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Personal Security on the Internet and by Mail The case of Peter Oiler and Winn-Dixie is a vivid reminder of what can go wrong to anyone who has transgender expression as part of their lives. For those of you who want more info see http://www.prideatwork.org/archive/winndixie.htm http://www.aclufl.org/body_oiler_release_1000.html and of course either the use of Peter Oiler and/or Winn-Dixie in a search engine will bring up many more discussions. Oiler outed himself. But other activities leave traces which can lead to problems too. This page is a brief discussion of privacy issues and references about those issues. It should not be considered or authoritative (yet). Personal Computers: The Library, Home and at Work If you use a personal computer from a public place such as a library you can never be sure whether monitoring software is in place to track patron activities. Or perhaps someone is hysically looking over your shoulder. Even on a computer in your home, your privacy isn't what you might think it is. The Windows operating system, the use of cookies, the Netscape and Internet Explorer Web-browsers all leave files in the computer which show what web sites you've visited. If your children use your computer, or if you allow non-family members to use your computer, your use of the computer can be studied without your consent, by people you may not want to know about it. Never use a computer at work for a personal purpose, such as visiting this website. Your employer has a legal right to monitor all use of your computer, check for files stored on it and the obligation to ensure that your use of an office computer complies with company policy and state and federal laws. Electronic Mail, or email has limitations on privacy which need to be understood. First there is the matter of what you put into your email yourself. For example, we recently had one inexperienced person send an email with their real name embedded in the return address. You can't assume that everyone out there in the electronic universe cares as much about your security and privacy as Alpha Omega does. A simple protection, although not proof against a serious investigation is the use of an alias. While your email is normally handled by your internet service provider (ISP), you can set up dummy accounts at number of sources which provide some protection against casual snooping. (Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.) Note- If the government really wants to track your activities it can use subpoena power and force such services to disclose record which will lead to your doorstep. The Telephone: There are many sites by which searches for telephone numbers can be done. Giving out your phone number in web-site, an email or in a chat-room can allow a search to be done for you just by the number. Unless you've taken steps to have an unlisted number your name and address will be available for public inspection. Even if unlisted, your phone number can be used by legal authorities to get that same information. Post-Office Boxes: Some people assume that a post-office box provides them with some anonymity. The key word is some. Anyone can request a post-office branch to provide the legal registration under which a US post-office box was rented. A PO Box provides privacy only to the extent that no-one bothers to check. Viruses- Who hasn't heard about computer viruses. Be aware that some of these critters not only trash your computer, or propogate themselves via email, but can also function as little spies in your system, exposing your activities to the virus's master. Keeping yourself free of viruses is more and more important these days. Does and Don't for being relatively invisible on the web: Do: Use a dummy account Do: Be very careful about giving out phone numbers. Don't: Use the internet to make threatening remarks about government officials or installations. In our post 9/11 environment both surveillance software and hardware (CARNIVORE for example) is being used to scan all net activities. And remember that the anonymity that pretends to protect you also protects government agents and informants. Your conversation partners or the owner's of a chat site may also find your conduct of concern and voluntarily turn in records leading to your doorstep. Very few people right now would want to be an inadvertent part of some subsequent terrorist act, and they will tend to act in a precautionary manner. For another viewpoint see: http://www.transgender.org/stlgf/ntgo/ck1.html References: For further discussions on Privacy and Security on the Internet you might want to conduct your own search on subject. Here are some references we at Alpha Omega found that may be of further interest. http://www.epic.org/privacy/tools.html http://www.epic.org/privacy/privacy_resources_faq.html
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