"Get over it," Sun's Scott McNealy said recently regarding privacy on the Internet. His contention: "Internet privacy" is an oxymoron. It doesn't exist. The Pentium III ID issue, and Microsoft's Windows and Word machine-ID tags, are only the most visible indications of a battle that's already been lost. Still, as was pointed out to me forcefully in my editorial meeting this morning, that doesn't mean that we should give up the fight.

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So here's a better idea: profit from it. There are at least three companies going into the business of shielding technology users from Big Brother. Lumeria, PrivaSeek, and Zero Knowledge Systems all have technology to shield users' personal information from inquisitive Web sites, CPUs, and applications. Of these companies, Lumeria and PrivaSeek are also in the "infomediary" business of taking your personal information (voluntarily entered) and aggregating it with other users' info for the purpose of providing you with marketing messages customized for your demographic. It goes to show you how efficient the Internet is at solving its own problems.

- Rafe Needleman
Editor, Red Herring Online

LATEST NEWS
  Intel outside

FURTHER READING
  ZKS says, We know nothing
  Lumeria says, It's an opportunity
  PrivaSeek's Web site

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