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Security on the Internet
Many people are concerned with the level of security and confidentiality on the Internet. These are very valid concerns, and this document hopes to address and clarify the issue of privacy, security and confidentiality on the Internet.
Simply Internet and Security
We often get asked: "Can people find out information about my internet account?" The answer is a hearty NO! Simply Internet has implemented a security policy, where anyone who asks about an account must provide the detailed account information, which was designated during the registration of the account, and specific payment information.
What your Surfing says about You
Web sites can gather a small amount of information about you as you surf through the internet. Information such as your web browser type, your ISP (Internet Service Provider), and how you reached the particular site can be logged for future review.
As with everything else about the Internet, you are only as anonymous as you want to be. No Web site knows who you are until you tell it who you are. Once it knows, it is reasonable to expect that it will find a way to remember that information. The extent of that knowledge does not go beyond that site, so your identity won't become public to the entire Internet because you reveal it once.
While the perception is that privacy is being violated, the simple fact is that if you don't reveal private information to the Internet, it won't be known to the Internet. A cookie cannot read your hard drive to find out who you are, what your income is, or where you live. The only way a cookie can get that information is if YOU provide it.
More information about Internet Security and Privacy can be found at:
Electronic Frontier Foundation: http://www.eff.org/pub/Privacy
Yahoo: http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/Sec urity
What is a Cookie?
A cookie is a text file saved in your browser's directory or folder and stored in RAM while your browser is running. Most of the information in a cookie is pretty mundane stuff, but some Web sites use cookies to store personal preferences. (MSN, and Netscape all have personalization processes that use cookies to store information).
A cookie is like a passport in your computer. Whenever you visit a web site, the web server can send a cookie to your computer, which is then stored on your hard drive. As you visit additional sites, you may pick up additional cookies. Each cookie can be a miniature record of your visit to a specific web site, complete with information such as an ID number, time of your last visit to that specific site, and any other information that you give up willingly such as password or e-mail address.
The effect is something akin to "Caller ID" on telephones. By retrieving the cookie left previously, a web site can "remember" your site-specific password, your preferences, and other tidbits of information. When you re-visit a site, a cookie left on your hard drive will identify you.
In other cases, cookies are being used to keep track of how many visitors visit a site. These types of cookies don't get stored permanently in your computer they expire immediately, so they can't be used to determine how often you re-visit the site.
More information about cookies can be found at:
Cookie Central: http://www.cookiecentral.com
The EPIC Cookies Page: http://www.epic.org/privacy/internet/cookies
Internet Commerce Security Many people are concerned with sending their credit card information over the internet when making purchases. This is a reasonable concern, however, like most purchases, the risk of someone getting your credit card information is comparable to the risk of using your credit card at a restaurant. In fact, it is more likely your credit card information will be fraudulently used at a restaurant or gas station than it would be if you purchased goods or services via the Internet. Most respected Commerce Sites offer their customers a "secure server" environement for online purchasing. Secure Servers use software encryption to mask your banking information.
More information about Secure Server Transactions can be found at:
Cnet: http://www.cnet.com
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