Everyone has heard about the “Cash For Clunkers” program the government has instated of late, in an effort to get Americans to trade in their uneconomical, “gas guzzling” cars. The program offered a significant amount of money to citizens who decided to pursue this route, and they actually traded in their big cars for more miles per gallon, smaller cars. This seems like a good move for everyone, as everyone needs money, and the government is working to decrease pollution and keep the environment a bit cleaner; a win-win.

The program is done through a website, www.cars.gov, and from there dealers and people alike can see the options they have for trade-in values and can sign up for the program. Everything sounds good right? Wrong. Fox News’ Glenn Beck recently uncovered some ominous news from the website and its fine print that absolutely no one reads.

He says that once you go to the site, sign up and sign in, that you are directed to a Privacy and Security act site. This is standard stuff right? The kind of stuff that you see and blindly accept on every website you visit. This is where you made the mistake. Lately, the news have seen some cases of these terms of service agreements containing some questionable doctrines and other little pieces of information they assume no one will even bother to read. They were right for the most part, but there is always that one curious guy to spoil their fun and actually read the contract before accepting it.

Glenn Beck is that man in this situation, and he has uncovered some shocking and scary things in the Cash For Clunkers contract. It states that upon log in of the site, your computer becomes U.S. property and becomes usable by anyone in the U.S. government and its affiliates. They also have the right to keep surveillance on your system and view any documents they want, for an indefinite period of time after the offer has expired.

This is quite a privacy concern. Allowing the government access to your computer during a crisis is one thing, but allowing them lifetime access to all of your documents, folders, browsing history, and even allowing them to take control of your computer at times is a completely different thing. Almost makes you rethink your commitment to the environment, or just the lure of easy money.

This a serious privacy issue. Nobody should be allowed access to your computer but you. Using a change ip proxy will enable you to be safe and untraceable on the Internet. These services also usually offer an encryption service that will encode all data flowing through your server to make them appear as hieroglyphics. Maybe the government could still get through it, but that average hacker wouldn’t stand a chance versus your bolstered protection.

Be Sociable, Share!

•