If you use a computer and you surf the Web, the Internet's open architecture has made you visible to the world. So claims The Hundredth Window, Charles Jennings and Lori Fena's exposé on Internet security--or the lack thereof. Regardless of how you feel about privacy, though, this book can help you understand the risks of Internet use--plus convince you to take some precautions to minimize them. The proverbial hundredth window represents the most vulnerable link in a system. It derives from an allegory relating castle windows to potential security holes. If even one out of a hundred windows is left open, security becomes compromised. Since the Internet maximizes information sharing (admittedly a largely beneficial enterprise) would-be big-time marketers and shady characters can--without trying all that hard--spy on your Web clicking habits, read your e-mail, and even see files on your hard disk drive. This means you may receive spam from marketers who think they know what kind of stuff you like to buy--e-mail that can be helpful to some and aggravating to others. Sharing your name and other identifying personal information can cause you more serious problems: someone else could use that information to commit fraud or other crimes--and you would be responsible.
Now, it's unlikely you'd undergo the sort of nightmare invasion of your privacy that occurred in the movie Enemy of the State, but the exchange of personal information about Internet users is undeniably a multibillion-dollar business. It's the increasingly fervent desire of marketing executives to know intimate details about you so they can help you shop. Maybe this is no skin off your nose, but take this example: you have a parent or grandparent with a serious illness and so you spend time researching the illness on the Web; consequently, your name is marked as a potential high risk and passed on to insurers. Numerous variations on this scenario are possible, and this book can get you started on the road to protecting yourself from potential problems.
Experts on this topic, authors Jennings and Fena have compiled a series of easy steps to help you minimize your visibility in cyberspace. Their approach isn't terribly sophisticated--they suggest you clear out your Web-browser cookies and use fake information when registering on Web sites, for example--but it's effective. They also offer several handy techniques that erase your Web footprints, such as leaving your America Online member profile blank and using blocking software. The topic of Internet security can sometimes get relegated to the land of the paranoid. But in this case, the advice is sensible and the solutions are practical. --Teri Kieffer
Privacy advocates Jennings and Fena, founders of the Internet watchdog group TRUSTe, provide an informative look at the typical day of a high-tech user, noting the myriad ways in which such an individual exposes information about personal income, health, buying preferences, and daily activities. They counsel online consumers on how to protect their privacy by encrypting e-mail, checking for security provisions on Web sites, and updating browsers. They examine the relative security of popular Web sites and consider both the particular vulnerability of children and how parents can protect theirs from online predators. One chapter, in particular, explores issues of free speech and pornography on the Internet. Jennings and Fena offer sound advice on chat rooms, cookies, and online purchasing with credit cards, and they also look at potential future threats to privacy. An insightful overview of how the meaning of privacy has changed with the growing use of technology and the Internet. Vanessa Bush
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