Having stated the above, some sites are very clear on their privacy policies.  For example, look at the Trollbeads privacy policy.  They state that they do not give out your information.  Given that this is a jewelry site, they would gain very little in giving it out.  The site’s goal is to sell jewelry.

Google on the other hand is interested in your information.  They make money based on it.

If you are concerned about privacy, there are two simple steps you can take to obscure the information that any website or search engine sees.

1. Use multiple user names or ID’s when you access a site.  This spreads your data across accounts which breaks any direct linkage to you.
2. Use an anonymous proxy that changes your IP address so that your accounts are not linked to your IP address.  Even better would be to use a shared proxy because many people will be using the same IP addresses thus rendering the information collected by the website useless.

Today, businesses and government agencies should prepare for all of these looming disasters. Each should have an individual plan for disaster recovery. In today’s information-driven world, further disasters can result from power outages and network failures. There should still be time for every business to adjust and respond to risks. In any possible event, there should be uninterrupted and continuous access to either personal or corporate data.

There should be a system for disaster preparedness. For any company, it is a well-known fact that its most important assets are its people. Unquestionably, for these people, their most important asset is their family. Is there a company or agency plan on how to move its people, including their families, if the need arises? Another consideration is to make a communication plan that is timely, clear and honest.

Every company and agency has a host of information that is vital to the uninterrupted course of activities. There should be a data back-up plan which should be verified and validated, and situated out of harm’s way. It should also be accessible to the recovery location. To ensure better data privacy, cloud service is now available for the storage of key data.

There is no certainty as to how long catastrophic events could last. Some may last for days, others for weeks, and still others for months. There have to be options if the facilities, network, technology and people could not be available. It is also very vital to think about those other businesses associated with “parent” companies. Their preparedness has a direct effect on any company or agency because jointly, they form a chain or network. There is more impact if not only one, everybody else involved is well-prepared.

In the United States, at least two regions have reported a large increase in identity crimes, most of which are data breaches. The cost of information that is stolen from companies costs more than $150 billion in the national picture. This was reported by LifeLock Consumer Education that spanned the years from 2005 to 2010. The theory is that this is a result of technology that criminals take advantage of, plus human error on the part of consumers.

Studying the number of data breaches, it can be said that in the U.S., there were more than 800 million records exposed from 2005 to 2010. Analysis of this data reveals that 15% of these were credit card fraud and 9% were bank fraud. One interesting fact to note is that credit card fraud takes the major percentage of the crime. The reason can be attributed to the story of one shopper who experienced identity theft two years ago. Since that distressing experience, she said that she uses her credit cards only occasionally. She added that she has not gotten over that incident. She did not know how her identity was stolen in such a short time. Even now, she still cannot be sure if clerks or waiters will really run her card through genuine credit card readers.

Even the status of identity-related crimes on state highways is also worsening. Police records show that identity crime arrests have increased by 53 percent in the past three years. These can be broken down into forgery, falsification, using a fake driver’s license, giving a fictitious name to an officer, or signing a false name on statements.

The emails sent bear the subject InDesign CS4 License Key, and looks very convincing. It is not easy for users to suspect that the emails are spam. It uses very subtle encouragement for them to explore what is new about InDesign and how its features were enhanced. The email bears an attachment that supposedly contains tips, tutorials, and eSeminars.

It was noted that there were different versions of emails; each one being slightly different from the other. The emails also used different reference numbers in the subject line. Some attachments bear the filename “AdobeSystems-Software_Critical Update Dec_2011-[random].zip”; others have the filename “License_key_ID[random number].zip”.

Hackers know that users are concerned about their security so they use subtle threats in their emails. To make sure that users open the attachment, they “promise” such things as advanced features. Furthermore, there is insinuation that work productivity would not be enhanced unless users open the file.

Users who do not have sufficient knowledge about how malwares are spammed out are likely to open the attachment. Not realizing that it contains malicious software, they will install it and so, their Windows computers are infected with it. Sophos said that its antivirus software detects the malware as the Troj/Bedo-MY Trojan horse. It also reminded users that Adobe would not send emails to people and attach its updates in them. Users have to always remember that Adobe only uses its own website where users can visit for legitimate updates.

For a long time, consumers’ online activities have been tracked by the use of “cookies”. Websites send cookies to the consumer’s computer, and this makes it easy for data miners to easily discover their choices of online activities. With enough information gathered, companies can target specific products and services to online consumers. It is difficult for consumers to protect themselves because most of them do not know how to turn off cookies. They need to make an extra effort in finding out the browser’s privacy settings so that they can opt out of cookies. Now, this one is not easy even for the experienced user.

It is true that some consumers might benefit from data mining. This is especially true for those who make online purchases because discounts and other offers may be available if they wish to buy the same item again. However, most consumers find targeted advertisements annoying and threatening to their privacy. That is why authorities are continually finding ways to protect consumers from these kinds of unsolicited ads.

The FTC wanted to simplify the “opt out” issue through the proposal that it has issued. If approved, consumers can opt out of cookies more easily and, if they wish, turn it off permanently. In the past, users were presented with very lengthy privacy policies. Aside from this, the terms used are difficult to understand except for those who have some background in law. In the FTC’s proposal, consumers would be allowed to know who is tracking their online activities. More importantly, they will be given the power to permanently refuse cookies.

From this proposal, consumer watchdogs and companies that maintain websites can come together. They could then come up with guidelines for consumer protection without prejudice to innovation on the web.

The woman took the identity of her ex-boyfriend, who works as a police narcotics officer. The posts that were mostly self-destructive appeared to be made by him. There was one comment that talked about his being “high all the time”. Others mentioned his disreputable activities like frequenting prostitutes and escort services, and that he had herpes.

Impersonation, however it is done, is aimed at obtaining a benefit for one’s own self or to injure or defraud another. Way back in 2006, the issues of online impersonation and cyber bullying came out and quickly spread. It all started with the suicide of a 13-year-old girl who became a target online by a fictitious 13-year old boy. The case concluded with the “boy” being identified actually as the mother of another teenage girl.

The lawyer of the New Jersey woman nearly succeeded in his attempt to have the case dismissed. The attorney said that electronic communications is not mentioned in the New Jersey law. This prompted the New Jersey legislature to look into the law and to make such needed amendments. The lawyer continued by saying that the move to make revisions on the current law is an admission that his client’s action is not covered by it.

The case at hand may or may not amount to something, but what is clear at present is that identity theft can really be destructive. Just this simple case of faking a Facebook page can ruin one’s reputation and character. There seems to be no effective way of checking with 100% accuracy the identity of a user. There is a possibility that any user could just be pretending to be someone else.

Behind the scenes of the beneficial effects of internet technology are those unscrupulous criminals who use that same technology to carry out their own agenda. There is a very high risk of cyber attacks, coming in different forms. There is espionage, malware, denial-of-service, cyber war, and terrorism that lurk behind the interconnected systems. This is one concern that needs to be addressed not only by individual networks, but by the cooperative effort of all.

Network protection is becoming more and more important, and researchers in Germany have proposed a new approach to it. They believe that the risk of cyber attack could be reduced by rewarding those organizations that support their own network security. They have observed that those organizations who have implemented this strategy have greatly reduced the spread of malware and other problems. Today, communications that are internet and computer-based are, for the most part, done anonymously. This results in systems becoming ever more vulnerable to cyber attacks and harassment.

The researchers explained that international or national agreements could be a start to a coordinated system of rewards. They also suggest that organizations which are highly exposed to cyber attacks should be subsidized. They added that network security on vulnerable sites should be improved in order to hinder the spread of malicious software. This is how cyber criminals create bot-nets that attack not only weak corporate networks, but others that they also find appealing.

At present, there are only very few participants who invest in cyber attack protection that benefits them. Although it adds to their cost, the entire internet community would also be indirectly benefited. The researchers believe that with a reward system in place, small and large networks can become involved. It could be a scaled reward system that would motivate them to ensure that their systems are secure.

Supporters of the revision say that there is a need to update the law’s provisions. They say that today’s breed of teenagers is not mature enough to evaluate and be aware of the dangerous aspects of the internet. They observe that children are becoming more technologically advanced. This makes it possible for them to effortlessly cope with the fast changing technology. What they lack is the ability to self-regulate in time with existing technology. This can result in privacy problems, thus the need to include children in the higher age bracket.

Websites and other providers are required to obtain verifiable approval from parents before they can collect information from children. This means that the consent must be proven to have been given by the parents. The revised consent will use more sophisticated verification methods. Examples are video-conferencing and electronic scans of consent forms, which would be signed by parents. Lack of this evidence will prohibit the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information of children.

The privacy protection rules apply when children are on a cellular phone, playing interactive games online, or participating in a virtual community. Millions of users are flocking to Facebook, Twitter and Google+. This is what signaled the call to change the age threshold. One of the emerging problems is online privacy, which has been brought up by parents regarding their own children.

Some critics say that lawmakers should be aware of the downside of extending the age bracket. The issue is about the inevitable increase in the number of children lying about their age. Many children would claim that they are over 18 years old just to evade any restrictions placed on them. Others are cautious about the possible infringement of children’s rights as stipulated in the First Amendments. Whatever lawmakers decide, the important matter is that children’s privacy must never be forgotten.

To rule out speculation that a police officer committed a complicated crime, police officials have ordered the DNA testing of law enforcement personnel. This unpopular order was issued after the deaths of eight women in Louisiana in 2009. These were cases of a serial killer that showed a high degree of “workmanship” in committing the murders. Rumors spread that a police officer was involved in the killings. Consequently, all officers in Louisiana agreed to undergo testing. The final outcome showed that the killer was not among them.

Some officers feel that this DNA collection is not something they should give much attention to. They say that having a DNA file of police officers is important in conducting crime scene investigations because it would make it easier for them to recognize unknown genetic materials found at crime scenes.

However, others believe that handing over their DNA should not be an easy decision. There are many privacy concerns that have to be clarified prior to giving in to this DNA collection. Those who do not believe in the idea of DNA profiling say that there have to be safeguards in place. Owners of the DNA should have a clear understanding as to how this DNA would be handled and by making sure that it is treated with extreme care.

Police unions have also given their official stand concerning this matter. Their officials have told their members about the possible outcome of agreeing to their DNA being profiled. They said that there are no controls as to the storage of the DNA, so there is a high likelihood of privacy and abuse problems.

Some countries like the United Kingdom and Australia have been keeping files of DNA of their officers for several years. It was in 1995 when the U.K. government started their system of keeping a database of criminal suspects. The United States later adopted this same system, and the country is believed to have the world’s largest DNA database of criminals today.

Then, targeted advertising was popularized by companies that use this collected personal information. They have accumulated so much of it that they could build profiles of users, especially when it comes to their product preferences. Immediately, privacy advocates cautioned users to be more prudent when sharing their personal data. Despite intensive consumer education, privacy issues got worse, and problems cropped up.

Sometime later, many websites presented their privacy policies without hiding anything. They gave users the option of whether or not to share their personal information. There are those websites that honestly tell their users the purpose of collecting this information. However, technology is continuously improving and more subtle ways of data gathering are being invented.

One of the latest of these technologies is Amazon’s Silk Web Browser. This is not exactly new because Opera has already been using this same technology for years. The Silk Web Browser is intended to be used with Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet. With this, users can surf the internet at optimized speed, giving them a different experience than they had with their previous browsers. On its own servers, Amazon optimizes and compresses every page that users visit, thereby increasing speed and hastening load times.

It is here where privacy concerns again come into play. Amazon can collect and store information about users’ surfing habits. This is because every page that users visit goes through Amazon’s servers. Amazon would be able to record the kinds of sites visited, how much time users spend on them, and what they do there.

The company was asked by Congress to answer the questions that they posed. On Amazon’s side, a representative said that data collected will be anonymous. In addition, users can opt to turn off this feature, if they wish. In the end, users will be the ones to decide whether or not they will share their information with Amazon. They just have to choose between either surfing at faster speeds by allowing their personal information to be collected and used for other purposes, or to not provide information and surf at slower speeds.