When we click on Internet Explorer and start surfing the web, most of us do not think of the potential hazards that are contained in the net. From false information from published articles to this fairly new idea of electronic identity theft we give up personal information and even our liberties in order to explore and take advantage of the benefits of the information highway.
One loss associated in cyberspace is the right to privacy. When we give up our personal information, we are not exactly sure where this information is headed. This idea really freaks me out. Once I bought a simple beaded necklace from this rinky dink website where I even had to ask my roommate if I should buy from it. But I still proceeded to go through the transaction. It had been at least two weeks and still no necklace but my money sure was gone from my bank account. So I then emailed them and it turned out there was a problem in processing my request. They sent me a complimentary necklace for the inconvenience. But still the thought that I was a victim to some kind of scam scared me silly. Since that day I stick to “well known and trusted” companies when shopping online.
Such transactions are gains in cyberspace. Obviously the people of technologically advanced countries believe the gains far outweigh the losses as we are dependent on such communication technologies in our everyday lives. “What will be gained from electronic information and electronic communication will necessarily result in a loss somewhere else. If we are not aware of this loss, and do not account for it, our gain will be of no value”. We are certainly aware of the losses and even take preventive measures such as passwords, electronic signatures, and software in order to protect ourselves but have generally accepted that such losses come with the territory of such a form of information and communication technology.
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3 comments:
Your post reminds me what I feel like every time I order from EBay. Even though it’s an internationally recognized website, in reality in comes down to individual sellers. Although nothing shady has happened to me, the internet can be a serious intruder in your personal security. Since the government does not actually monitor the internet as China's does, safety is concern that needs to be taken seriously.
I have to disagree that most "do not think of the potential hazards that are contained in the net." I mean it is hard to stay away from email spam, popups, worms, viruses, hackers, and even normal people who try to post information that they think they know on the net. That last one is a big problem for universities and high schools because since the internet is becoming such a big resource of today, it makes everything more difficult to actually find information on the subject you're looking for from a trusted website. It's hard to tell a person's credentials over the net, and even harder to differentiate and remember if you read it from a trustworthy site or just some cut and paste job of a bored 10th grader.
Like it was commented on earlier, even ebay has scams. The first time I used it, I tried to sell off my (too big for me) laptop, yet someone’s account was taken over by a hacker and they tried buying it off me. Luckily enough I was able to catch on after they got in contact about using an outside pay system and the person was notified by ebay about their account. But still, scams are so widely used because they work, people fall for them all the time. If people don’t automatically think about being careful of being scammed or spammed as soon as they enter on a computer, computer and user safety information needs to be publicized more widely.
I have to say that in all my ordering online I have never had a problem with anything. I have used sites such as Amazon.com, Newegg.com, ebay.com, and many band websites to order tickets. Everything went smoothly. I was skeptical at first that these 1981 baseball cards were only 1 dollar. Well I ended up getting a box of baseball cards from 1981. I just bought it because it was a dollar with free shipping. I think I sold them in a garage sale for 50 cents. Psh... From amazon I ordered alot of nice books. I read from the Dark elf Series from R.A. Salvatore. Pretty trip. So all in all I would say the internet shopping is fast, easy, and reliable. Amen.
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