Porn Surfing 101

Just a guess, but we assume you probably prefer to keep your online sex life private. Most everything you do online, whether it's visiting a website or sending e-mail, leaves a trail of personal information. Some of it remains on your computer and some is transmitted to third parties. Here are some steps you can take to protect your privacy.

Anticipate your nude photos will be shared

Anything you post on the Internet, whether it's to a personals site, an amateurs site or your own personal site can easily be copied, reproduced and disseminated all over the Net. Webcam sessions can also easily be recorded by cyber-tricks. Therefore, before you post any revealing photos or get naked in front of your webcam you should ask yourself whether or not it would matter to you if a boyfriend, family member or business associate or client were to see them. If you forsee a potential loss of or irrevocable damage to a relationship that's important to you, it's best to be cautious and save the nakedness for in-the-flesh encounters. Alternatively, make sure you either have your face in a photo or your exposed dick - not both together.

Don't mix business with pleasure

Don't conduct any sexually related Internet activities on company time. In most jurisdictions your employer has the right to access your computer's files at any time, to monitor your web surfing and to read your e-mails. Most company's will tolerate a little web surfing and e-mailing for personal business, but have zero tolerance for sexually related material, as it's considered inappropriate in a work setting. Depending on your company's policy, if you're caught punishment can be anything from a reprimand to dismissal.

Keep your e-mail private

If you're going to partake of matters sexual via e-mail, you should use an e-mail address that is separate from your regular work and home e-mail addresses and that doesn't include your real name as a part of the address. You can set up a separate free e-mail account with any number of Web-based e-mail services.

Usually when you sign up for one of the Web-based e-mail services, you will be asked for some personal information which the service guarantees to keep private. Some of the more popular of these are MSN Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail

A directory of over 1000 Web-based email services can be found at theFree E-mail Address Directory

Computer Security

Make sure you have a good firewall

If you have high-speed Internet access such as DSL or cable-modem, your computer is a target for hackers. Make sure you either turn on your Windows Firewall or install a third-party firewall.

Get an antivirus program

If you download and run software from the Internet, or receive e-mail attachments, there's a good chance of being attacked by a computer  virus. There are also instances where hackers find vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer and are able to plant viruses on a computer from a Web page.Virus protection programs scan your hard drive for viruses and delete them.

The programs below offer firewall and virus protection:

Norton Internet Security 
McAfee Internet Security
Zone Alarm

For more information, see Microsoft's Protect Your PC site.

More on Electronic Privacy and Security

Electronic Privacy Information Centre (EPIC) is a project of the Fund for Constitutional Government, a non-profit charitable organization established in 1974 to protect civil liberties and constitutional rights.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan organization working in the public interest to protect fundamental civil liberties, including privacy and freedom of expression in the arena of computers and the Internet.