These days, it is hard to place our trust in anything. Perhaps it is the prevalence of terrorism, or the declining economy, or maybe even the thought of a nuclear war floating in the back of our minds. While we are hesitant to put faith in almost anything, we do so often every day in the least trust-worthy situations; the problem is, we don’t realize it.

Take the Internet for example. Kids, every day, converse with each other online. This has become the primary form of communication among the youth of America; rare is the case when a group of friends will actually go out and meet in person when it is so much easier to do so on the computer. With this virtual existence though, one can argue they lose who their friends really are. While this is meant in a sentimental, profound fashion, the literal meaning applies too. Without seeing their faces and hearing their voices, how do you know the person typing is the one actually typing? It would be easy and plausible enough that the friend they are exchanging personal information with is actually a hacker who is trying to lure them into a real life encounter. This is sobering news, but sadly it happens often.

A cache system is storage of data that is saved to your computer every time you visit a site. When you access a site that the cache has stored data on, the site will be accessed more quickly because you cut out the middle man (the site) and load it directly from your hard drive. This will speed up browsing time, and allow some sites to even be viewed while offline using the cache! While you wouldn’t be able to interact with other users or post things, you could view the entire site while you aren’t even connected to the Internet.

Some people use these cache systems to help out with their P2P (peer-to-peer) transfers. This will store part of the data that needs to be transferred and copied, and will allow it to load much more quickly. The cache will also hold other data that will cause the Internet to be a faster place for users and allow more data to be transferred more quickly.

The cache also comes with some risks too. Anytime identifying data or browsing history is stored on your computer, you will have some sort of privacy issue. The less information you keep about yourself and your browsing habits on your computer and on the Internet, the safer and more anonymity you will enjoy. It is possible that a hacker could gain access to your data by using your IP address to hack into your computer. It is also possible to just steal your computer and get into your cache. It is one thing for your system to be physically stolen, but if a hacker could remotely access your computer and get all sorts of sensitive information and other browsing habits, it could be forever before you found out and tried to stop it, but by then the damage could be irreversible.

When shopping online, there are many security risks to consider. While nobody is going to be stealing your purse or wallet like might happen in an actual crowded mall, you run many other risks a person in real life doesn’t have to. For example, by leaving your connection open and not making it go through some kind of encryption software or any sort of privacy software or program, a hacker could easily break in to your transaction and see what you have bought, are going to buy, or even deleted or put off of your shopping cart. Also, they could even more maliciously hack into your transaction or your account and steal your identity and credit card numbers and passwords. Many identity thefts happen on sites like these; shopping sites. The user is not protected by any sort of Internet software, and the hacker can easily break in with minimal difficulty.

Internet piracy; although it has nothing to do with the swashbuckling scallywags that ride around on big ships and steal and plunder from innocents, the concepts are similar. Online piracy deals with a bunch of different things, be it music, games, movies, documents, or any other online media strata. These pirates, who are often just kids sitting in their rooms downloading music for free, are actually doing more than damage than they know for everyone.

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.

Information used to be stored in a manner that was easy to manage. They would have these giant computers that were large enough to hold terabytes of information (that is a lot!) that ranged from internal controls to customer’s profiles and user preferences. These servers  were encrypted and made secure by the companies that ran them. They were also password secured and this way only authorized employees could access the data if they needed to.  When they searched for easier network management, the answer was right in front of them: the Internet. With unlimited sconnectivity and always done at cheap prices, it represented a win-win for these companies.

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.

Cookies are little deposits of data a website puts on your computer every time you visit their site. These log where you went on the site, where you spent the most, what you looked at, and other things to pertaining to your site activity. They also save user preferences on log-in and password based sites, and even data from your word documents and other offline transactions.

Why do they do all of this? Well, for one they do save your user preferences, so maybe you can stay logged in until you sign out of some particular sites, and they can help bring you towards parts of the site you enjoyed. This is generally helpful, but these cookies can also be dangerous too.

Recently, a controversy has been brewing over the use of cookies. Some people go shopping on the Internet, looking for better deals by cutting out the middle man or what have you, and they do so looking for good deals. Recently, some sites have been using cookies and identifying which users have money and which ones don’t, and marketing their information and wares that way. This way, if a wealthy man had cookies on his computer of him buying off of an expensive car site, the merchandise he saw on the front page of a buying website would be different (and probably more expensive) than what others see.

We live in an age of many concerns and fears. Children aren’t allowed to play outside anymore as they were ten years ago for fear of being stolen by some interloper patrolling the neighborhood. People are now given intensive scans at the airport for everything from knives, to drugs, to guns. Even your loved ones waiting to greet you are not allowed to come up to the terminals anymore, instead having to wait outside in the crowded lobbies and baggage claims. The Internet has also changed. Once there was only a few sites to go on, and nobody knew a thing about spy ware or malware. People sent e-mails and went on sites in a totally blissful and carefree manner, but that soon changed.

With the advent of the “Information Generation”, people flocked to the Internet for its unlimited resources and its great exploring potential. People began to have virtual lives online, living vicariously through games or social networking sites. The Internet unknowingly conglomerated with television through YouTube, and is currently putting television on its last legs. Even the drudging commute to work is becoming archaic, and being replaced by the coffee-fueled masses that earn their bread working from home.

America has always been a land of change, as well as freedom. Right now, we are in the middle of another Industrial Revolution; although perhaps it will appear in history textbooks as the Technology Revolution. As the people evolved and changed their habits, so did the inventive criminals. Crime has always been a plaguing leech on America’s side, but one that is inevitable by the amount of freedom each citizen enjoys. Although criminals are often stereotypically portrayed as completely ignorant, uneducated low lives, they know quite some about their art; it is their chosen profession. They follow people and find out where they are most unprotected and will strike there when the opportunity arises. They also factor in how likely it is that they will be caught.

When everyone began using the Internet, criminals began to see that this was an excellent new avenue for them to exploit. Instead of having to rob someone in a suspicious back alley or on a crowded subway train, they could do so surreptitiously online, without even a trace of fear. A robber mugging someone in an alley will be plagued by the screams of his victim, and most likely caught by police as he tries to escape. An Internet hacker who hacks into an innocent person’s bank account online will not have to worry about the victim screaming for help, nor about a quick escape. It is likely the victim won’t even know that they have been robbed until months later, and by then the criminals will be gone, without a shred of evidence left behind.

This site is a god-send for a culture full of fanatical social networking fans, but not many security buffs. Everybody these days has a MySpace, FaceBook, or some other form of Internet profile. Through these, friends stay in touch, people meet new people, and even businesses are run! While this all sounds good and dandy, it would be naïve and idyllic to believe that these sites only bring good things to the table. After losing our hedonistic outlooks, the fact of the matter these communication websites can be dangerous if not used correctly, and it’s scary how many people don’t use them correctly.

Enter ConnectSafely.com. This site is full of information. news, and guides to educate, inform, and help to protect social networking users online. Upon first entry, you’ll see that the site is quite aesthetically pleasing. A soft white background provides a perfect backdrop for nativity scenes of the information generation, skateboarders with iPods, kids using video cameras, and especially the woman on the computer. A quick viewing of the “About Us” page shows that the site is totally non-profit, and its sole aim is to propagate safety knowledge and make young people and adults more aware and cognizant of their roles online and how to become more safe.

Some may raise some eyebrows when “anonymous surfing” is brought up. Why remain anonymous unless you’ve got something to hide? Well, maybe not the same stuff they are thinking of, but I sure wouldn’t want to propagate my bank account information to every Google user!

The Internet is a great and very helpful place, but we don’t have to sacrifice our right to privacy when using it. Some ISPs store all of your information for up to 2 years! Some government agencies in the UK store all of the information in a large database forever.

Maybe having an ISP know what you are doing is not a big deal, but it is the principle of the matter. Imagine if someone hacked the server; all information, every website, password, social security number ever entered in the last two years would be at their fingertips! A bit scary when it is laid out before you.

Everyone knows that our world has become digital.  Many of us earn incomes from working on the internet, manage bank accounts and even pay our bills online.  People who were once afraid of computers are now discovering how to use them because they are so integral to our lives. Unfortunately, the opportunists are out there ready to snap up unguarded personal information at a moment’s notice.  What they do with this information can make a Nightmare on Elm Street seem like a walk in the park.  You have to be very careful about the information you leave behind when you’re on the internet.

Here are a few protective measures you can take to protect your privacy online.

1. Teach your children that it is dangerous to put personal information on the internet.  Home addresses, phone numbers and social security numbers are some of the very personal information uninformed children my give out that can result in identity theft.  It is very important to explain to your children the dangers of giving out information on the web and set boundaries.