If a stranger approached someone on the street, would they casually offer them personal information? Would it allow him to track and record his activities? Although it may seem obvious in the real world that this would not be permitted, the behavior of the general population on the Internet is remarkably different. While surfing websites such as Facebook, Twitter and Google, many people provide personal information to improve their online profile? These websites store large amounts of personal information about their users. Although this practice also benefits the user, unrestricted profiling can become an alarming disaster. Unless the threats to Internet users' privacy outweigh the benefits, we should not regulate the Internet, but rather educate the public on how to be more responsible about their identity. Various web-based companies have developed techniques to document their customers' data, allowing them to provide a more enhanced web experience. One of these methods, called "cookies", uses Microsoft's web browser, Internet Explorer. It tracks user habits. Cookies are pieces of text stored by the web browser that are sent each time the user accesses a web page. These can be tracked to track the actions of internet users. Cookies are used to store user passwords, making your life easier on banking sites and email accounts. Another technique used by popular search engines is to personalize search results. Search engines like Google sell top search results to advertisers and only get paid when users click on the search results. Therefore, Google tries to produce the most relevant search results for its users through a feature called web history. History of the web h...... middle of paper ......regulations, Facebook will be obliged to respond to their requests. Consumers recognize the threat to their control and, just as in the past, they have found ingenious ways to protect themselves. They will continue to defend their rights, which will ultimately affect company policies. Works Cited Hargittai, Eszter and Boyd, Dana. "Facebook Privacy Settings: Who Cares?" » First Monday 15.8 (2010): 12-20. Murphy, Eve M. Caudill and Patrick E. "Online Consumer Privacy: Legal and Ethical Issues." » Journal of Public Policy and Marketing 19.1 (2000): 7-19. Picard, Joseph. “Online Privacy: Is There Any?” » International Business Times 2010 July 28: 23-25.Wingfield, Nick. Microsoft has rolled back its efforts to strengthen online privacy. 2010 02-Aug. 2010 08-August .