Resisting the Online Tracking Programs

If you have ever worried about specifically aimed ads that seem aware of your private moments on the Web, such as looking at sites for kitten-heel pumps, eczema medications or how to get out of debt, here is something else to fret about. Keeping your computer free of tracking programs is not easy because of the ad industry's aggressive and sophisticated efforts, says Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy.

"It's like trying to get the room of your teenager clean," he said. "You have to do it all again the next day."

A number of tools can minimize tracking, but using them requires considerable effort and tech know-how. "They're for people with tinfoil hats," said Pam Dixon, executive director of World Privacy Forum. Indeed, the Federal Trade Commission is examining the effectiveness and usability of these tools. It is trying to determine whether something simpler for consumers, like a do-not-track registry akin to the federal Do Not Call Registry, is feasible. The agency's commissioners plan to make their views known this fall, says Christopher N. Olsen, assistant director in the agency's Division of Privacy and Identity Protection.

Until then, here's a guide to keeping the snoops at bay.