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Your Privacy in Cyberspace Some people get overly anxious about confidentiality and security in cyberspace, but it is wise to be a bit cautious. Always think twice about whether you want to provide information about yourself, like your address and phone number. Keep in mind that anything you say or do online might be recorded somewhere and people might have access to it. For example, some search engines can find messages that are posted to discussion boards. Many things that you say and do are happening in a public or semi-public environment, even though it may "feel" private.
Trust Your Intuition: If you're ever having doubts about something that you're going to say or do online, you might ask yourself this question: "What would happen if this became publicly known?" Trust your gut feelings. If you feel uncomfortable about saying or doing something online, think twice about whether you say or do it.
Email Security: Web email sevices like "Hotmail" - which require you to go to their website to do email - usually do not store your messages on your computer. But some email programs do download all your mail and store them on your computer, which means other people who have access to your computer could read your mail. Also, it is possible for someone to intercept email as it travels to and from you, although it's unlikely that this will happen to you. There are programs, some of them free, that will encrypt email so that only people who have a "key" that you gave them will be able to read your message. If you'd like to use one of these programs, let me know.
Shared Computers: On the computer you're using, you might want to take precautions to make sure that your email and records are not easily accessed by others. Some email programs can be set so that they are password protected. Windows and Mac operation systems have features that let you encrypt files . They also allow you to set up your own password-protected area or "account" on the computer where you can login to do your work and restrict what programs and files other people using the computer can access. Search the Help Center of your computer for information about these features.
If you're working on a public computer, be very careful about deleting any messages or files that you don't want other users to access. Remember that in many operating systems just dropping something into the trash does not necessarily mean it is deleted. You have to "empty" the trash to delete it.
Another option is to copy important files to a floppy disk, delete them from the computer, and then store the floppy in a safe place.
If you ever have any questions about privacy and security, feel free to ask me!