1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
|
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd"[
<!ENTITY % brandDTD SYSTEM "chrome://branding/locale/brand.dtd" >
%brandDTD;
]>
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<title>Privacy on the Internet</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="helpFileLayout.css"
type="text/css"/>
</head>
<body>
<h1 id="using_privacy_features">Using Privacy Features</h1>
<p>Your browser includes features you can use to enhance the privacy and
security of your personal information. The sections that follow describe how
your browser can help you control cookies, passwords, and images while you
are surfing the Internet.</p>
<p>For information about related &brandShortName; security features, see
<a href="mail_sec_help.xhtml">Signing & Encrypting Messages</a> and
<a href="using_certs_help.xhtml">Using Certificates</a>.</p>
<div class="contentsBox">Privacy topics:
<ul>
<li><a href="#privacy_on_the_internet">Privacy on the Internet</a></li>
<li><a href="using_priv_help.xhtml#using_the_cookie_manager">Using the
Cookie Manager</a></li>
<li><a href="using_priv_help.xhtml#using_the_password_manager">Using the
Password Manager</a></li>
<li><a href="using_priv_help.xhtml#encrypting_stored_sensitive_information">Encrypting
Stored Sensitive Information</a></li>
<li><a href="using_priv_help.xhtml#managing_images">Managing Images</a></li>
<li><a href="cs_priv_prefs_popup.xhtml#controlling_popups">Controlling Popups</a></li>
<li><a href="privsec_help.xhtml">Privacy & Security Preferences</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h1 id="privacy_on_the_internet">Privacy on the Internet</h1>
<p>This section summarizes some background information about privacy on the
Internet. It also describes several things you can do to help safeguard your
own privacy. It is not intended to provide a complete description of Internet
privacy issues.</p>
<div class="contentsBox">In this section:
<ul>
<li><a href="#what_information_does_my_browser_give_to_a_web_site">What
Information Does My Browser Give to a Web Site?</a></li>
<li><a href="#what_are_cookies_and_how_do_they_work">What Are Cookies, and
How Do They Work?</a></li>
<li><a href="#how_can_i_control_web_pages_in_email_messages">How Can I
Control Web Pages in Email Messages?</a></li>
<li><a href="#how_can_i_make_sure_unauthorized_people_dont_use_information_about_me">How
Can I Make Sure Unauthorized People Don't Use Information About
Me?</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2 id="what_information_does_my_browser_give_to_a_web_site">What Information
Does My Browser Give to a Web Site?</h2>
<p>When your browser displays a web page—for example, each time you click
a link or type a URL, or when a web page is displayed in an email
message—it gives certain kinds of information to the site. This
information may include (but is not limited to) your operating environment,
your Internet address, and the page you're coming from.</p>
<h3>Operating Environment</h3>
<p>The site is told something about your operating environment, such as your
browser type and operating system. This helps the site present the page in
the best way for your screen. For example, the site might learn that you use
the French version of Mozilla 1.2 on a Windows 2000 computer.</p>
<h3 id="internet_address">Internet Address</h3>
<p>Your browser must tell the site your Internet address (also known as the
Internet Protocol, or IP address) so the site knows where to send the page
you are requesting. The site can't present the page you want to see
unless it knows your IP address.</p>
<p>Your IP address can be either temporary or fixed (static).</p>
<p>If you connect to the Internet through a standard modem that's attached
to your phone line, then your Internet service provider (ISP) may assign you
a temporary IP address each time you log on. You use the temporary IP address
for the duration of your Internet session—for example, until you sign
off or hang up your dial-up connection, or otherwise end your computer's
live connection with the Internet. Each ISP has many IP addresses, and they
assign the addresses at random to users.</p>
<p>If you have DSL, a cable modem, or a fiber-optic connection, you may have a
fixed IP address that you use every time you connect.</p>
<p>Your IP address is not the same as your email address.</p>
<h3>Referring Page</h3>
<p>The site is also told which page you were reading when you clicked a link to
see one of the site's pages. This allows the site to know which site
referred you. Or, as you traverse the site, it allows the site to know which
of its pages you came from.</p>
<p>[<a href="#privacy_on_the_internet">Return to beginning of section</a>]</p>
<h2 id="what_are_cookies_and_how_do_they_work">What Are Cookies, and How Do
They Work?</h2>
<p>A cookie is a small bit of information used by some web sites. When you
visit a site that uses cookies, the site might ask your browser to place one
or more cookies on your hard disk.</p>
<p>Later, when you return to the site, your browser sends back the cookies that
belong to the site.</p>
<p>When you are using the default cookie settings, this activity is invisible
to you, and you won't know when a site is setting a cookie or when your
browser is sending a web site's cookie back. However, you can set your
preferences so that you will be asked before a cookie is set. For information
on how to do this, see
<a href="using_priv_help.xhtml#cookies">Privacy & Security Preferences -
Cookies</a>.</p>
<h3>How Do Sites Use Cookie Information?</h3>
<p>Cookies allow a site to know something about your previous visits. For
example, if you typically search for local weather or purchase books at a web
site, the site may use cookies to remember what city you live in or what
authors you like, so it can make your next visit easier and more useful.</p>
<p>Some websites publish privacy policies that describe how they use the
information they gather.</p>
<h3 id="what_are_third-party_cookies">What Are Third-Party Cookies?</h3>
<p>If your browser stores a site's cookie, it will return the cookie only
to that particular site. Your browser will not provide one site with cookies
set by another. Since a web site can only receive its own cookies, it can
learn about your activities while you are at that site but not your
activities in general while surfing the Web.</p>
<p>But sometimes a web site displays content that is hosted on another web
site. That content can be anything from an image to text or an advertisement.
The other web site that hosts such elements also has the ability to store a
cookie in your browser, even though you don't visit the site directly.
</p>
<p>Cookies that are stored by a site other than the one you are visiting are
called <strong>third-party cookies</strong> or <strong>foreign
cookies</strong>. Web sites sometimes use third-party cookies with
<strong>transparent GIFs</strong>, which are special images that help sites
count users, track email responses, learn more about how visitors use the
site, or customize your browsing experience. (Transparent GIFs are also known
as web beacons or web bugs.)</p>
<p>If you want, you can adjust your cookie preferences so that sites can store
ordinary cookies but not third-party ones.</p>
<p>[<a href="#privacy_on_the_internet">Return to beginning of section</a>]</p>
<h2 id="how_can_i_control_web_pages_in_email_messages">How Can I Control Web
Pages in Email Messages?</h2>
<p>You can disable cookies, images, JavaScript, and plugins completely for
web pages that are received as part of email messages.</p>
<p>While it may be convenient to enable some or all of these capabilities when
you're browsing the web, they may not be necessary in single web pages
sent as attachments to messages.</p>
<p>For information on enabling or disabling cookies, images, JavaScript, and
plugins in email messages, see the following sections:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="using_priv_help.xhtml#cookies">Privacy & Security
Preferences - Cookies</a></li>
<li><a href="mail_help.xhtml#message_display">Mail & Newsgroups
Preferences - Message Display</a></li>
<li><a href="cs_nav_prefs_advanced.xhtml#scripts_and_plugins">Advanced
Preferences - Scripts & Plugins</a></li>
</ul>
<p>[<a href="#privacy_on_the_internet">Return to beginning of section</a>]</p>
<h2 id="how_can_i_make_sure_unauthorized_people_dont_use_information_about_me">How
Can I Make Sure Unauthorized People Don't Use Information About Me?</h2>
<p>The best way to keep your information private is to read the privacy
policies for the web sites you visit and the Internet services you use, and
to be cautious about giving out your personal information online.</p>
<p>The Internet is a public network. When you send your name, phone number,
address, and other personal information over the network (via a web page,
email, or any other method), it is possible that someone else may be able to
intercept it.</p>
<p>Here are some questions you might ask about a web site's privacy
policy:</p>
<ul>
<li>What kinds of personal information is this site gathering?</li>
<li>How will the site use the information?</li>
<li>Will the site share the information with others and do I have choices
regarding the use of any shared information?</li>
<li>Can I access some or all of the information a site gathers about me, in
order to inspect or update it?</li>
<li>How does the site protect the information?</li>
<li>How do I contact the web site if I have questions or problems?</li>
</ul>
<p>[<a href="#privacy_on_the_internet">Return to beginning of section</a>]</p>
</body>
</html>
|
