Newsobserver.com-Security questions trouble Web surfers

By ARATI BECHTEL, Correspondent

Q. What information could be collected from my PC as I use the Web? What can I do to protect myself?

A. Cookies remain a primary way that many companies track visitors to their Web sites, says Clay Harris, general manager of the Durham office of WorkSmart, an IT support and consulting company.

Companies may check your computer files to see what sites you’ve visited recently or to remember who you are and your preferences, he explains.

You can ask your browser to warn you when a site is sending a cookie. If you use Internet Explorer 6, go to Internet Options and click on the Advanced button on the Privacy tab to set your browser’s cookie handling.

Another privacy or security risk you face while using the Internet is spyware, a program that secretly collects and transmits information about a computer user. Harris says you are more likely to expose yourself to the risk of spyware if you use free file-sharing programs or visit Web sites “of questionable integrity” offering pornography, pirated software or the like.

File-sharing applications such as Kazaa or BearShare often come packaged with spyware or adware, which you might not know unless you read the fine print before downloading. Harris recommends AdAware, a free spyware and adware removal tool from Lavasoft (www.lavasoft.de), and SpywareInfo as a reliable source of information on spyware (www.spywareinfo.com).

“Be aware that file-sharing programs share more than they tell you, and be wary of any toolbar or add-on to your browser that you download. They are notorious for sending information while you’re unaware,” Harris warns.

Also, be sure that a Web site is secure when you share private information, such as a credit card number or Social Security number, he advises.

In Internet Explorer 6, click Status Bar under the View menu to display the status bar along the bottom of your window. Internet Explorer will indicate secure Web sites with a small padlock image in the lower right-hand corner.

“The most important thing to do to protect your information when surfing the Web is to use common sense. Avoid sites that are suspicious. Don’t give out personal information to sites that you don’t know and trust,” Harris says.

Q. On the toolbar of Internet Explorer, on my computer, there is a search engine called “My Search.” I don’t know how this item got there. Is this engine spyware? Is it tracking my activities on the Web? The “My Search” is the bottom tool bar at the top of the page. It may be a part of WeatherBug.

A. Something called My Search does come with WeatherBug, a free, advertising-supported program that gives you updated weather information.

The WeatherBug Web site says the program is not spyware and that it doesn’t track your activity online. However, the company says little about My Search, except that it comes with WeatherBug.

If you would like to uninstall My Search, here’s how to do that, according to the WeatherBug site:

Click Start, Settings and then Control Panel. Double-click on Add/Remove Programs, and select My Search from the list of programs. Click the Add/Remove button and follow the instructions from there. Visit www.weatherbug.com for more information.