This one drives me crazy. I never gave anyone permission to share my information and yet it is everywhere. Not only is my information out there, but my relatives are linked to my name as well. Why isn't there laws against this. It is a violation of my privacty and it is dangerous.

Here are some of the things that took me a lot of time to learn. I put them all together so you don't have to search the entire web to try to win back your privacy.

Privacy Information

Privacy on the Internet seems to be a big problem. The following Web sites provide information about online privacy issues, including information about privacy tools such as encryption, anonymous remailers and software for anonymous browsing:

www.epic.org

www.privacyexchange.org

www.privacyrights.org

http://www.cdt.org/privacy/pet/

Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email (CAUCE) Canada www.cauce.ca

Pourriel Canadawww.pourriel.ca

Canadian Marketing Association / Association Canadienne du Marketing www.the-cma.org

Who are the culprits?

There are so many, I can't list them all here. This is a small list of the top offenders.

Intelius.com
Acxiom.com
USsearch.com
Yahoo.com's People Search
Google.com
ZabaSearch.com
PeopleFinder.com
Spokeo.com
Alliance Data and EXelate
MyLife.com

How to remove your information

Glossary

Anonymous browsing – several companies offer software, some of it free, that allows you to create fake online names so you can browse Web sites, exchange emails and participate in chat groups anonymously.

Anonymous remailers – organizations that forward your email to its destination after removing any information that could trace it back to you.

Banner ads – Web site advertisements, often in the form of a bar or banner across the top of the screen or a button you click on for more information. When you see a banner ad appear, a cookie is usually being added to your hard drive.

Chat groups – two or more users communicating in real time with computers via the Internet. The group can consist of two people or dozens. Chat groups take place in either public or private chat rooms. The conversations can be a free-for-all or a structured discussion on a prearranged topic.

Cookies – small text files that are placed on your computer’s hard drive when you visit Web sites. Cookies collect and store information about you based on your browsing patterns and information you provide.

There are two kinds of cookies that a Web site can use. Persistent cookies are stored on your hard drive for many months or years. Per- session cookies are cached (stored in memory) during your visit to the Web site and are automatically deleted from your computer when you disconnect from the Internet.

Privacy seals – seals of approval granted by organizations such as TRUSTe, BBBOnline and WebTrust. The seals are intended to demonstrate that a Web site has adopted appropriate policies to protect personal information and to assure individuals that they are visiting a Web site they can trust. Disclaimer – keep in mind that these seals are not monitored and anyone can “stick” a seal on their Web site.