Monday, July 31, 2006

Who's Tracking Your Online Identity?

By: Greg Culver

If you spend a lot of time online, looking for that special
little spot on the web-then this may intrigue you. With all the
information floating out freely on the WWW, you have to wonder,
is someone watching you? Surfing the web is entertaining in many
ways, and dangerous. This formed the usefulness of anti-spy ware
products as well as pop-up blockers, and antivirus programs.
That is a lot of protection, and it doesn't even include the
recommended firewall.

Have you ever had a pop-up show on your screen that asked you to
buy products similar to a site you were surfing, or through
random keywords you put into a search engine? That is no
coincidence.

There are companies that watch your every click, monitor your
surfing habits, and offer services to you at their leisure.
Someone is watching you, and they're not too shy about admitting
it. Every computer online has to have an IP address to identify
itself, it is the social security cards of computers. Without an
IP address, computers cannot get online. What is your IP
address? If you know it then read above-protect it like you
would protect your social security card.

With an IP address anyone can find out exclusive private
information about you, and in extreme cases, take over your
entire computer. However IP address trackers operate more on
an annoying telemarketer function, and although harmless, is
still a huge blow to privacy.

If you just happened to see flash banners online with an
interactive game, promising you'd win something if you'd win,
then you would be surprised to see your location information
filled in on the winners form after winning the game. The only
thing missing would be some personable information such as your
name and email address.

This is what website trackers do, it is similar to MSN's and
Yahoo's portal that can give you relevant information-only these
website trackers ASK for your information before displaying the
relevant details.

Normally, with the protection available to computers we surf
aimlessly without worry, not even considering how wide open our
computers are. And with IP tracking software freely available to
the public online, privacy becomes even worse to protect.

Education is the best weapon, and ways to hide and protect your
IP is freely available online.

To read more articles by Greg Culver, check out http://homeandfamilyweb.com



About the author:
www.coolcomputerweb.com
is owned by Greg Culver and is a directory dedicated to
providing information about computers and related information.

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