Privacy is Hot – Gee I Wonder Why?
Privacy on the Internet is becoming a hot topic. It is not hard to understand why: Massive email intercepts. Search engine logs.
- Why? Two words: Bush Administration
For instance:
After Subpoenas, Internet Searches Give Some Pause By KATIE HAFNER
Published: January 25, 2006 – New York Times
Yea, the Bush Administration has turned this into a hot topic, but there is more to it than this. Every law abiding citizen has the right to keep certain personal information private, be it medical records, financial information, personal identifying information such as date of birth and social security number, and other data that can be used to steal your identity and rip you off in one way or another. And right or wrong, the Bush Administration has admitted screening millions of phone and email communications. And now they want the log files from a number of major search engines. They certainly have helped make privacy a hot topic.
Check out this article in the New York Times:
Privacy for People Who Don’t Show Their Navels By JONATHAN D. GLATER Published: January 25, 2006
Don’t miss this section:
“The more equipment is acquired and produced by a repressive regime, the more important anonymity is,” said Julien Pain, who heads the Internet freedom desk for Reporters Without Borders, an advocacy group that supports press freedom. The group has produced a guide, Handbook for bloggers and cyber-dissidents, for bloggers trying to protect their identities.
The Handbook offers good information for anyone interested in protecting their privacy and/or remaining anonymous. In particular it focuses on how to remain anonymous in blogs and how to secure your email communications from hackers and snoops, and how to surf the Internet anonymously (including how to use search engines anonymously).
- Practice Safe Computing -
