Privacy rights are very basic and in fact are guaranteed under the constitution. As applied in the worldwide web, or the internet, such rights are also being observed, and rightly so. Every known website guarantees all visitors that their rights to privacy will never be violated. This simply means that all information that visitors give away in a given website will never be used other than for those for which such information is requested. This is a basic security guaranteed by every internet site, and in almost all cases, each and every site is able to comply with such security requirements.
However, it is also a fact that in any given basket, rotten apples will always spring forth. The internet is no exception when it comes to this popular adage. There will always be cases of people making use of internet sites to promote their illegal activities or take advantage of people surfing the web by promising them great material rewards if they participate in a certain project.
Such frauds used to happen only on the streets or through newspaper or magazine ads and have been around for years. Somehow, such activities continued to flourish, and now have found their way online where they are presented in the form of unsigned emails or posted as colorful advertisements offering risk-free business opportunities.
Before, authorities find it quite hard to catch one con artist on the street. Today, the typical con artist becomes even harder to catch as he has become highly flexible, making extensive use of the online complex system to hide both his identity and his nefarious activity.
While every effort is being exerted by websites to make sure that all personal information provided by internet surfers remain confidential, it is unfortunate to note that some security measures put in place by these sites are quite easy to breach, exposing their visitors to untold dangers.
An additional problem with privacy rights of people in the internet arena is the fact that there are no formal and tangible laws that users can utilize in the event of a breach in a given website's privacy policy. Therefore, internet users who feel that their rights may have been violated by other users can only refer the violation to their respective governments where laws, when applicable, can be enforced. But even this can pose a problem since the internet is often seen as a new and different world, where existing laws may not be applicable.
Actually, it is not only through unsolicited emails that the privacy rights of internet users are often violated, though this is usually the most common means. There are also a number of cases wherein surfers are either harassed or abused by other people through the internet. This often happens in chatrooms where some people assume secret identities instead of using their real names when they participate in online dialogs with other people. Sensitive issues can eventually come up in the course of these online discussions, and this is where people of shady backgrounds often attack and take advantage of the trust gradually developed in the midst of the online chat.
Internet users themselves are sometimes at fault when the issue of online privacy is being discussed. This is because they fail to realize that a great amount of their privacy is actually lost each and every time they log on to the net. When they post messages on online bulletin boards, register as a new member in an adult website, post a blog entry, or purchase a book online, these are all recorded in the internet.
Even if these website activities are made in encrypted messages, most of the website systems keep records thereof and can access them quite easily so long as they have proof that communication took place between two contracting parties. This is not really impossible nowadays, especially with the invention of cookies, which can collect data from website visitors without asking for their permission. Many webmasters have been using this particular software for some time now as their primary means of keeping track of the number of people visiting their sites. This has made lots of people critical of the cookies software. They argue that its use has resulted in many internet subscribers actually losing their privacy. While efforts have been made to try to limit the kind of information being collected by a cookies software, these have not received much support since there are many adherents of the software.
The problem of security in the internet becomes more complex when it comes to public documents being posted on government websites. While these records are meant to be consumed by the public and can actually be accessed free of charge, they can possibly be used for illegal purposes since they are made available online. The good thing about government websites, however, is the fact that they regulate their databanks on a periodic basis, unlike private internet owners who keep all of their files active.
Providing websites personal information and signing them under an anonymous name can work, but most probably only for a limited period. This is because, ultimately, such data can be intercepted, especially by third parties, who may just happen to be hackers, or pure computer geniuses. If you think about it, this is not entirely impossible since most websites are in the habit of creating large databanks where they store their members' private information. For a genuine computer specialist, accessing such databases can be quite an easy and even fun activity.
There is also the issue of websites sticking to their promises of keeping members' personal information confidential. Actually, when we decide to provide websites data about ourselves, we are doing so in good faith. We just basically trust the website that it will keep its promise but in truth, we are giving them the power to decide if they want to distribute our personal data or not.
Of course, we are only talking here of individual privacy rights -- the privacy rights of companies are another thing. Yet, these too are susceptible to being breached and when this happens, the problem becomes bigger. While trade secrets, company transactions, deals, mergers, and the like may be stored in huge databases and protected by company passwords which effectively prohibits unauthorized entry, instances do happen when hackers are still able to penetrate even the most sophisticated form of company security. In such instances, the company ultimately gets compromised, which can result to millions being lost in damages alone.
In general, safety in the internet, especially with regards to protecting your privacy, can never be guaranteed one hundred percent. This becomes especially true when the very same site sworn to keep your private information private becomes the very first to violate such guarantee. In a way though, while communication through the internet is still generally classified as secured and safe, absolute security is something that most websites cannot guarantee. This is because in certain instances, the internet actually hates secrecy. It believes, as many internet users do, that all kinds of information flowing through it should be allowed to flow freely. This simply means that such information should be shared with each and every individual web surfer.
>>> Next: Effective Online Privacy Protection
<<< Previous: Internet Security Software
All content on this site are copyrighted and protected by law. The reviews are written exclusively for userreviews.com. Distribution, copying and in any other way re-using this information for private or commercial purpose is forbidden.
|
