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How Concerned Should You Be About Internet Privacy?

Published in the September edition of 
Computer Link Magazine

In recent months, just about every newspaper and magazine has covered the topic of Privacy on the Internet. Memories of George Orwell’s book, 1984, and the more recent TV show, Big Brother, immediately come to most people’s mind. Are you being watched? Does someone know every move you make? While I agree, it is important to pay attention to how much personal information you share over the Internet and to whom you share it with, I also think that people often overlook the advantages and benefits of sharing limited personal information. 

Getting the Information I Want
Yahoo! provides a wonderful service personalized service called my.yahoo! By answering a few personal questions, I am now able to go to a customized page on the Internet that provides news and information that’s important to me. It’s like I receive my own daily newspaper everyday featuring only items I want to read about. For example, I’m not much of a sports fan. In my local newspaper, one section is wholly dedicated to Sporting news and events and I usually throw that section in the recycle bin without ever even glancing at it. While I recognize the fact that Sports news is interesting to many people, it seems like a waste of paper to me. With my Yahoo! account, there is nothing wasted and, more importantly, with the Internet no time is wasted. I also receive a variety of other custom services including stock quotes, movie times, and even local TV listings. While all of the items are included in my local newspaper, I usually have to look through a long list to find just the items I want. 

In addition to these services, I also receive a free email account. One of the unique benefits of having this account is that I receive promotional offers that are targeted to my individual interests. For example, while writing this article, I checked my email and received a message about a new technical product that could help me with the work that I do (when I’m not writing articles). Ordinarily, this offer may never have reached me, or if it did, it might have come in the mass of letters and direct mail offers I receive, and usually discard, everyday. 

At first glance this probably sounds like another way to receive junk mail, only in electronic form. But the reality of the matter is that this type of email is more important and useful to me than the spam (unsolicited email) I receive in my other email accounts. The reason why is simple. Yahoo! knows more about me than my ISP does, and therefore, I only receive information from them that matches my profile. In essence, they provide the service of sorting my email and once again, only sending me items I might be interested in. (I don’t receive any emails about sports or sporting related products). 

The Knowledgeable Store Clerk 
Some of the biggest negatives of shopping at superstores are the lack of knowledgeable sales clerks and the limited personal attention. Like many Internet users, I have a favorite online bookstore that I shop at frequently. One of the nicest things about shopping there is that every time I return, they recognize me and welcome me back to their store. In addition, they always have updated recommendations on books that I might be interested in. How do they know what I would like? They pay attention. They keep track of every book I’ve ordered and let me know when related books come out. 

To many people this can be perceived as an invasion of privacy, but I feel that the benefits far outweigh any negative impacts. Besides, who else but me really cares about what books I’ve ordered? I’m a firm believer that I am in control of how and where I spend my money, so making a recommendation to me about what books I should consider helps me, it doesn’t make me buy things I don’t want or need. 

When To Be Concerned
The biggest concern most people have about privacy on the Internet relates to credit card numbers. Because of these concerns, I’ve found that the Internet has become one of the safest places to use your credit card. 

I recently attended a large Internet seminar and sat in on a presentation with a speaker from a fortune 500 company. She started off her presentation by asking how many people (in a room with several hundred people) had direct experience with credit card fraud on the web. No one in the room raised their hand. The speaker then went on to say that she’s been asking the same question for 4 years in similar seminars and had yet to see anyone raise their hand. 

Why Are Credit Cards Safe?
I believe the primary reason credit card transactions are so secure has been driven by the concerns of the average Internet user. Virtually every site that accepts credit cards uses encryption technologies to make sure your data is safe, both when transmitted, as well as when stored in the database. Imagine a similar scenario in the analog world. You go to pay your bill at a restaurant and when you hand the waiter your credit card, he looks at the number, transposes the number into another number that has an extensive mathematical equation that is only known by the bartender who processes your transaction. Once the transaction is processed, you are presented with a receipt that has some other number than your credit card. It seems to me that the analog world has a long way to go to catch up with the security on the web. (Just be sure to check and make sure there is an image of a key or lock in the lower corner of your browser window before you submit your card number). 

On the Internet, personalization can provide substantial benefits to make your life easier and save you time, and the elements are in place to make sure your information is protected. So, I encourage everyone to take advantage of those benefits. Just make sure you pay attention to the details and you’ll start to reap the rewards of the web.