As senior editor of a Navy command newspaper, I wrote a few computer oriented articles for the command personnel, the majority of which are civilians in their "later" years. I also submitted them to the Navy IT magazine, and now I thought it might be good for some of the people on this forum to see them.

They were written for the computer neophyte, and run through the Navy PR grinder, so please understand they may not address everything. But I think some of the newer, less-knowledgable members here may benefit.

Below is the first of my articles:

--------------------------------------------------

Privacy in an increasingly digital world is something many people think about yet few understand what’s at stake. Most don’t realize how much information sharing occurs once a company or government agency has your personal information. Data collection and data “mining” (information extraction to discover hidden facts contained in databases) from different sources allows others to form opinions of you, to perform “target marketing”, or to possibly discriminate against you, based on a profile that may or may not be accurate. Unwanted disclosure of information often has similar consequences, ranging from simple embarrassment to serious problems such as harassment, violence, insurance cancellation, loss of job or home, and relationship issues with family and friends.

Personal information can be taken without your knowledge. If you have input your name and email address in your web browser settings, some sites can pull this information from the browser without your consent. Cookies, which are small bits of information used by web sites to “enhance” your browsing, are usually innocuous. They can be used to remember your password so you don’t have to enter it each time or they can use your name to create a personalized site. However, some cookies can be used for data mining by tracking where you have visited online, how long you stayed at a site, what you clicked on, etc. Cookie sharing rings, like DoubleClick and AdCast, can track this information and share it with their clients for market research.

Spyware is software that may be included with applications you install (games, utilities, etc.) to silently spy on your online habits and other details and report it back to the company whose product you are using. Related to spyware is adware. Adware is usually a free utility program that uses ads to pay for itself. However, it may change your homepage to the companies web site ( called “homepage hijacking” ), place continuous pop-up ads on your monitor, track your surfing habits and send them to the company, or capture private information (personal or financial) for use by the company.

Web bugs are hidden graphics on web pages that can link to JavaScript or other code to determine your computers address, what browser your using, what web site you came from, how many times you’ve been to a particular page, and other information. Among other uses, ad networks can use web bugs to add information to a personal profile of what sites a person is visiting. The browser cookie of an ad network identifies the personal profile. At a later point, this personal profile which is stored in a data base server belonging to the ad network, determines what banner ad is shown.

Many people are concerned about their credit card numbers when shopping online. Some think that the number can be stolen while they are shopping. The truth is, as long as you are using a secure server when making the transaction, it’s very difficult to steal your number. It’s easier for someone to steal your card number when going to a restaurant than by trying to take it online. The big concern is when companies leave their financial servers unprotected. Stories have come out about hackers that have broken into company servers and stolen the credit card numbers and other customer information. But these are rare incidents and shouldn’t dissuade you from online shopping. However, you do need to be aware that certain scam artists do create bogus web pages or Trojan sites that look legitimate but are designed to steal your information after you’ve entered it. This tactic, a.k.a. “phishing”, can also include sending email that looks official, perhaps from your bank, and asks for your account number, credit card number, etc. to “correct” a mistake. Make sure you investigate companies that have only an online presence, i.e. they don’t have any physical stores or offices. If you don’t trust a site or email, contact the company yourself to gather more information.

For people who keep financial information on their computer, whether it’s a credit card number in an automatic form filler or portfolio data in Quicken, encryption software is something to investigate. For certain things, such as passwords and credit card numbers, just don’t store them on your computer. If the program your using, such as a password keeper program, doesn’t encrypt your information, then spyware or a hacker can pull that data from your computer with no problem. Apart from downloading or buying specialized encryption software, Windows versions after Win98/ME include built-in encryption as part of the file system. The encryption can be set for individual files and folders or entire discs.

Here’s a simple list of things you can do to protect yourself, at home and at work:
· Don’t give out private information when you don’t have to. Some sites want you to register prior to accessing their content; you can cut down on spam and protect your identity by creating a fake login or using a fake email address.
· Ensure you transfer private or financial information to web sites that use encryption. This is found by checking that the URL web address starts with https:// and that a lock or similar icon appears on your browser. On your home computer, consider using encryption programs on your most important information.
· Disable ActiveX and JavaScript on your web browser and turn off cookies (or use a cookie manager). At home, use an “infomediary.” This product/service acts as a proxy or shield between you and sites you visit, and can completely disguise to Web sites where you are coming from and who you are (and intercept all cookies).
· Always read the license agreement for downloaded software and read the privacy policies of the web sites you visit. Don’t download and install software on your office computer.
· When surfing at home, use anonymous proxy servers to hide yourself on the Internet. This prevents companies and individuals from identifying your system and prevents them from tracking your online activities. Some companies offer free anonymous surfing from via their web sites. For a demo of how much detail is automatically given out about your system by your browser, visit http://privacy.net/analyze/.
· Don’t use HTML-style email. The same types of “attacks” that can occur from visiting web pages can occur via HTML email.

(Note: Additional information for this article was obtained from the Electronic Frontier Foundation www.eff.org, a nonprofit group working to protect digital rights.)

__________________
Common Sense v2.0-Striving to make the world a little bit smarter.