And how can you protect yourself?

First, embrace any technology that encrypts the data for its Internet travel. If you need privacy, use Secure Socket Layer (SSL--secure web pages with URLs starting with https) or a virtual private network (VPN).

If you're really paranoid, you might want to consider , a free program and service that makes it much more difficult to track where you're going online. For more information, see .

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Contributing Editor writes about technology and cinema. Email your tech questions to him at , or post them to a community of helpful folks on the . Follow Lincoln on , or subscribe to the , e-mailed weekly.