After much discussion in this class about privacy I thought it would be interesting to look up some ways to enhance one's opportunity to maintain their privacy. After reading a bunch of articles I discovered that most are very pessimistic about privacy online still being an option. Their claims are basically that technology is moving too fast and there is a rapid increase in privacy exploitation on the Internet. Although, this may be true I believe that it is never too late to protect yourself. The Electronic Frontier Foundation posted an article with 12 basic ways to help protect Internet users' privacy.
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/10/22/10-ways-to-protect-your-privacy-online.html
I think the most important is number 11 which says, "Remember that YOU decide what information about yourself to reveal, when, why, and to whom." This step is the easiest of them all and gives online users all the power necessary to ensure their safety. In the end it is all up to each individual online user if they would like to take the time to maintain their privacy and stay educated on the topic of online privacy. It is also up to those with knowledge of online privacy to spread the word.
What does everyone else think about being able to preserve your privacy? Is it too late?
I have to agree that I feel like it it never too late to protect yourself. Yes, a lot of us have probably shared more than we should have at this point in our internet using, but that doesn't mean we cant try to erase our cyber footprint from the past a bit, and take action not to expose ourself so much in the future. I thought it was wise in the article how it stated that you should close old accounts. As we age, this will become more and more important for us to do since we will most likely stop using old tools and move on to newer ones. I know I deleted my myspace about two years ago already. Even though I believe we can still try to protect ourselves to the best of our ability, it is scary how easily one can fall into a loop hole and share a lot of their identity without even knowing, like using apps or posting your whole birthday... it's insane how easily we can be tracked down, but at least we are learning how to hopefully minimize the risks...
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