It turns out that a security update done over FireFox and Google Chrome can actually hurt your privacy rather than enhance it. The software hopes to delete all cookies that are trying to be put on your computer and clear cache at the end of every browsing session. This will stop you from being tracked via cookies, and having an indelible source of your browsing history from the cache service, both of which could compromise your privacy.

Once the product was tested however, it seems that it was only detrimental on one’s privacy settings. The privacy product that was supposed to only stop collecting cookies and other identifying bits of data, but according to some tester’s studies, it actually collects MORE of that data!

Through empirical studies, the researchers have found that the software actually stores identifying information like passwords, log-in names, and browsing histories in the central data base of your computer, the hard drive.

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The Internet is meant to be a totally free place; void of any censorship or blocks. The most frustrating thing a surfer can encounter is not a random shutdown, or slow loading times; it is being blocked.

IP blocking can happen in a number of ways. On sites that use a username and password system, your IP address is recorded every time you are logged on. After you log on so many times to the site, they establish the IP that is your “home” address, which is basically the one you use the most. Let’s say while going onto the forum part of the site, you say something that the moderators did not like, and you were banned. This is often done so by identifying your “home” IP address, and every time you log on using it, rejecting you. These bans are often subjective and sometimes biased against you. You can easily get around them by using an IP changer. The system does just as its name implies; it changes your IP. The sites block your home IP and not your username usually, so by changing your IP, you should be allowed back on. This is very useful when you need to use the site and the ban was completely unmerited.

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Our Earth spins on its axis constantly, and yet, even though we are all sideways, no one seems to notice or complain of an incessant disorientation. Yet the world spins on and its round robin orbit manifests many changes to the lay of the land and the more tangible ones. Leaves yellow, snow falls, temperatures change, rain falls. These small changes are more sonorous and reverberate more than initially though. With the metamorphosis of the leaves, children are drawn outside to observe the new pigments. As the snow begins to fall, the children run inside, change their comfortable summer clothes and don their thermal garb. They make a snowman and leave him outside, and before they know it, his carrot nose is in a mushy puddle at their feet. As the snow runs into the gutter, Jack Frost is quickly mourned and forgotten as they run outside in shorts and sandals to bathe in the summer sun. As the rain begins to fall, the unbreakable cycle starts again and the kids are inside again, hiding from the rain and muggy heat, longing for the idyllic changing of the leaves once more.

Scientists call this natural phenomenon the “Circadian Rhythm.” It is classified by not only a predictable cycle, but a steady progression. History has always exemplified this term to be true. Man has always slept an average of 8 to 9 hours a week, (Some of us are jealous of Man) ate 3 meals a day, and longed for companionship. Even though all is same in Man’s world, progress is being made. First, Man encountered and mastered fire. This acted as a strong catalyst, and soon enough, we have the combustion engine. Now we are researching hydrogen and water-powered automobiles. Once we had only beepers, then we adjusted to car phones, then came the brick cell-phone, and now even the paper thin Motorola RAZR is considered archaic. Man’s routines and rituals have remained the same, but technology has been skyrocketing ever since the caveman sparked a flame and put a stick in it.

With the advent of modern technology came comforts and luxuries we had never experienced before, but take for granted today.. While the caveman might have had to worry about hunting his next meal and whether he was going to eat it or vice versa, the most we worry about is gathering up enough spare change to get a soda at the McDonald’s drive-through. Our primal ancestors worried about sparking a strong flame and maintaining it for a whole night to provide warmth and protection from predators while modern humans worry if they forgot to pay their electric bill, and flip a switch to find out.

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The Australian government recently just finished preliminary testing of a new Internet censoring software, that would limit access to limit age-appropriate content for users. They feel that a big problem today is that people are lying about their age online to get into age-restricted sites. Even games with violence or language in them will be blocked! Instead of bothering with teaching these kids not to do this or instating harsher laws, they just decided to restrict everyone from these sites.

This is previously unheard of, and privacy advocates are having quite a fit over it. It is one thing when an authoritarian nation like China or a turmoil stricken nation like Iran has these massive government censoring acts, but Australia is perfectly democratic and peaceful. Some worry it could be a catalyst for other democratic nations to follow suit.

Nine ISPs ran this trial censoring software on their users, but only those who opted in, and reportedly that was only a handful. Out of the people tested, feedback was positive. They say the system blocked everything it should have, and only a couple had minor complaints.

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Social networking sites such as MySpace, FaceBook, Xanga, etc. have become all the rage as the cultural zeitgeist has moved towards online life. People do everything from their computers these days, so why not add socializing onto it? While they are a lot of fun and can keep one connected to far away friends, these sites can also be dangerous if not used correctly, and unfortunately, not many people do. Here are some quick tips to help you stay safe and secure online.

#1: Utilize your Security settings:
When you log onto and sign up for one of these sites, there is always a toolbar somewhere on the screen that will say something along the lines of “settings”. Most people are too busy blogging and chatting to worry about such an unsocial part of their experience, but it is necessary. When you sign up, you release your password, e-mail, and other personal information to the site. Some options in here even can stop your information from being sold to advertising agencies for a quick profit.

#2: Make your profile private:
Unless you are a business or a band, you will want your profile to be private. You can most likely find the privacy options in the settings tab. This will allow only people whom you designate as friends via an invite or a message to be able to view and comment on your profile. This will also keep people you don’t know from trying to get at your personal information.

#3: Watch out who you “friend”:
The main premise of most of these sites is to have friends. These are a great feature to be had, as it allows you to instantly communicate with these people and separates them in alphabetical order. Some people take this too far though. They think that having the most friends is a game, and their inflated egos lead them to request and accept random people, allowing more people access to their page with all sorts of sensitive information. Who you think is a friend might not actually be a friend.

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Anyone who is a music fan or Internet user knows all about the battle the Internet is waging over copyright laws. There are people online who set up peer-to-peer sharing programs that allow users to download each other’s content for free. The catch is that this content is often copyrighted, and not up for sharing amongst many people with the proper company given credit and paid. These Internet user try and take off the virtual price tags so the songs, movies, and just media in general can be downloaded and enjoyed for free by the masses.

While this may seem great for the public who are getting all sorts of media and other things for free, the companies that are unknowingly supplying the media are not as overjoyed. Views have been inharmonious; the public loves free things and the companies want money for their productions.

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In the “Information Generation”, the zeitgeist and buzzword of today Internet security and privacy; how do I browse anonymously online? While many people are concerned with the matter of privacy, it turns out most people do nothing about it, or what they do is not nearly enough.

It is a scary world these days. British magazines “The Sun” and “The News of the World” were recently accused of doing the unheard of, even for the “gutter press”; they allegedly tapped celebrities phones to find out what they were up to in order to check up on them and have more things to report about. Seems like Orwell is turning in his grave right now. This was a wake-up for the public: while celebrities are famous, they are just people, and if this could happen to them, it could happen to us!

This scandal followed a recent one, although the latter was not the fault of the press. Photographs, personal information, and even pictures of family of Sir John Sawers, Britain’s soon to be chief spy, surfaced in many gossip magazines after his wife posted them on FaceBook. Obviously, his cover was compromised by an entire nation of peeping eyes.

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Right now the world is in a state of change; a metamorphosis if you will. Just as the ugly caterpillar crawls into its cocoon and emerges as a majestic butterfly, the business world is in a transition.  Right now, the economy has taken a turn for the worst, and is scaring even the highest echelons of society. Globalization has always helped spur the economy back to health by expanding business into other regions, but it is not easy. Different countries have different rules and regulations than does the U.S., and sometimes these fall into conflict.

Privacy laws are a prime example. In the U.S., privacy laws are stringent for the public, and many services are available to bolster your defenses even more. In other, less-than-democratic countries, the words “private proxy” or “anonymous IP changer” probably aren’t even in the local vernacular. One specific paragon of this would be online banking. In America, no expense is spared to ensure digital privacy. Everything you can think of; encryption, anti-identity theft, and the use of secure tunnels makes all transactions virtually impenetrable. In other countries, proxies and other privacy software are frowned upon and oftentimes blocked by the government. These places, in their attempts to delete all of their citizen’s privacy so they can be more easily monitored, actually place them at higher risk for online crimes.

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The University of Oklahoma police department brings us a wonderful website. Easy-to-navigate and easy on the eyes, this site is made for the public. As soon as you log on, the first thing you’ll notice is the site’s police affiliation, granting it an instant ethos boost for the content it provides. Any kind of safety you can imagine is covered on this website, and they certainly cover the big ones: fire, Internet, drug and alcohol, personal, and especially for children.

First of all and most important for some people, the site is ergonomically laid out. A friendly welcome page tells you where you are and gives you a pointer on where everything is. A quick menu on the left hand side allows you to instantly access anything that you wish. So if you wanted to search by broad topic you were concerned about, say being safe and having a solid plan for a fire, you could search the “fire safety” link. Or if you are a parent or guardian and are concerned about child safety, you could click on the “kid safety” link to bulk up on strategies and techniques to keep your loved ones safer than ever.

The site includes many articles about this broad spectrum of topics. The articles are neatly organized and easy to navigate, as they are in chronological order. This eliminates the possibility of reading an article about “phishing” before you even know what it is! Once a topic that interests you from the umbrella of themes is selected, you are brought to a page that shows all of the articles in chronological order, as was aforementioned. Then you pick from the one you are most interested in and read and glean all of the pertinent and well-researched information that it has to provide. There are excellent Internet safety articles here that talk about IP addresses, and even gives information on how to use change IP proxies to change static IP addresses.

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In today’s world, the Internet is involved in all aspects of life. Whether it be school, social, or work, you are sure there is some sort of computer involvement. People talk on MySpace more than they meet in person, research reports online more than in libraries, and many Americans can make a fortune working from home on the computer. While this seems all good and dandy, the Internet can be a dangerous place also, but not if you remain anonymous. Every danger you would encounter on the Internet is contingent on the fact that the person who is going to do something bad to you has located you and knows who you are.

This is usually done by identifying one’s IP address. The IP address contains a list of browsing history, and often, one’s location. Sometimes, for a skilled hacker, the IP can be a portal to access the mother load of information; the hard drive. You would think the finding someone’s IP address would take N.S.A. level hacking skills, but it doesn’t; in fact, the IP address is totally public. This means that any Internet surfer can find your IP address, and just by copying and pasting it into Google, can the location of your home. Then all they would have to do is use MapQuest and they would be on their way!

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