There are directories and user profiles that request your personal information over the Internet. These are good sources for hackers that want to know more about you. You may have your interests listed in these directories. Most of us put our real name to the e-mail directories. When you give out your real name, anyone can access to your court records, driving records. All public information about you can be accessed from Internet just for fifty dollars in an hour.

Executive director Ira Glasser says widespread dissemination of personal data can be harmful. He says that 200 years ago—when the Fourth Amendment was insisted upon—nearly every bit of information about an individual was kept at home, on paper, and stored as a personal effect.

But that information is no longer stored at home—and a wide array of personal information is kept electronically by others, such as medical insurers, employers, credit card companies, banks and a wide range of government agencies.

"Some of these entities exist solely to sell our personal information, no matter how private," Glasser says. "And new technologies keep arising to develop, collect, store and disseminate the most private information about each of us, with few if any legal protections."

ThirdAge Media. "Fight for Your Privacy" March 17,1999

I believe the dangerous information is generally given in chat rooms while chatting about nothing. You do not have to use your real identity in these chat rooms. If you like chat rooms, you need to have a virtual identity.

Here is the best ways to protect your privacy and reduce the chance of being hacked:

• Your Real-Name: Do not enter your real name any of the directories on the Internet. (ICQ user directory, hotmail member directory, America Online Profiles).
• Your Address: Never enter your real address, but enter totally different address. If you leave blank, hackers will try to find out. If you gave wrong information, they will not find anything from that information, and will believe you are good at keeping yourself private. If you live in Cambridge, MA, 02139, enter something like Miami, FL, 04152
• University Records: Check your school directory. If it has your entry, make them to remove you. Hackers generally ask which school you are going in chat rooms after they know your first name. Then university directories give your full name, address and phone number.
• Virtual Identity: If you are really concern about your privacy, create a virtual identity for yourself. Change your name, date of birth, university you studied, anything you want. But, write it down, you need to know everything you said just like yourself.