Nathaniel Sheppard Jr.

In the following viewpoint, Nathaniel Sheppard Jr. argues that the Internet threatens an individual’s right to privacy. It is easy for Internet website owners and computer hackers to glean personal data by following the trails left behind by Web surfers, he asserts. Sheppard contends that the right to privacy is also threatened by businesses and governments that store personal information on computers, which are vulnerable to computer hackers. Sheppard is a contributing columnist to Emerge magazine.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What do “sniffer” programs do, according to Sheppard?
2. Why was Kevin Mitnick on the FBI’s list of most-wanted hackers, according to the author?
3. How can computer users protect their privacy, in Sheppard’s opinion?

Having promoted the Internet as one of the...