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207 lines
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HTML
207 lines
11 KiB
HTML
<html>
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<head>
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<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
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<title>Privacy on the Internet</title>
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<link rel="stylesheet" href="chrome://help/locale/content_style.css" type="text/css">
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</head>
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<body bgcolor="white">
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<a NAME="using_maintain"></a>
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<a NAME="privacy:protectingIDX"></a>
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<hr><h1>Using Privacy Features</h1>
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<p>Your browser includes features you can use to safeguard the privacy and security of your personal information. The sections that follow describe how your browser can help you control cookies, passwords, forms, and images while you are surfing the Internet.
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<p>Some web sites publish their privacy policies according to the Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P) standard. For information on how to customize your browser based on this standard, see <a href="using_priv_help.html#privacy_levels">Setting Privacy Levels</a>.
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<p>For information about related Netscape security features, see <a href="mail_sec_help.html">Signing & Encrypting Messages</a> and <a href="using_certs_help.html">Using Certificates</a>.
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<p>For general information about privacy and security, including descriptions of viruses, safe online shopping and banking, and safe surfing for children, see the online document
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<a href="http://home.netscape.com/security/basics/index.html?cp=sciln" target="_blank">Understanding Security</a>.</p>
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<table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=2 bgcolor="#cccccc" Width=324>
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<tr>
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<td class="inthissections">
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<p>Privacy Topics:</p>
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<p><a href="#sec_maintain">Privacy on the Internet</a></p>
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<p><a href="using_priv_help.html#using_cookies">Using the Cookie Manager</a></p>
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<p><a href="using_priv_help.html#using_password">Using the Password Manager</a></p>
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<p><a href="using_priv_help.html#using_forms">Using the Form Manager</a></p>
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<p><a href="using_priv_help.html#using_encrypt">Encrypting Stored Sensitive Information</a>
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<p><a href="using_priv_help.html#managing_images">Managing Images</a></p>
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<p><a href="privsec_help.html">Privacy & Security Preferences</a></p>
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</td>
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</tr>
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</table>
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<p> </p>
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<a NAME="sec_maintain"></a>
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<a NAME="privacy:aboutIDX"></a>
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<hr><h1>Privacy on the Internet</h1>
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<p>This section summarizes some background information about privacy on the Internet. It also describes several things you can do to help safeguard your own privacy.</p>
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<table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=2 bgcolor="#cccccc" Width=324>
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<tr>
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<td class="inthissections">
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<p>In this section:</p>
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<p><a href="#privacy_visit">What Information Does My Browser Give to a Web Site?</a></p>
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<p><a href="#privacy_cookies">What Are Cookies, and How Do They Work?</a></p>
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<p><a href="#privacy_email">How Can I Control Web Pages in Email Messages?</a></p>
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<p><a href="#privacy_unauth">How Can I Make Sure Unauthorized People Don't Use Information About Me?</a></p></td>
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</tr>
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</table>
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<p> </p>
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<a NAME="privacy_visit"></a>
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<a NAME="privacy_&_IP_addressSDX"></a>
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<h2>What Information Does My Browser Give to a Web Site?</h2>
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<p>When your browser displays a web page—for example, each time you click a link or type a URL—a small amount of information is given to the site. This information includes your operating environment, your Internet address (<i>not</i> your email address), and the page you're coming from.
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<p> </p>
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<h3>Operating Environment</h3>
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<p>The site is told something about your operating environment, such as
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your browser type and operating system. This helps the site present the page
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in the best way for your screen. For example, the site might learn that you
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use the French version of Netscape 6.2.3 on a Windows 2000 computer.
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<p> </p>
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<a name="ip"></a>
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<h3>Internet Address</h3>
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<p>Your browser must tell the site your Internet address (also known as the Internet Protocol, or IP address) so the site knows where to send the page you are requesting. The site can't present the page you want to see unless it knows your IP address.
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<p>Your IP address can be either temporary or fixed (static).
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<p>If you connect to the Internet through a standard modem that's attached to your phone line, then your Internet service provider (ISP) may assign you a temporary IP address each time you log on. You use the temporary IP address for the duration of your Internet session. Each ISP has many IP addresses, and they assign the addresses at random to users. A web site can tell which ISP a temporary IP address comes from, but little else.
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<p><b>Important:</b> Your IP address is <b>not</b> your email address. Your email address provides personally identifiable information about you much more readily than a temporary IP address can.
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<p>If you have DSL, a cable modem, or a fiber-optic connection, you may have a fixed IP address that you use every time you connect.
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<p> </p>
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<h3>Referring Page</h3>
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<p>The site is also told which page you were reading when you clicked a
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link to see one of the site's pages. This allows the site to know which
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site referred you. Or, as you traverse the site, it allows the site to know
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which of its pages you came from.
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<p> </p>
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<a NAME="privacy_cookies"></a>
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<a NAME="privacy:cookies_andIDX"></a>
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<a NAME="cookies:aboutIDX"></a>
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<h2>What Are Cookies, and How Do They Work?</h2>
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<p>A cookie is a small bit of information used by some web sites. When you visit the site that uses cookies, the site might ask your browser to place one or more cookies on your hard disk.
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<p>Later, when you return to the site, your browser sends back the cookies that belong to the site.
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<p>By default, this activity is invisible to you, and you won't know when a site is setting a cookie or when your browser is sending a web site's cookie back. However, you can set your preferences so that you will be asked before a cookie is set. For information on how to do this, see <a href="using_priv_help.html#privacy_levels">Setting Privacy Levels</a>.
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<p> </p>
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<a name="privacy_how"></a>
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<h3>How Do Sites Use Cookie Information?</h3>
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<p>Cookies allow a site to know something about your previous visits.
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For example, if you typically search for local weather or purchase books at a web site, the site may use cookies to remember what city you live in or what authors you like, so it can make your next visit easier and more useful.
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<p>Reputable web sites publish privacy policies that describe how they use the information they receive.
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<p>You can check a web site's privacy policy to see what information it collects, how that information is used, and what choices you have regarding the use of that information. To learn how to do this, see <a href="using_priv_help.html#form_forms">Viewing Privacy Policies</a>.
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<p>For information on how to manage cookies with the aid of published privacy policies, see <a href="using_priv_help.html#privacy_levels">Setting Privacy Levels</a>.
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</p>
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<p> </p>
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<a name="privacy_foreign"></a>
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<a NAME="third-party_cookiesSDX"></a>
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<a NAME="cookies:email_andIDX"></a>
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<a NAME="images:email_andIDX"></a>
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<a NAME="cookies:foreignIDX"></a>
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<h3>What Are Third-Party Cookies?</h3>
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<p>If your browser stores a site's cookie, it will return the cookie only to that particular site. Your browser will not provide one site with cookies set by another. Since a web site can only receive its own cookies, it can learn about your activities while you are at that site but not your activities in general while surfing the Web.
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<p>But sometimes a web site displays content that is hosted on another web site. That content can be anything from an image to text or an advertisement. The second web site that hosts such elements also has the ability to store a cookie in your browser, even though you don't visit it directly.
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<p>Cookies that are stored by the site other than the one you
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think you are visiting are called <b>third-party cookies</b> or <b>foreign cookies.</b> Web sites sometimes use third-party cookies with <b>transparent GIFs</b>, which are special images that help sites count users, track email responses, or customize your browsing experience. (Transparent GIFs are also known as web beacons or web bugs.)
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<p>If you want, you can adjust your cookie preferences so that sites can store ordinary cookies but not third-party ones.
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<p> </p>
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<a name="privacy_email"></a>
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<a NAME="Mail & Newsgroups:privacy_optionsIDX"></a>
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<a NAME="cookies:email_andIDX"></a>
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<h2>How Can I Control Web Pages in Email Messages?</h2>
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<p>You can disable cookies, images, JavaScript, and plug-ins completely for web pages that are received as part of email messages.
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<p>While it may be convenient to enable some or all of these capabilities when you're browsing the web, they may not be necessary in single web pages sent as attachments to messages.
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<p>For information on enabling or disabling cookies, images, JavaScript, and plug-ins in email messages, see the following sections:
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<ul>
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<li><a href = "using_priv_help.html#cookie_prefs">Privacy & Security Preferences - Cookies</a>
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<li><a href = "using_priv_help.html#using_images">Privacy & Security Preferences - Images</a>
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<li><a href = "cs_nav_prefs_advanced.html#Scripts">Advanced Preferences - Scripts & Plugins</a>
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</ul>
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<p> </p>
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<a NAME="privacy_unauth"></a>
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<h2>How Can I Make Sure Unauthorized People Don't Use Information About Me?</h2>
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<p>The best way to keep your information private is to be cautious about providing it to others. The Internet is a public network. When you send your name, phone number, address, and other personal information over the network (via a web page, email, or any other method), it is possible, though not likely, that someone else may be able to intercept it.</p>
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<p>If a web site asks for information about you, you should always check the site's privacy policy before proceeding. Here are some questions you might ask about a web site's privacy policy:
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<ul>
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<li>What kinds of personal information is this site gathering?
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<li>How will the site use the information?
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<li>Will the site share the information with others and do I have choices regarding the use of any shared information?
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<li>Can I access some or all of the information a site gathers about me, in order to inspect or update it?
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<li>How does the site protect the information?
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<li>How do I contact the web site if I have questions or problems?
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</ul>
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<p>For information about checking a web site's privacy policy, see <a href="using_priv_help.html#form_forms">Viewing Privacy Policies</a>.
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<p> </p>
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<a NAME="privacy_anon"></a>
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<a NAME="browsing_anonymouslyIDX"></a>
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<a NAME="privacy:IP_addressIDX"></a>
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<a NAME="protecting_your_IP_addressSDX"></a>
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<p>
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[ <A HREF="#using_maintain">Return to beginning of section</A> ]
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</p>
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<hr>
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<p><i>6 June 2002</i></p>
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<hr>
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<p>Copyright © 1998-2002 Netscape Communications Corporation.</p>
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</body>
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</html>
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