Internet’s conveniences invade privacies
by Annette Germinario, feature editor

    For those of you who approach the World Wide Web with the enthusiasm of a kid in a candy store with a fistful of dollars, take pause. I, too, surf into the great beyond absolutely fascinated by what is out there.

    I have made many satisfying purchases in my conquest for the best value at the best price, registered for college classes and rarely pass up those fun Underwire questionnaires. I have surfed beyond my knowledge, language and even, unknowingly, my dignity.

    I have learned that beyond my sometimes middle-of-the road view is a deeper as well as a darker side of issues. I have been both enlightened and frightened and remain curious. But now, I’m mad.
I guess I had forgotten for a moment that my existence in our capitalist society is for the sole purpose of impacting the bottom line of any entity that can benefit from my cradle-to-grave behaviors.

    I do not appreciate having my privacy invaded. I don’t know anyone who does. I thought I was doing my part to keep my risk low. Wrong! I have been compromising myself for years. Please don’t make me count the ways. I have not yet learned the extent to which I’m “out there.” I now know I have been exposing myself all over cyberspace.

    Socially I appear to have at least a modicum of modesty. Yet in the privacy of my own home, I had no idea that any semblance of decorum is dissolved with the click of a mouse. “Big Brother” indeed does exist and thrives on a steady diet of “cookies.” The profit-driven gobbler steals little pieces of our souls and assembles them into profiles that are up for grabs to any merchandiser or cause.

    Yes, wake up and experience your own private heaven and hell appearing as you are tracked and targeted. Begin by noting the advertising on your computer screen, spam, junk mail, phone solicitations and worse. Then ask yourself where you’ve been in your web journeys of late.

    Are you the least bit unsettled by banking, exchanging information about health insurance or lab results and diagnosis with your physician or purchasing with your credit card online? It does not take a wiz at quantum mechanics to figure this out, people. Don’t even get me started on my peek into the world of Web bugs, credit card and ID theft, the sinister “black hat” (hacker) community or the zero knowledge e-commerce debacle.

    But I will tell you that a neighbor of mine, who is just an acquaintance, dropped his knowledge of my age to me in casual conversation recently. How? Public record. It does not matter that the context was couched in a would-be compliment (OK, he said I didn’t look it, whatever that means). For heaven’s sake what’s next, my weight on an I-35 billboard? Now it’s personal.

    Here is what I am doing: educating myself and exposing the snoops. Here are some resources I’ve found: www.accessmagazine.com/privacy, www.safeweb.com. Also, the sites Adcops and BugNet offer help.

    Learn how to disable and reclaim those cookies, empty your browser’s cache and history and develop safer transactions. Keep your cookies contained and your profile secure.

    Meanwhile, I am definitely considering being creative on my weight disclosure the next time my driver’s license is up for renewal.