Someone has invaded my privacy / is trying to steal my ID!

Look top right of screen to see what I already know about you!This is just the tip of the iceberg!

With a little more effort and time spammers, crooks and government agencies (or me) could find almost everything about you unless you are browsing this page behind cloaking software like Steganos Anonymiser or using someone else's computer/internet connection. Even then , you would not be invisible to government agencies.  You can do some 'harmless' snooping of your own here just to give you some idea of the type of the basic tools anyone can use to check you out here, but of course, there are far more sophisticated tools available for the dedicated professional snoop!

Click the link to do some snooping.  and test your self-defence skills hereThis is an interactive interactive audio-visual quiz from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
It will show you in an amusing way how to protect your identity.

Click link to test yourself!.

Have you ever heard of the ever-watchful Big Brother in George Orwell's book '1984'? Well, the FBI had a program called Carnivore that could read all our email and more! This article from HowStuffWorks.com makes for fascinating/sobering reading!

Click link for more info. What only the FBI was once able to do can now be done by anyone! So, unless you are taking continuous steps to protect your Internet browsing and your emailing activities, you are 'open season' for every snooper ... legal or criminal.

Am I paranoid or are you complacent? What is Spyware,malware etc, from Computer Associates:

"Spyware is a fast-growing threat that represents a major security and privacy risk. Spyware is a program that is installed, with or without the user's permission, and can monitor computer activity while broadcasting the information back to an outside party that controls the program. Spyware comes in many shapes and sizes. Some types of spyware are simply an annoyance causing increased spam or unwanted pop-ups, while others can threaten your security. These pests often lurk silently on your computer until someone or something sets them off. Spyware can do more than steal your personal information. It can also rob your PC of its speeds, stability and Internet access efficiency."

Read more by clicking the link.  and how do you know you are not being watched? For less than $100 you can legally buy and use privacy invasive software.
This is the promotional blurb of one such program, shown by Google in a listing for anti-phishing and anti-scam software! I have change the name so that I could ask you what really bad things could you use it for?

'The StealthSnooper Extra Install Edition is designed for people who need to secretly monitor a computer, but don't have physical access to it. This version includes all the great features of The StealthSnooper Basic, in addition to the Remote Install Tool, which allows you to continually monitor a computer even if it is located on the other side of the world. The StealthSnooper Extra enables you to install the software on your local computer and 2 other remote computers. The StealthSnooper Extra can also be uninstalled remotely after a time period that you specify elapses.
The StealthSnooper is ideal if you need to discreetly monitor your college student's computer or the activities of an employee.'

Now that you know more (I am assuming you read the links) you realize that whenever you surf the Internet, a stranger, without your knowledge or permission, is peeking over your shoulder recording your every step, patiently toiling to steal the details of your ID. Just so that you can be quite sure of that, read this 'How Identity Theft Works' written by Lee Ann Obringer, this article will open your eyes about identity theft both in the real and virtual worlds! You will discover that privacy invasion is not all by stealth, and that some of it happens to us because, often through our own greed or more simply, naive expectations, we willingly help criminals access our computers. Most of the time we are not aware of their intent and our foolishness until problems begin to happen. Its an easy read (printable) and should convince you to treat the defense of your privacy and identity with far more active concern than perhaps has been your way.

Click link to read the article.  and look at this weekly real-time ThreatMap Maintained by Web Sense Security Labs, this ThreatMap should shatter any cosy beliefs you may have about your Internet privacy by the way the map eloquently demonstrates the extent of the world-wide problem.

Click link to see the ThreatMap.

Here is How to detect spiesI suggest that once you get there that you bookmark that site (add to favorites) and refer to it often!

Click link to read the article. after which you will know why you need a configurable FireWall like ZoneAlarmThis popular, free, configurable firewall controls what information/data you allow to flow into and out of your computer. On the high plains of people more expert than I can claim to be there is a continuing debate about the efficacy of software firewalls but for us mere mortals something that will stop most programs from "calling home", stop most intruders is vital. Best of all, the ability to switch off the Internet connection either temporarily and automatically while you on an extended phone call or switching off ADSL or broadband connections while you are away from your computer for some time is real security! The free version of ZoneAlarm does all this and I install it on every computer that I am asked to look at. The paid version comes with its own anti-virus suite.

Click link to download and install the free version of ZoneAlarm. , and the benefits of cloaking software such as Steganos Internet Anonymwhich allows you to surf anonymously, download anonymously and destroy all traces of your online activity. It may make your browsing a little slower, but already the benefits of being anonymous and browsing the web anonymously will outweigh any browsing speed cost.

Click link go to the Steganos Anonym web site.

Additionally, FileHounda toolbar currently only available for IE but they tell me that a version for FireFox will be launched in late August 2006. It simply warns you if the web site you are about to visit is on a list of known privacy abusers. Sort of like a "Beware of Dog!" keep out notice.

Click link to go to the FireTrust web site. will warn you whenever you are considering browsing a privacy invasive web site. You should, of course, regularly run anti-spy softwareI have always liked to have second opinion but experience now makes me use at least 3 anti-spyware programs. Recently I had some difficulty cleaning a PC belonging to a young man who has an autistic type disability and pretty much say 'yes' to every alert pop-up. Without a controllable firewall (only Windows resident firewall installed!) in 3 weeks of connection his machine became infested with over 200 'drive-by' spyware/malware/dialers/keyloggers! Most of these were terminated by AdAware (free) and Spybot's Search and Destroy (also free) but neither one found and terminated Quake AntiSpyware - itself infected with a Trojan that he had seen advertised and downloaded. (You can check out Quake AntiSpyware Trojan here.) So I suggested he buy Spyware Doctor which is one of the few that can detect and remove Quake AntiSpyware. You can run Doctor AntiSpyware online: it will tell you what it finds, but will only remove problems after you buy it. It does happen to be one of the top 5 anti-spyware products around.

Click link to go to see list.
N.B. About Phishing and Pharming Despite the fact that phishing and pharming are growth identity theft industries, they are nasty versions of scams and hoaxes and I have decided to discuss them in more detail on spam and hoax page of cimera.net.
The subject of privacy invasion (think erosion) and ID theft is both huge and far-reaching. What is needed are activist willing to fight the fight.

Click link to go to that cimera.net page.