possible to avoid being tracked
online.
The potential for abuse is enormous, as false assumptions are
made about us based on bits of information picked up here and
there.
As digital television emerges, our viewing habits will also be
tracked by companies who monitor what we watch, when we watch it
and what we buy.
Spending a lot of time on the home-shopping channel? Be prepared
for a slew of invasive marketing aimed at you for varied products
and services.
Tuned in to the Playboy Channel last night? Watch out for
adult advertisements next time your daughter logs onto the
Net from her home computer.
If we don't lay down the law regarding Internet privacy while
the Net is still in its infancy, we'll never be able to reclaim
it..."
Once your personal data is lost - spread out in 1000's of
databases all over the world - you can *never* get it back.
As individuals, we need the ability to "pull the blinds" online
and say, "Hey, I have a right to privacy!"
Wizardscave.com realizes that online privacy is one of our customers' main
concerns. By hosting a Freedom Server, we are addressing these
concerns by providing you with a privacy solution that prevents your
personal data from being revealed without your knowledge or consent. To
download Freedom now, please click here: For more information on how you can take advantage of
the Freedom solution, please click on the link below:
Surf the Web on your own terms. Freedom prevents others from tracking
your online activities. It also associates your bookmarks and preferences
with your different digital identities.
Many web site place cookies (little bits of information) on your
computer to record and customize your visit. Freedom uses Cookie
JarsTM to sort the cookies your nyms receive on the Web. Cookie
Jars manage and sort cookies according to their associated digital identities,
preventing the accidental receipt of cookies that could compromise your
anonymity while maintaining all the benefits that cookies provide. Each
digital identity has its own Cookie Jar, and any cookie received by that
identity is collected in its individual jar. This way, your digital
identities remain completely separate from each other and from your real
self.
Using strong encryption, Freedom encrypts all your messages. No one
except the intended recipient will be able to read your messages (not even
the government). In addition, Freedom scans your messages for personal
information and alerts you of potential security risks, greatly reducing
the chance of accidentally releasing private data - by you or your children.
Similar to its email protection, Freedom allows you to participate
in newsgroup discussions, knowing that your true identity remains private.
Since Freedom protects all your Internet communications, chatting is
now a private affair. Your Internet activities are linked to specific
digital identities, so you can be confidant knowing that you can chat
privately without compromising any personal information.
By removing all identifying information from outgoing data packets,
including your IP address, Freedom enables you to privately use any
Telnet-based bulletin system.
Unsolicited commercial email (also known as spam) is a constant source
of irritation to millions of Internet users. Freedom has advanced
spam-filtering tools so you can filter out unwanted, spam sent to your
pseudonyms. When enabled, Freedom's anti-spam functions virtually
eliminates unwanted bulk email before it even gets to your mailbox.
A digital certificate serves as the electronic equivalent of your
signature when you send documents across the Internet. It lets you
digitally "sign" a message so that the recipient can be sure the message
came from you, and not someone pretending to be you.