Some people think that what they do on the Internet is private -- that no one else knows or sees -- but that couldn't be further from the truth.
Not only do social media sites allow others to see what you are doing and who your friends are, but most web search engines track your every Internet move and use that information to direct information and advertising to you and to others.
I was at first amazed at how this worked. I'd look up an item on the Internet for pricing or information and, you guessed it, suddenly I was receiving Internet ads with those very items. Was it coincidence? Not at all!
How do they do it? Well, each computer or device accessing the Internet is assigned an Internet protocol or IP address, enabling Web search engines and websites to identify the specific address of computers and devices accessing a website and track what was viewed on the site. In that way, Internet advertisers can target that IP address with specific advertising.
For example, on some of the websites I have built, I can view site statistics which tell me IP addresses, computer operating systems, web browsers used, the date and time a user visited the site, which pages were viewed and for how long.
And IP addresses can also provide information on the Internet service provider and, at least with the help of the ISP, the specific name and location of the Web user. That's how law-enforcement agencies can locate specific physical addresses and computers used in criminal activity, whether for illegal pornography or other criminal purposes.
Unless encryption is used, texting, chatting and sending email is about like sending a postcard through the mail. Everyone along the way can read your message.
Our government may deny gathering data on U.S. citizens via their Internet use, but I don't believe it for a second. If Facebook, Google and a host of other Web giants can and do track our every move on the Internet in order to direct advertising and services our way and make money, why should I think governments are not gathering and filtering data to learn of activities they view as a potential threat to national security or governmental operations?
And, if our government was not gathering such data from Internet use, why would it need and build a huge data center in Utah with a projected data storage capacity of a yottabyte -- that's 1 trillion terabytes or a thousand trillion gigabytes. (Just for comparison, world population is roughly 7 billion people. If every person in the world had a computer with a terabyte hard drive full of data, that would hardly put a dent in the storage capacity projected for the new NSA data center.)
I tell people not to do on the Internet what they wouldn't do on a crowded street corner with people watching because there are probably more people watching what is done on the Internet than on any busy street corner.
My point is simply this: don't expect privacy when you launch out into the World Wide Web. Lots of folks are watching and tracking your every move and using the information they gather for a variety of purposes ranging from marketing, hacking, national security and more.
Some would tell us: "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear." And if everyone were honest and of good moral character, that might be true. But, when you remember how bits of information can be used for criminal intent or how they can be taken, twisted and used to destroy people's lives, perhaps we have a few bytes to fear. At the least, caution should be used in posting, publishing, sending email and surfing the Web. You can be sure people are watching, and their intent may not always be good.
Randy Moll is the managing editor of the Westside Eagle Observer. He may be contacted at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 08/20/2014