Anonymity and Privacy on the Web: What Users Need to Know
Anonymity and privacy have become big issues when it comes to using the Web. In this article, MedZilla addresses some misconceptions about how anonymous people are when surfing the net and how to take advantage of the Internet’s benefits without sacrificing privacy. This article offers simple tips from a privacy expert, including how to know if a site is secure.
Marysville, WA (PRWEB) December 5, 2003 -- The Internet has given people a
world of new options for managing their lives and lifestyles, but that newfound
freedom brings with it new obstacles. Job-seeking, banking and shopping
activities can all expose Internet users to anonymity and privacy issues. By
using simple steps, Web users can minimize those concerns and maximize the
convenience and efficiency of the Web.
“The Internet has made life so
much easier,” says Frank Heasley, PhD, president and CEO of MedZilla.com, a
leading Internet recruitment and professional community that serves
biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, healthcare and science. “With a click of the
mouse, a job candidate can reach hundreds of interested employers and
recruiters; you can shop for items in the comfort of your home, pay your bills
via the Web, make flight reservations in minutes and communicate effortlessly
with coworkers, family or friends on the other side of the globe. But the
Internet is a powerful tool, and like any powerful tool it needs to be used with
caution.”
Finding a job
Jordana Beebe, communications director of
the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a consumer information and advocacy group
based in San Diego, Calif., says there are rules of thumb when posting resumes
online.
She says that prospective employees need to be careful about the
kind of information they post online. “We’re discovering that there are data
miners or direct marketers who will specifically go through various types of job
postings on the Internet to glean consumers’ telephone numbers, names, addresses
and email addresses,” Beebe says. “What we are recommending to consumers is that
they decrease the amount of personal information they post online regarding
their whereabouts, names and phone numbers. In general, if you are going to post
your resume online, use a throwaway type of email address that you use
specifically to post resumes, so when you do find a job, you will not be deluged
by emails from 'spammers.'”
She warns that people shouldn’t think they
can post resumes on the Web without their current employers finding out. To
minimize that possibility, candidates can take simple precautions, including
using their first initials and last names, rather than their full
names.
Job seekers should always check the privacy policy of resume Web
sites, and pay close attention to how long those sites store resumes. “Before
you even post the resume, check and make sure you can delete the resume after
you’ve gotten the job,” she says.
Post your resume sparingly, Beebe says,
and focus on the quality of job boards and not the quantity. “Hand pick a
handful of sites that have good privacy policies and keep a good track record,”
she says. “Use sites that other people in your profession have had good luck
with and post only the sites that will allow you to mask your contact
information.”
Never put your social security number on your resume, she
adds, and omit references on Web-based resumes.
“We’ve learned about the
importance of privacy during our decade as a job board,” says Michele Groutage,
MedZilla’s director of marketing. “Today, job candidates who sign on with us are
assigned a MedZilla e-mail address. So, anytime a MedZilla subscriber searches
our candidates’ resumes and sends them notes, the e-mails first go through
MedZilla to ensure that they’re approved users and really contacting the
candidates about jobs.”
MedZilla has recently taken additional steps to
protect the privacy of its job candidates. “Our resumes are trade secrets,”
Groutage explains, “meaning if anyone is caught taking them and using them for
other purposes, they could go to jail for a federal offense.”.
Heading
off cookies
You might think you’re surfing the Web anonymously, but
you’re really not. Unless you use a software or program that heads off cookies,
Web sites that you visit might be gathering data on you without your knowledge.
Cookies are small pieces of data that let Web sites know your e-mail address,
which incoming page you entered the Web site from, how often you visit, how many
pages you look at—even where you went after leaving the Web site. Sometimes
cookies are helpful—they might store a password so that you don’t have to input
it every time you visit a site, or they might greet you when you enter a page.
But, overall, Web users should try to minimize cookies if they want to stay
anonymous.
“If you are using the Web without having some type of
anonymous surfing software, you are undoubtedly picking up cookies and you are
undoubtedly providing information to those Web hosts,” Beebe says.
Most
software brokers charge to fend off cookies. And while the Privacy Rights
Clearinghouse doesn’t believe that consumers should pay to remain anonymous on
the Web, the group thinks Web users should be aware of the option and it offers
a list of such services at www.privacyrights.org.
Making purchases
Anyone
who wants to remain totally anonymous on the Web should not provide any sort of
personal information on online forms, including those used to make purchases and
request information.
If, however, you’re willing to provide the
information in order to benefit from the convenience and efficiency of the Web,
Beebe says you should first read that site’s privacy policy and find out what
the site will do with your information once it has been collected. Some Web
sites release or sell information to businesses or other third parties.
Online purchasers should take a few safety precautions into
consideration, Beebe says. First, make sure the connection over which you are
providing that information is secure. There are two ways of checking for that:
one is to look for the little lock sign in the lower left hand corner of the
screen. If the padlock looks like it’s locked, then you are on a secure page.
The other place to check is the address line. If there is an “s” after the
“http,” then the site is secure.
Beebe checks with the Better Business
Bureau when considering doing business with a company that she has not heard
about. You can check the Better Business Bureau online and see what kind of
records companies have with other consumers by visiting www.bbb.org.
The privacy
organization recommends that anyone using a credit card to make online purchases
should have a separate credit card that they use only for Internet transactions.
“So, if for some reason that credit card does get into the wrong hands, you can
terminate the credit card with no problem but you can still have that backup
credit card account in case you need access,” she says. “It also makes it a lot
easier when you’re going through your itemized monthly statement to make sure
that all the purchases on there are actually yours.”
Beebe says that
giving credit card information to a credible business is not as dangerous as
some might think. In fact, it’s one of the safer ways to make purchases online.
A federal banking law says that the actual account holder can only be held
accountable for up to $50 of the charges of a stolen credit card. “That’s
actually a really important point because what this basically says is that if
you are concerned about fraud on the Internet, using a credit card is one of the
safer ways to make transactions. That’s in distinction of using a debit card
from a bank. If you use a debit card from a bank, you do not get the same
protection as you do with a credit card—even if it has a Visa or MasterCard
symbol on it,” Beebe says.
Maintaining privacy
Conducting online
banking is usually a secure endeavor, Beebe says. And credible banks are
generally “helpful” when fraud occurs. Still, the organization recommends that
anyone who is uncomfortable with doing their banking online should continue to
use the traditional ways of check writing and mailing the checks.
Even
buying personal products, like medicines, can be done with reasonable privacy on
the Web, she says. To some degree, the Web is more private than having a
face-to-face transaction.
Chatting
“We actually get complaints
from all too many people about chat rooms,” Beebe says. The simple and safe rule
with chat rooms is: Once you chat, your information is there for all to see.
Don’t write anything that you wouldn’t mind posting in public.
The
bottom line, Beebe says, is if you really want anonymity or have to communicate
with someone about something really private, use the “good ol’” phone or have a
face-to-face conversation.
About MedZilla.com
Established in mid
1994, MedZilla is the original web site to serve career and hiring needs for
professionals and employers in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medicine, science
and healthcare. MedZilla databases contain about 10,000 open positions, 13,000
resumes from candidates actively seeking new positions and 50,000 archived
resumes.
Medzilla® is a Registered Trademark owned by Medzilla Inc.
Copyright ©2003, MedZilla, Inc. Permission is granted to reproduce and
distribute this text in its entirety, and if electronically, with a link to the
URL www.medzilla.com. For permission to quote from or reproduce
any portion of this message, please contact Michele Groutage, Director of
Marketing and Development, MedZilla, Inc. Email: e-mail protected from spam
bots.
Press Inquiries:
Contact: Michele Groutage
Company:
MedZilla, Inc.
Title: Director of Marketing & Development
Phone:
360-657-5681
Email: e-mail protected from spam bots
URL: http://www.medzilla.com
# # #
Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2003/12/prweb92631.htm