Vertually permanant

I watched it too-- are they scaremongering -- conspiracy theories -- or genuine?

Hmm..it makes you wonder Heron, Big Brother or what! :o(

I've only just started using a computer and am very wary of putting any personal information on, won't bank on-line and haven't purchased anything either. Am i being paranoid ?

I prefer writing letters anyway. It feels more natural somehow.

if you want to be noticed say some thing scary or stupid.
thus we have the conspiracy ppl and the 'change the national flag' people
there is a risk and once on the net it is permanent till it is deliberately erased.
there are specialist sites that record the contents of a site and archive them.
this worked for me once when i visited a site that had specialist info on it and years later wanted the same info but they now wanted me to pay for it so i visited the 'way back machine' and down loaded the info that they had then for free.
passing on emails to 10 other persons is one of the riskiest things as it allows spammers to get your email addy.
i bank on line but my bank has several security things there is the on line bank number different from your real number
your pass word.
then a security question you must answer and if you fail 3 times then you have to present id at bank and reset.
so i feel confident on line bank

but watch out for scams that want your visa number.
i watch my visa etc on line every day and is i get an entry that i dont know about i ring the bank and although it has not happened the bank will generally help you recover if need be.

just try a couple of swear words on google and see what happens it can find every word you print
i once spelt planet as palnet and google picked that up with only half a dozen other incidents on the net

Google swear words ? I wouldn't try that !

Very interesting Piersdad, it pays to think these days. I have more questions than answers about the web. Hywel if you're into pen n' paper, firstly good for you and secondly have a listen to Lisa Jardine, especially the bit at the end.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00qqzzf/A_Point_of_View_19_02_2010/

I watched this series with growing concern. Have a look at
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/01/11/google_books_china/
and the accompanying comments - scary!!!

I feel like looking for some sand..............:-).An interesting site though Wagger. I also found an article about UK manufacturing, that one cheered me somewhat.

NEARLY puts you off going online at all, doesn't it? lol