by Stephanie A. Smith

Created on: March 02, 2009

The invention of the computer, internet, and all of the devices that have been made for use with it have changed the world. Information, ideas, and even things like this article can be accessed at nearly the speed of light. In the mainstream, this technology is great, and the people's use of it even better, leading to Time Magazine's naming of "YOU" as Person of the Year for the way that we, as a whole use the internet. But as with anything that's good, there is also a bad side. These same computers can be used to steal from us, find out more about us, and spy on us by those people who would do such things.

A computer is the easiest way for someone to get private information about you. One of the most known and destructive ways is identity theft, but there are many other ways that your computer can be used to get information about you.

One of the biggest businesses in the internet is web tracking, where businesses track the number of visits to a website for any number of purposes. This is accomplished by the use of cookies and information that you provide yourself. Cookies are used to track what pages a user has been on and what types of information the user is looking at. Without them, you wouldn't be able to buy items on the internet because cookies are what makes online shopping possible. Also, you wouldn't be able to look at content for free, because advertising uses cookies to keep track of how many people see the ad. Some cookies leave your computer as soon as you leave the page or delete your history, others stay on permanently to track returning visits. These cookies help everyone from advertisers to spammers to government agencies develop a profile of you, the consumer. But cookies and other information about you can be looked at by someone wanting to track your every move.

To help fight these people, and let less of your information out, never let someone else on your personal computer (or set up users when on a shared computer), turn off all third party cookies (those that are used by advertisers)-or turn off all cookies (if you don't mind some sites not working properly, and clear your history as much and as often as possible. These things will help cut down on the number of people that have access to your personal information-and maybe even help reduce junk mail, but not all snoops are that easy to foil.

Which brings us to spyware and viruses. Hackers can create programs that track everything you do online, even when you are being careful. They can

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