# Online privacy issue, thought you should know **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 5, 2000, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/online-privacy-issue-thought-you-should-know/13463 "2000-02-05T01:14:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Call\_me\_Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Call\_me\_Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Call_me_Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2003, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/online-privacy-issue-thought-you-should-know/13463/21 "2003-10-18T02:12:39Z")
Honestly, I didn’t take the time to read all of the replies, but I don’t think anyone mentioned what I’m about to. There’s a wonderful little program available (for free, no less!) that will root out all that nasty spyware that may have accumulated on your computer over the years. It’s available at [http://www.lavasoft.de](http://www.lavasoft.de) The program you want is called “Ad-aware”. I strongly recomend that you follow the site’s instructions and read the help file before performing your first scan. Also, you should run the “Web Update” feature upon downloading it to get the latest reference file. I just got it a few days ago and it picked up quite a bit of junk that had accumulated on my computer (About 3 years since the last re-format). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2003, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/online-privacy-issue-thought-you-should-know/13463/22 "2003-10-18T02:41:33Z")
> [@](#): > > (About 3 years since the last re-format). \*\* Speaking of things that happened 3 years ago, take a look at the dates on the messages preceding yours. Back when this thread was new, that sort of software wasn’t so readily available. ---
**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2003, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/online-privacy-issue-thought-you-should-know/13463/23 "2003-10-18T02:43:16Z")
Hey Frank, what’s 10-17-2003 minus 2-6-2000? ---
**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2003, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/online-privacy-issue-thought-you-should-know/13463/24 "2003-10-18T02:44:41Z")
Note to self, preview. This is why I don’t do MPSIMS, you people are too fast. Off to GQ, Batman! \ ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2003, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/online-privacy-issue-thought-you-should-know/13463/25 "2003-10-18T02:46:30Z")
When and why did techchick get banned? ---
**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2003, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/online-privacy-issue-thought-you-should-know/13463/26 "2003-10-18T02:58:51Z")
I was wondering that myself. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=216275&highlight=techchick](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=216275&highlight=techchick) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=2665645#post2665645](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=2665645#post2665645) ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2003, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/online-privacy-issue-thought-you-should-know/13463/27 "2003-10-18T03:09:24Z")
Looks like a temporary thing–maybe. Hope so. ---
**Author:** ![Call\_me\_Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Call\_me\_Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Call_me_Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2003, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/online-privacy-issue-thought-you-should-know/13463/28 "2003-10-18T03:59:34Z")
heh heh, so that’s what all those numbers mean, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2003, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/online-privacy-issue-thought-you-should-know/13463/29 "2003-10-18T04:45:31Z")
dropzone, well at first her account was just ‘suspended’ with a request to email a mod when she calmed down. Then the next day it turned to ‘banned’ I can only guess that the email she sent wasn’t very politely worded. ---
**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2003, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/online-privacy-issue-thought-you-should-know/13463/30 "2003-10-18T17:20:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Call me Frank \* > **heh heh, so that’s what all those numbers mean, eh?** We call those numbers “dates”, Frank. They are unique identifiers for a specific revolution of this planet on its axis. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2003, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/online-privacy-issue-thought-you-should-know/13463/31 "2003-10-18T18:05:46Z")
Paranoia aside from the OP, but … [Do Cookies Pose Any Security Risk?](http://www.w3.org/Security/Faq/wwwsf2.html#CLT-Q10) from the W3C. [EPIC Cookies FAQ](http://www.epic.org/privacy/internet/cookies/) [CIAC Cookie FAQ](http://www.ciac.org/ciac/bulletins/i-034.shtml) [What Is An Internet Cookie?](http://computer.howstuffworks.com/question82.htm) from HowStuffWorks [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/online-privacy-issue-thought-you-should-know/13463.md?page=1)