in your mailbox? If so you are like the rest of us and are already "tracked" and because you probably drive or have gone to school or have a job you have already given up a bit of your "privacy".
Pay attention to the usual actions you can take such as not posting your email address or home or business address anywhere and not clicking every offer to " click here" that comes along (pay attention to what you are doing) and make sure your Anti-Virus and anti-malware apps are updated and used and avoid porn sites and you should be OK.
There are no guarantees in life other than the guarantee that if you live you will die eventually. If death and injury statistics for cars forces you to ride a bike and then the same type of statistics forces you to walk you will soon discover that the same death and injury statistics will cause you to stay in your home until you find that most accidents happen in the home then you give up. SKIP all that and just enjoy your Internet and if the worst happens fix the problem, get over it and drive on.
Hi. I posted this on the broadband internet forum already but wasn't getting much attention with it over there as of yet so I thought I'd just actually post it on here because I do feel like a newb to the technicalities of the internet and computers and what makes them work and I think that's basically what my problem is here. My concern is mainly with the internet though.
My problem is I'm afraid/hesitant to use my own internet on my own devices because I'm afraid of privacy issues with it I guess. So my question is, should I be afraid to use my internet privacy wise or not cause I can't use it anymore without feeling somehow I'm being tracked or watched secretly. If so, then can someone help me know what exactly should I be afraid of?
I would like to get to the bottom of my fears about it all because its holding me back from the internet and making me paranoid I guess. I guess I just lack a knowledge of the technicalities that make a computer and the internet tick so I feel really just precautious. I feel like I need help understanding this stuff or I'll always kind of fear the unknown and be afraid. I think just having an understanding of this stuff or if someone could explain this stuff to me I wouldn't have so much fear/precaution maybe if I didn't have to.
Right now I have the benefits an unlimited data plan on my smartphone and access to the internet by a fast cable broadband but I waste them feeling afraid to use it cause I am afraid its more bad than good maybe. I think about what the ISP or whatever sees and what data is loose in their hands or elsewhere or what the phone service providers really see. I think about ip addresses and wonder about how that works and just if there's some sort of catch with the internet. I read policies and all but they just seem confusing to me because they just state the stuff they collect but I don't understand it to well. I'm hesitant and afraid to send emails, search stuff even for like videos on youtube, or do much with anything mainstream. I also kind of worry about storing media on my computer if it connects to the internet worrying about if my media is known if I connect or can be and that worries me.
Wish I could explain what I mean better if that doesn't make sense but basically I just have fears about the internet and I'm thus holding myself back from using it while I have it. Can anyone help me simply understand or know what I should know about how the internet works and what I should be aware of or worried about?
P. S. I know before I posted a few times about privacy concerns with different things and people thought I was asking for professional counseling from someone on the forums for it when I wasn't but anyways I agreed that I would stop posting my concerns on the forums to someone but I just can't shake it off. I just feel ignorant and just wanted some knowledge on the topic if anyone could help me understand it so I wouldn't feel precautious to the unknown and know if I should have fears or not. So sorry if I'm crossing the line again but I just want to get info on the topic so I can determine whether I should worry or not. Thanks for the understanding.

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