It's no joke!
It seems that on-line
security is becoming more important every day, not necessarily from
the standpoint of personal information, but perhaps more so from
others simply spying on you gathering information as to the websites
you visit, and the types of media you might be downloading. Even
those that dislike what Edward Snowden did have to admit
that in many ways he was absolutely correct. At first I was one that
would have labeled him a traitor, but after looking long and hard at
what it was that he was actually trying to bring to light, I now
applaud him to a certain degree.
To think that it is
ok for anyone to snoop around in your own private business is
ridiculous. Unless you are a convicted felon or have a long history
of criminal activity, there should be absolutely no reason for anyone
to “eavesdrop” on your day to day roaming, the internet no
exception.
One way to thwart your Internet Service Provider (or ISP) from aiding those that would pry, is by making use of a service called
VPN, or Virtual Private Network. There are many providers of this
service available that offer free as well as paid services. The paid
services such as Private Internet Access often provide a service
that is better, long term and farther reaching with a yearly
subscription at a reasonable price, but for short term use many of
the free services such as VPNbook will function well enough.
Although services like these will keep your ISP from prying
into your surfing, they do not shield you from sites of public
domain, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc, where despite your
personal arguments, everything you post is up for grabs regardless of
your privacy settings. Some may argue that
these service allow you to circumnavigate safety protocols that the
ISP has in place. While that may be true, you as the end user should
hold that right … AND I might add THAT RESPONSIBILITY! In other
words if you are going to use the service for less-than-legal
purposes, well you, and you alone are the guilty party.
