Wherever you go, it goes. And an e-spy is waiting to document your visits. But unlike Orwell's world, we have democratized snooping. Even spectators at Tampa's Super Bowl were not immune as Tampa Police scanned all faces as they entered in an attempt to match them up with computer databases. There's even an approved patent for a restaurant-worker computer that tracks when servers, chefs, and busboys wash their hands.
Experts say it's mainly for data collection, law enforcement, and marketing purposes.
But increasingly, life decisions, like whether you get hired or fired, may depend on where you've traveled in cyberspace. I've got nothing to hide. A very destructive attitude, says Bryan Pfaffenberger, a professor in the Division of Technology, Culture and Communication at the University of Virginia. Until a new CEO stopped the practice last year, New Hampshire-based Cabletron, a technology company, published a monthly online report that was delivered to all staff. Software programs like Cameo, SpectorSoft, Checkpoint, Telemate, MimeSweep, and WinWhatWhere make clandestine employer monitoring easy.