Most of us would like to think that we have a right to personal privacy, but the evidence would suggest otherwise. Consider for a moment how many surveillance cameras have captured your image. And if you are in a car, your license plate can be imaged and identified. In addition, facial recognition software can identify you as well. So, if you go into a store your image will be captured, and when you buy something, it may have an RFID tag. (Radio Frequency ID) to track you purchases. And if you use a credit card, the information may be secure, but there is no certainty.
Now, lets think about what happens when you connect to the internet. Every time you connect to a site, a record of that visit is recorded with your IP address. The site can attach tracking cookies, send your information to other sites, and in some cases can attach adware, malware, and possible viruses. If you have an email account, it is probably scanning your mail for what Google calls contextual technology. A robot looks for words that it can use to place an advertisement for you to buy an associated product. That is the way "free" email sites make money. So what happens when you use a credit card or share other personal data? Even if it is a secure site, it may not be at all.
Now, I am not trying to spread paranoia, but it should be evident that we all have lost our anonymity as soon as we let our computer wander into the ether. Lets hope that we don't lose any more of ourselves.
Now, lets think about what happens when you connect to the internet. Every time you connect to a site, a record of that visit is recorded with your IP address. The site can attach tracking cookies, send your information to other sites, and in some cases can attach adware, malware, and possible viruses. If you have an email account, it is probably scanning your mail for what Google calls contextual technology. A robot looks for words that it can use to place an advertisement for you to buy an associated product. That is the way "free" email sites make money. So what happens when you use a credit card or share other personal data? Even if it is a secure site, it may not be at all.
Now, I am not trying to spread paranoia, but it should be evident that we all have lost our anonymity as soon as we let our computer wander into the ether. Lets hope that we don't lose any more of ourselves.
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