It is possible to visit a website, distribute personal information about yourself and not even know it. This is used for registering with websites, password storing, and the transfer of user interests and preferences. This invisible transfer of information provides for swift online commercial transactions, but it also can be unsettling in that the consumer again lacks control over the recipient of information or the type of information distributed. While the public waits for legislation or industry self-regulation to take effect, there are several steps that Internet consumers can take to ensure protection of information collected online. First, encode e-mails.
Consumers currently have no right to privacy with regard to e-mail messages.
E-mail is generally passed through several online servers before it reaches the intended recipient. System operators at any of these services can read the messages if they so desire. Therefore, a sender has the option of purchasing encryption software which converts messages into secret code, or developing a secret code of his or her own. Second, purchase with plastic. Security analysts at Internet Scam Busters have reported that credit card transactions over the Internet are actually safer than those offline.