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| Helpful Hints | August 2006 |
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Who's Tracking Your Online Identity? |
| If you spend a lot of time online, looking for that special little spot on the web . . . then this may intrigue you. With all the information floating out freely on the WWW, you have to wonder, is someone watching you? Surfing the web is entertaining in many ways, and dangerous. This formed the usefulness of anti-spy ware products as well as pop-up blockers, and antivirus programs. That is a lot of protection, and it doesn't even include the recommended firewall. Have you ever had a pop-up show on your screen that asked you to buy products similar to a site you were surfing, or through random keywords you put into a search engine? That is no coincidence. There are companies that watch your every click, monitor your surfing habits, and offer services to you at their leisure. Someone is watching you, and they're not too shy about admitting it. Every computer online has to have an IP address to identify itself, it is the social security cards of computers. Without an IP address, computers cannot get online. What is your IP address? If you know it then read above-protect it like you would protect your social security card. With an IP address anyone can find out exclusive private information about you, and in extreme cases, take over your entire computer. However IP address trackers operate more on an annoying telemarketer function, and although harmless, is still a huge blow to privacy. If you just happened to see flash banners online with an interactive game, promising you'd win something if you'd win, then you would be surprised to see your location information filled in on the winners form after winning the game. The only thing missing would be some personable information such as your name and email address. This is what website trackers do, it is similar to MSN's and Yahoo's portal that can give you relevant information-only these website trackers ASK for your information before displaying the relevant details. Normally, with the protection available to computers we surf aimlessly without worry, not even considering how wide open our computers are. And with IP tracking software freely available to the public online, privacy becomes even worse to protect. Education is the best weapon, and ways to hide and protect your IP is freely available online. Greg Culver |
| About the Author Greg Culver is the owner of Cool Computing, which is a directory dedicated to providing information about computers and related information. |
