UNDERSTANDING PRIVACY
This document explains what degree of privacy you can expect while you -surf on the world-wide web and how you can control what information is -given out about you. The important point to note is that you are -in control—nobody can obtain personal information about you unless you -explicitly allow them to. -
There are various ways that a site has of obtaining information about
-you. When you request a page from a site, a certain amount of information
-is automatically disclosed in the page-request that your browser makes
-on your behalf. Once you've received the page, the site could ask
-your browser for some additional information. While you are getting
-the page, the site could be tracking you by taking notes about your behavior
-and storing those notes in an area of your hard disk (cookies) which it
-can read back later. And whenever you fill out and submit a form,
-the information on that form is sent to the site. Each of these aspects
-are described below in detail.
-
-
Requesting a Page -
When you request a page from a site, a small amount of information about -you is given to that site. In particular, the site is told the three -items listed below. Beyond that, the site is unable to obtain any -other information about you with out your knowledge—it does not know -your e-mail address and certainly does not know your name. -
1. Operating Environment -
The site is told something about your operating environment such as -the type of browser you are using and perhaps the operating system on which -you are running. This helps the site present the page that you are -requesting in a way that will best display on your screen. As an -example, the site might be told that you are using the English version -of Netscape 6 and are running under the Windows 98 operating system. -Such information is not in any way personal so your privacy is not compromised -by having it divulged. -
2. Internet Address -
The site is told the internet address that you are currently using. -This is sometimes referred to as your IP (or Internet Protocol) address. -The site needs your IP address so that it knows where to send the page -that you are requesting. IP addresses are usually registered to internet -service providers and not to individuals; each time you dial up an internet -service provider, you are assigned one of their many IP addresses at random -to use for the duration of your session. So the site you are visiting -can determine, for example, that an AOL member just requested a page but -it cannot determine which AOL member. -
Your IP address is not your e-mail address—they are two different -things. Your e-mail address is the address to which your incoming -e-mail is sent and uniquely identifies you in cyberspace just as your social -security number identifies you in the real world. Your IP address, -on the other hand, is a temporary address that you are using for -the duration of a session in order to get the pages you are requesting. -It is no more a part of your identity than is the phone number of a pay -telephone which you happen to be using when making a phone call. -
But if you are concerned and want to block your IP address from being -given out, see the section on Hiding Your Internet Address. -
3. Referrer -
The site is also told where you just came from. In other words,
-it knows which page you were reading when you clicked on the link to the
-page you are now requesting. This allows the site to know which other
-site referred you to it. Also, as you traverse the site, it allows
-the site to know where in the site you were most recently.
-
-
After the Page is Received -
After you receive a page from a site, that page is displayed. -The page might contain programs, referred to as JavaScript -code, which will then execute on your machine. JavaScript code has the ability -to request some information about your machine and to send such information -back to the site. -
If you do not want any additional information given out, you can easily -prevent it. Whether or not your browser allows JavaScript code to -execute is controlled by your preference settings. That preference -is initially set to allow JavaScript to execute. By changing that -preference, you will be preventing the site from requesting and transmitting -this information. -
The information that the site can request by using JavaScript code in -this manner is usually not very interesting. It includes such things -as the number (but not the names) of the sites you previously visited, -whether or not your browser can execute programs written in a language -called java, the number and type of plugins you have installed -in your browser, the height and width of the browser window, etc.. -
JavaScript code is normally incapable of obtaining any information about
-you that would seriously compromise your privacy. However, with your
-permission, JavaScript code can obtain much more personal information.
-In fact, it could even read information from arbitrary files on your hard
-disk and transfer that information back to the site. But you have
-to grant your permission before any of this can happen. You'll know
-when the site is attempting to use JavaScript in this manner because a
-box will appear asking you to grant your permission. You should not
-grant it unless you have absolute trust in that site. If you refuse,
-the JavaScript code is rendered harmless.
-
-
Downloading a File -
When you are requesting a file (as opposed to a viewable page), your -e-mail address might be divulged as a courtesy to the site. You know -when you are requesting a file because its address starts with "ftp://" -instead of the more usual "http://". -
One of your preference settings determines if your e-mail address should
-be sent as your password when you request files. This preference
-is initially set to not send your e-mail address so, unless you've changed
-it, your e-mail address will not be divulged.
-
-
Being Tracked by Cookies -
Since the site does not know who you are, it cannot possibly be collecting -any information on you and has no knowledge of any previous times that -you visited the site. It does not even know what you've done while -on the site other than knowing where on the site you just came from. -
However there are times when it would be to your advantage to allow -a site to know something about your previous visits to the site. -For example, if you were previously reading a long document and got as -far as page 17, it would be nice if the site could take you immediately -to page 17 on your next visit. -
The only way a site has of remembering information that it can associate -with you is to store the information onto your hard disk and to read it -back each time you interact with the site. Such pieces of information -are called cookies for lack of a better name. Of course the -site cannot store a cookie directly but instead asks your browser to do -that on its behalf. And your browser will not store a cookie -without your permission (see the section on Controlling Your Cookies). -Once a site has stored a cookie, it can read that cookie in the future -without having to get permission from you. But the site can read -only the cookies that it has stored—it cannot read the cookies that other -sites have stored. -
Don't be alarmed—a site cannot write to arbitrary places on your -disk. The cookies that it stores go into one specific file, called -your cookie file. And the site can't even write there unless you -give it permission to do so. Similarly, the site can't read arbitrary -information from your disk either. -
If a site can store a cookie, it can keep track of all the things that
-you've done by simply writing these things into a cookie which it keeps
-updating. By this means it can build up a profile on you. This
-may be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what the site intends to
-do with the information. For example, it would be a good thing if
-a book-seller knew that you frequently looked for information on dogs so
-that it could tell you if a new dog book became available since your last
-visit. It would be a bad thing if it then sold that information to
-the local dog pound so they could cross-check for potential dog owners
-who do not have valid dog licenses.
-
-
Encountering Foreign Cookies -
When a site stores a cookie, it is the only site that is able to read -that cookie in the future. That permits a site to build up a profile -on your behavior while you are at that site but not on your behavior in -general while surfing the web. So at least you have some assurance -that the data that is collected on you (with your permission of course) -is site specific and nobody can build up a universal database on you. -
But suppose that while you are visiting site sheep.com, a cookie gets -stored not by sheep.com but by some marketing site called wolf.com. -And sheep.com can cause that to happen very simply by having an image from -wolf.com displayed on its home page. So when you visit sheep.com, -you are really making a side trip to wolf.com to get the image and -wolf.com can store the cookie at that time. Suppose that wolf.com -has enlisted many other sites to also display its cookie-storing image. -Now wolf.com will be building up a cookie that contains information about -your accumulative behavior at all of these sites. And the more sites -that wolf.com can entice to display its image, the more encompassing a -profile it can build on you. -
Such cookies that are stored by the site other than the one that you
-think you are visiting are called foreign cookies. If you
-are concerned about the privacy implications of foreign cookies but
-not concerned about ordinary cookies, you could give permission for sites
-to store ordinary cookies only but not store foreign ones.
-
-
Controlling Your Cookies -
The way you give permission for a site to use (store and/or read) cookies -is by your preference settings. Your preference could be that your -browser should allow sites to use all (foreign as well as non-foreign) -cookies, allow sites to use non-foreign cookies only, or not allow sites -to use cookies. Furthermore, in your preference settings you could -state that you want to be warned before your browser will store any cookie. -When you first install your browser, your preferences are set to -allow all sites to use all cookies with no warning given when a cookie -is being stored; you will need to explicitly change your preference setting -if that is not what you want. -
If you don't consider cookies to be a privacy invasion and don't care -who stores cookies on your machine, you would keep your preference settings -unchanged. On the other hand, if you are paranoid and don't want -to allow any site to store cookies, you would change your preferences to -not allow sites to use cookies. But there might be a middle ground -whereby you want to allow specific sites to store cookies (your brokerage -house, for example, might require cookies before it can let you examine -your portfolio), prohibit other specific sites (those notorious for engaging -in questionable marketing practices), and be asked about all remaining -sites. -
You can accomplish this middle ground by setting your preferences to -allow sites to use cookies but warning you first. In that case, a -box will pop up each time a site attempts to store a cookie. That -box will identify the site (it might not be the site that you are currently -visiting, as in the case of foreign cookies) and ask you if you want to -allow the cookie to be stored. It will also ask you if you want to -remember your decision on behalf of this site. If you accept the -cookie and specify that you want the decision remembered, the browser will -automatically grant all future cookie-storing attempts made by this particular -site without giving any warning. On the other hand, if you reject -the cookie and ask to have the decision remembered, the browser will automatically -reject all future cookie-storing attempts from this site. -
By using the Cookie Manager, you can bring up a list of cookies
-that have been stored on your hard disk as well as a list of sites
-for which you have asked to have the cookie-storing decisions remembered.
-And you can selectively delete any of the cookies or sites in these lists.
-
-
Evading Cookies -
It should be mentioned that even if you have disabled cookies, the site -still has ways of tracking you, at least while you remain at that site. -Presented here is one example. -
The site could store the information not in a cookie on your machine -but rather in the links that it lets you fetch. Each link that it -presents for you to click on contains the address of the next page to fetch. -But the site could customize that link specifically for you so that it -contains a bit of tracking information as well. -
To make this clear, suppose that you visit a site called trackme.com. -That site presents you with its home page and that page contains a link -to a second page. What you see on your screen is some text describing -the link (for example, "visit our second page"). In addition to the -visible text, the link also contains the address of the second page, such -as trackme.com/secondpage. But suppose the link on the -home page doesn't contain just trackme.com/secondpage but contains something -like trackme.com/secondpage?0 instead. The "?0" might be a code saying -that you haven't visited the second page yet. Suppose you click on -this link and view the second page. Then you click on a link on the -second page that gets you back to the home page. The home page that -the site presents to you this time differs from the one it sent you previously -in that the link back to trackme.com/secondpage now contains trackme.com/secondpage?1. -The site is now using the page itself (rather than a cookie) to keep track -of where you've been and what things you've clicked on. -
The good news is that this sort of tracking works only as long as you
-remain at the site and visit its related pages. Once you leave the
-site all of this information is lost. If you should then return again
-later you will be presented with the "trackme.com/secondpage?0" link all
-over again. (Of course if you bookmark a page from such a site, when
-you return to that page via the bookmark that tracking information will
-still be there.)
-
-
Submitting Information on Forms -
Of course if you voluntarily chose to divulge information to the site, -such as by submitting a form that the site presents to you, you are knowingly -providing the site with whatever personal information you filled in. -The site is then free to store that information in its data base and to -use the information in any way it sees fit. For your protection, -many sites are now voluntarily establishing privacy policies which dictate -what they will and will not do with any information you give them. -Each site determines its own privacy policy and makes that policy available -for you to view. -
Keep in mind that there is no policing of sites with regards to their -privacy policies and they can say in it whatever they want. So when -it comes right down to it, the final decision as to whether you want to -voluntarily submit information to a site will depend on how much trust -you have in the site. You might be inclined to believe what is said -in the privacy policy of http://home.netscape.com whereas you might -be justified in being dubious about any policy offered by http://www.ripoff.com -
You will often find yourself entering the same information on the forms
-of many different sites. For example, all sites that sell you something
-will probably ask for your name, your shipping address, and your credit
-card number. It's tedious to have to type this in every time.
-Instead you can ask the Form Manager to save the information from a particular
-form and then prefill that information onto forms that you encounter in
-the future. The Form Manager saves the information on your local
-machine and not on any website. When the Form Manager prefills a
-form with the saved information, that information is not sent to the site
-until you submit the form. Once again you are in control—no information
-is released until you say so.
-
-
Divulging your Password -
If you are like most users, you've registered for services at various -sites. The registration consisted of selecting a user name and password. -Each time you return to such a site, you fill out and submit a form containing -the user name and password that you selected for that site. To avoid -having to remember a different password for each site, especially those -you don't visit often, you might have used the same password everywhere. -And the same goes for your user name, providing somebody else hadn't already -taken it. -
So each site that you registered with has a record of two important -pieces of information about you—your user name and password. And -if this is the same user name and password that you always use, an unscrupulous -site administrator at any one of these sites has enough information to -go impersonating you by logging in to other sites at which you are registered. -You might not be concerned about this because it really doesn't hurt you -if somebody logged in as you at some newspaper site and read what was going -on in the world. But you might be concerned if somebody managed to -guess which stockbroker you used, and logged in as you and made some stock -transactions. -
The way to protect yourself, of course, is to use a different password -at every site that you register with. But this means you have to -keep track of every password that you've ever used. The Password -Manager in the browser can help you out by remembering the user name and -password that you used when you last logged on to a site, and then pre-filling -that information onto the log-in form the next time you visit that site. -You can then either submit the log-in form with these pre-filled values, -or change them before submitting if they are not what you want. -
The Password Manager also allows you to see which user names you have
-stored for which sites. And it allows you to selectively delete any
-of these items if you wish.
-
-
Hiding Your Internet Address -
When you request to see a page from a site, your browser needs to tell -the site your internet address (IP address) so the site knows where to -send the page. This is in effect your return address. Your -internet service provider has many IP addresses assigned to it and it selects -one for you to use each time you start a session Every time you connect -to your provider you will be given a new IP address. -
Some users have their own fixed IP addresses which they use every time -they connect to the Internet. But these users are in the minority -and if you are one of them you undoubtedly know about it. So if you -have not heard anything to the contrary, you can assume that you get a -new IP address for each session. -
Even though it's only a temporary address, you might not want that information -to be given to a site you intend to visit. But if your browser doesn't -provide this information, the site won't know where to deliver the requested -page. So this is the one piece of information that you can't ask -your browser not to reveal. -
If you really want to hide your IP address from the site, you need to -use some trusted intermediate site. You go to the intermediate site -and tell it the name of the site whose page you want. The intermediate -site requests the page on your behalf, using its own IP address as the -return address. Then, when it gets the page, it forwards it on to -you. The site that supplied the page never gets to see your IP address. - -
There are several sites that provide such services. For a list, see dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/Proxies/Free/.
-Alternatively, use your favorite search engine to find
-them—try search words such as "anonymous browsing".
-
-
-
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