Internet privacy
Internet is involved in everything in life. People now have the ability to use internet for mailing, business and even online education. Internet users like their information to be private online. Privacy online can be lost by personal action, actions with organizations and companies or hackers’ attacks. Internet users can do simple things to protect their privacy from hackers’ attacks. With simple actions hackers can earn big amounts of money and cause companies and people big problems. Statistics prove that attacking privacy online is common.
What Would Be the Problem If Privacy Online Was Violated? And What Can A Hacker Do?
E-mails contain private communications. They contain private information that can be used against victims. If privacy is not guaranteed, hackers will steal money from people by capturing their credit cards’ information. They can steal from e-currencies accounts as well. Internet users want their personal information to be hidden when they talk about controversial issues online because they could be targeted (Walton). Some hackers attack other internet users online with hidden identities. Some of them “elude law enforcement authorities through anonymous mailings and postings”. Hackers can sneak into big companies’ databases and cause troubles. There are disagreements about internet privacy in the United States (Walton).
How Can An Internet User Expose His Private Information Online Unintentionally?
1. “Signing up for Internet service”: When a person wants to join an internet service, he joins by an “Internet Service Provider (ISP)”. After he joins the service, the computer will have something called the “IP address (Internet Protocol address)”. Every PC in the world has a different IP address. The IP address is not a part of an individual’s personal information. But if the hacker is professional he will be able to violate the user’s privacy with it (Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, “Cyberspace”).
2. Using email: If anyone sends a message through his e-mail, the recipient will be able to identify his e-mail easily (Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, “Cyberspace”).
3. “List-serves”: “When participating in online discussion groups, which are sometimes called “list-serves,” remember that either the sender or the recipient can consent to the inspection or disclosure of the e-mail”. When a person joins a group he can send messages to thousands of people, but with every message he reveals his e-mail address (Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, “Cyberspace”).
4. “Browsing the Internet”: When someone surfs the web, he gives websites unintentionally information about him by the internet browser. Websites can capture his IP address and recognize his favorite websites.
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