Dark Side of the Internet

Today I will be writing on what we discussed in class being the dark side of the internet. The internet wields a lot of power. For instance, at any given time you can search any possible picture from google images. In some rare cases there have been college kids that posted their pictures on facebook and found them in a popular magazine. The odd thing was that these pictures were neither flattering nor consented too. As a matter of fact it also seems impossible to actually leave facebook. The pictures you post will remain there http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2008/02/facebooks-invasive-beacon-advertising-platform.php. This article discusses some terrible instances of facebook going wrong.

Another platform that can be abused is myspace. Myspace allows anyone to make an account and just like facebook it is a social network. However, there are many petafiles and older men abusing the webiste to prey on young children. As a matter of fact they actually created a TV show about this called how to catch a myspace predator. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11064451/
If you turn to the link above you will see how dangerous myspace actually can be, with child molestors storming to myspace and using it as there new medium.

The last thing I was planning on discussing in my blog today was security over the internet. I personally do not like to ever give out my social security number, credit card numbers or even my phone number over the internet, unless if I know that the site is real secure. It's troubling how often identity theft can actually occur. There are a lot of scams out there that look to get your information so the culprits can just take advantage of what specific assests you have. Also alot of times people will find themselves thousands of dollars in debt after purchasing a T-shirt online.

http://archives.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/08/16/id.theft.offline.idg/

This link above shows how concerned America is now with identity theft. As a matter of fact, security protection against identity theft is becoming a growing industry in America.

Well thats the just a brief summary of what I know about the dark side of the internet. Whomever reads this, this is just a warning, the internet is still a great place to search for information and conduct business. Also it is a great way of meeting new people. However, I just warn you, something may not be what it seems online so just keep that in the back of your mind.