This scared the citizens of that era, around the 1950’s. They grew up in a time where they did not question authority, and this meant the government. This surrender of their will to their government would have made it easy for them to be controlled. Since at about this time  technology was going places that mankind could never have foreseen, Orwell’s fictional world seemed more imminent than ever. Ever since America broke off from the British rulers those decades ago, we have always had a healthy skepticism for any sort of government power. Although the government is not all controlling, people still are prone to views of it taking over and of martial law. The biggest problem and fear people have though is with privacy, and to this extent the government is the least of their worries.

The government has the power to invade our privacy, no doubt about it. Would they really use it though? Probably not. Although 1984 is an excellent novel and recommended reading for anyone and everyone, its ideas did not come to fruition. We have long surpassed the year 1984 and our society, even today, is nothing like Orwell predicted. What he nailed head on though is our dependence on technology, and for this we have to applaud him. Orwell described great systems where people could interact, but it would cost the public most of their anonymity and privacy; sounds like the social networking giants of today? To this end, it is not the government that is going to strip us of all of our privacy, it is ourselves. Instead of the cameras being on every street corner, watching passerby, they are on our web cams, projecting our faces to friends all over the world.

Why did Orwell pronounce these social aspects as a bad thing then?  He saw the dangers of OTHER PEOPLE seeing everything about our lives. This certainly rings true today: think of all of the kidnappings and other crimes that have stemmed from an overly revealing online profile! Unlike the conscientious writer, people do not think of their audience when they put up all of the stuff they do on their personal sites. Many, to complete strangers, leak many sensitive details of their life, and get burned for it later. These sites are arguably the best way for a criminal to find out about you and find out where to strike you. Your Internet site can reveal ways to get into your life that you would never think to tell anyone.

This is due to a principle where humans cannot limit the output they have in non-face to face contact. Nearly everyone suffers from this deadly syndrome, and strangely, no one seems to notice. No one ever seems to think before they post the information they want on their site; no mental screening process occurs. Only the criminals realize, and before you know it, you have just told them your address, and that you won’t be home for the weekend. When you get back, your stash of cash and other valuables might be with a new owner. Although Orwell wasn’t completely accurate in his message, there is still something to be learned. Big Brother is always watching, and alongside him is a crafty hacker, watching, waiting, biding his time till the opportunity for a strike presents itself. Be mindful, don’t give Big Brother your information, and he won’t pass it too the criminal.

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What happened was he wrote a letter to his dad and left it in an unsealed envelope. The letter described his confusion with his actions, and how he was disturbed that he killed another man. Prison officials seized the letter and used it as evidence against the man in a case against him. This letter provided irrefutable proof that he did indeed kill the man, and this would certainly land him a guilty charge, with no contest. This man would be in prison for the rest of his life, if not land him on death row.

In court, prison officials argued that the letter wasn’t sealed, and that all prisoners have to have all of their mail scanned and censored, both out-going and incoming. This, they argue, would have had the letter found anyway, so they would have gotten him like that. They also argue the letter is good evidence. The man argues that his Fourth Amendment rights were being violated by them reading and seizing his un-sent letter. Even though it was unsealed, they still should have not been allowed to get into it. By doing this, the evidence should be negated he said, and he wasn’t planning on sending the letter anyway, it was just a venting system.

This is an interesting case. People would side with the prisoner for his appeal to pathos in which the prison guards had no right to steal the letter as he hadn’t sent it, but the other side appeals strongly to their logos; the letter incriminated an existing criminal and the crime was murder, the most severe off all. The question is, are privacy laws reserved for even cold blooded killers?

The answer apparently is no. The court ruled that the guards had a strong right to take the prisoners mail, and now he will stand trial for murder with this huge piece of evidence in front of him. It is doubt able at best that the trial will be unbiased, even without this new discovery.

As long as you are out in the free world though, the Constitution protects you. Everyone has a right to privacy law’s protection, and it is our sovereign right as American citizens. No one can take this right away, try as they might in today’s society. You are a free person on the Internet as well. The only one that should be able to read your documents without your permission is you. Consider this when weighing the decision of getting an anonymous proxy server or not.

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While these ads are seen, who can be sure they are clicked on? Everyone has had an instance where an ad pops up on their web browser that has absolutely no interest to them. Let’s take the stock example of a stereotypical avatar of masculinity: this man loves football and all day meticulously surfs and updates his fantasy football page, making trades and offers. Then he heads over to ESPN and watches some online football to see how the players and teams are doing to decide where to take his team, then an ad pops up. The ad consists of a new flower product that “will make your garden bloom like never before.” After considering for a moment what the ad is, and asserting that “flower” has nothing to do with “pig skin”, the man would quickly exit out the pest and be on with his negotiations.

Things have changed recently though. When this man would get ads of flower products, sweet smelling detergent, and other emasculated items, it was a completely random affair. Now this same man might be seeing ads showing off awesome football strategies, or trying to sell an in-depth guide on all of the major players. While this seems like a good thing, it isn’t. The information is pulled right from your surfing, and without your knowledge.

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Germans and Germany in general are very cognizant about what goes up on the Internet, as they are often haunted by constant reminding of the Holocaust and the stigmas attached to it. Lately the German population has become suspect of the U.S. company FaceBook. They are convinced that FaceBook is completely disregarding their privacy rights and not securing all of their information.

The Germans have banded together to send MySpace, FaceBook, Xing, and other social networking sites complaints about their lack of protecting their information. They accused these companies of sharing their details, browsing histories, and even details off of their private pages with third party companies. The sites would share this information with online advertisers and other solicitation agencies for a cut of their profits. The people afre outraged at this, and feel that their privacy is being compromised. They also complain that the terms of service agreements that are mandatory to accept on most every site force them to give up many of their privacy rights and other protections they enjoy as citizens. They argue that the change in the status quo should only allow individuals to be able to control what is released, and that possibly they offer incentives for releasing some information.

The people say that if the companies don’t comply with their complaints that they will take them to court. Grassroots movements have begun to boycott the services, and try and put them out of business, or at least make a statement.

The Trans Atlantic Consumer Dialogue is what they organization has called themselves, and they demand that the people hold all jurisdiction of who knows their data. They are almost eighty organizations strong currently.

They also argue that if a user cancels their subscription or profile with the service, that they permanently delete all information on the user, and not keep any of it surreptitiously  in a hidden data base.

Be wary when signing up for these social networking sites, who knows what rights you are giving up. Always read your terms of service before you blindly click accept too, as they know nobody actually reads these and will try and stick things in them small print. Be careful about what you put on your profile as well, because who knows who will be reading it and who might use some of your information for bad reasons.

If you wish to stay safe and anonymous online, try and avoid posting any personal information on these sites and be careful about what you are getting yourself into when you sign up. It may seem like a harmless communication site, but criminals know that is where clueless Internet goers flock.

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The biggest detriment these pirates do to the world is the hurting of the economy. First of all, the music industry is hit the hardest. These kids and their stealing of the songs means no money for the bands, and without this money, the bands have no motivation or any means to make any new songs. There was a time was CD and record sales were through the roof, and since then, online sales have skyrocketed. Now though, neither is doing well because people are just sharing the music for free on peer to peer networks instead of legally going out and buying it.

Secondly, these kids are ruining movies and music for everyone else. The infamous “leak” is quite a popular thing on the Internet. This is when a new yet to be shown movie, or a new CD somehow appear on the Internet. Everyone scrambles to get it, and even though it is usually taken down quickly, everyone now has the new media on their hard drive. This ruins movie watchers excitement, and often times, is a false alarm. Almost every “bootleg” that surfaces on the net is a hoax, but most people don’t realize it. They then believe that this hoax that was probably quite low budget was the movie they wished to see, and will probably be turned completely off of the movie, only to find it was a fake one they saw and the real movie got flying colors and raving reviews in the newspaper.

Although this Internet piracy represents threats to many different aspects of the world, perhaps the worst hit is towards internet privacy. Piracy is usually done through massive P2P (peer to peer) networks, where one person will post the content and allow everyone else to download it for free. The thing is though, there is no way to know if this content has a virus or possibly multiple ones loaded onto it. There is no way to even tell if the content is named correctly either, as users name it themselves. Perhaps you could find yourself the subject of a “Rick Roll” in which a song you wanted actually turned out to be an eighties’ song by Rick Astely. While slightly this is slightly humorous, a virus crashing your computer or stealing all of your sensitive information is not.

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By storing information on the Internet, it made their consumer’s data vulnerable.  The problem is, these monolithic computers were safe and secure, while the Internet wasn’t nearly as secure. The Internet can be easily hacked into, while these massive computers and their networks had so many privacy and safety safeguards that the N.S.A. would have had trouble trying to break in. The fact is though, the consumer’s lost this battle. While it helped out the big shot companies by removing their burden of network management, it hurt the consumers by having their security decreased by a large amount, and put their information at risk. “Cloud Computing” is the term put to this in discrepant practice of putting all information on the web rather than the large personal databases.

This creates a big privacy issue for the customers though. Since these people on the Internet have no affiliation with the company who has asked them to store the data, who is to say they are going to take their job seriously and provide these users with adequate protection? Also, it isn’t like they are being paid a large sum of money to do so either, online data storage prices are dirt cheap and will remain that way, as space is virtually unlimited.

There isn’t much that can be done about these data infringements and the risk that these companies represent to you, but there are things you can do as an individual and an Internet user. Try and restrict the amount of sensitive information you give these companies. If they are going to treat it well, don’t give it to the at all! Also, try using an anonymous proxy that will encrypt and encode all of your data. While these companies will let your Internet safety go by the wayside, you can ensure anonymous browsing through a private proxy server.

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As was mentioned before though, cookies can also be dangerous. Instead of the helpful cookies mentioned above, you can possibly have malicious cookies. These are cookies installed on your computer either by a hacker or a bad website. Through this, they can hack into your folders and steal your passwords, or simply try and track you back to your real-life location. Even worse, these cookies could contain viruses that are planted directly on to your hard drive, and your virus scanner might not even recognize it. These can either be installed to try and steal identifying data about you, or simply with malicious intent to crash your system.

Either way, cookies are archaic technology these days. They are a relic of dial up times, and simply haven’t been removed. Websites often have log-in services that allow you to save your preferences and easily load them, and the speed advantage is a moot point due to today’s lightening fast Internet connections. The point is, cookies have been played out and might be considered a dangerous thing. EPIC, the big privacy organization, proposes that all cookies are banned due to their Internet privacy risks.

While this is a noble cause on their part, it is hard to move the status quo of legislation. They could fight for years and years before they actually got something changed, even though they are such a widespread program. In the meantime, try out an anonymous proxy to eat away (no pun intended) all of your cookie worries. Every anonymous proxy has a built in blocking system, not for websites, but for pieces of identifying information trying to access your computer. You can select to block cookies and be done with them, and be surfing anonymous while you are at it.

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The government asserts that these tracking technologies will speed up the entry of citizens back into the country, checks at borders, and deter interlopers from trying to get into the United States. What they propose to do is insert a tiny radio frequency chip into every citizen’s identification cards and driver’s licenses to speed up the process of identifying someone. Basically, they give the border example. Instead of pulling up to a border, rummaging around for your pass and having an official scan it, and ask you twenty questions, you do absolutely nothing. That’s right; you don’t even have to pull your card out. As long as it is in your car or up to a twenty feet radius, the person will simply press a button to remotely scan it, and you will be on your way.

This all sounds great, and it really is intuitive and breakthrough technology. It would be a bit hedonistic to believe that it is all good however; there are two sides to every coin. The downside of this technology is that is possibly makes you traceable. As Chris showed the world with his criminal documentary, these cards could be scanned by a non-government official for a bad purpose, and your identity would be stolen. You wouldn’t even realize it until much later either! If your passport is stolen now, you would know because you wouldn’t be able to find it. If this new technology is ratified and employed, the consequences could be dire. You could be holding your passport or I.D., but it could actually be already stolen. A strange concept to grasp, but altogether unsettling.

A strong debate is in the making. Although this sounded like an excellent new addition to our technological armada that citizens command today, a simple video made us all re-think. Is ease of use worth having a possible privacy meltdown?

People are referencing George Orwell’s classic dystopian novel to show opposition to this new change. They say as this rate, the fictional horror world of 1984 will become a reality. The government is already discussing the use of biometric identification; such as a cornea scan or fingerprint analysis as the complete way to identify people. Though the meme of the book is actually “Big Brother”, people are calling these new radio micro-chips “Little Brother”.

On June 1, anyone entering the United States or applying for a new passport was required to get one with the radio chip installed. Anyone with an old passport must do so once their old one expires. With these new passports comes new driver’s licenses. Many states such as Washington, Wisconsin, and New York are already using this technology publicly, while others such as Texas and Arizona have already been hatching plans with the government to adopt this technology and employ it later.

Privacy heads at the organization for Homeland Security insist that the technology serves a different purpose. They say that it is not meant to identify you, but rather to confirm that information located on your passport, driver’s license, etc. is accurate and true. They insist again that there is nothing to worry about privacy wise because they are not pulling up information like speeding tickets or anything personal.

Neville Pattinson, is a major supplier of micro-chipped cards. In a statement concerning the privacy of these cards the government is thinking about using, he surprisingly agrees with the skeptics. In the online newsletter “The Privacy Advisor”, he called out the technology, saying it was not safe or secure, and oftentimes did not speed up any processes, as it seemed not to work a lot! He said that the inherent flaw with the radio technology is that it cannot recognize when it is being accessed by a non-official, and will faithfully transmit the data to the criminal.

Meanwhile, Homeland Security is ignoring everyone’s concerns and touting the effectiveness of these radio tags, and promoting them to different companies. As of right now, as far as driver’s licenses go, these chipped cards are completely optional, and maybe it is better this way. If, empirically, these devices fail than they should certainly not be employed into the commonwealth of the U.S.

Some people have some interesting takes and quips to put forth about these chips. One man said that you wouldn’t wear your social security number on your shirt, but you are transmitting it for up to twenty feet on your radio interfaced identity card. On top of this, as long as you don’t steal any data, there are no laws against some sneaky surveillance on people’s radio chipped cards.

If the plan is to work, something has got to give. Either the government needs to assure the people that additional protection will be instated, or the public will have none of it. Possibly they could make some sort of feature where the device can be powered off until you need it. It can be likened to an anonymous proxy. They need to make some sort of device that will hide your IP address (radio frequency number) and allow you to remain anonymous and secure while just traveling around. This will prevent identity theft and other privacy issues. These are just ideas, but they definitely need to bolster the security somehow, because having a whole nation of people who’s information is right there for the taking is not good. This would be a hacker’s paradise though!

Be careful, and keep on eye on the news to learn more about this technology. Maybe it has potential to be useful, but right now it just seems dangerous. Wait and see how the people in the states that have the new licenses feel about them. Always be cautious; your safety on the Internet as well as real life is the most important thing you can worry about.

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Although these places say they are all about the customer, one cannot sometimes always be fooled so. Many of these companies are coming out of the woodwork and coming into scandals regarding the privacy of their loyal consumer’s data.

When you sign up for these stores services and go to buy something, you are prompted to enter all sorts of data. At the time, it all seems to be for the good of expedited shipping, and other company related things. Even a credit card number is required, so that the seller may have access to his or her money.

Everybody is familiar with the stories of people getting swindled by false companies, or being tricked by an unreliable seller. This is not a big concern on the big selling sites, but there is another thing that is. They sell your private information to third party companies who then in turn try to sell you even more things.

These third party sites will pay a large sum of money for this data because they know that with data and browsing and buying histories, they will know your interests, and can market to you more effectively based on them. While this is helpful to the little sites because they make more money, and helpful to the big players because they get a cut of the money, it is bad for everyone’s privacy rights and status.

You don’t even have to be on one of these sites to get sold into (no pun intended) this technology. Programs called “behavioral advertisers” which are employed by your ISPs (Internet Service Providers) can, unbeknownst to you, search through your browsing history and find your interests; likes and dislikes. Once again, the behavioral advertisers profit from your sales, and the ISPs can take a small cut for releasing your information. It is a no-brainer for them, quick money for no work.

Unfortunately, this is often not even illegal. These buying websites often force you to give up many of your rights and privacy perks when you accept their terms of service agreements. The problem is, no one realizes this because everyone just blindly accepts the agreements without even a perusal over them. Every time you have to accept one of these agreements, always make sure to read it, or at least scan it for possible right surrendering that must be done. They usually aren’t worded in a confusing fashion, and it certainly won’t take a professional lawyer to understand what is going on.

Even though these rights are relinquished in the terms of service, it only takes one squeaky wheel to get something changed. If people were to complain to these sites, surely they would see change. In the meantime, be wary of these sites and if ads begin to pop up that you are actually interested in, someone could have just made a quick buck off of you.

One way to beat behavioral advertising is to use an anonymous proxy.  By using an anonymous proxy, your IP address changes so that the advertising program cannot tie your different Internet browsing sessions together to get a complete picture of your activities.  The key in using an anonymous proxy to avoid this tracking is to use one that has multiple server locations and multiple IP addresses.

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When police bring someone in, obviously they remember a face, but after it has been a long time they simply look someone’s name up to see who’s who. A violent gang member who was arrested by police recently changed his name to Tony Soprano, after the popular Sopranos television show character. The police did not know him as Tony Soprano though. After his name change, if the police were to pull him over and run his license, they would have no record of “Tony Soprano” a being violent criminal. When they run someone’s license, if the person comes back as a past felon, they will approach with caution. Tony Soprano had no record though, and they probably just laughed about the irony of his name being the same as a murderous television show character’s. Little do they know he likely is armed.

There is another concern to think about. Many gun stores only I.D. people to make sure they are of age to buy a gun and are not a convicted felon. If the gang member walked into the store and tried to buy a gun, the staff would screen and ask him why he wasted the gas to come to their store. If Tony Soprano walked into the store, they would screen him, find nothing, ask him about his name, and send him on his way his a shiny new pistol. Very few places will actually identity someone by their social security number, which would not change with their name.

These are scary things to think about, but they do happen. There was a story recently that will raise hairs on parents. A convicted pedophile was released from jail recently, and began rehabbing his life. He found that with his spotted past, he couldn’t get a job or do much of anything. He decided to change his name to “spiritually start over”. Little did he know he started over more than just in a spiritual way. He soon found with his new name having no links to his previous name, he wasn’t tagged as a child molester everywhere and was able to do things again. Apparently, rehab didn’t work, and he got back into his old ways again. With his new lily white spotless identity, the man decided to adopt an orphan and he was able to do so. Needless to say, he fell back into his old ways and was again arrested for child molestation. Even though he was caught, it makes no difference; that child will never be the same. By getting a new name, these people get to start over.

People all over are concerned about privacy, and rightfully so. Unfortunately, some people screw it up for everyone. These criminals are making law enforcement have to keep more meticulous records on everyone, which could be a good thing.

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