Is there a real requirement to protect our privacy on the internet.? Are there lots of people spying on us online.. I hope this article will explain some of the real issues on protecting your privacy online..
So who is likely to be spying on us and why?
Well let’s make it perfectly clear, crime on the internet is big, very big , the totals are never going to be exact as we simply don’t have a record but you’d be safe to assume it’s going to be counted in billions of dollars world wide. Many, perhaps the majority of these crimes are not listed, recorded or even noticed so an estimate is all we’re going to get.
There are cyber gangs in many places such as China, Eastern Europe and Brazil in particular.. Cyber Gangs in places like Brazil, China and Eastern Europe have very sophisticated criminal networks. Unfortunately internet crime can be immensely rewarding with little risk of being caught.. You can see the attraction to the criminal fraternity big rewards, safe and very low risk – cyber crime pays !
So we know that gangs will routinely target the average internet surfer , furthermore many will be extremely careful in how they steal from you, but remember there are literally endless ways to steal your information and ultimately your money. For instance I have seen a sealed copy of windows XP which looked 100% legitimate bought from Eastern Europe, it was shrink wrapped, had a licence, manual included but it had an extra bonus. The CD contained a version of Windows XP with spyware and trojans already installed , as soon as you used this version of XP your details, accounts and passwords would be passed out to a remote site on the internet.
Just like you lock your doors to protect your possessions and home, many people do the same on the internet. I want my privacy protected because online I pay bills, order goods, do my banking and many other activities which involve my financial and personal details. Do I want these details logged on servers, routers and at my ISP – well no not really.
You see it’s actually quite easy to steal peoples details online , it’s slightly harder to make money from them but not too difficult.. It’s certainly the only way a gang of cyber criminals in Rio De Janerio will be able to steal from you without you holidaying in Brazil. If you did discover your bank account has been raided like this, what could you do? In reality all you can do is try to get your money back from your bank or credit card provider, either way the criminal will be unlikely to pay for his crimes.
To be truly secure, surf anonymously and encrypt your data