This message is in MIME format. The first part should be readable text, while the remaining parts are likely unreadable without MIME-aware tools. Send mail to mimeat_private for more info. --------------92BD9EECC393C3C5B7C3E2C6 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=us-ascii Content-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.96.990217145150.13923Zat_private> Forwarded From: darek milewski <darekmat_private> Are You Naked Online? How to Protect Your E-Privacy http://chkpt.zdnet.com/chkpt/adem2fpf/www.anchordesk.com/story/story_3102.html Jesse Berst, Editorial Director Wednesday, February 17, 1999 Remember streakers? Those nutty nudes of the seventies who darted across college campuses? I was always too uptight to join their au naturel jaunts. Now, more than 20 years later, every Netizen risks total exposure. Of email messages. Of medical records. Of places surfed. I still don't want to bare all. While most Internet businesses work hard to protect your privacy, human screw-ups still happen. That's why these recent headlines worry me: Patient Records on Web: Patient records -- containing names, phone and Social Security numbers, and medical treatments -- at the University of Michigan Medical Center inadvertently lingered on public Web sites for two months. Click for more. Valentine's Day Cards Not Private: A programming glitch at the Hallmark Cards Web site enabled curious folks to read other people's love notes -- and names, home and email addresses and places of employment. (Does Ken Starr know about this site?) Click for more. FreePCs Raise Privacy Concerns: More than 500,000 people submitted personal information in a bid to win one of only 10,000 free PCs, which will record user behavior. In other words, 490,000 people gave away their privacy to enter a contest. In this case the stupidity was on the part of the user. Click for more. Prodded by paranoia, I investigated ways to protect me and my data from prying eyes. Good news: There are ways to prevent online exposure. Abstinence: The safest way to avoid unplanned privacy invasions is to control yourself. Don't send super-personal information via email. (That's what FedEx is for.) Don't offer unnecessary info. Bigbookstore.com doesn't need your height and weight. Restrict access to your files. Insist on it with your doctor, banker and broker. Privacy Policies: Scroll down to the bottom of any reputable Web site, including this one, and you'll notice a link to the privacy statement. It will tell you: What info the site gathers about you What it does with the data With whom it shares the data If that policy's cool with you, browse freely. If not, surf elsewhere. An independent consortium called TRUSTe verifies privacy statements and "stamps" its seal of approval on sites that abide by its standards. TRUSTe also oversees a site of its own where you can report privacy offenders. Click for more. Encryption: Think of email notes as postcards -- anyone can read 'em. Many people rely on "security by obscurity" to protect their email secrets. As in, "there's so much email zipping around no one's going to notice mine." Encryption is a better method. Encryption Primer: Click for more. Encryption Survival Guide: Encryption expert Robert Gelman discusses how to encrypt your email. Click for more. Online Transactions: ZDTV reveals how encryption protects online shoppers. Click for more. Be Vigilant: Despite my berst, er ... burst, of paranoia, there's no need to worry constantly about electronic privacy. Let the professionals fret for you. An occasional glance at one of their sites will keep you up-to-date. Electronic Frontier Foundation: Non-profit organization that lobbies for, among other things, online privacy. Click for more. Electronic Privacy Information Center: Excellent EPIC features news, tool and resources. Click for more. FreeCrypto: Encryption site with political bent. Click for more. Unlike streaking, online privacy is not a passing fad. --------------92BD9EECC393C3C5B7C3E2C6-- -o- Subscribe: mail majordomoat_private with "subscribe isn". Today's ISN Sponsor: Internet Security Institute [www.isi-sec.com]
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