1. Look for privacy policies on the Web 2. Get a separate email account for personal email 3. Teach your kids that giving out personal information online is like giving it to strangers 4. Clear your memory cache after browsing 5. Make sure that online forms are secure 6. Reject unnecessary cookies 7. Use anonymous remailers 8. Encrypt your email 9. Use anonymizers while browsing 10. Opt-Out of Third Party Information Sharing Extra!. Use common sense

1. Look for Privacy Policies on Web sites:

Web sites can collect a lot of information about your visit including what computer you are using, what type of hardware and software you use and what Web sites you just came from. When you go to a site that has no policy, write them and tell them that you are a user of their site, your privacy is important to you and you would like to see them post a policy. CDT has developed a site to help you do this called the Privacy Watchdog.

Web sites that ask you to provide even a little information can learn even more about you by tying the data to your browsing habits. Some Web sites understand that visitors are concerned and have begun to provide privacy policies detailing how they use information about their visitors. While this practice cannot be the only answer to privacy online, we should encourage it. When you go to a site that has no policy, write them and tell them that you are a user of their site, your privacy is important to you and you would like to see them post a policy.

2. Get A Separate Email Account for Your Personal Email:

Many people don't realize that email sent from your work account is likely to be an open book to your employer.

Even if you send the message from your house, the message travels through many computers and a copy is often stored on your work's main computer server. Legally, your boss can read any of the email in this account or on your work computer at any time. Some companies have email policies that explain their practices. Getting a separate account for home allows you to check your personal messages independently and some accounts could even be configured to allow you to check your personal mail from work without downloading it onto your work computer.

3. Teach Your Kids that Giving Out Personal Information Online Is Like Giving It to Strangers:

Teach your child that they need to ask you before they can give information about themselves or the family .

Recent reports have shown that some online sites encourage children to give information about themselves or their family. Some even entice kids with games and free gifts. In 1998, a law was passed requiring companies to gain parent's consent before collecting personal information from children. If you are concerned about a site collecting information from children without consent, you should write to the Federal Trade Commission at kidsprivacy@ftc.gov.

4. Clear Your Memory Cache After Browsing:

After you have been browsing Web sites, copies of the pages and images are saved in the computers memory.

This is to make browsing faster, but it has the disadvantage of leaving a trail of where you have been on the computer. This can be particularly troubling to those who share a computer. You can delete most of this trail by simply going to the preferences folder in your browser and clicking on the empty cache button or buttons. Sometimes this option is in the advanced menu of the browser preferences.

5. Make Sure that Online Forms Are Secure:

When you fill give information about yourself online it can be sent through normal means which leaves it open for people to read or it can be encrypted, encoding it so only the intended party can readily translate the information.

One of the keys to keeping your information private is making sure that it is secure. Fortunately, browser companies have realized how important this is and newer browsers show whether the page that you are on allows for encrypted transfer or not. Usually it is a key (it will be broken if it is not secure) or a lock (locked is secure and unlocked is not secure). The symbol is in the corner of the browser screen and can be clicked on for more security information about the page. You should not give sensitive information about yourself (such as financial or medical information) to a Web site that is not secure.

6. Reject Unnecessary Cookies:

Cookies are small pieces of code stored on your own hard drive by Web sites you visit. Cookies inform Web site operators if you have visited their site before and can remember your username and password. Sites often use cookies to deliever targeted advertisements. Cookies can be used to track you online and enable the creation of a profile without your realizing it.

To delete existing cookies, search your hard drive for files with the word "cookie" in them (e.g., cookies.txt or MagicCookie). You may want to use Cookie Management Software to automate cookie storage.

You can set your Internet browser to reject cookies. In Netscape, go to the "Edit" menu, choose "Preferences;" scroll down and select the "Advanced" category. There will be several options: one button will set your computer so it will not accept any cookies; another will accept cookies that return information only to the server that originated them; the third option will warn you before accepting a cookie. In Internet Explorer, go to the "Edit" menu, choose "Preferences;" click on "Receiving Files;" click on "Cookies;" on the pop-up menu, chose among four options: "Never ask," "Ask for each site," "Ask for each cookie," or "Never accept."

7. Use Anonymous Remailers:

To address these problems, people have created "anonymous remailers" which allow you to send a single message anonymously.

Anonymity is essential to privacy and free speech. It can be used to protect whistle blowers, writers of controversial material or even just the ability to write to someone with no forwarding address. Email creates difficulty for anonymity since the sender of a message can be traced back through its paths. One very good remailer was created as a joint project of the George Mason Society and the Global Internet Liberty Campaign and is available on the Web at http://www.gilc.org/speech/anonymous/remailer.html

8. Keep Your Email Private, Use Encryption!:

Email is not as secure a medium as many people think.

Messages can be easily rerouted and read by unintended third parties. Message are also often saved for indefinite amounts of time. However, there is a technology that allows you to encrypt your messages to protect them. One popular encryption software is called Pretty Good Privacy (PGP). It is free for non-commercial use.

You can find out more and download the software at: http://web.mit.edu/network/pgp.html

9. Use Anonymizers While Browsing:

When you get to a Web site a log is kept with information about your visit from the moment after you have entered the Web address.

Most of us walk down the street everyday without being recognized or tracked. We often take this anonymity for granted in the real world. Unfortunately, this luxury is not automatic online. There are tools, however, which can strip out the information about you. A few are readily available on the net. For example, http://www.freedom.net or http://www.anonymizer.com

10. Opt-Out of Third Party Information Sharing

Many companies say that they care about your privacy and that they give you the option to get off (or "opt-out") of lists that share your information. Some companies make the task of opting out relatively easy - some even let you do it online - some companies go a step further and ask your permission (opt-in) before sharing information about you. However, in many cases, companies make it difficult for you to opt out: addresses are buried, you can't opt-out online, etc. CDT has tried to make these opt-outs easier to use on the Operation Opt-Out site.

Extra Tip: Use Common Sense

Reading this list and hearing the multiple news stories portraying users of the Internet as charlatans or worse, might make even the most social person paranoid. However, the people on the Net are really just the people you see everyday: your neighbors, your colleagues, and your family. Therefore, using many of the same behavior patterns that you use everyday will take you a long way. Ask questions of yourself before you act online: Do you give your credit card number to a street vendor or to a trusted firm? How much information does the newspaper really need from you to obtain a subscription? If you give someone your mailing address are they likely to send you a ton of unsolicited mail? Use common sense, ask questions and seek out resources. It's a new medium, but so was the telephone a century ago - used wisely it can connect you to a wide world of people, ideas and information.