Hi, Leo. Interesting article. I am pretty paranoid about my online privacy, to the extent that I use a bat file to delete all my temp files and online histories about every 5 or 10 minutes while online. I don’t want a site I visit to be able to see where else I’ve been. That’s my business. I use Mailwasher to pre-view my emails and Roboform to protect my personal information. Even so, and Roboform uses a very good encryption to protect my information, I still do not save any credit card or banking information with Roboform. I prefer to fill this information each time, rather than have it saved on my machine, no matter how secure it is. One thing I have considered for some time now that I haven’t heard or read anywhere else. We are told that ‘cookies’ are required to facilitate easy and faster access to web pages we visit frequently. Most sites insist on them being enabled. But in these days of high speed internet connection, do we still really need this? Personally, I do not find accessing web pages significantly faster by keeping ‘cookies’ on my machine (even in my dial up days). This may be a perceptual thing, but even so I prefer privacy to speed. One cannot be too careful these days. I also notice the things people find acceptable online they would not tolerate in everyday life. For example, we are happy to allow websites we visit to load files onto our computers. But how would we react if we walked into a store and were asked for personal details, name and address for example, to check as to whether we have shopped there before? And would we want to be followed around town by a store employee to see where else we shop and what else we bought? Even if we were told it was to improve our experience next time we visited their store, I do not think most of us would find this acceptable. The problem, I think is that internet users do not relate being online to physically visiting a store. It’s ok because it is new. And many laws (I live in the UK) related to protecting us in our everyday life do not afford us similar protection online. While efforts are being made to address these and other related issues, big business with the financial clout is currently successfully thwarting these efforts.
The other thing, I think, that makes people more vulnerable online is this. When walking down the street, we are aware of our surroundings. If we see a suspicious character, we will attempt to avoid eye contact, possibly turning a corner to avoid physical interaction. We do not walk down dark alleys at night, etc, etc. Online, we find it acceptable to click on links, email people and otherwise interact in a way we would never do in a face to face situation. The internet affords criminals an anonymity they would not have in the ‘real’ world. The fault, I agree lies with the individuals who are more reckless online than they would ever be in a physical situation. But we have laws to protect us from being defrauded or physically attacked in real life. These laws should be equally enforceable where cyber crime is committed. I may be wrong, but my perception is that this is not the case.]]>
A comment on: Privacy? What Privacy?
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