Internet privacy and safety: Just myths?

So, I just had a rather sobering conversation with one of our resident IT experts here at the newspaper. He was in the process of adding Tweetdeck to my laptop (no administrative privileges for me!) when he said something to the effect of, "Well, now you can access your Twitter thingy..." That made me curious, so I asked him what he thinks of social networking. He laughed and said he's never going on any social network. Too dangerous. Too many hackers out there. Actually, he said it's not just social networks. He won't put any personal information on computers if he can help it -- he won't even do online banking, despite the obvious convenience factor. I noted that the banks and social networks have security controls, and they seem to keep people protected well enough, despite the occasional hiccup. His response: most people putting their personal information online will be fine, but the few who get theirs hijacked are in for a nightmarish experience. He'd rather not take the chance at all.

I know there are others out there like him (a few make a point of telling me -- repeatedly -- how pointless social networks are). But part of us will always recoil at the notion of sharing previously private information over a public transom. I still remember thinking the Observer's parent company had lost its collective mind years ago when it decreed the end of paper paychecks and made us handle all of our pay data via a secure online site. Now I input without a second thought.

And consider this: more institutions are asking you to do your business with them online. It saves them money, it helps the environment (no paper to throw away) and it offers you convenience. The era of cloud computing and the socially-connected Web is upon us.

It appears that, whether everybody likes it or not, it's here to stay.