General Concerns
There are many things on the Internet that can compromise your privacy, and even your security. I'm sure you've already heard about viruses and crackers (often known as hackers, a misnomer - hackers get into computers for fun and to prove they can, crackers are malicious). I would say that the average casual surfer who uses reasonable common sense is in very little danger from crackers, and not too much danger from viruses. Remember I did mention common sense!
There are other problems that range from annoying to dangerous, but don't get quite as much press. I'll summarise things in order from annoying to intrusive to damaging, (by coincidence, these are most to least common). Keep in mind that even the "just annoying" problems on the net can be damaging in some circumstances, and the ones that cause damage will (at the least) make most people very annoyed. Each summary has an accompanying (and more detailed) page of its own, so if you are interested in one particular aspect, feel free to run off now!
Spam is probably the number one annoyance on
the Internet. Admittedly, I am a webmistress, but even an average person can get
spammed as badly, if they are incautious. For me, this is a major annoyance, as
I have to open any letters that could be serious inquiries, but it is an annoyance
only - it costs me time, but no money. I'm in the US. I can stay on the Internet
24 hours a day, seven days a week, and it costs me the same as if I were on 1
hour a month. In many countries you pay by the minute. For anyone who pays by
time, spam e-mail is the equivalent of a telephone advertiser calling collect.
And I have lived outside of the US, and had to deal with that. If I sound irritated
about spam now, you should have seen me then! There are a number of ways to deal
with spam, including 'common sense' and a few revenge methods.
The other problem with email is when you happen to have
email where you work, and want to use it for other things. That has got a number
of people in trouble, and sometimes even fired. Employers can, and often do read
your e-mail. So can spouses, kids and suchlike! If you want your e-mail to be
private, the easiest way to go is a web-based email account - you can access from
any web-browser, and as long as you don't put your password where others can get
it, it is reasonably private. It can also help with spam, as many of these free
web-mail providers also provide spam filters and other helpful tools.
Viruses, trojans and worms are the next most common Internet problem. There have been only 2 true worms found that I know about. The difference between a virus and a worm is that in order to get a virus, someone has to open a file (either purposely or through running something which opens files automatically). A worm must propagate itself from one computer to another, and run itself - as a result, they are very very rare. Common sense will keep most viruses and trojans off your computer. Most times you catch viruses through carelessness.
Invasions of privacy and security are the next biggest considerations on the net, and the privacy invasion problem is moving up fast. With advertisers and others tracing you everywhere you go, I think this one may become the number one problem soon. I've included security in with the privacy invasion page because every program that increases your privacy also increases your security (and vice versa). Similar to the way a nice high wall of thorny bushes keeps your house from being seen from the street, and also presents a nice barrier for potential thieves.
Some good sites to look at:
- www.sans.org
- One of the top security sites on the net, it has alerts, news, information, patches and such like - very much oriented to the persons seriously concerned about security.
- Mac Security
- Thought you were ok because you have a Macintosh? Read up!
- Linux Security
- And likewise with Linux. And other UNIX based systems.