Privacy Polices Online

The internet can bring many benefits to our daily lives. Unfortunately, it may create many new threats to our personal privacy as well. Unless you know the privacy "rules of the road," your online activity may lead to significant privacy problems.

The internet raises some unique privacy concerns. Information sent over this vast network may pass through dozens of different computer systems on the way to its destination. Each of these systems may be managed by a different system operator, and each system may be capturing and storing online communications. Furthermore, the online activities of internet users can potentially be monitored, both by their own online service provider and by the system operator of any sites on the internet which they visit.

Often the level of privacy you can expect from an online activity will be clear from the nature of that activity. Sometimes, however, an activity that appears to be private may not be. There are virtually no online activities or services that guarantee an absolute right of privacy.

Many online activities are open to public inspection. Engaging in these types of activities does not normally create an expectation of privacy. In fact, according to Federal law, it is not illegal for anyone to view or disclose an electronic communication if the communication is "readily accessible" to the public.

For example, a message you post to a public newsgroup or forum is available for anyone to view, copy and store. In addition, your name, email address and information about your internet service provider are usually available for inspection as part of the message itself. Most public postings made on the internet are archived in searchable databases. Thus, on the internet, your public message can be accessed by anyone at anytime - even years after the message was originally written.

You should not expect that your service account information will be kept private. Most services provide online "member directories" which publicly list all subscribers to the service. Some of these directories may list additional personal information. Most internet service providers will allow users to have their information removed from these directories upon request. Be aware that some service providers may sell their membership lists to direct marketers. There are also web sites that allow you to search for people with their email address to find their address and telephone number.

Semi Private Activities Often the presence of security or access safeguards on certain forums or services can lead users to believe that communications made within these services are private. For example, some bulletin board services maintain forums that are restricted to users who have a password. While communications made in these forums may initially be read only by the members with access, there is nothing preventing those members from recording the communications and later transmitting them elsewhere. Keep in mind how you became a member of such a service. Did they require much information about yourself to "accept" you into their group?

Private Services Virtually all online services offer some form of "private" activity which allows subscribers to send personal email messages to others. The Federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act makes it unlawful for anyone to read or disclose the contents of an electronic communication. This law applies to email messages.

However, there are three important exceptions to that act:

1. The online service may view private email if it suspects the sender is attempting to damage the system or harm another user. However, random monitoring of email is prohibited.
2. The service may legally view and disclose private email if either the sender or the recipient of the message consents to the inspection or disclosure. Many commercial services require a consent agreement from new members when signing up for the service.
3. If the email system is owned by an employer, the employer may inspect the contents of employee email on the system. Therefore, any email sent from a business location is probably not private. Several court cases have determined that employers have a right to monitor email messages of their employees.

Records of user "browsing patterns" are a potentially valuable source of revenue for online services. This information is useful to direct marketers as a basis for developing highly targeted lists of online users with similar likes and behaviors. It may also create the potential for "junk email" Additionally, this information may be embarrassing for users who have accessed sensitive or controversial materials online.

The practice of collecting browsing patterns is increasing. Online users should be aware that this practice poses a significant threat to online privacy. It is a good idea to contact the service provider and ask whether this type of information is collected on the system. Additionally, online users should educate themselves about what information is transmitted to remote computers by the software that they use to browse remote sites.

The Federal Trade Commission urges commercial website operators to spell out information collection practices in privacy policies posted on web sites. You can look for a privacy "seal of approval" on the web site you are visiting. The Council of Better Business Bureaus offers a Privacy Seal to companies around the world that agree to the standards of privacy the CBBB has implemented. Visit www.bbbonline.org for information on the BBBOnLine Privacy Seal.

When you are sitting alone at your computer "surfing the net", sending email and participating in online forums, it's easy to be lulled into thinking that your activities are private.

Your online accounts are only as secure as their passwords. Create passwords with nonsensical combinations of upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols. Change your passwords frequently. Never write them down or give them to someone else. Don't let others watch you login with your passwords. Never leave your computer logged on unattended. Keep these passwords as safe as you would your bank and credit card PIN numbers. They are just as important to protect your privacy.

Safeguards to consider:

• Contact your online service provider and ask for their privacy policy. All service providers should have a well defined, written policy concerning privacy. Those that do not should be avoided. Likewise, when you are surfing the net, look for the privacy policies posted on the web sites you visit. If you are not satisfied with the policy, or if there is no policy posted, do not spend time on that site.
• Shop around. Investigate new services before using them. A good way to do this is to post a question about a new service in a dependable forum or newsgroup. Bad reputations get around quickly in cyberspace, so if others have had negative experiences with a service, you should get the message.
• Assume that your online communications are not private unless you use powerful encryption. Do not send sensitive personal information by chat rooms, forum postings, email or in your online biography.
• Be cautious of "start-up" software that makes initial connection to the service for you. Often these programs require you to provide credit card numbers, checking account numbers, Social Security numbers or other personal information and then upload this information automatically to the service. Also, these programs may be able to access records in your computer without your knowledge. Contact the service for alternative subscription methods.
• Be aware that online activities leave electronic footprints for others to see, both at your own service provider and at any remote sites you visit. Your own service provider can track which sites you visit.
• If your online service provider allows you to compile a list of favorite web sites, or lets you arrange web sites by priority, be aware that they can monitor that list. Do not place controversial or sensitive newsgroups in this list if you want to avoid being connected to particular issues.
• The "delete" command does not make your messages disappear. They can still be retrieved from backup systems.
• Your online biography, if you create one, may be searched system wide or remotely by anyone. Ask the system operator of your service provider to remove your its online directory.
• Be aware that others online identities are not always what they seem. Many network users adopt one or more online disguises.
• If you publish information on a personal web page, note that direct marketers and others may collect any information you provide.
• If your children are online users, teach them about appropriate online privacy behavior. Caution them against revealing information about themselves or your family. The computer should be placed in a high traffic area of the home so adults are able to supervise children's online activities easily. There is a Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, that requires by law businesses collecting information from children knowingly under the age of 13 to meet the CIPPA regulations. For more information visit www.bbbonline.org for the BBB's Kids Privacy Seal for details.
• Take advantage of privacy protection tools. There are several technologies which help online users to protect their privacy. Many online service providers have their own tools in place to be used if the users desire. They are not to replace common sense and adult supervision of children using the internet.
• Most software companies provide updates to their software which often fix privacy issues originally missed when the software was created. The updates are usually free and can be found on the company's web site.

This information is general in nature and is not intended as a reliability report on any company, product, or service.