Privacy

The Internet provides access to general information that could normally be found elsewhere such as in phone directories. If your phone number and address are listed in a telephone directory, anyone can find it on the Internet. Furthermore, the Internet also provides search programs that can find your name and address using only your telephone number (assuming you have a listed number). This is called a reverse number search.

Generally, if the information is contained in some form of public record or directory it is also available on the Internet. So, expect less privacy than usual on the Internet.

Cookies

Privacy on the Internet depends on what information you have given to your Internet service provider and to retailers on the Internet. Unfortunately, many people do not realise just how much information that includes. In addition, Internet marketers can track your purchases to help them tailor their advertising to you specifically. In fact the animated advertising banners that you often see going by on a commercial website are often tailored to your profile - so another person with different interests is seeing different advertising on the same site. How do they do this you may ask? The answer is in the use of text files called "cookies.'

A cookie is a text file that a website places on YOUR hard drive that helps them personalise your experience on their site or permits faster loading on subsequent revisits.

In effect, the cookie permits the website to track where you have been on the site and what you have read and purchased. Some websites then sell this information to other businesses. One website cannot, however, read another's cookies. In other words, websites are not reading the information on your hard drive, only the information you provided that was added to their own cookie. Cookies can be very useful and helpful to the Internet user. They allow you to enter a site and save your password on your hard drive - so you don't have to log back in every time you return to the site. Since the merchant can identify you via the cookie you may not be required to re-enter credit card or personal information.

Credit card information is generally not contained in the cookie, only the identifying information that permits the merchant to locate your credit card information in their database.

What can you do to prevent the use of cookies without your consent?

If you follow the directions below, your browser will inform you every time a cookie is being sent to you and you will have the option to accept it or reject it. Note, however, that cookies are a frequently used tool and warnings will pop up fairly regularly even if you are with the same site and have already rejected their cookie.

Choose which browser version you use from the list and click on it:

Microsoft Internet Explorer Versions 5.0 (and above) or 4.0 or 3.0

or Netscape Communicator 4.0 or 6.0

You can also see what cookies you have accepted by following the directions for you browser:

Microsoft Internet Explorer Versions 6.0 or 5.0 or 4.0 or 3.0

Netscape Communicator 4.0 and Netscape 6.0

If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or above:

Choose

1. Tools
2. Internet Options
3. Click the Security tab
4. Click the Custom Level button
5. Scroll down to "Cookies" and choose Enable or Prompt to regulate your use of cookies.

If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0:

Choose

1. View
2. Internet Options
3. Click the Advanced tab
4. Scroll down to the yellow exclamation icon under Security and choose one of the three options to regulate your use of cookies.

If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0:

Choose View

1. Options
2. Advanced
3. Click on the button that says Warn Before Accepting "Cookies".
   

If you are using Netscape 6.0:

Choose

1. Edit
2. Preferences
3. Privacy & Security
4. Cookies
5. Click on button that says 'Warn before storing a cookie'

If you are using Netscape Communicator 4.0:

Choose

1. Edit
2. Preferences
3. Click on Advanced
4. Set your options in the box labelled "Cookies".

1. Tools, then
2. Internet Options.
3. Under the tab General (the default tab) click
4. Settings
5. View Files.

If you are using Microsoft Internet Explore 4.0:

1. View, then
2. Internet Options
3. Under the tab General (the default tab) click
4. Settings
5. View Files.

If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0:

1. View
2. Options
3. Advanced
4. View Files

If you are using Netscape Communicator 4.0 or newer versions of Netscape:

Netscape bundles all cookies into one file on your hard drive. You will need to find the files, which it calls Cookie.txt or the folder, "Cookies" on Windows machines.

LINK

For more information, go to The Electronic Privacy Information Center