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Stealthencrypt.com Quick Take: Here are some easy ways to secure your privacy. Most don't cost a dime.

ONLY USE AN INTERNET BROWSER WITH 128-BIT ENCRYPTION

• Netscape (get the U.S. 128-bit encryption version, NOT the exportable version)
• Microsoft Internet Explorer

VERIFY THAT YOU HAVE THE 128-BIT ENCRYPTION VERSION OF YOUR BROWSER

• For Netscape 4.x, click the HELP option and choose About. If you see the statement about halfway down the page, "This version supports U.S. security with RSA Public Key Cryptography, MD2, MD5, RC2-CBC, RC4, DES-CBC, DES-EDE3-CBC." then your browser supports 128 bit encryption.
• For Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.x, click the HELP option and choose About Internet Explorer. Click on the next button, TWICE. If you see the statement "Contains security software licensed from RSA Data Security, Inc" this browser supports 128 bit encryption.

ENABLE FULL BROWSER SECURITY

• For Netscape Communicator 4.x, click Communicator from the pull-down menu, then choose Security Info. Click on the Navigator link. Click all the checkboxes under the category Show a Warning Before. If the Certificate to Identify You to a Web Site isn't already set to Ask Every Time, change it now.
• For Internet Explorer 4.x, click VIEW and Choose Internet Options. Click the Security tab. Click the radio button that says High, and click the OK button.

EMPTY YOUR CACHE OFTEN, OR BETTER YET, TURN OFF CACHE

• For Netscape version 4.x, click Edit and choose Preferences. Then click on Cache. Click on buttons labeled Clear Memory Cache Now and Clear Disk Cache Now.
• For Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4.x, click VIEW and choose Options. Then select the tab labeled Advanced and click the button labeled Cryptography Settings. Be sure that the box labeled "Do not save secure pages to disk." is checked.

USE ONLY SECURE SERVERS FOR ONLINE SHOPPING

• Make sure that on any page that requires you to enter your credit card number, you see the closed padlock image at the lower left hand corner (Microsoft Internet Explorer) or the unbroken key image in the lower lefthand corner (Netscape). Also, check the URL in the address block of your browser, at the top of the screen. Does the URL include https? If it only says http, SSL is not available on the page and it may not be safe to enter your credit card or personal information on an http server.
• Other ways to shop are one click shopping provided by software such as e-wallet, where you only have to enter your credit card information ONCE, and can use the e-wallet to shop anywhere where this software program is available. One-click shopping is also available at Amazon.com for customers who have purchased something at least once before. Cookies may be stored on your own computer by one-click type software and web sites which do not require you to enter a credit card number each time. The corresponding code which recognizes the cookie is stored in a customer database on the merchant's server, and is most likely encrypted in their database, to protect customers.

ENCRYPT AND OR HIDE YOUR PRIVATE DATA

• What's personal, private, secret, or vital? Here are some examples: 401K portfolio, access codes, address books, appointment calendars, babysitter's schedule, banking info, government building floor plans, business plans, Christmas gift list, classified papers, copyright info hidden in bmps or tifs, credit card numbers, customer databases, diaries, doctorial disserations-in-progress, door entry codes, email, e-pay data, financial information, forensic evidence, genealogy research, high-risk information, industrial secrets, inventory databases, jewelry appraisals, kid's names, ledgers, locksmith codes, manuscripts-in-progress, master's theses in progress, medical records, Microsoft Money databases, old flame's phone number, online banking, passwords, patent info (before filing), pricing plans, payroll data, pending court cases, personnel information, public utility schematics, quarterly figures, Quicken databases, research data, resumes, safe combinations, school grades, school tests, serial numbers, social security information, spreadsheets, stockbroker transmissions, student databases, tax records, telephone repairperson codes, travel plans, unemployment records, vital statistics, wills (tell your lawyer and/or spouse where physical will is kept), x-rays, your true weight, and zillions of other things.

DON'T FORGET YOUR SECRET KEY OR YOU CANNOT RECOVER ENCRYPTED DATA

• Don't use your kids' or pets' names, your initials or middle name, your wedding anniversary, or any other easily guessed keys. But don't make it something so hard you can't remember it. Combinations of letters and numbers work best, or nonsense phrases, or math equations. If you MUST write out your key, keep it locked up and encode it in a way that you'll recognize it for what it really is. It seems obvious, but many people write passwords in their address books, which can be lost or stolen.

YOUR DIAL UP PASSWORD

• Don't click the "save password" box of your internet browser's dialup. Children, roommates, or coworker mischief is just one scenario. If your computer is stolen, a thief or disgruntled employee could wreak havoc on your life with your internet access password, sending mean letters to public officials, buying stuff with your one-click web cookies, even preying on children in chatrooms. Crimes committed might be traceable to your ip address, and just try explaining that it wasn't you. And all because you saved your dialup password with one little checkbox.
• When you signed up with your ISP, you may have been given a password to use, or you may have provided your own. Don't keep that same password. Change it often. If you don't know how, consult the FAQ page of your ISP.

EMAIL SAFETY