Not being paranoid doesn’t mean no one’s out to get you.

Ah, for the days when that saying didn’t start with the word “not.”

As an interesting exercise, take a visit to Sysomos , which is one of many vendors in the business of watching you to the finest detail possible.

If you read their sales pitches, you will see that they monitor all communications on social media, blogs, forums and the rest of the internet, to such a degree that they promise their clients that people can be tracked by name, age, “sentiment” and dozens of other variables.

With Facebook extending its platform to the “regular” web, services like Sysomos will accumulate more and more data about you, specifically you.

To get an in-depth look at how you are being profiled, read our Guide “How Profiling Works.”

So what to do?

First lie a lot.  For any service that does not involve a financial transaction, lie about your age if you are required to provide one. Lie about your address and especially your postal code. In general use a false name.

For non-financial transactions, you really should have a complete alternate identity.

You can build one yourself using the tips and guides on this site or hire a service like Walking Dolphins to do it for you.

If you want to download television shows or engage in truly confidential conversations consider using an anonymous Usenet service.