A.  Avoid and Limit the sharing of information. If you need to complete an online form to obtain some free service, do not use your true information. Use substitutes. I sign up using my dog’s name, for instance. Avoid using your important email addresses. Use a “disposable” email address. You can sign up for free ones, like through Hotmail.

B.  Pay Attention to Dialog Boxes: Pop-up warnings are there for a reason--to protect you. If you are lucky enough to have not clicked the "never show this again" option, make sure you read these warnings carefully before agreeing to send information.

C.  Use One particular Credit Card on the Web only: Open a credit card account that is used solely for the purposes of shopping on the Web. Ideally, you should be able to access account records online so you don't have to wait for monthly statements to monitor any activity. "Be prepared to close that account on short notice if it's been compromised," says Schiller.

D.  Conduct Private Business in Private: Avoid use of your online banking center when you are connected to a non-trusted public hotspot, public kiosk at the hotel or even on the office network. If you restrict your public surfing to Web pages you don't mind a stranger reading along with you, there is little an interceptor can do to harm you.

E.   Use encrypted transmissions. If you need to supply true personal and financial information – such as in purchasing a book on Amazon.com – always look to ensure you are using a secure web page form. If their web form is not secure…avoid them. Look for the little yellow padlock at the bottom right of your MSIE web page. The web address at the top should also start with “https,” which is the encrypted transmission protocol over the internet as opposed to the general “http” transport protocol. If these are not present, do not trust your information transmission as it can be “sniffed” as it passes through many server and connections across this world-wide-web. Example:

F.   Use filtering technological tools to block accidental transmission of personal information. Several security programs already discussed within this document provide a feature to filter and block the transmission of your personal information that you identify and configure, such as your address or a credit card number. That is important to help prevent this private information from theft over the Internet. The next two points also relate to protection of your privacy.

G.  Don’t use Desktop Search Tools – Desktop search tools such as those recently announced by Google, Microsoft and Yahoo can index and categorize personal information. The MSN Toolbar Suite lets people search the contents of their hard drive, including Microsoft Outlook email, calendar items, contacts and Office documents. Google's is the only one that seamlessly integrates local search results with those of online searches as well as emails sent. While convenient, the collection of this data is a target for virus and Trojan writers to exploit.  An unintentional visit to a malicious web site that could “harvest” your store of this indexed personal information could result.

8. I was surprised in using Google to see it popped up a history list of all the words and phrases I have entered into my Google search field this year. I had thought my "cache cleaner" type programs had cleared away all this personal information like items searched for. But I was wrong. MRU-BLASTER utility I use only clears away the history of files and locations accessed by my programs. ZoneAlarm, under the Privacy protection feature, has an automatic cache cleaner scheduled per my settings. But neither clears away the search history in my browser. I researched and found the following:

The search history that displays in the search box on the Google homepage is stored by your browser, not by Google. To disable this feature on Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) versions 5.0 and higher:

1. Go to the 'Tools' menu.

2. Select 'Internet Options.'

3. Select the 'Content' tab.

4. Within the 'Personal Information' area, select 'AutoComplete.'

5. Click on 'Clear Forms.' You can also uncheck the 'Forms' box in this same window to keep this information from being stored in the future.

6. I configured it to never save data entered in FORMS, Web Addresses, User Names and Passwords. And then cleared the cached history. I then set my "days to keep in history" to "0."

I.     Be careful if you connect up with others on the internet. The internet brings many individuals together through many means such as forums, blogs, chat rooms and networking with friends of like interests and find-a-date services. You usually need to sign up and register with these networking sites. Be very careful to not disclose too much information over these medium. Any details you share CAN and WILL be harvested for potential use to target you for advertisements, spam email and goes into databases. Identity theft is the worst-case scenario. Please discuss this practice with your students. College kids and singles like these web services.

J.   Remove personal history traces stored everywhere on your computer - Protect your privacy by removing over 30,000 Most Recently Used (MRU) lists stored in your system registry. Some security programs like Windows Defender already have a feature built-in the remove personal information. MRU-BLASTER is a program dedicated to a quick scan and removal of all the MRU lists on your computer that contain information such as the names and/or locations of the last files you have accessed. They are located ALL OVER your registry and for almost ANY file type. By looking at these MRU lists, someone could determine what files you opened/saved/looked at, what their file names were, where located and which business you have accounts with. MRU-BLASTER also provides you with options for additional plug-ins that allow you to automatically schedule to clean out your Temporary Internet Files and cookies to enhance the protection of your private information.

Download MRU-Blaster – freeware - http://www.javacoolsoftware.com

11. Remove your name from marketing phone call lists. The National Do Not Call Registry gives you a choice about whether to receive telemarketing calls at home. Most telemarketers should not call your number once it has been on the registry for 31 days. If they do, you can file a complaint at this Website. You can register your home or mobile phone for free. Your registration will be effective for five years. Register at: https://www.donotcall.gov
12. Be extremely careful using PUBLIC ACCESS computers at libraries, in hotel lobbies or at someone else’ home. 

13. Know that everything you do, including Google Searches, on the internet, is probably tracked and stored for years!

Google's Long Memory Stirs Privacy Concerns - 6/3/05 - eweek.com

“WASHINGTON (Reuters)—When Google Inc.'s 19 million daily users look up a long-lost classmate, send e-mail or bounce around the Web more quickly with its new Web Accelerator, records of that activity don't go away. In an era of increased government surveillance, privacy watchdogs worry that Google's vast archive of Internet activity could prove a tempting target for abuse. Like many other online businesses, Google tracks how its search engine and other services are used, and who uses them. Unlike many other businesses, Google holds onto that information for years. Some privacy experts who otherwise give Google high marks say the company's records could become a handy data bank for government investigators who rely on business records to circumvent Watergate-era laws that limit their own ability to track U.S. residents.” http://www.eweek.com

“Google Hacking” is the use of Google as a hacking tool to uncover information on vulnerable servers, error messages that reveal too much information, and even passwords. If your server or your desktop are not secured, Google may find and expose private information to hackers who know the right Google search strings.

14. Be careful when using email autoreply features in your email program when you are away from the office or home. Should some SPAM email arrive in your mailbox, the sender will know he has a valid email address for future spam; he will receive back your detailed personal contact or even your travel schedule – which probably provides more information than you want that side of the world to know. Who would want criminal elements to know when you are away from home?
15. Do not reply to SPAM email messages and click on their link or send them a message asking them to remove you from their distribution lists. It is appropriate to ask legitimate companies you trust to remove your name, but you cannot trust those who send you SPAM to follow through on your wish. They can’t wait for you to respond to let them know that  yours is a working email address.
16. Encrypt your data file before sending to someone. There are many programs for free or purchase that will encrypt a file so you may send it to someone securely over the internet. If you have Adobe Acrobate full version or Adobe Photoshop, you already have this capability to secure your files. Say, you need to send a copy of your daughter’s birth certificate to her at college via email. You have the full Adobe Acrobat program and can import a scan of the certificate and save it to PDF with a password requirement. This protects outsiders from opening if intercepted. Without the full Adobe versions, PDFCRYPT is a utility that allows you to take any PDF file and add encryption, require a password to open or to print, disable printing or disable saving. (The free use version does add an advertisement to the first page uging you to purchase it for $800.)  PDFCRYPT - http://www.sanface.com/pdfcrypt.html
17. When in Doubt – Opt OUT – You should never provide information to an unsolicited caller on your telephone – even if they claim to be the Bank, the government or a survey taker. Likewise, never follow instructions in an unsolicited or suspicious email. Never answer to affirm an unsolicited software installation pop-up window or supply your personal data or email address in any unnecessary form on the Internet. Remain anonymous if you can and don’t deal with strangers. Never execute unsolicited pop ups

Download MRU-Blaster – freeware - http://www.javacoolsoftware.com

PDFCRYPT -http://www.sanface.com/pdfcrypt.html