NEGATIVE – CONSUMER/INTERNET

NEGATIVE — CONSUMER/INTERNET — SIGNIFICANCE� 398

NEW SOFTWARE ALLOWS INDIVIDUAL CONSUMERS TO PROTECT PRIVACY

CONSUMERS CAN GET THE UPPER HAND IN THE ONLINE PRIVACY PROCESS BY USING NEW SOFTWARE

Leslie Miller; Elizabeth Weise USA TODAY, March 31, 1999, SECTION: LIFE; Pg. 4D TITLE: Keeping 'pry' out of the privacy debate New tools help consumers protect personal data from an encroaching Web // acs-EE2001

But there's one thing consumers may not yet realize: They soon may have the upper hand.

Internet tools are being developed to thwart on-line tracking and data collection, which are becoming more sophisticated and more prevalent -- whether consumers like it or not.

There are plenty of reasons why they shouldn't like it, privacy advocates say. A surfer might not mind if his visits to a cigarette company's Web site result in discount coupons; it could be a different matter if his insurance company gets the information and decides to raise the premiums of people believed to be smokers.

For the first time, customers will be able to "capture information about themselves and selectively release it, setting up a bargaining situation," says John Hagel, a management consultant with McKinsey & Co. in Palo Alto, Calif.

BEST WAY TO PROTECT PRIVACY IS TO LIE DIFFERENTLY ON ALL FORMS

R.S. Murthi New Straits Times (Malaysia), February 27, 2000 SECTION: In-site; Pg. 4 TITLE: Protect your privacy // acs-EE2001

In fact, you should be as untrue as possible when filling in the boxes that require you to furnish personal particulars, which is often a precondition to getting one of these free e-mail accounts. It's your right to protect your privacy. The worse thing that can happen when you're found out is you lose your account. Big deal!

PRIVACY PROTECTION CAN BE ACHIEVED THROUGH INDIVIDUAL ACTIONS, LIKE COOKIE REFUSAL AND USE OF ANONYMIZERS

ED RUSSO, Omaha World-Herald, March 14, 2000, SECTION: BUSINESS; Pg. 14 TITLE: Computer Users Can Safeguard Privacy An Ounce of Prevention // acs-VT2001

Thankfully, privacy advocates say, there are ways to combat the monitoring of Web traffic.

Computer users can refuse to accept cookies on their hard drive, but then their access to certain Web pages or elements on the pages could be denied.

Another route is to use an anonymizer, Internet-based services that act as intermediaries during online activity, thereby protecting the user's identity.

COMMERCIAL SOFTWARE PRODUCTS CAN PROTECT PRIVACY

Commercial products that contain privacy features also are starting to appear.

Novell last week announced software called DigitalMe that will store a surfer's information and use it to fill out forms automatically, showing the user before submitting them. Available for download in June (www.digitalme.com), it also will keep track of the passwords and names used from site to site.

VARIETY OF SOFTWARE ALLOWS USER TO CONTROL PRIVATE DATA

Lumeria (www.lumeria.com), of El Cerrito, Calif., hides personal information and then lets you charge companies to see it. "If they think information about consumers is useful, they should pay for it," says president Fred Davis.

The company will announce its "SuperProfiler" program next week at CFP99; it will be available for download by April 15. The first level of free service will attempt to place users on every "do not contact" list in the direct marketing world. Users who continue to get unwanted junk mailings can then contact Lumeria, which will go after the offender in small claims court for the $ 500 fine legally levied against marketers who continue to solicit those who have said they don't want to be contacted.

Next, Lumeria lets its users surf anonymously by supplying what it calls "Cookie Doe." Cookies are the crumbs of information that Web sites store on a surfer's hard drive so they can recognize them on return visits and track what they do on the site. Lumeria tricks the sites into reading fake cookies that say you're "John Doe."

Davis also plans to let users charge sites for the right to market to them. "Think of it as 'Me-Bay,' " he says. "You're auctioning yourself off."