Security Methods to Protect Your Privacy Privacy and security issues have become a major concern among computer users in today's market. It has become a survival game of the fittest to protect your safety. The only real way to defend yourself is knowledge. You should prepare yourself against hackers, spammers, and potential viruses and web bugs that crash your system. Let's focus on how to protect yourself from potential thieves. There are several ways to protect your information from the outside world; you just need the ammo to do it. As this has become a focal point for computer and Internet users, many companies are capitalizing on a growing industry and producing software packages to prevent privacy intrusion. A couple of ways you can protect yourself are URL encryption, operating system protection, JavaScript filtering, and cookie control. All of these are effective ways to protect yourself. But be careful, these are not guaranteed to completely block intruders and completely protect you and your information. These are simply preventative measures you can take. URL encryption is a method that prevents your ISP, network administrator, or other intermediaries from easily monitoring and recording the sites you visit. This prevents companies from obtaining information about your browsing habits and online purchasing habits. Companies have been accumulating data about us for years without our permission. Once these companies have the information, they can make money off us by selling the information to other companies or, as I stated, to the government. Why should they make money from our information without our consent? URL encryption also protects you from potential Internet... middle of paper ...... attacks that allow you to access their sites without the ability to place or accept some form of cookie. In this case you can use secure cookies. A secure cookie allows you to accept cookies securely so you can browse web pages without being tracked or monitored by the website. Cookies are encrypted, much like URL encryption, and automatically deleted when you leave the site. All these methods are just some of the most popular techniques that people can use to protect their vital information. As stated previously, they are not foolproof, but they are good proactive measures that everyone should take. The information age is growing by leaps and bounds. But with all the good it brings, it also brings bad. If you plan and prepare, you will survive and maintain your privacy. Once your privacy is lost it is impossible to recover, so take control of your information.