Michigan Attorney General Jennifer Granholm warns of cyberspace scams.

An explorer will usually find the answers to any questions they have somewhere in the vast cyberspace landscape.

Traveling down the internet’s virtual avenues and streets you can find anything, from the score in last night’s game to the latest OSHA standards. You can buy a detective novel or that new Backstreet Boys CD your children or grandchildren keep asking for.

But this landscape is not without its tough neighborhoods and poorly lit back alleys. Online consumers need to be aware of the dangers so they can have a safe trip.

"The internet was intended as a research tool and a resource for learning, not a haven for criminals and criminal activity," says Michigan Attorney General Jennifer Granholm, who has prosecuted online drug dealers.

Granholm, one of the national leaders in prosecuting on-line scam artists, identifies these areas as especially given to fraud.

Privacy

Many internet sites place tiny, electronic files called cookies on your computer when you arrive. These cookies assign each computer an ID number, and help the websites tailor your next visit. Cookies are supposed to be nameless. But some firms use this technology to create user profiles they can sell.

In February, Granholm served notice on one company, DoubleClick.com, which left cookies on other companies’ sites without warning. But these cookies collected and recorded information in a database saving it as a user profile. DoubleClick owned a reported 100 million separate profiles including many names and e-mail addresses.

"The Internet is a wonderful tool. Companies like DoubleClick take advantage of the technology to rob people of their privacy--causing people to distrust the internet," Granholm said.

The best way to protect against companies like DoubleClick is to learn what protections your browser has against cookie placement.

Drug access

Some sites mail prescription medicines to people, but these sites cannot check your prescription. The pharmacies are completely anonymous, and they don’t offer protections against harmful drug combinations.

Despite admitting to having heart conditions, investigators in Michigan purchased Viagra. Viagra increases the risk of heart attack in people who have pre-existing problems.

Children also can obtain legal drugs on the internet though usually not from official websites. While the government dukes it out with the internet retailers, it is important to protect yourself and your family. The attorney general advises that you avoid giving out personal information, even zip codes and birthdays, to sites you do not trust.

Also, get to know what your children are looking at so you can talk about some of the confusing images they might download. It is possible to find all the sites visited on your browser by checking the history folder.

- Michael Mirer