Privacy and the Internet

Hillary Weiss

November 20, 2007

Cs110

Tues/Thurs 2:05-3:20

When sending out an email or just browsing through the computer how many times do we ask ourselves, “Who’s reading this right now?” or “How can anyone possibly get my information when they aren’t on my computer?” Many people who send out emails or use the internet hardly ever stop to ask themselves these questions. Email privacy has become a big deal since 1998. With new technologies coming out almost every day, it is possible for anyone to hack into your computer and get access to your email. We find email privacy has become a big deal in the workplace and many employees don’t realize that they have the right to email privacy. “In the United States, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 2000 prohibits the use of intercepted e-mails as evidence unless a judge approves a search warrant. That doesn’t mean the government isn’t reading your mail” (Parson 408).

“When emailing it is possible to be intercepted and read anywhere, stored, and reconstructed as a back up.” says nolo.com. When emails are sent out from a home computer it is possible for a hacker to get a hold of it as well as any government official. Government officials can get any information about you and how you use your computer by going into your emails and gaining the information they need to set certain charges. Internet service providers even have the ability to go into a computer and get information from emails. When sending emails from work it is possible for the boss to go through your email from another computer and see what you are using your email for. This also occurs when the boss wants to start a lawsuit against a certain person or occurrence at the work place. There have been many cases that have been brought to court due to the action of going through an employee’s email. A Texas court ruled that going through a person’s personal email folder is a different case then going through a person’s locker. The court stated that the material in an employee’s locker is more personal. But the question is, how do you know that the persons email doesn’t contain personal information?

When it comes to home use of email, many don’t know that after an email has been deleted it is still there. “Many Internet service providers archive e-mail for some period of time. These archives can be accessed by snoops and even subpoenaed in the event of an investigation or lawsuit” (Harness). In many cases it is legal for open

access to open emails. Schools, Government, Hackers, and internet service providers all have the access and ability to search through emails and uses of the individual whether it being personal or at the work place. Email is considered to be like a postcard and not a letter. It is open for any eyes to read it.

There are also pop ups and other web sites known as fake sites that can get access to your email. This is all done by asking you to sign up for free products or to register to make a payment, to look at an article, or to receive updated emails. By them sending you emails they can get into you system and access your email. Many of the fake web sites are run by private companies and hackers.

Today there are many companies that provide an Encryption system. This system uses cryptographic messaging that turns your words into gibberish and when it is being read by those who have access to it cannot see anything but letters that don’t make sense. The problem with the encryption system is that the person that you are sending the message to needs to know how to decode it and have access to the software you used to set up the system.

When it comes to email privacy I do not feel it is okay for employers, government, or internet providers to go through someone’s email without any reasonable cause. If there was a lawsuit and it is court based then there is a right to get the information they need, but if they pick up other information to start a new case or information that has nothing to do with the case at all I do not feel that is okay. As Americans we have the first amendment to freedom of speech. Unfortunately the computer and internet was not available when the law was made. Emails are a big resource of communication in today’s society. If all people where aware of the privacy that they do not get, they may change to a new way of communication. This can also cause many to be angry and feel invaded. Everyone has the right to say and do as they please unless it comes into play of the law. If there is a threat of someone or others lives then the privacy of the email should be taken away and have action taken for safety. Knowing that someone, somewhere around the world may know every last thing about me, makes me nervous to communicate through email. I feel that the actions I take are for me and whomever I share it with to know and not some government official to know. A concern I have with privacy and email is if there is access too reading emails and getting information on others, then why does it take so long for them to stop the crime and attacks that occur all around the world. I do feel that email should be harder to come be open to others around the internet. It shouldn’t be as easy as a click of a folder to read what was being written. I know that it is easy for this to occur because at work we needed to fix a file on the office computer. The tech was on the telephone and told me not to touch the mouse. While looking at the computer screen I saw him opening and closing files as well as searching through documents. All they needed was a code and they could automatically go through your system and have access to any thing on the computer.

Many emails contain personal address information along with credit card information. This can cause identity theft and many people can go into money troubles as well as someone having all their information to use for any use. Identity theft is a big problem and with un-private emails this can happen more and more as technology progresses. Even though credit information is mainly given on the web site of the purchased item, emails are still sent back to confirm the purchase. Any one who has access to the email can get the confirmation number and pretend to be the person and mess up the order as well as change things to be inconvenient. Not having privacy on emails can be very inconvenient to people who aren’t aware of the privacy on the internet.

When it comes to emails in the workplace I feel that there should definitely be privacy unless the company was a scam. Many employees’ need email to send messages to their loved ones because they may not have the time to contact them in case of an emergency or to keep in touch. Many people work long shifts and the computer is their only available resource to communicate. Depending on the Employer and the company emails should not have any negatively that they should be looked into and investigated upon. To find out if personal emails are going from employee to employee about the gossip around the office has happened and it should not have been looked at because it has nothing to do with the business. If the workplace is a fraud and is doing illegal things then the email should be looked at.

The only thing about catching those who are a threat is emails would have to be looked at to figure out who is doing what and where. If this is the case then no email should be dealt with unless it is an emergency. Certain people should only have this access and if the school is in need of access then they can go to that certain assigned person/company. Not everyone who emails breaks the law through the internet. The internet should be a safe, comfortable technology that people can look to for help and not have to worry about someone coming across their information, especially after it has been deleted.

I have surveyed 20 people. These 20 people varied with using computers and their awareness of the internet and privacy. The first question on the survey was asking if the person was aware that the school, government, and internet providers had access to their emails. Out of the 20 that were surveyed 13 said they were aware of those resources having open access to the emails and 7 said that they were not aware. The second question that was asked was if they were aware that after they themselves have deleted their email that those resources still had access to them. Out of the 20, 2 responded that they did know and the other 18 said they were not aware of that and were concerned. The last question on the survey was their personal opinion of having emails stay private and not have anyone access their emails. Out of the 20, 17 responded that emails should stay private and that no one should have access and 3 said no. I believe that the results could vary by giving a more detailed question survey.

Either way we look at it there will always be pros and cons to having private emails and there will always be a problem in the way no matter how our society goes on the matter. In the next few years this might be a great source for catching unsafe people, but right now it causes fraud and the feeling of being constantly watched, without having the right to say what you want.

Computer Privacy Survey

Are you aware that all three resources listed below have access to your emails?

Schools, Government, and Internet Providers

Yes No

Are you aware that even after deleting an email those resources still have access to it?

Yes No

Do you feel that email should stay private and that no one other then the person it is being sent to would have access to it?

Yes No

Computer Privacy Survey Results
Question	Yes	No
1.Resources	13	7
2.Deleting	2	18
3. Access	17	3

Works Sited

"Harness E-Mail: How Private Is Your E-Mail?" Learn the Net. 2006. Michael

Lerner Productions. 7 Nov 2007.

<http://www.learnthenet.com/english/html/75email.htm>.

“Email Privacy” Nolo. 2007. 7 Nov 2007.

www.nolo.com/article.cfm.pg/1/objectId/286D456E-73C7-414....

Parsons, June Jamrich and Dan Oja. "Web and E-Mail Security” Computer

Concepts-New Perspectives. Edition 10. United States:

Thomson Course Technology, 2008. 400-409.