Individual Privacy
Most privacy issues have their basis found in individual privacy. Individuals have certain information, which they wish to be kept private. This usually only becomes an issue when they share this information with others. Nowadays, this is often done over the Internet. Most governments and larger companies have databases containing private information, which are connected to the Internet. People need to know that their private information won’t be compromised, or they quickly lose trust. This is a matter that corporations take seriously, and is discussed more fully on the corporate privacy page.
Individuals themselves are increasingly depending on the Internet, for work, for information and for entertainment. Many aspects of this involve their privacy, from simple web surfing through to perhaps checking their financial information online or purchasing products online.
Web Surfing
There are several privacy concerns with simply surfing the web, that is, viewing web pages online. Perhaps people don’t wish others to know what sites they’re visiting, or perhaps they’re transmitting sensitive information to the sites they visit – or perhaps they feel it’s simply no one else’s business.
Visiting virtually any website is a privacy concern to the paranoid, as the site itself will collect various titbits of information. Privacy.net has a simple online interface that will collect all the information the users browser sends and show them a report detailing the information. For most intents and purposes, the information gathered by a server is harmless and only of technical interest to the server. It is when this information is collated and sorted that it becomes a privacy concern. As an example, a site owner may be able to trace previous sites that a visitor has been to. There is generally little a user can do to avoid this. There are certain products that allow users to surf the web from an anonymous third party address, but they are often not efficient.
Spyware
Another concern is through the installation, often unknowingly, of third party “spyware” – small applications that gather information and send it to someone. These are commonly bundled together with software packages in order for the parent company to track usage of their product. Careful reading of product information before installation can often avoid spyware.
Email has become a primary source of communication in recent years, and a very valid privacy concern. Unlike normal postal mail, very few countries have laws guaranteeing the privacy of email. In fact, it is common practice for employers to scan through the email of their employees, and most third-party email providers don’t guarantee the privacy of their email. In light of this, it would be wisest to assume that any email may be read by anyone else.
Malicious Users
Yet another privacy risk arises from malicious users – people who use malicious means to gain access to information. Some of the most common methods involve tricking an individual into installing software that grants the malicious user access to private information. This is usually done by pretending the software is something else – either another respectable program or perhaps a simple web page. Once the individual has installed the software, the malicious user may be able to gain access to anything from their personal information stored on their computer to the passwords required to access their bank account.
Another common method used to gain access to private information is through flaws or vulnerabilities in legitimate software installed on an individual’s computer. These vulnerabilities may allow third parties to access private information directly, or perhaps allow them to install software that will grant them access.
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