The Internet: Good or Bad

            In our society today we have many needs that must be pleased and many things we want to know that we don’t know yet. Today we have a too and a very useful tool as well, but is it safe? The internet is used word wide; www stands for World Wide Web after all.   Whether you’re an average teenager wanting to keep in touch with friends after school, or a business person needing a low cost but effective way to keep work related material local and secret, chances are you use E-Mail or Instant Messaging services. For communication purposes in this high tech lifestyle that exists today, these systems are used only with the basic understanding needed to run these devices.

            The Internet was invented in the late 1960s. Back then, the Department of Defense called it ARPAnet (Advanced Research Projects Agency network) and it was intended to link research facilities, defense contractors, and government agencies. The first public demonstration of ARPAnet was in 1972 and technicians proudly displayed a network that connected 50 universities and research facilities. Today there are millions of computers on the Internet. Electronic mail (e-mail) and Usenet (short for "user network") news groups were the first applications. Internet privacy laws have been passed to protect different groups in different ways. One such privacy law was passed in 1996 called the Communications Decency Act (Tulsa, 2002).

            According to an article called Free speech, and safe children, there is one Act that is solid in the fight to protect the minors of today’s Internet world. This act is called the Children’s Internet Protection Act, or CIPA enacted in 2000. (Tulsa, 2002). The material that may not be suitable for child can be available on personal computers at home, which change the fact that many children are going to view the media if they choose to do so. However, there are many ways schools and libraries can stop the media from reaching the young students of today by using newly advanced software technologies. There are so many ways that people want to protect other kids and teens because internet is not safe.

            Almost every one that has been on the Internet or that uses e-mail has heard of hacking. Hacking is very serious in some cases. How would you like a hacker to intercept your credit card number and start using it to buy his or her own stuff? A lot of us would not like that, because the hacker is stealing from us. When the Internet first started to develop, hackers could get into anything and do anything. With the protection programs that we write, the hackers write their own programs to disregard our individual privacy on the Internet and hack into systems holding our private information and stealing it to reveal some of our biggest secrets. Many web sites deposit data about an individuals visit onto his own hard drive while he is surfing the web in the form of cookies. When the user returns to that site the cookies reveal that he has been there before and may offer products or ads based on the data in the retrieved cookie (Computer Privacy Presentation). Even though it may seem immediate, an e-mail message travels from ones computer to several computer hosts across the world before finally reaching its destination. At every stopping point, it could be intercepted and examined by anyone who has right of entry to those intermediate computer hosts.

           It is necessary for the battle for privacy to be fought on many fronts such as legal, political, and technological. The Internet presents many benefits in the lives of patrons. However, as it is seen, it may bring new threats to personal privacy. Any cyberspace users should be aware of the potential of the invasion of privacy and should thoroughly inspect new services before moving further. This electronic environment does not obey the same rules as the physical environment within which we live. People now have the opportunity to access an infinite array of information or to communicate with people on earth or in outer space. The technology for this world is progressing at a profound pace and it seems as if something revolutionary is being implemented all the time. But along with this innovative technology, in a world of few regulations, come many opportunities for infringement upon user’s rights that were implemented in the real world. Computers and the internet are merely tools to access this median between users and the massive amounts of information available.      

They still have a long way to go before the Internet is secured from both sexual advertising to minors and individuals with capabilities to monitor your actions on the computer. So the next time you are using the computer and think your along, you may want to think about who is monitoring the computer and internet. The topic of internet privacy is an interesting topic to cover in that today so many people utilize the internet which causes a need for the regulation of peoples’ individual freedoms in cyber space. The internet is so popular that anything having to do with it directly or indirectly affects us all. The question arises as to how much or little regulation should applied as to make the internet safe from those who miss use it, yet at the same time not compromising peoples’ right to confidentiality.