How to Preserve Privacy Online

More and more sophisticated methods of gathering private information are becoming technologically possible. A recent article at MSNBC titled, "Justice: No Privacy Problems in Cyber Program" discussed the position of the Justice Department regarding a surveillance program on government computer networks (see link in Resources below). The article states, "The Justice Department has concluded that a beefed-up surveillance program that monitors federal employees' Internet traffic does not violate their rights or those of private citizens who communicate with them." With this program, called Einstein 2, government employees know that all of their computer work is monitored. Anyone, such as yourself, who sends email to the government can expect the mail to be monitored too. The Justice Department finds such protection of government computer networks important and here to stay.

Here are ways to preserve your privacy and still participate in online society and communicate in cyberspace.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

1. Be very careful about what you reveal. Just a few facts about yourself such as your birth date and your zip code can be enough to reveal who you are. Your public profiles at sites such as Facebook and MySpace may reveal more information to the technologically savvy than you realize.

2. Be aware that software programs may reveal who you are or what you do based on your friends list on a social network site. Something seemingly innocent like a list of movies you like or songs you love may identify you in some situations.

3. Keep in mind that nothing really goes away once it's on the Internet. The revealing photos, the snarky comments, the complaints about your boss--those things live forever once they are in cyberspace. Think about the implications of what you are doing before you post a photo or a comment.

4. Learn how to clear the cookies from your computer. In Internet Explorer, go to Tools > Delete Browsing History. There you can delete both History and Cookies. In Safari go to Preferences > Security > Show Cookies > Remove All.

5. Be sure to erase your browsing history and cookies before you log off on a computer in a public location such as a library.

6. Make sure you are using a secure network when you send sensitive information such as banking passwords or credit card numbers. Don't use open wireless networks in coffee shops for sensitive data. Be sure that your transmission is protected by a firewall, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) or other safeguard. Also make sure that the site you are on is a secure site. You can tell this quickly by looking for https:// in the location bar. The "s" following the "http" indicates that the site is secure.

Tips & Warnings

• The Center for Democracy and Technology and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have expressed concern about web technologies such as cookies on government websites. They urge particular attention to privacy issues when using such technology.

Resources

• MSNBC Article
• Center for Democracy and Technology
• Electronic Frontier Foundation