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Ways Technology Threatens Your Privacy (and How to Protect Yourself)

by Riva Richmond on May 14, 2009 at 02:14 PM



7) Cloud computing

Many of us use Web-based e-mail, instant messenging, and document services like Google Docs from companies that store our data far away in the Internet "cloud." The convenience is fantastic. We can get our messages and files from any computer anywhere and worry not a whit about storage, security or backup -- generally without paying a dime. But we often pay in privacy. These services typically show you targeted ads, and the data they hold is vulnerable to subpoenas from governments and people who sue you.

If you're worried about keeping sensitive information confidential, avoid cloud services and store files and e-mails on your own hard drive. For a deeper dive into the issues, check out this report (PDF).

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