Anonymous Surfing: How Anonymous Are You?

Novice Purpose
This lesson will provide students with basic information about surfing the Internet anonymously.

Target Audience
Learners with basic Internet knowledge

Prerequisites Skills
Learners need to have a basic understanding of the following: Personal computers World Wide Web/Internet Internet chat

Time
Approximately 30-40 minutes

Objective
Upon completion of this module, learners will develop an understanding of: How anonymous their internet surfing may be A. Devices used to track internet users

Ways to protect themselves while surfing the internet

Materials

Overhead or computer projector with PowerPoint capability Overheads OH-1 through OH-11 or Novice Anon Surfing PowerPoint Bell or buzzer for Activity B Mask or paper bag

[PowerPoint and Overhead Note: All overheads are also available as a PowerPoint presentation, " Novice Anon Surfing. This module provides a foundation for the concepts and teaching approaches, and educators should continue using the selected

presentation, Overheads or PowerPoint, throughout the module. References to specific overhead pages will be included throughout the module.]

Procedures
Educator Instruction: 1. Instructor (or unknown student) enters classroom with a mask or paper bag over head. Learners are told that the instructor (student) is being anonymous by concealing his/her identity.

Anonymity: The state of being unknown or unfamiliar [Refer to OH-1] a. b. Instructor informs students that sometimes it is important for ones identity to remain anonymous. Call upon students to identify reasons why individuals may want their identity to remain anonymous. [Students will give verbal responses]. Possible responses may include: bank robbers, celebrities, political figures, etc. c. People generally do not like to be tracked without their knowledge. The average web surfer and Internet hacker wish to remain anonymous.

2. Introduce Internet Anonymity Truths or Myths [OH-2 through OH-7] [Note: The Instructor may select activity A (Partner activity) or B (Group activity) for the following section. Choice may depend upon class size and available materials. Correct answers to activities are provided in OH-3 through OH-7.] [Note: Students will be involved in a Turn To Your Partner (TTYP) activity. For further clarification of this strategy, refer to the Teaching Philosophy section. If you feel confident with this strategy, continue with the selected activity.] A. Partner Activity 1. 2. Present the following Truth/Myth statements to the class on a single overhead or PowerPoint slide. [Refer to OH-2] Direct the students to read the questions, formulating their own answers.

3. 4. B.

Students should turn to their partner, discussing responses to the Truth/Myth statements. Allow a few minutes for pair discussion. Discuss Student responses as a whole class Team Activity

1. Divide the class into teams, giving each team a buzzer/bell. 2. Inform students they will be playing a game. The instructor will read the Truth/Myth statements one at a time, and students must buzz in with the correct response. 3. To receive team credit, students who buzz in must explain their response logic.

Truth or Myth #1: [OH-3] The Internet is completely anonymous, unless the user
chooses to reveal his or her personal information.

Myth: There are many ways user information can be discovered.

An individuals location or identity can be determined using cookies and/or an IP address Cookie: A small piece of information that a server stores on the users computer. For example, a yellow pages website may store your towns name so you dont have to type it in next time. IP address: A series of four numbers that uniquely identify your computer on the Internet. Example: 129.186.1.201. Service providers keep track of the IP addresses each of their customers use, and can reveal their identity under certain circumstances.

Service providers (ISPs) also often keep records of names and pseudonyms

Truth or Myth #2: [OH-4] Your path through the Internet may be tracked by web
sites and advertising companies.

Truth: Many web sites make use of cookies and web bugs to track visitor behavior
within a website or to measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. Web bugs: o Invisible images that report to a server whenever someone views the page. o They can also be inserted into an HTML email newsletter to determine whether you opened it. o DoubleClick uses the combination of cookies with web bugs to better target ads to consumers on the net. In fact, DoubleClick has been sued in the past for collecting and selling demographics data about users surfing history.

Truth or Myth #3: [OH-5]

If I delete my web cache and browser history files, no one will know what web sites I visited.

Myth: A service provider can log any URL you visit.

In addition, most companies keep track of all sites their employees visit, an attempt to reduce computer misuse. Accessing inappropriate sites can cost you your job. o For example, during May 2001 the South Dakota state government fired/suspended 20 workers for abusing their Internet access.

Truth or Myth #4: [OH-6]

If I can chat on the Internet under a pseudonym, my personal information may still be revealed.

Sometimes Truth:

Handles, or pseudonyms, are false names people choose for themselves in chat forums. Depending on the situation, the users real name and other personal information may or may not be available. Anything written in public chat rooms is generally publicly available and not considered private. Programs like AOL Instant Messenger and ICQ are fairly private; however, personal information can be identified by the Internet service provider, if necessary.

o For example, courts have determined that ISPs can be forced to produce a users information if the user is making illegal statements AND the plaintiff or prosecution can produce evidence of a crime .

Truth or Myth #5:

[OH-7] If it is not a crime in the country in which I am logged on, I can still get into trouble.

Truth:

Different countries have different laws, some much more severe than others. Law enforcement agencies have many ways of dealing with internationally committed crimes, and officers are fully willing to cooperate with each other.

3.

How Do I Protect Myself? [Refer to OH-8 &OH-9]

The previous section identified how vulnerable you can be as an Internet user. This section will provide suggestions you may use to protect yourself while surfing the net. Steps to Ensure Privacy While Surfing the Net: A. Be careful with which sites you disclose your personal information. Review site privacy policies and pay close attention if sites have no apparent privacy policy. Many online companies often share private information with their partners, and may sell it to third parties such as advertising agencies. Install software such as CookieCutter that allows you to view and delete cookies. This program will not allow sites to retrieve your personal information stored in those cookies. If using a public computer, remember to clear the cache and history before you leave. This way subsequent users cannot see the pages you viewed or know the sites you visited. Sign up for a service such as that offered by anonymizer.com. This will:

B.

C.

D.

Prevent sites from logging your IP address. Prevent your corporation from knowing which sites you visit by encrypting all URLs. Prevent sites from gathering information about you by either refusing cookies altogether, or accepting then later destroying the cookies.

4.

Case studies (fictional) for discussion. [Refer to OH-10 and OH-11].

[Note: Instructor may use the two case studies with any size class. Larger classes may be divided into smaller groups to facilitate discussion.] A. An advertising company, SpyNet, has the ability to keep track of all products you buy online. The company sells this information to other businesses, allowing competitors to better target their adds to you, the purchaser. Example: You bought a sweater from SweatersOnline. This information is sold to a rival company, Sweaters4U, who attempts to persuade you to buy their sweaters by offering a discounted price. As a result of this, Sweaters4U benefits because it is not wasting energy soliciting the wrong people, and you benefit as a consumer by saving money with a lower price. Would this constitute a violation of your privacy, or is SpyNet just exercising its right to commerce? Responses may include discussion of:

The type of product bought. What if it was something embarrassing? Whether SpyNet was secretly collecting this information, or if customers are notified. To whom the information is sold. What if a stalker got hold of it? Or your employer?

B. Your community library has recently caught a 15-year-old student using anonymous surfing services to secretly download pornography, getting around filters that were already in place. Your town has decided to take a vote to decide whether to block all access to anonymous services on the librarys computers. How would you vote and why?

Conclusion The Internet may not be as anonymous as you have thought. This module has focused on how your Internet path can be tracked, your visited web sites logged, and

how your service provider can be forced to reveal your identity. However, there are steps you can take to protect your privacy and cover your tracks. These include deleting your cache on a public computer, deleting or refusing cookies, and connecting through a service like anonymizer.com.

Assessment Options Several assessment options have been provided. Educators have the opportunity to select the option or options that correlate to their individual assessment approaches. Informal 1. Students will write a One Minute Paper answering the question, How anonymous is the internet? In their discussion, they must include at least three points discussed concerning anonymous surfing. Formal (Possible exam questions) 2. How can your personal information be discovered when you are surfing the net? a. My Internet service provider number shows up in the corner of other peoples screens b. I use Explorer or Netscape, and there is no way this is possible c. Certain web sites are able to gain access to my hard drive using "web bugs. d. Cookies can keep track of where I visit Answer: d 3. Which is not a way to protect yourself on the Internet? a. Using a program such as SpyNet to monitor web pages you look at. b. Using a program such as CookieCutters to remove cookies from your cache. c. Using a program such as Anonymizer.com to view websites. Answer: a 4. Individuals can prevent their employer from discovering which web sites they visit by: a. Deleting the web cache on a regular basis b. Surfing the web after hours c. Connecting through anonymizer.com d. Bribing the system administrator Answer: c 5. In Internet lingo, a cookie is:

a.

A small image that a website stores in your cache, so you dont have to download it when you visit that site again b. A small piece of information that a website stores on your computer, to be retrieved when you visit that site again c. A small program that a website stores on your computer that transmits your personal information back to the website d. A small web page Answer: b

References
The following sources were used in the development of this lesson, or are resources for further information:

Anonymous Internet providers: Available: http://www.anonymizer.com Available: http://directory.google.com/Top/Computers/Internet/Proxies/Free/ Cookies and Privacy: Available: http://www.cookiecentral.com Cookie control software: Available: http://www.cookiecentral.com/software.phtml?type=pc Job loss due to improper net use: Ross, Denise. S.D.'s Net firings draw attention. Rapid City Journal, June 15 2001. Available: http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/archives/index.inn? loc=detail&doc=/2001/June/15-1139-news02.txt Web Bugs: Nearly undetectable tracking device raises concern. CNET. Available: http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-2247960.html

Additional Notes: 1. Addresses are valid as of April 2002. 2. Inclusion in this list does not indicate endorsement of any product or company.