Tips for Protecting Personal Privacy

By Alan Gahtan - LEXPERT Magazine, March 2000

There are many ways in which your online privacy can be compromised. The following are some tips for protecting yourself:

Some Web sites require cookies in order to navigate within the site and it is not usually feasible to configure web browsers to automatically reject all cookies. However, web browsers can be configured to ask for approval before accepting new cookies.
On a periodic basis (daily or weekly), you should delete all stored cookies (or at least all cookies except those you specifically decide to retain). DoubleClick's "opt-out" mechanism relies on the placement of a special cookie on your computer (i.e., you must trust DoubleClick that it will not track your activities using this special cookie).
Configure your browser to operate with more than one user profile. This would, in effect, provide you with multiple identities. You may also want to review the various software programs that can "manage" multiple online identities.
Install "ad blocking" software on your computer. If the display of an ad is suppressed, your browser will not initiate a communication with the ad management company.
Install personal firewall software on your computer which requires you to explicitly authorize each software program that is permitted to communicate with the outside world. This will reduce your vulnerability to software programs which install "trojan horses" which can used by hackers to access your computer.
Conduct searches for new domain names only on reputable domain name databases. An unscrupulous operator of a domain name database could review logs of recent searches and then itself register names which were searched but not immediately registered.
Conduct confidential Web keyword searches only on Internet search engines which do not permit third parties to view recent searches. Many popular search engines allow third parties to monitor searches being performed on their indexes. Links are available at <www.LegalPortal.ca> if you wish to see how this works.
Avoid using services such as Alexis which is used to follow you around while you surf the Web.
If you use Netscape Navigator, be sure to turn off the "Smart Browsing / What's Related" feature.
Make sure your browser does not know your e-mail address. Such addresses can be easily extracted by Web sites you visit.
If possible, avoid subscribing to an "always on" Internet service (such as from your cable company) if the company will assign your PC an Internet Protocol (IP) address which will remain constant. Bell Sympatico's High Speed DSL service will force a different IP address on your computer every few hours. Visit <http://privacy.net/> to check if your computer is always being assigned the same IP address and to also view what other valuable information is being disclosed by your computer. Also, turn off your computer or disconnect the modem when not in use.
If you want to visit Web sites with greater anonymity, consider using a service such as Anonymizer at <http://www.anonymizer.com>.
Delete confidential client documents from your home computer after you have finished working on them and transferred them to the office computer.
Use virus protection software to scan all new software you download from the Internet.
Avoid purchasing a computer with an Intel Pentium III processor unless it permits you to turn off the ability to read the unique serial number embedded in each such processor.
When installing new software that requires registration, choose an offline registration mechanism (for instance, print and fax the registration) rather than permitting the software to communicate with the vendor directly through the Internet.

If you use an Internet-based e-mail program, including Outlook, turn off any split-window display which presents the contents of an e-mail message which is selected in another window. Delete, without reading, any new messages that appear to be unsolicited advertisements. These measures will help protect your computer from marketers who exploit a security hole, present in Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Netscape's Navigator browser, which can allow such parties to grab the IP address of your computer and also send you a cookie which is linked to your e-mail address.

© 2005 Alan M. Gahtan. All Rights Reserved | Use is subject to these Legal Terms
Disclaimer: Not all materials may be applicable in your jurisdiction. Not intended to be a substitute for professional advice. No implied endorsement of, or affiliation with, any linked sites. Path to individual pages may change - please link to home page only. Linking Info