While doing some work, I came across an article about privacy issues and how Google and all the other big names like Yahoo, MSN have huge amounts of data to profile their users.

In an earlier article I was encouraging people to use Google like a "Swiss army knife" while surfing. Any questions that comes to your mind, just enter some keywords into Google's searchbox, browse around the returning results, go back to whatever you are doing. And don't forget to include word like "sucks" to get a feel of what others may be saying about the topic.

It is true to say that the more we use the tools and services provided by online companies like Google, Yahoo or MSN, the more easily we can be profiled by them... and there's nothing wrong with this. Even your corner grocery store will try to profile your needs as his customer after you come to his store a few times.

With technology however, much more data can be collected and collated, and the speed at which it can be disseminated across continents, is astonishing. And like any good thing (didn't we all one time or another, used to have at least one free Yahoo account, Hotmail, Gmail, etc..) such data collected can be abused notwithstanding the privacy standards adopted by the companies per se. Disgruntled ex-staff may leak out information, security may also be breached by crackers or people may be paid to offer such information. These may be events outside the companies' control and if it is true such things happen, good companies take swift measures to rectify these.

How comfortable each of us feel about these companies collecting information about us while we're online depends on our feeling of trust towards the company and this is not something that can be easily discussed over a cup of coffee. Quoting from someone "Trust must be earned, easy to lose it and nearly impossible to regain it".

There are ways to reduce some degree of our nakedness online by clearing our cache and cookies and surf behind a firewall. Just do a google of these words and add the word "delete" or "removing".

The point to accept is this - there's a tradeoff in all this. We cannot want to enjoy all of the online services and conveniences without some disclosure of our identity, habits and preferences every now and then. Online email can always be traced, your online id (ip address) is recorded, browsing habits while shopping online are tracked. Some like tracing of email may be a necessary evil for lack of a better word. Police work may be required to track people with very malicious intentions.

Think about this - sometimes just a simple postage stamp is enough to diminish the enthusiasm of an email fan. Say you want to pen a love poetry which you do not want anyone else in the whole world to see, except your loved one in Denmark - then in all likelihood a simple postage stamp may do the trick. It's a question of balance again.

Enjoying online services and yet maintaining some privacy is not unlike enjoying VIP treatment in a royal suite with butler (not one but a team) at your disposal. In the beginning you enjoy the royalty treatment, those little touches of services here and there - get your coffee and breakfast, your slippers, make your bed. But you may begin to feel uncomfortable if the butler follows you to the toilet, hands you your soap, answers your handphone, insist you change your lunch which is lobster because you have cholestrol problems, or seemed to predict what you want before you even asked for it!

Responsible online companies provide services transparently and always gives the option for you to opt-out anytime. It's a question of trade-off while surfing. If we think it's obtrusive, then say "Enough is enough stop reading my mind. Click, click and double click and opt out. Uninstall the services".

By the way, if you want to have an indication of how many 'butlers' are at your beck and call when you're on Windows, right-click bottom bar anyhere, click 'Task Manager' and see the services there.

James NK Khoo is the owner of Qwenkay Information http://www.qwenkay.com a company providing support for content management systems software and accounting software. Contact james@qwenkay.com

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