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Law & Technology
Law and TechnologyDo-It-Yourself--Privacy Protection Online
By Deborah Pierce
Jul 04, 2002 -- As most regular readers of this column know, I usually write about a particular topic, explain the negative impacts (usually on your privacy), and then give a short list of things you can do about it. What has also probably become clear is that there aren't many laws on the books to protect your privacy, particularly online.With that in mind, this article will list categories of software that help you protect your privacy online, along with some sites where you can buy software or get it for free. I'm not endorsing any of these products, nor is this an exhaustive list of products or categories. Using one item from each category, however, will vastly protect your privacy online and enhance the security of your computer.
Surfing the Net Anonymously
If you have Caller ID you know that it allows you to see the phone number of the person who is calling you. Every web site has the equivalent of Caller ID for people who visit it; so, if you browse the Net without using an anonymous surfing service (call blocking, if you will), you're exposing to others a lot of information about your actions online. For a dramatic demonstration of just what you're exposing, visit www.privacy.net/analyze.
Here are a couple of services you can use to minimize the trail you leave when you are surfing the Net.
Anonymizer: www.anonymizer.com
Zero Knowledge Systems: www.zeroknowledge.com/, especially their Freedom Security and Privacy Suite: www.freedom.net/products/suite/
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NY Times article on ads and blocking software: www.nytimes.com/2002/06/27/technology/circuits/27STAT.html Links on Scumware: www.scumwarelinks.com/ Gator: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52132-2002Jun26.html (about a recent lawsuit) Comet cursor: www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,52985,00.html KaZaA: www.salon.com/tech/feature/2001/08/02/parasite_capital/ [KaZaZ claims they have no spyware: www.kazaa.com/en/privacy/spyware.htm] |
Think about the last ten email messages you've sent. Now think about this statement: "sending email without encrypting it is like sending a letter to your boyfriend, wife, lawyer, or employer through the postal mail on a postcard." To send encrypted email from now on:
Zendit: www.zendit.com/JoinIndividuals.asp is "Zendit for Individuals"
Hushmail: www.hushmail.com/
EnsuredMail: www.ensuredmail.com/
PrivacyX: www.privacyx.com/www/
PGP: http://www.pgpi.org/
Anonymizer and Zero Knowledge Systems, mentioned above, also provide encrypted email.
Encrypted Chat
Instant messaging (IM) services are more immediate than email, more convenient - and are just as exposed as non-encrypted email. If the post card analogy doesn't work for you, here's another old Net saying, modified for instant messaging: "don't put anything in email, chat, or IM that you wouldn't feel comfortable seeing on the front page of a newspaper". To send encrypted chat messages:
Trillian: www.trillian.cc
Get Rid of Spyware and Scumware
A current bane for Net users is the proliferation of spyware and scumware. Spyware is usually defined as software that transmits personal information gathered from your computer covertly and without your permission back to the home company who installed the spyware. Scumware inserts their own banner ads on top of the ads that a web site has sold to another company. Scumware is also installed covertly and is responsible for a lot of those annoying pop-up ads that you are starting to see on web sites.
The CEXX site www.cexx.org/adware.htm is a good general resource on spyware and scumware. Some specific examples of spyware and scumware (see the sidebar for links to stories) include Gator, Comet cursors, and KaZaA - but there are lots more.
For software that helps you block spyware:
Lavasoft's Ad-Aware: www.lavasoftusa.com/
Junkbuster/Guidescope: www.junkbusters.com/ht/en/guidescope.html
Spycop: www.spycop.com/
Kill Spam Now
We all get spam, we all hate spam, whether it's a from get rich quick schemes to porn. There are a few states that have anti-spam laws, including Washington (described as the toughest in the nation, and recently upheld by the Washington Supreme Court) and California. But, if you don't want to go to court to get relief from spammers, here's a few things you can do:
Junkbusters Spamoff: www.junkbusters.com/ht/en/spam.html
Inbox protector: www.inboxprotector.com/
Spam detective: www.emtec.com/spamdetective/index.html
A word about security
Of course, keeping your system secure is also important from the privacy standpoint; if somebody can hack into your system, then they can potentially get at whatever data you've got on the machine. Run a virus-checker and keep it up to date; make sure your system is configured securely; consider using a firewall. A recent PC Magazine article (www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1860,00.asp) reviews several different programs that supplement virus checkers by looking for "Trojans".
If any of you have other products that you've found to be useful, I'd love to hear from you.
Deborah Pierce is the founder and executive director of privacyactivism.org, which has its headquarters in Bellevue. She spent the last four years as a staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, www.eff.org. To contact her, send e-mail to editor@seattlepress.com, attention Deborah Pierce.
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