The Internet: How Private is Your Privacy?

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The Internet: How Private is Your Privacy?
Would you go up to a random stranger and hand them all of your personal information: home address, social security number, credit card number, etc…? This is exactly what people do every single day when they are on the internet signing up for online banking, social networks, and even online shopping. According to Internet World Stats, approximately 239,893,600 people in the United States alone account as internet users by 2010 (United States). Consequently, the Internet has infiltrated the lives of so many and has become the main source of dependency to get things accomplished. But as time goes on, and technology becomes more advanced, people are starting to see that their private information may not be as private as they once thought.
Before the internet, people had to pay their bills through mail or by taking it to the company themselves, communicate by telephone or letters, and shop by physically going to the store. As the internet advanced, the ability to pay bills, communicate and shop online seemed more appealing and convenient. With this, the act of openly sharing private information online became less of a taboo and instead became the norm of society.
Today, most billing agencies have online payment options for their customers. Although this new option has served to be more convenient and efficient than paying on paper, like all good things, it comes with its own risks. Nicola J. Mrazek, the trial attorney for the fraud section of the criminal division at the U.S. Department of Justice, reported that of all the fraud complaints received by the Federal Trade Commission in 2006, forty-eight percent were Internet related. Although the rate of complaints rose significantly, the rate...

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Lehavot, Keren. “’MySpace’ or Yours? The Ethical Dilemma of Graduate Students’ Personal
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Levin, Adam. “Heartbleed: Why Changing Your Passwords Isn’t Enough.” Huffington Post 14
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Tan, Xin, et al. "Impact of Privacy Concern in Social Networking Web Sites." Internet Research
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