As the number of people and the ways in which they use the Internet continue to grow, legitimate businesses and would-be cyber criminals alike are becoming increasingly interested in where your on-line travels take you.
Businesses want to know which web sites you visit so that they can improve the effectiveness of their marketing efforts. Criminals want to know where you’ve been in hopes of collecting information they can exploit such as credit card and social security numbers. Though both businesses and criminals can use increasingly sophisticated methods to track your Internet usage, there are several relatively easy things you can do to make it harder for others to collect your personal information.
Install a Firewall The most important step you can take is to install a firewall. This is especially true with a high-speed connection. Computers using high-speed access to the Internet are vulnerable to unauthorized access because their connection is always on. This convenient feature of high-speed Internet access always leaves a window open to the world wide web. A firewall puts bars on that window.
For customers who dial-up to the Internet, the risk of unauthorized access is not as great because of the temporary nature and the slower speed of the connection. However, installing a software firewall like ZoneAlarm on a computer using a dial-up connection will make it more secure and not hinder its on-line performance.
Don't share your hard drive over the Internet
All modern personal-computer operating systems give you the ability to share files and printers over a network. This feature allows computer worms and viruses to spread by searching for computers with unprotected shared disks. These programs can strike your computer from across the street or across the world. The easiest way to protect your computer is to turn off file and printer sharing. Most people only need these services if they have several computers connected together in a home network.
Be careful what programs you run
Computer worms and viruses that enter your computer through programs you’ve downloaded can do a lot of damage to your system. They can scramble the information on your computer's hard drive or even scan your computer system for credit-card numbers and other kinds of financial information. Firewalls can minimize the danger of running hostile software. They can block all programs on your computer from using your Internet connection unless you specifically give that program permission.
Beware of public machines
Many hotels, libraries, and universities now have computer terminals where you can sit down and use a high-speed Internet connection. But while these computers can be extraordinarily convenient, they can be unsafe as well. You must be careful of the information and material you are viewing on these public machines. Leaving behind important information can lead to theft. Always exit out of all programs and don’t use information that is private on public machines.
Be careful what you write and where you send it
The greatest enemy of your privacy on the Internet today may be yourself. Remember, every e-mail message you send, every posting you make on a Web site, every word that you type in chat or instant messaging, can be recorded, indexed, and archived indefinitely. Sadly, the best way to protect yourself from misappropriated missives and misaddressed messages is to be careful about what you put into electronic messages.