Personal and Business PrivacyNowadays the world is certainly different. You can no longer go on the Internet and browse without the potential threat of your privacy being compromised and invaded. When the Internet became big, we didn't hear much about the issue of privacy and computers. Maybe it was because the public was naive, but that's no longer the case. This issue is quickly becoming the heart of heated debates about how to protect your privacy. Privacy is a difficult term to define, it is different for everyone with approximately an infinite number of interpretations of the exact meaning of the words. So let's take the time and understand its meaning better. According to Webster's dictionary, privacy is seclusion or isolation from others: secrecy. At first glance this doesn't seem to concern information systems, but think again. Everything we do on the Internet runs the risk of being watched or observed. It could be from other companies or the government quite scary. This problem is quickly becoming the number one concern of web users. How can these people keep an eye on me? Technology has certainly been a blessing, but it also has the potential to be dangerous. A good example exists right here on campus. We use our Social Security numbers for just about everything, from registering to purchasing books at the bookstore. If this number fell into the wrong hands it could prove disastrous for the person of that number. They would then have full access to any information they choose to use. They could access your banking files, credit report, and credit card numbers. They could ruin your life in a short period of time. So in this regard, privacy means much more than just me… middle of paper… more than accessing customer information without consent. They will be able to choose the level of privacy they wish to have. While some analysts say they don't see a trend toward consumer-focused software for home security, there is a clear increase toward protecting customer information. While most companies profit from their databases of customer information by selling it to third-party companies, some companies like Earthlink have developed a competitive priority not to sell the information. They believe that the information they have about their customers is a privilege to have and that the customer trusts us by giving Earthlink their loyal business and we don't want to violate that. As technology grows, so does the need for companies to listen to their customers and implement a robust privacy policy that people can trust.