www.1001TopWords.com |
Check Out That Privacy Policy
Before you enter your name, address or any other data in that form, STOP! Wait. Don't enter anything yet. If you do, you may be giving away personal information to strangers, and you know what your mom said about talking to strangers. Okay, back up a minute. You want to buy a new necklace for your wife at that great dot com you recently found. They require you to fill out a form first - your name, address, phone number and credit card information. They also want your email address, gender and income range. So you know these people? Think about it for a minute. How many of your friends (even your best ones) have you told your true age or how much money you make. Have you divulged your credit card data to your co-workers at work? Perhaps you give your social security number to the kid at the McDonalds? I didn't think so. Then why do you insist on giving this data to a faceless computer? You don't have any idea who is on the other side of the screen - yet every day you give away information that you would never dream of telling your parents or best friends. Before typing in the information look around the site until you find a link named "privacy". Usually it is on the bottom of the home page (at least), and good sites will have a link to it from EVERY page. Click on the link and read the policy from start to finish. Make sure you understand it - if there are any words you do not understand pull out your handy dictionary and check them out. Once you are done, read it again. Slowly. What's so important about this that it requires all this work? Look, you are giving out personal data about yourself. The web site owners have an obligation to inform you how this data is going to be used. Questions that should be answered by any decent privacy policy include:
Once you fully understand a privacy policy you can make an intelligent decision as to whether or not you want to give these people your information. I know it seems like a lot of work, but remember you don't know who these people are and you don't know what they will do with your information. If you read the privacy policy, you can at least understand what they will do with it. So now, go finish ordering new jewelry for your wife. That's important. About The Author Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And Secrets. This website includes over 1,000 free articles to improve your internet profits, enjoyment and knowledge. Web Site Address: http://www.internet-tips.net Weekly newsletter: http://www.internet-tips.net/joinlist.htm Claudia Arevalo-Lowe is the webmistress of Internet Tips And Secrets and Surviving Asthma. Visit her site at http://survivingasthma.com
|
RELATED ARTICLES
A Basic Introduction To Spyware Spyware is the most troublesome software to appear on theInternet in recent times. When spyware infects a computersystem, it may be relatively harmless or it may bedevastating. Burning Bridges is Bad, But Firewalls are Good When you signed up for that ultra-fast DSL or Cable connection there was probably one very important piece of information that your ISP failed to mention. By accessing the Internet via a high-speed connection, you have tremendously increased your chances of being victimized by a computer hacker. Is My PC Vulnerable on the Internet? No longer are viruses the only threat on the internet. In recent years other threats have evolved which include spyware, adware, hacking, identity theft, information theft, pop-ups and the loss of information. What is Spyware? The most frustrating part of having Spyware on your computer is the sheer feeling of helplessness that is invoked. Your computer slows down, it no longer does what you instructed it to, it seems to have a mind of its own. You effectively have lost control of your computer. Spyware (also referred to as Adware or Malware) is software that is installed on your computer without your consent. Spyware software monitors or controls your computer use. It may be used to send you pop-up ads, redirect your computer to websites, monitor your Internet surfing, or record your keystrokes, which, in turn, could lead to identity theft. Free Spyware Removal - Its Not As Easy As It Sounds Nobody wants to pay to remove spyware. At the very least, I don't. The blasted stuff shouldn't be on my computer anyway, so what ever would make me want to shell out cash to get rid of something that I shouldn't have in the first place? Spyware, What It Is, What It Does, And How To Stop It Spyware is software that runs on a personal computer without the knowledge or consent of the owner of that computer. The Spyware then collects personal information about the user or users of the infected computer. The personal information collected is usually the name of the user; the users email address, Websites visited, online shopping habits, as well as various other information about the user. The Risk Of Electronic Fraud & Identity Theft Electronic Fraud and Identity Theft-----------------------------------Human beings are pretty sensible when presented with an imminent threat or risk. That is, if it's staring us directly in the face. Many threats and risk are presented in subtle ways, and it is these subtleties we tend to overlook. The Bad Guys Are Phishing For Your Personal Information Do you know what "phishing" is? Phishing Recently I have received email from my bank/credit Card Company, eBay & pay pal saying that my account has possibly been compromised and I need to confirm my details and password in order to get continued access. Identity Theft Offline -- So Many Possibilities Chris Simpson, head of Scotland Yard's computer crime unit was unpleasantly surprised to learn how easy it is to cheat anybody out of his or her personal info -- by means of a fake survey. Internet Shopping - How Safe Is It? Millions of people make purchases online, but many people are still wary. They fear the unknown and have many doubts and questions about who they are dealing with. They are afraid of being scammed, and rightfully so. Online shopping can be a completely safe and rewarding experience provided you are dealing with a legitimate, reputable retailer. But how do you know if they are legitimate??? Here lies the "fear of the unknown." What is Hacking? Are You a Hacker? WHAT IS HACKING? Blogs as Safe Haven for Cybercriminals? To blog or not to blog? Well, why not? Lots of people like either to write or to read blogs -- sometimes both. The much-quoted survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, says 27 percent read blogs. 38 percent of all Internet users at least know what a blog is. The survey was made in November 2004 and estimated that 32 million Americans to be blog readers by the end of 2004. So now there must be much more blog readers and writers. All About Computer Viruses Your computer is as slow as molasses. Your mouse freezes every 15 minutes, and that Microsoft Word program just won't seem to open. Phishing, Fraudulent, and Malicious Websites Whether we like it or not, we are all living in the Information Age. We have nothing left but adapt to rapidly developing information technology, no matter who we are and what we do for living. Cybercriminals Trick: Targeted Trojan-Containing Emails Threats we ordinary Web users face online leave us no choice but learn. Haven't you noticed how many new things you learned lately? We are much better informed about malicious programs than just a year ago. Preventing Online Identity Theft Identity theft is one of the most common criminal acts in society today. Criminals will use your personal information such as banking accounts and passwords, to pretend that they are you. They may take out credit cards in your name, mortgages, or even worse. The internet has opened up a whole world of possibilities for these criminals, and the threat is very real. There are things that you can do to help prevent such a crime. It costs very little to protect your information, and it is money well spent. What Every Internet Marketer Should Know About Spyware If you run any type of Internet business, Adware and Spyware can be a very serious issue. These programs hide themselves on your computer and do all sorts of annoying and potentially dangerous things. Breaking Into Your PC: News... You'd better learn news from media, not from emails, security experts warn us users again. Spyware Attacks! Windows Safe Mode is No Longer Safe Many of us have run into an annoying and time-consuming error. With your machine running goofey you decide to run a scan for trojans and spyware. Following the scan, which usually takes fourty minutes or longer if you scan the entire system, you are hit with the "access denied" error. Frustrating, for sure, but being the savvy computer user that you are you decide to boot to safe mode to take care of the issue. No spyware can load when booted to safe mode, right? |
© Athifea Distribution LLC - 2013 |