The guest, is indulging in hyperbole and fear mongering when she cites the following examples:

1. Life insurance could be denied when you searched for diabetes on your browser

These are simply not true knowing how life insurance works (whereby you undergo blood tests and stress tests, you fill your medical history on the forms (its not obtained from google via your search history).

2. Companies asking for passwords to facebook accounts as part of interviews. This is also absurd. Companies can do background checks and drug testing for which you would sign an authorization and those can reveal much more than asking for passwords. There is no conceivable reason why a company would need to ask for those.

A number of the arguments presented are just hyperbole (perhaps intended at frightening uninformed viewers to buying the book to learn more) but are not supported by facts.

Downstate/Oglesby
Q:&A "yes - as we should all be"

enjoyed the program - hope your city survives the invasion of the G8 & those other riffraffs

HAL9000 "Daisy, Daisy - Give me your answer do - I'm half crazy - all for the love of ..."

Thomas Andrews "I'm sorry that I didn't build you a stronger ship, young Rose."
:-)

I'm concerned that once you provide your credit card data to an online retailer, you lose all control.

After Zappo's published that its password files were hacked, I tried to close my account with the retailer. Impossible. Could only change password.

Also tried to close my Amazon account. Also impossible.

If hackers are successful breaching these data files containing credit card info, consumers should have the option of closing online accounts. Closing an account should be as easy as opening one.

Can anything be done to seize control of are personal credit data away from online retailers? Who owns our data? And is that ownership permanent??

Privacy is being eroded everywhere, not just online. How many cameras caught you on monitors today? If you left your house the answer is several to many. Cameras are everywhere these days and everyone gets in the picture even if they are just out for a walk around the neighborhood. So, loss of privacy is not just an online phenomenon.

While I am old fashioned and value privacy for it's own sake, everyone should be concerned about how the lack of privacy can be used. You buy something from an online retailer. That retailer now sends you spam e-mails continually asking you to buy more things. If that was the end of it perhaps it would be ok but the retailer will then often sell the information that you bought something to a second company who provides the information to businesses selling similar products to what you bought - or who just gather names,e-mail addresses, physical addresses and so on in order to send out spam for their products or physical mail. Then there are employers checking everything they can find about you online and deciding to hire you or not based - not on yuor qualifications - but on how they feel about things unrelated in any way to work but found on social sites or elsewhere. And that doesn't take into account how all this information can fall into the hands of those who use it for identity theft or fraud. Last of all, consider that if you have a cell phone the odds are high that you have a gps unit that can be used to track you (or at least your phone) at any time or place.

Not to sound paranoid. Truth is though that these days it is at best difficult and at worst impossible to have any privacy at all. Not all the consequences of this are good or even helpful.

I think that with the technology today everyone should be vigilent about their online security BUT, within reason and a little self control. I agree with the first post that some of the topics brought up during discussion were absurd. How would a life insurance provider get access to your computer and browser history to find out what you searched? Companies asking for personal account passwords? First, they wouldn't, Second, if they did, you wouldn't want to work at that company anyway. I think one of the easiest ways to remain safe online is to only purchase from reputable sources online, and I know this may seem harsh, but DO NOT even join Bookface or Myspace or any of those. You want to stay in touch with people? Call them up or stop by the bar one evening with them and have a drink! Do NOT post personal information, pictures or tell people when you are going on vacation. I'm not sure how true all of them are, but I have heard so many stories and news reports of people that have all of their information for all to see on these stupid "social media" sites like Bookface and Nitwitter, then they proclaim they're going on vacation online for all to see and come home and their house is empty with a thank you note from the burglers. You know who knows when my family and I go on vacation? NO ONE! Close family and friends and affected coworkers. I don't even tell the neighbors. Keep your personal business to yourself, don't broadcast it on the internet! Another thing I am against in light of all of the recent hackings is paying bills on line. Yes, I'm a dinosaur, but is it REALLY that hard to buy a roll of stamps and write a check? Seems like the safer route in light of all of these hacker stories where even reputable online sources, banks, and businesses are losing control of millions of people's personal information. Just a thought.

Downstate/Oglesby

saw the Anonymous threat video you aired .. maybe do an episode on the Illinois 1 way surveillance taping law - sure to be an issue* .. the blogosphere could squelch this issue and save the courts/taxpayers the time/expense

* since this G8 is a world event - world rules should prevail in a Temporary-Federal-District