Motorists have been the subject of many criminal investigations lately. Being that they have to the ability to leave the scene of the crime so quickly, methods are being employed to try and stop this unrestricted crime spree. First, there were cameras installed on police cars to tape chases and give indisputable evidence. Then, there were cameras installed on traffic lights to catch speeders and those who run the lights, and mail them a hardy ticket and a picture of themselves speeding. Now, in San Francisco, they wish to photograph every car that passes through the small town of Tiburon, to try and prevent crime and track criminals.

This city is full of many extremely swanky houses and is thusly a strong target for criminals hoping to make some money robbing the rich. The town proposes to take a picture with pre-installed cameras of every vehicle’s license plate that enters the city. They say that this will help combat crime in the some nine-thousand citizen city. People are a bit afraid as top the privacy repercussions this ratification could render, but the Town Manager assures everything will be anonymous and safe, provided you don’t come in on a stolen car or anything. If you are an average, law-abiding citizen, this will affect you absolutely zero says the Manager.

PayPal runs a tight ship on security. Even as a first-time buyer, they have all sorts of information about you. They can access records of other sites you have went to and find your e-mail records too, but not for a bad purpose; they judge whether you are a criminal or not.

People leave all sorts of information online, and much of it is harmless. Imagine it as a trail of breadcrumbs; this is what companies use to determine whether you are a potential criminal or not. PayPal tracks these little signs all the way back to the source. Their philosophy is that even safety conscious people leave a small trail while surfing the web, and only criminals are completely untraceable.

PayPal asserts that the secret to their success is their rigorous security measures. Even before they were purchased by Ebay, they had a leg up over the competition by allowing consumers to purchase items and merchandise by credit card. Most companies would not allow this due to the risk of an interception of the transaction, or just a simple inherent fear of trusting an anonymous person over the web with this sensitive information. They have always been more wary of sellers than buyers though, because it would be easy for a vendor to get their money and take their merchandise and skip town, as is the cliché of Internet scammers.

Internet companies have been in lawmakers sights lately over the treatment of information they gather from their surfers, and how well protected it really is. Essentially, these behavioral advertisers track where you have been and bring you related advertisement. That wouldn’t fly in real life, and people are tired of it happening online.

Lawmakers in the House are taking action. They are writing laws and other new documents that propose to limit the amount of unauthorized snooping that goes on when Internet companies look at your browsing histories. They also wish to educate the public on how they could better protect themselves while online.

While the bill is being debated in congress, there is not enough energy to go all around, with health care and energy conservation taking up most of the floor time. The issue isn’t pigeonholed though, and it will up for consideration next year.

Google, Yahoo, and other search engines and sites to be affected by this bill are a bit torn on where they stand: they want people to have their privacy, but at the same time, they make money through these advertisers.

Long gone are the days when two warring factions would line up to face each, announce a start, and then enter the hectic fray. Nowadays, the “old war” of guns, blood, and violence is taking a backseat to a new kind of war: a virtual one.

This new modern warfare occurs on the Internet, and the winner isn’t the one with the least dead or the last standing; he is the one with the enemy Intel stored away nice and safe. In order to protect itself, the U.S. will need a vast and in-depth monitoring system, and we might find an extension of the Patriot Act in the works.

Last month, President Obama unveiled this huge new Internet security overhaul. He insists that all civil liberties will be upheld during any surveillance the system will be doing. His senior officials however, think that the complete upholding of all privacy laws will be difficult to do, when scanning every virtual nook and cranny to scout out terrorist activity.

The National Security Agency (NSA) is the branch that is going to spearhead the virtual protection of the U.S. This agency has been in a bit of controversy in the past for supposed privacy invasion. The nation’s security is not a matter to be taken lightly though, and they can justify every action they make. Some have just felt that they have been a bit more invasive than they need to be.

This world is all about one thing, information. Every time you connect to the Internet, your every action is being watched, logged and saved in databases all over the world. Most of the time, almost always actually, the information is perfectly harmless and can serve to make your surfing a more enjoyable and quicker experience, However, there are times when knowing how to protect your Internet Privacy as well as knowing when and where you are at risk can be an invaluable bit of knowledge.

Online business, activities and transactions are increasing exponentially each year. That means that a ton of money is flowing through this virtual world, and where there is a lot of money, usually, there is a lot of greed as well. Some people will do anything to make a quick buck, so the average consumer needs to be on guard. Unfortunately, many people are still in the dark when in comes to staying safe online. Everyday, there are more and more people who become victims of internet fraud and scams because they have neglected to take online security seriously.

A recent report by Government Computer News sheds light on a topic that millions of people all over the world deal with on a regular basis: Internet privacy and security in the hotel industry. People have many different reasons to travel, but with the modern tech-era upon us one of the most frequently asked questions when booking a hotel is: “Do you have Internet?” That answer is most likely a, “yes.”

Beginning this month, many news sources (including Cnet and PC Magazine) have been reporting on the Chinese version of Skype that spies on certain “sensitive words” and blocks them from servers if needed. Skype is a software that allows you to make phone calls over the Internet and use your computer’s microphone and speakers to communicate with others. It is sort of like a beefed up version of AIM, but along with instant messaging allows you to video conference and make phone calls.

With recent blog posts about the Virginia Watchdog and PulaskiWatch, it was only a matter of time before someone had their identity stolen due to the negligence of county clerks posting sensitive information. Computerworld reported on a Ohio woman suing the county clerk after her identity was stolen. An image of a speeding ticket, containing her personal information, was posted on the county website.

Reported by the Wall Steet Journal:

The Department of Homeland Security will begin the first phase of a satellite surveillance program. Surprisingly, the department has not guaranteed or ensured that the program will not break any privacy laws. The spy program, known as the National Applications Office, is meant to provide government officials (on multiple levels) with access to satellite imagery. This pertains to security needs, such as identifying weaknesses at borders and ports, and was also created with the intentions of assisting emergency response.