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Spying Eyes

Who's watching while you surf, and what do they know about you? You might be surprised.

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Browsing discussion groups on the Internet, a woman we'll call Betty found a conversation about how medical professionals treat patients. Betty joined in, complaining about her insurance plan and doctor. The next day, she got an e-mail from her HMO, asking her to discuss why she was unhappy.

Her HMO, it turns out, scans discussion groups for all mentions of itself and responds to comments.

For Betty, the episode was eye-opening. She made a simple comment from the comfort of her home and found that someone was watching her.

"She was surprised that she wasn't anonymous," says Karen Coyle, western regional director of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, who spoke to Betty after the incident.

It's a lesson that more and more people are learning, often the hard way: Privacy is at a premium online.

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