Many software firms use online updates of their software as a chance to peek into the configuration of the surfer's computer or to see which music is stored on their hard drives. In some cases, this type of digital eavesdropping has piqued the interest of national authorities. E-mail has also proven to be far less secure than a sealed envelope with a stamp. E-mail messages pass through a number of intersections before reaching their destination. Additionally, the e-mail provider also has access to the all correspondence.
User groups hint again and again at an eavesdropping system of the American security services.
The German BSI has done no more than collect information from the press about this theme. Still, BSI spokesman Michael Dickopf sees such an e-mail monitoring system as at least possible. What's surprising is that such data spying is not necessarily criminal. Anyone wanting to take part in the data exchange bazaars like Napster has to share part of his hard drive so that other users can download music texts, song lyrics or videos. This is dangerous only if the wrong directories are shared since, according to Computer Channel.