Computer Spyware

Dear Gentle Reader,
Does it bother you at all that the government may be reading your e-mails and even spying on your computer files? Even though I have nothing to hide, it still troubles me that some agency can mine my data. If AOL is your provider, you are being snooped on all the time. (I used AOL last summer when we were on vacation, but I won’t again!) Read this article if you want more information: http://rense.com/general69/scout.htm
The article also says that Active X and file-sharing are "open doors" to snoops who want to gain access to your files. But it didn’t tell how to change one’s computer settings.

So I investigated the "Help" files on Windows and this is how to do it.
Open Internet Explorer.
On the Tools menu, click Manage Add-ons.
Click the Show arrow, and then click Add-ons that have been used by Internet Explorer.
In the list of add-ons, click the add-on you want to update, and then click Update ActiveX. (Or disable it. That’s what I did.)
To disable a browser add-on
Open Internet Explorer.
On the Tools menu, click Manage Add-ons.
Click the add-on you want to disable and then click Disable.

To make your folders private
Open My Computer (click Start, and then click My Computer)
Double-click the drive where Windows is installed (usually drive (C:), unless you have more than one drive on your computer).
If the contents of the drive are hidden, under System Tasks, click Show the contents of this drive.
Double-click the Documents and Settings folder.
Double-click your user folder.
Right-click any folder in your user profile and then click Properties.
On the Sharing tab, select the Make this folder private so that only I have access to it check box.

This option is only available for folders included in your user profile. Folders in your user profile include My Documents and its subfolders, Desktop, Start Menu, Cookies, and Favorites. If you do not make these folders private, they are available to everyone who uses your computer.

When you make a folder private, all of its subfolders are private as well. For example, when you make My Documents private, you also make My Music and My Pictures private. When you share a folder, you also share all of its subfolders unless you make them private.

Hope this is helpful information to you.

Happy New Year!