Security advocates claim that your identity will be protected when the PSN is put to use.
For example, suppose you register with a site to make some purchases. The site would
verify your identity by verifiying your PSN. The site would then verify your identity every time
you log on which may stop others from making purchases with you identity. Privacy advocates
claim that the PSN chip will make it easier for your interests to be tracked when surfing the web,
which may in turn result in your being bombarded with unsolicited ads and e-mail related to your
interests.
I like the simple fact that I'm virtually invisible to sites. ~1There's a legislator in
the state of Arizona that is trying to pass a bill that would make it illegal for any company
in the state to manufacture or sell a PC chip containing a unique identifying number~1.
Intel claims they have a utility that will ship with the system and it will allow the user
to turn the ID PSN off manually. But if there's an option to turn this function off, how do you know
that it's really off? What purpose is the chip serving while it's off? Why would Intel make something thats
suppose to help with securing and authenticating usernames and passwords and then give you and option
of turning it off.
This article really makes people think about the privacy-security issue as a whole. It also
brings to mind some very interesting questions that in my opinion can only be answered from an individual
point of view. Security is important. I certainly do not want others making unauthorized purchases in
my name, but I also want the security of knowing that I can visit any site I choose on the web without
being "tracked" therby making my personal interests known to anyone who desired that information.
