Murray State University
Online Privacy: Is Internet Usage on a Public Terminal Private, Safe, and Secure?
Institution
Murray State University
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Michael Bowman
Abstract
Due to the popularity of the Internet, various organizations such as universities and libraries have started providing public terminals for Internet access. But are these terminals private, safe, and secure? This research project focused on understanding if personal information could be recovered from a public terminal given differing levels of access to the system - standard users, administrators, and forensic analyst. Collected data were analyzed and cataloged to determine what kinds of information statistically appeared most often and what kind of impact that information had on users' privacy. Data was de-personalized immediately after it was cataloged to protect the users' privacy. Based upon the results, we determined the best practices for system administrators and end users to follow to maximize privacy on a public terminal.
Online Privacy: Is Internet Usage on a Public Terminal Private, Safe, and Secure?
Due to the popularity of the Internet, various organizations such as universities and libraries have started providing public terminals for Internet access. But are these terminals private, safe, and secure? This research project focused on understanding if personal information could be recovered from a public terminal given differing levels of access to the system - standard users, administrators, and forensic analyst. Collected data were analyzed and cataloged to determine what kinds of information statistically appeared most often and what kind of impact that information had on users' privacy. Data was de-personalized immediately after it was cataloged to protect the users' privacy. Based upon the results, we determined the best practices for system administrators and end users to follow to maximize privacy on a public terminal.