Your Privacy Matters To Me!

I've learned a few things about protecting my privacy online and in general. If you are using the internet on a regular basis and think you're doing it anonymously, chances are you're thinking is in line with these clouds...pie in the sky.

ONLINE PRIVACY

You would be shocked if you knew what others know about you as a result of your online browsing. Even if you're not buying anything online, people can insert spyware onto your computer, put cookies in your browser that report data back to their database, they can even put trojan horses into downloaded programs that give them easy, direct access to your computer. Viruses are more rampant and malicious than ever.

If you have an always on connections (Tx, Cable Modem, DSL, etal) you are at an even greater risk. You should definitely invest in a firewall. A good, free firewall program which consistently receives high ratings is located at http://www.zonealarm.com. The firewall controls access to your website. Zonealarm is the easiest program that I have used for a firewall. I have used BlackIce Defender, Norton Family Internet Security and McAfee as well.  When I had a cable modem I would receive hundreds of pings a day. You can set your firewall to either reject a ping or remain invisible. If you reject the ping then that computer knows you exist. If you remain invisible the other computer doesn't know you exist and keeps generating random IP addresses to ping.

To summarize some effective ways to minimize your risk while online:

• Install Virus Protection: I have used McAfee ViruScan and Norton AntiVirus. I find Norton to have an easier interface and update procedure than McAfee but both are respected in the community.
• Install a firewall. I talked about them already. If you are on a dialup connection for more than a few minutes each day you need this. It can help block access to your computer and control what programs you allow to access the internet.
• There are literally hundreds of security loopholes in Microsoft Windows and Internet Explorer, Netscape, etal, that hackers will use to find a way into your system. You need to goto those OEM web pages on a regular basis to update those security holes. If you give Internet Explorer permission to go through your firewall then it is likely that the firewall will not block access via security loophole.
• Be careful of what information you give out on the internet. This is a downside of using sites like Amazon.com and Borders.com. By signing up with them you have automatically given them authorization to freely distribute the information you have provided. This includes email address, home address, PHONE NUMBER and the types of things you buy from their website. When dealing with these people I recommend having things shipped to your work address and give your work phone number or a cell phone number. It is illegal for telemarketers to contact you via your cell phone.
• Watch out what you say. A lot of people type some very inflammatory material on usenet. This information is archived for years. And if push comes to shove believe me people are crafty enough these days to retrieve it and use it against you. And if you do post to usenet, be wary of your password selection because otherwise someone could log on as you and post all kinds of things to get you into trouble.
• Don't download anything unless you trust the sender and the file. Many programs like the newest shareware CuteFTP include spyware. If you use a spyware removal program it will remove the spyware. But people like CuteFTP link their program to the spyware so that if the spyware is removed then the program no longer functions, even if you register it (pay for it).
• Use junk email accounts. I only give my main email account to family and friends and request that they do not use it to sign me up for anything. As a result I get no spam. For website registrations I use junk addresses from http://www.yahoo.com and http://www.hotmail.com. They have mediocre bulk and spam blocking sniffers and if you get bombed then who cares? Just get another junk account.
• Don't let your browser broadcast your life. Your name and email is likely embedded in your browser. Take some time reading through its help section and learn how to remove it or better yet change it to jibba jabba.
• Check out the privacy policies. Many websites, by default, collect and distribute your information. You have to weave through a web of fine print and legalease to find out how to "opt out" of their spamming machine.
• Don't accept unnecessary cookies. You can change this in your browser preferences or use a program like Cookie Crusher.
• Clear your cache after browsing. A great, nifty, cheap program: WindowWasher. It lets you customize when to wash and what to wash. It clears your cookies (but can keep the ones you specify), explorer cache, temp files, form-fill data (autocomplete) among other things. It's definitely on my list of top 10 downloads. I cannot recommend it enough!
• Use encryption for sensitive data. Most websites will diplay a little yellow padlock in the lower right hand of the browser if you are in a secure zone. Look for words like SSL.
• Try out an anonymizer. Another good site with a complete section on anonymous web browsing is Astalavista.

LINKS

Steve Gibson, http://www.grc.com, runs a great website on internet security. He exposes one of the first fiends of spyware: RealPlayer Networks. Their Real Jukebox, released in 1999, would actually collect data on how you use it, collect your email address, report it back to RealPlayer Networks who in turn sold this information to marketing agencies. Steve has appeared on ZDNet tv numerous times and has authored many great articles on security and written hundreds of programs to detect spyware and troubleshoot IOMEGA zip drives.

http://fr.astalavista.box.sk
Despite its bad rep as being the #1 site for crackers and hackers, the true purpose of this site is to provide information on the current state of hacking and cracking as a resource to those who intend to research and improve their computer's security. There are literally hundreds of links on various topics on this site. From registration algorithms for shareware to anaonymous proxy servers for browsing, you'll find it here.

http://www.junkbusters.com
This is one of the most useful sites I've ever found. I found it at astalavista. Its focus is personal privacy and cracking down on telemarketers. It is by far the most comprehensive site as far as explaining telemarketers and how to effective combat their advances that I have ever seen. It has numerous resources for removing/blocking spyware, cookies and adware from your computer. I installed one of their programs that blocks adware and it is truly amazing how much faster pages which had ads load now.