Mal Fletcher comments

5. Take Control

Never post information about yourself that the user doesn't need to know -- especially when carrying out transactions, or providing responses to surveys, government questionnaires and the like.

If a merchant asks for information in a way that seems too intrusive, shop elsewhere. It's worth asking: "If I was buying this in a bricks-and-mortar store, would I have to hand over this information?" Most often, the answer is "no".

If a government department wants information you're not comfortable relaying online, send them a letter or paper form instead. (If they don't provide a pdf or doc version for download, phone and ask for one.)

6. Remember: It Won't Stop Here

As time goes by and more of our everyday functions carry an online element, the internet is likely to become more not less intrusive

We live in the age of the data explosion. Information is both power and wealth today; data is the new currency and someone will want to control its trade.

Gradually, to stop the wrong people gaining control, governments will step in to tighten regulation of the web, not on a local or national level, but trans-nationally.

This is preferable to a wild west of the net, where cowboys and bandits are free to wreak havoc at will. But it's important to remember that by their very nature governments and their bureaucracies grow.

In the end, we will find it increasingly difficult to know exactly what legitimate authorities and corporations know about us. Given the records of governments for losing sensitive data, vigilance becomes even more essential - without paranoia.

Despite the good things communications technologies have unarguably brought us, and despite a cultural trend to trust technologies implicitly, we need to treat the web with caution.

Cyberspace has become a great servant - but it would be a terrible master.