Note: This story ran originally on January 13, 1997. Like many of the stories on this Web site, the copyright is held by the publisher. /seb
There's No Guarantee of Privacy on the Internet
TAKING IN THE SITES / By STEVEN BRIER
hether sending e-mail to a sweetheart, buying books on line or browsing for something your mother would rather not know about, privacy and anonymity are rarely guaranteed on the Internet.
Between the logging done by corporate computer departments, Internet Service Providers, marketing mavens and the just plain curious, plenty of people are keeping track of comings and goings on the Net.
SEARCH EPIC.ORG ARCHIVES
Last week, Rep. Bruce Vento, D-Minn., introduced the Consumer Internet Privacy Protection Act of 1997, intended to keep subscriber information from being misused by on-line service providers. But even if it is enacted, this measure will not help if your boss notices your browser has been going places it should not or if that note to your sweetheart gets misrouted to the company bulletin board.
A quick check of the usual search engine suspects leads to a host of hosts dealing with privacy on the Internet.
To protect that e-mail, head over to PGP, the home of Pretty Good Privacy. PGP is a free product that can secure the contents of your e-mail from hackers. It is so secure that it is classified as a munition by the government and exporting it causes problems. Phil Zimmerman, the author of PGP, was investigated by the government for three years for possibly violating munitions export laws after he posted the program on the Internet. The government finally sent him a written note saying it had decided not to prosecute him.
Other encryption prorams are readily available on the Internet, and they are a hot button for the Clinton administration and FBI, among others, because the good ones make e-mail and files impossible to read. The administration's stance is probably most clearly stated by FBI Director Louis Freeh's July statement to the Senate on the effect of encryption.
The administration has floated several proposals, notably the Clipper chip and key escrow encryption, that give government officials a way to unlock files. Law-enforcement and national security officials say they need to be able to unlock files to protect against criminals, terrorists and unfriendly governments.
The Clinton administration has recently revised the encryption exportation policy, transferring oversight to the Commerce Department. Oddly, the new policy is not listed on the Commerce Department's Web site. The Internet Privacy Coalition, however, has the executive order posted, along with reports on other privacy-related issues. The coalition pushes for privacy and security on the Internet through the use of encryption and the relaxation of export controls on cryptography, so it may sound a little one-sided.
"Because on today's Internet, people do know you're a dog.
The encryption policy is a hot button for sites dedicated to privacy issues, too. The people at the Electronic Privacy Information Center cover encryption as part of the privacy issue and have a collection of articles, press releases and links that make for interesting reading. Like many of the privacy sites, it has links to places where you can download encryption software.
There is a site in the Netherlands that discusses remailers, security issues and other ways to remain anonymous for e-mail and newsgroups, as well as tools and tips for keeping other things in your life private.
To keep from leaving footprints while browsing, try the Anonymizer. It appears to slow down your browsing somewhat, but the sites you visit should see the anonymizer's address instead of yours.
As for that e-mail to your sweetheart? It probably was not a good idea anyway.
TAKING IN THE SITES was published weekly, on Mondays. Click here for a list of links to other columns in the series.
Related Sites
Following are links to the external Web sites mentioned in this article. These sites are not part of The New York Times on the Web, and The Times has no control over their content or availability. When you have finished visiting any of these sites, you will be able to return to this page by clicking on your Web browser's "Back" button or icon until this page reappears.