Unfortunately, it also presents an entirely new set of hazards. The increased use of the Internet as well as the rapid rise in Internet technology has elevated the concern of personal privacy to new heights.

Millions of people travel on the Information Superhighway every day and as going online continues to get easier and more affordable, more and more people will take to the highway. Despite the fact that traveling on the Information Superhighway is not actually real, it does have real risks and hazards. One of the biggest risks is your personal privacy.

Protecting Consumer Privacy on the Internet
The issue of protecting consumer privacy is a real one, and one which is still being debated by both the tech industry and the Federal government. During the Global Internet Summit held in March 2000, U.S. Federal Trade Commissioner Orson Swindle told over 900 technology industry leaders that either they could come up with real proposals for protecting consumer privacy or network security or they could just sit back and watch the government do it for them.

It is an issue that some companies think they cannot afford to ignore. That is because if regulation sharply curtails the gathering and sharing of user information on the Internet, it could reduce Internet revenue by billions of dollars.

The Internet is big business -- one that is growing in leaps and bounds. Media Metrix, a market researcher, was hired in 1999 by the Federal Trade Commission to conduct a study about information being gathered on the Web. The study concluded that nearly 98 percent of Web sites were gathering at least one type of identifying information (email address, name, address, etc.), while 56.8 percent were collecting at least one type of demographic information (preferences, gender, etc.).

If that has not convinced you that Big Brother is indeed watching, the study also found that a large number of sites use profiling which allows them to gather information about which Web sites a user has been visiting.

No big deal, you say? Well, think of it this way: once your information is obtained, many of these sites make money off of you by compiling this data into lists and selling it to online marketing companies and even direct mail companies. What this means to you is more unwanted annoying telemarketing sales calls, more unwanted, unsolicited email and more "junk" mail in your mailboxes at home.

How Private is Your Workspace?
It is quite difficult to be anonymous once you have ventured onto the Information Superhighway - especially if you are at the office. Remember those jokes you send out to fellow colleagues? Your boss can see every one of them. How about those innocent emails that you send out to friends confirming plans for Friday night? Yes, your boss is privy to every one of them. Is this legal? Well, yes and there is not anything you can do about it -- not yet anyway.

Programs such as Silent watch (developed by Adavi, Inc) help employers get access to all of your personal thoughts. The program meets administrative needs because it allows employers to view any computer within any location within your company.

Sound scary? It can be as not only does it mean that you could be reprimanded for such activities, you could lose your job. Your office computer can and probably is -- a spying device for your boss.

The folks at Adavi, Inc. say they are trying to make sure that management has an idea of what everyone is doing. However, the folks at the National Work Rights Institute do not agree and ask: "Don't employees have the right to censor their own thoughts?"

In addition, the National Rights Institute sees this type of monitoring software as a big problem because it records everything. The software can monitor up to 49 computers in real time from a single screen. It records keystrokes and provides audible alarms for the systems administrator when users reach what a company has deemed an "objectionable" Web site. It also allows the company to utilize a dictionary of its choice allowing them to be instantly notified when an employee uses what they have deemed inappropriate text content.

The good news about this and other products like it is it can freeze remote desktops instantly and stop a hacker in his or her tracks. The bad news is these programs do not only watch what an employee does, but can print screen shots, print the contents of keystrokes and save the keystroke log from remote desktops right onto the systems administrator's hard drive.

According to a recent survey by the American Management Association, approximately 75 percent of all major companies monitor employee communications including phone calls, emails, Internet connections and computer files. Although most people know it is happening, most do not think it is happening to them. Many companies do warn employees that they are being monitored, but there is no law that says they have to do this so many companies do not warn employees.

The bottom line is this: As an employee using an employer's computer, you do not have any right to privacy. So, if you have access to the Internet at the office -- use it only for work-related projects, no matter how tempted you are to visit the Web site with the singing and dancing hamsters.

If you have email access at work, stop sending emails to your friends unless, of course, you would like to share that information with your boss. Also, never, ever send an email to a fellow employee about what you think about your boss. There is a very good chance that your boss will know your thoughts before your colleague has even had time to open the email. Simply said: think before you type as the only sanctuary for your thoughts while you are at work is inside your own head.