First off privacy is an issue.
1: One company called doubleclick uses cookies and has contracts
with isps and collects information on users and then sells this
information to marketing corporations. All of this without the
knowledge or consent of users.
2: There are programs called email harvesters that scan
websites like search bots that look for bot tags in html,
well these harvesters can collected email address, user names
of webboards. Without the permission or consent of the owner
of the site!
3. Isp's do collect information on their users and store that
info in databases as do websites like amazon.com
4. Go to the mall, a bank, any store in the mall, and their
are cameras watching people. In NY city there are cameras
on sides of buildings that take pictures of all people who
walkby.
5. Marketing companies and your bank and credit card companies
that you use, can legally sell your bank account numbers, credit
card numbers and even your social security numbers. No bull shit! It was on cnn that a company was buying credit card
numbers and missusing them.
Summary:
Ok now you are starting to think about the lack
of privacy these days. Where does it stop?
All I have to say Paul is please think about this.
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/dbnation/ Database Nation
The Death of Privacy in the 21st Century
By Simson Garfinkel
January 2000
1-56592-653-6, Order Number: 6536
320 pages, $24.95
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/dbnation/chapter/ch06.html This is a sample chapter on how medical records are being misused