On March 1, 2012, Google’s new privacy policy will go into effect. This new policy replaces all other privacy policies that were in place on all of the different Google products and services. It will affect all information stored on every Google account you may have. Also included is all information stored after the March 1st implementation date.

As of now, your Google Web History stores a record of every site you visit and every search you make. In the past, the Web History was a separate entity from all other areas of Google. Now, under the new privacy policy, all Google services will be combined. Your searches tell a pretty complete story about you, including your hometown, health concerns, age, sexual orientation and more, so you really should keep it all private.

In order to stop Google from combining your Web History with your Google + or YouTube activities, you must get rid of all searches that are in your Web History. Also, you need to stop activity from appearing on your Web History in the future.

If you value your privacy, follow these steps to clear and pause your Web History:

Sign in to your Google account.

Then, go to https://www.google.com/history

Click on the “Remove all Web History” button.

The last step is to click on “OK”.

When you remove the information from your Web History, you are also pausing it. Until you enable this again, your Web History will remain paused.

Google keeps all information in your active Web History for an unspecified time period. But, if you pause your Web History, your information will be cleared in about 18 months. Pausing, or disabling, the Web History will stop the search results that are generated specifically for you. The EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) offers advice and suggestions on how you can limit the quantity of information Google keeps on you in its guide, Six Tips to Protect Your Search Privacy .

If you are like most people, you have several Google accounts. If this is the case, you need to remove the Web History, following the above steps, for each account. Just keep in mind that removing and pausing your Web History will not prevent Google from gathering your information for internal use. Also, if any information is requested by a law enforcement agency, Google must supply it.

Facebook has launched its latest incarnation: Timeline. Timeline will soon be available for all Facebook users, and already there are concerns about privacy. If you value your privacy and don’t want everyone to know exactly what you’re doing or where you’re going, you must make sure you set your privacy controls. If you don’t set the controls correctly, your privacy will be gone.

One of the more notable features of Timeline is “Maps”. This feature takes the data from every user’s account and displays all photos, lists events and even places they go on their wall “map”. This means that anyone on your friends lists will know where you travel to or what you are doing on any given day and time. The biggest problem with this feature is that the user has no choice when it comes to accepting it.

Facebook’s Privacy Policy states: “We receive data from the computer, mobile phone or other device you use to access Facebook. This may include your IP address, location, the type of browser you use, or the pages you visit.” What this means is that no matter where you go or what you do, Facebook is watching and will broadcast it all.

If you have ever updated your hometown, or work location, Facebook already has that information and will use it to create your “map”. Also, if a friend takes a picture of you from a mobile phone with the GPS feature on, and uploads it to Facebook, you will be tagged to that location.

Even your music playlists will be sent to Facebook’s Timeline through Spotify. Everything you listen to will be posted for everyone to see. So many users felt uncomfortable with this, that Spotify has just added an option for private listening, which will block the Facebook sharing. But, beware…if you restart the app, or don’t use it very often, you will have to go back to your settings and choose the private listening option again.

Have you ever been sent an “Invite” to an event that you have to RSVP to on Facebook? Well, every time you click on “Attending”, your plans will be made public knowledge. Even when you click “Like” for a particular product, that information is sent to the company. The company, in turn, tags your friends to try to get them to click “Like” also, noting that you and any other friends “Like” them.

Your reading habits also aren’t safe from public broadcast. When you see a friend’s link to an article that looks interesting and you click on it, many times you will be asked for permission to allow the app to access your information. Most of us do this without giving it much thought. The problem here is that Facebook now knows what articles you’re looking at and will share them on your wall. You will not have a choice since you already agreed to allow your information to be shared.

All of this is pretty frightening stuff. People knowing where you are, where you’re going and what you’re doing brings “Big Brother” to mind. When Timeline becomes available to you, take the time to read ALL of the Privacy Policy. Make sure you thoroughly go over your privacy options and set your preferences as soon as possible. It would also help if you think long and hard before clicking “Like”.

Your privacy is your most important asset. Protect it in any way you can.

Are you aware that every single time you log on to the internet, you are leaving behind electronic footprints? Just as a hunter tracks his prey, a new breed of criminal, the cyber-criminal, uses these footprints to lead him right to you.

The next time you are in your favorite “watering hole”, using their free WiFi connection, think about this: the person sitting in the next booth, intently working on his laptop, may not be what he appears to be. What he could be so focused on is gathering your personal information.

You may not even be safe in the comfort of your own home. When you use a wireless router, anyone near your home or apartment could tap into your connection. If you didn’t take the time to set the router to encrypt your data, the result is the same: your personal information is in jeopardy.

When you used a public hotspot, any information you enter onto your computer is unencrypted. This means that if someone can get access into your connection, that person can see everything you do.

Every day, we use the internet for a wide range of reasons. Sometimes, we’ll sign up to post on a certain site, or to get an on line newsletter. We do this so often that we don’t even give it a second thought. We enter our names and choose a password, but, if your connection isn’t secure, all of the information you input is fair game. The person sitting in the next booth, or in the next house or apartment, could be watching and waiting for you to give him what he needs to steal your identity.

Since most of us are signed up to so many sites, a majority of people will use the same password for everything. The cyber-criminal already has your e-mail address and the password from the new site you signed up for. Once he has this, he can try that password to get into your e-mail account. How much information can someone gather from your e-mails?

From your e-mail account, he can try that same password to get to your social networking account. Now, he not only has your full name, but he also knows where you live. He also sees your status post on when you are going to be leaving for vacation. He also can see the pictures of your family and friends that you’ve been posting.

Now you know what can happen, but what can you do to prevent it? The best way to end the threat of being victimized by cyber-criminals is to use a proxy server. When using a proxy server, your IP address is hidden, so it can’t be used to find your approximate location. You also have the added protection of all your information being encrypted. This means that even if someone could hack into your data stream, any information that person could gather would be useless because it couldn’t be read.

Don’t allow yourself to become prey. Use a proxy server so cyber-crooks can’t make your life theirs.