I've never been the overly paranoid type that always thinks
that someone is out to get me. But recent news concerning the
U.S. Government's desire to find out what people like you and I
search for on the Internet makes me a bit uneasy. Compound that
with the fact that the government endorsed eavesdropping on
civilian communication systems following September 11th without
probable cause.
Last summer the Federal Government subpoenaed the search records
of at least the two largest search engines, Google and Yahoo.
Yahoo complied with the subpoena and handed over the records.
But Google refused.
As a result of Google's non-compliance, U.S. Attorney General
Alberto Gonzales has asked a Federal Judge in San Jose,
California to force Google's hand.
The way I figure, if I don't do anything that warrants the
attention of law enforcement, I won't be a target of their
investigation. But, I'm sure that if an overzealous investigator
looked hard enough at some of the thousands of keywords that I
have entered into search engines over the last several years,
they might interpret that differently.
I've heard of way too many stories people getting caught up in
government witch-hunts. And, I don't want to be one of those
people.
So what is the Average Joe or Jane like you and I to do to
ensure that we don't unintentionally become a target? How do we
know what search terms might send up "red flags" to the U.S.
Government?
The World Privacy Forum has several recommendations of how to
protect yourself when using a search engine. The main tip that
they give is to never search for terms that can easily be
associated back to you. For instance, don't do a keyword search
on your name with your social security number. But that's common
sense. At least it should be.
I would add that certain keywords might send up some red flags.
Doing searches on Al Queda, explosives, and popular tourists
locations all in the same sitting probably wouldn't be wise.
Another tip the World Privacy Forum gives is to consider using
an anonymizing tool or proxy server. Every computer connected to
the Internet has a virtual and unique "address." When you search
for something on the Internet, whatever it is that you are
seaching for can easily be traced back to your computer's
address. Anonymizing tools and proxy servers serve as a buffer
between your computer and the Internet. They help mask your
keyword searches from being traced back to your computer's
address.
The World Privacy Forum did suggest a few specific anonymizing
tools and proxy servers. But I disagree with their
recommendations. Their recommendations were all freeware and
free services.
I steer clear of both and rarely recommend anything that is
"free." You get what you pay for. And your privacy is worth the
money. All too often freeware is riddled with spyware and
adware. In the end, most freeware does more harm than good.
If you are going to use an anonymizing service, buck up and pay
for it. anonymizer.com has a very reasonable service for only
$29.99 a year.
I also strongly suggest an industrial strength computer wiper.
Just because you delete a file with the use of your "delete"
button on your keyboard or your trash bin on your desktop,
doesn't mean that it's gone. In layman's terms, it is just puts
on your hard drive in a place where you can't see it. But a
savvy law enforcement agent or even a hacker knows exactly how
and where to go on your computer to access it.
I use and recommend a product by Robin Hood Software called
Evidence Eliminator. It's the only product that can completely
eliminate all the stuff on your computer that you no longer want
on your computer. Although it's not free, it is a lot cheaper
than hiring a lawyer to help you explain to the government about
your Internet search habits.
Come to
www.delete4good.com for more information about Proxify
and Evidence Eliminator.
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