[kictanet] Internet privacy does not really exist

[Alex Gakuru]

Even you feel "stupid" at least now you know....
------------------------------------------------- 

Experts in the field of Internet privacy have a
consensus that Internet privacy does not really exist.
Privacy advocates believe that it should exist.

ISPs

Consumers obtain Internet access through an Internet
Service Provider (ISP). All Internet data to and from
the consumer must pass through the consumer's ISP.
Given this, any ISP has the capability of observing
anything and everything about the consumer's
(unencrypted) Internet activities; however, ISPs
presumably do not do this (or at least not fully) due
to legal, ethical, business, and technical
considerations.

ISPs do, however, collect at least some information
about the consumers using their services. From a
privacy standpoint, the ideal ISP would collect only
as much information as it requires in order to provide
Internet connectivity (IP address, billing information
if applicable, etc). A common belief exists that most
ISPs collect additional information, such as aggregate
browsing habits or even personally-identifiable URL
histories.

What information an ISP collects, what it does with
that information, and whether it informs its
consumers, can pose significant privacy issues. Beyond
usages of collected information typical of third
parties, ISPs sometimes state that they will make
their information available to government authorities
upon request. In the US and other countries, such a
request need not involve a warrant.

An ISP cannot know the contents of properly-encrypted
data passing between its consumers and the Internet.
For encrypting web traffic, https has become the most
popular and best-supported standard. Note however,
that even if users encrypt the data, the ISP still
knows the IP addresses of the sender and of the
recipient. (However, see the IP addresses section for
workarounds.)

General concerns regarding internet user privacy have
become a concern enough for a UN agency report to on
the dangers of identity fraud.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_privacy


       
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