Chapter 9 - Privacy

The technology nowadays allowed people can share and collect data and information through Internet and website. The question that I wonder is the data and information collected by people is it correct and use in proper way ？ Let's us imagine, if your information are shared by someone and the person use it in the illegal way, it creates a privacy problems. If the person get your information in illegal way, it creates privacy and security problems. Privacy concerns the collection and use of data about individuals. There are three primary privacy laws :

• Accuracy : the responsibility of those who collect data in a secure way and ensure that the data is correct

• Property : the data belongs to who

• Access : the responsibility of those who have data to control who is able to use that data

Data is valuable especially for the private data and information.

Data Collectors include :

• Government agencies – large databases include databases for business
• Telephone companies – compile lists of the calls we make; reverse directory is a special telephone directory that lists telephone numbers sequentially and can be used to gather data about the persons we call

Exist of information resellers who provide this gathered data to others for a fee and information brokers. The technology nowadays is easily for people to create electronic profile.

Impact of large databases :

• Spreading information without personal consent – example: collecting your shopping habits and sharing, medical records or driver’s license number - people were victimized by identity theft (illegal assumption of someone’s identity for economic gain)
• Spreading inaccurate information – Mistakes happen, but when those mistakes are recorded and your financial position is affected it becomes a problem
• Mistaken Identity – an electronic profile of one person is switched with another

Under the Freedom of Information Act you are entitled to look at your records held by government agencies

Private Network

- Currently legal for employers to monitor electronic mail using snoopware (an employee-monitoring software which records virtually everything you do on your computer)

Privacy on the Internet and Web

• Illusion of anonymity -when surf the internet and sending e-mail (people tracing other people through Internet activity, when you browse the Web your activity is monitored)

• a history file includes the locations of sites visited by your computer system when you visit a Web site your browser stores critical information onto your hard disk (usually without your permission or knowledge)

• Spyware - adware cookies record your activities across different sites. Once deposited onto a hard drive, they continue to actively collect information on Web activities. 

1. also known as keystroke loggers
2. Web bugs - Small images or HTML code hidden within an e-mail message

                              - When a user opens the message information is sent back to the source of the bug

       3. Computer monitoring software - Invasive and dangerous

                                                                    - Record activities and keystrokes

                                                                    - Also known as keystroke logger

        4. Anti-Spyware programs

• Cookies - Traditional cookies provide information to a single site. Most cookies are harmless and are intended to provide customized service.

• cookie-cutter programs - can control many types of cookies in browsers which allow users to selectively filter or block the most intrusive cookies while allowing selective traditional cookies to operate

• Privacy Modes can 
  • Eliminate history files
  • Block cookies
  • InPrivate Browsing : Internet Explorer
  • Private Browsing : Safari

My group members and I had presented this chapter with a title : Identify the most significant concerns  for effective implementation of computer technology. The presentation slide is attached in the comment.