Internet Privacy

Internet privacy is a very serious concern which affects anyone who ever logged on to their email address or looked at a website. It's an unfortunate fact of life that for all of these great geeks and boffins who developed the wonderful tool of the internet to bring the whole world together, there is an equally talented yet unscrupulous bunch who choose to use their talents in a more sinister way - they prefer to infect our computers with malware and viruses, steal our bank details and make off with our cash, hack into top secret government sites and cause national outcry, simply by pressing a few buttons. These hackers are the downside to what is otherwise a wonder and an inspiration.

More and more people use the internet for what are, in real terms, very delicate reasons. Many of us have online banking enabling us to make payments and receive payments very easily, but it is important that you check your bank account details very regularly. Would you notice if an amount of cash had gone missing? Well, I know I would because there's never enough in there in the first place, in fact I've often thought that my account had been ransacked only to discover that it was me all along! These big corporations which turn over huge amounts of cash every week or every month really do need to be on top of their game though.

Apart from keeping your bank details and so on private, some friends and acquaintannces can also step a little near to the mark when it comes to internet privacy. The increasing number of social networking sites has offered a fantastic way for people to keep in touch, even people who you haven't heard of for years can search for you, but the habit of posting photographs online for all the world to see is surely a little bit close to the mark for some. It's alright publishing a photo of yourself looking fab in your new green bikini, but what about those next to you, and behind you who didn't even know that they were in shot - surely it can be seen as an invasion of their privacy. Many stars were inadvertently giving our more than they bargained for when uploading photographs of themselves onto some of these sites, especially if the pictures were taken on iPhones which automatically log the longitude and latitude of the picture taken, unless this facility is disabled.

The thing is about the internet, you never know who is looking and although it's a great asset for the people who use it properly, it also opens the door to a much more sinister world. Never mind "big brother" watching you, the whole darned world is watching! Take care.