Consider a website people use every day: FaceBook.  FaceBook is one of many social networking sites, places where people go to communicate with one another and nourish the social side of their lives.  On this website, information trading takes place.  Some of this is quite personal, and only directed towards people the user deems as “friends”.  However, when FaceBook changed their privacy settings in May of 2010, pretty much anybody with an Internet connection could view your profile and content.  In the time since then, have you changed your privacy settings? Probably not; it is not something most people think about when on their pages.

These privacy settings are simply not something on your mind when you are surfing your friend’s pages.  There is the obvious threat of posting a “going out of town” message, and having a burglar see this and take advantage.  Another more insidious threat is the predator who pours through your posts looking for information on your habits, or worse yet, the habits of your children.  With enough time and information, they can paint a fairly detailed picture of your life which can be used against you.

Another, even bigger website is also coming under public scrutiny.  Google, arguably the world’s largest search engine, has been compiling pictures of the entire world, called “Google StreetView”.  This sounding has an innocent purpose: to locate streets for use in help with navigation.  However, their technology produces some sketchy photos.  People are caught in compromising positions, and the photos are online, frozen for everyone to see.

This surveillance goes on in real life too: an interesting statistic reads that you are captured on camera an average of two-hundred times a day in America, three-hundred times for the United Kingdom!  Coupled with government scanning and intercepting phone calls and other communications, and a newly founded “National DNA Database”, our lives are losing their privacy every minute.  Remember, we are social beings, and need to be social beings, but our privacy is a right.  To lose our privacy would be to lose an essential part of ourselves, so beware online and in real life, and keep a firm grip on your right to privacy.

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Infographic byWordStream Internet Marketing

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That’s right, the government will begin tracking your online behavior on their websites.  That sounds harmless enough doesn’t it?  The stated purpose for this tracking is to provide better services for your when you are using their websites.

Sorry, but I’m not comfortable with this.  Here’s why: They already have databases with a lot of information about us.  This is not paranoia, it’s just part of living in any country.  You fill out forms, you pay taxes, you have government IDs; all of this leaves a trail.  When you tie in all the pieces of the trail, it paints a very detailed picture of you and all your activities.

For most people, what the government knows about them is not a problem.  I’m not really concerned about what they know about me.  I gave them most of that information.  However, the question should be: “where does that end?”  At some point, enough is enough.  One day a law will be passed that will enable the government to do something intrusive.  At that point, they will already have the data from everything you’ve done up to that point.  I know, I sound a little paranoid.

It’s just my belief that sooner or later, someone in our government even with good intentions, will cross the line to invasion of privacy.  It just all feels a little too creepy.

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We’ll start off with the positives though. Cloud computing is the practice of storing the information in a “cloud” rather than on a hard drive or computer. These clouds usually refer to some place on the Internet. For example, rather than storing all of its clients profiles, passwords, user names, etc. on their personal servers, social networking sites like MySpace or FaceBook could simply save all of the information on the Internet. This eliminates much of the cost of securing and encrypting the information themselves, which allows the site to keep more of its revenue, and possibly add more features as it sees fit. Another thing to consider is the ergonomics of such a system; rather than storing the required information on a huge expanse of many computers, the information and data could be stored on maybe one computer, using about half of the space, as half is directly put to the Internet.

Now we’ll examine the downsides, and the detriments are much more prevalent than the positives. Instead of the information being stored on their own computers, these sites and companies now store them on the Internet in cloud computing. Think about the security risks of this; if you keep your car in a random parking lot to conserve space in your garage, how safe do you think your car will be? Likely, you could come back to visit your car to find that everything has been stolen out of it; or if you are quite unlucky, perhaps the car isn’t there at all anymore. The principles are the same, these companies’ are leaving the information much more unprotected when they don’t secure them themselves. Who knows who is actually securing, let alone encrypting these servers? These massive conduits could be being hacked by just about anyone, and this is what has seemed to happen.

Now even our government is storing their information of national security on these clouds. While it is an economical practice, we need to be careful about what kind of information is stored there. Any mundane boring stuff can be filed away unchecked in the cloud computing system, but anything of value or a threat to one’s security should be kept safe and secure.

Since the average person has no say in where their data goes and how well it is encrypted, or who tries to hack it, you have to be proactive and seek the power to do so from outside sources. Using a change IP proxy server can keep you safe and anonymous on the Internet. This anonymous browsing can actually encrypt your data, so at least you can make sure your information is safe. Using an IP Changer can preemptively eliminate many privacy issues you can face online.

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This breed of criminals would star in the good old mafia films, the ones so outdated they would be in scratchy gray-scale. Aside from their Hollywood glitz surface though, these guys did some bad stuff. Not just the mafia gangs, but street criminals are responsible for most of the destruction and fright many citizens experience now. These people were the ones who left bystanders feeling nervous for their lives, and were bait for sensationalist news reports adding to the hysteria.

These guys were the worst of the worst in their time. They were the scum of the Earth, the ones that, when families saw their mug shots on television, would shield their kid’s eyes, as if their gaze had some strange powers. These were the reasons that America walks on eggshells with its prison system. It is a strange thing that such a free society breeds: you have these excellent freedoms, yet it is just hoped for that you will not abuse them. Unfortunately, while most of us follow our guidelines, guys like these don’t and it affects the rest of us harshly.

The criminals of old, the ones that would hold you up with their guns and then take all of your goods, although a force to be reckoned with no doubt, are child’s play to our crooks of today. The criminals of today have an overpowering advantage; technology is on their side. You might think that technology is really on the law’s side, making it easier and faster to get these criminals but in fact it just makes more easily concealed. The crooks have adopted the high tech equipment for themselves and become quite adept with it.

Think of the average crime scene. An sly criminal who wanted some money would see a rich-looking person, and judge their odds of winning. Weapons brandished and in a sequestered location they would confront their target, wave the gun around, and proceed to take their money. Once they get all of the money out of the wallet, they would tell the victim to not call the police. They would then sprint all of the way to their hideout and lay low for a little while, until the police were off of them.

In those times of old, only very rudimentary methods of catching the criminals existed, nothing like using satellite location and GPS tracking. These factors did not hurt the law too much though: with a well-staffed and highly trained police force, the thief was often caught quickly. There was not any tools of the trade they could make use of to try and scramble the evidence or hide themselves quickly. Once they were apprehended, there was no DNA clues to tie them at the crime scene, instead there was only a basic line-up and the victim, where the victim identified their abuser.

Technology is our hero then, right? Unfortunately, this is often not the case. While our rapid success in producing DNA tracking, fingerprints and other technological advances, these tools can also help in the suspect’s runaway from justice. A running car is the most high-tech equipment a criminal today needs to disappear; it doesn’t matter is they know exactly who did the act. If they can’t go out and get them, all of their information on them is quite useless.

An intangible crime; the perfect crime. These are hard hitters for law enforcement, as there is no scene of the crime and due to the technological shield the criminal can put up around their location. Another scary thing is that, these identity thieves and hackers, as aforementioned, are seldom caught and brought to justice. So with no viable means to effectively stop them, we can only hope to protect ourselves from their strike. Always be very wary online, and protect yourself with a multitude of Internet security systems. And avoid secluded areas!

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One of the things they do not cover is that using an IP changer is a good idea. After you watch the video, please read through some of our posts on change IP proxies.

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You are very likely wondering what an IP changer is.  The first thing to understand is that there are two different kinds of IP changers.  The one that is most commonly used is a web-based IP changerbecause they’re very easy to find.  You can find one by doing a simple search on Google for the term “change IP” since there will be a large number of results returned.  Once you choose one and go to the site you will find an empty box that is used to type in the URL of the web address you want to visit.  The IP changer then takes you to the address you entered without showing your IP address.  There will never be a record of your visit when you leave the site.  The IP changer works as both a retrieval tool and protection.  It sends you to the desired website and keeps a thief from gaining access to your IP address.  If a thief gets your IP address, he or she will know where you are located.  These are not the type of people that you want to know your name and address.

The next kind of IP changer is change IP software. This is similar to the web-based IP changer, but a program is downloaded to your computer.  Many of these kinds of software programs are designed so that when traffic from your browser goes through the IP servers, before they are changed they are encrypted.  The encryption process protects the data stream so a hacker is unable to read anything you are sending over the Internet.  Without this encryption the data stream is left wide open and vulnerable to anyone that uses a packet sniffer.  Unprotected communications over the Internet is one of the most common ways for a person to lose their money or identity.

Setting up this type of IP changer is a pretty simple process.  You simply download the change IP software to your computer.  The software will leave a quick launch icon on the computers desktop.  Once you open the program, you will have to input your user name and a secure password.  Next, you will choose the IP changer location you wish to use from the list of options, hit enter, and your computer will be connected to the selected IP changer.  The browser you are using can be opened and the IP address will be changed to one from the software program.  It’s a great idea to keep your IP address from showing up on each site you decide to visit.  There will no longer be an electronic trail that leads to your computer each time you are online.  It goes to the server that the company that offers the change IP software program uses.  These kinds of IP changers have more servers at their disposal to handle the traffic and are faster than the free IP changers that can be found online.   Additionally, you will not be inundated with all the advertisements that are usually placed on the free IP changer servers.

This entire process provides a safe and secure way of taking care of anything online.  Instead of anyone having total access to your private and pertinent information, your IP address is quickly routed through change IP servers.  This will eliminate any chance of a hacker gaining control of your data while online.  By using a wireless router or a laptop on a hotspot you are taking the chance of allowing everything you are doing to be viewed by someone that is waiting patiently for an unsuspecting surfer to come along.  Are you aware that your ISP keeps a log of everything you are doing on the Internet?  The law states that they are required to record the sites that are visited.  Is this really anybody’s business but your own?   The most reliable way to be sure that no one keeps track of your online activities is to use change IP software that will encrypt your communications and keep them entirely private.

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For some, they are using ads to subsidize their IP changer.  Others however are more insidious.  They are using IP changers as a way to collect information from your web surfing.  They do this by reading all the information that goes through their servers.  Depending upon what sites you are visiting and what information you are sending, this can be extremely worrisome.

A paid IP changer leaves very little room for doubt as to why they are spending the money to promote their product.  They have service that they are offering and they expect to make a profit.  I don’t know about you, but I like to understand the motives of people I do business with.  I like to know how they are making their money.  And if how they make money is not obvious, I worry.

Maybe this sounds paranoid.  But even the paranoid are right sometimes.  Further I would argue that with all the spyware and viruses on the Internet, this proves that there are a lot of people with very malicious intent.

So we recommend that you don’t skimp on your anti-virus or your anti-spyware.  And obviously we also suggest that you pay for your IP changer.  Your privacy and security should not be left to the goodwill of people you don’t know.

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Spam for most is just an annoying obfuscator when surfing through their emails; with Pavlovian dog like conditioning, they simply delete these emails as they come in. This is the reality though, as most spam blockers featured on many email hosts only block messages from companies, not sovereign people. These spam emails can be much more dangerous than anyone thinks though, and this is where the skilled hackers thrive.  Your Internet provider will tell you never to reply to a spam message, but what if you didn’t know this? Imagine yourself a youth, just beginning to use the Internet. You establish an email account, and inevitably receive your first pieces of spam to fill your inbox, claiming that you are the recipient of a million dollars, all you have to do is give them your social security number and they will do the rest. Or perhaps you are an adult who knows darn well to not open spam. You get that one enticing message, “You have just won a million dollars!” and you know it is probably spam. As is human nature to be interested though, you open it and allow a hacker’s virus to enter your computer, and surreptitiously steal all sorts of information from you. Soon enough you realize that it wasn’t the people who wanted to give money to you, but rather to rob you of every dime you have.

Identity theft is a serious crime in today’s technologically dominated society. People are becoming educated about other ways they are in danger, but they would never expect the benign annoyance of spam emails to be such a potential threat. Do yourself a favor and use a change IP proxy anytime you surf the Internet. This IP changer will change your IP address and disable any hacker or their spam virus emails from following you or stealing any of your information. As far as avoiding spam goes, if it is too good to be true, you probably are not the unexpected winner or receiver of a large fortune.

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A ton of work goes into the successful running of a good school. There is so much information that must be spot on in order to keep a contained and safe atmosphere. If a teacher teaches about seven classes, with about twenty kids a class, this is a large amount of grades to be done! The papers must first be graded, the put into the grade system, then given back to the students, and then every student’s final grades must be calculated at the end of the grading quarter. For large schools of about a thousand students, attendance must be entered every day and every child missing has to be accounted for and possibly an inquisition if the story doesn’t check out.

All of this stuff is purely logistical; in order to run such a tight ship, much information has to be kept on each student. This includes the mundane stuff like parent names and contact information just in case some sort of emergency might occur, or just information so that the teacher can call and inform the parent of their young student’s progress academically, or their problems behaviorally. Addresses often need to be known of and documented as well, so as to send report cards and other items of interest to the parents.

While this information is for the most part very harmless, some of the information the schools must keep is a bit worrisome. For example, pretty much all students must hand over their social security number and their student number (which controls in school internal activities) to the office for administrative purposes. Schools actually keep records of student pregnancy and student juvenile records as well. It is certainly necessary for these things to be kept, but are they guarded well?

Most say no. This information can be accessed by hacking a very lightly protected school computer network. Keep in mind also all of the people who see the information. Anyone with an administrative password or access to someone who does has a whole wealth of social security numbers and other valuable information from every student at their hands.

While it is difficult and often unavoidable to have your school have this information, you can certainly protect it well yourself. Your computer is where you are most vulnerable, and ironically enough, often most unprotected. The best way to protect yourself is to use an IP changer. It is the pesky IP address that often gives away our information and leaves you prone to hackers; using a change IP proxy you can create a changed IP that keeps you hidden and throws the hackers off of yours tracks.

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