One idea behind the new Pentium III is to enable a serial number to be use to verify a particular user. Some feel this is an invasion of privacy because it is a necessary feature if you want to conduct secure transactions. Protest groups say it could harm the end user by giving away essentially their identity to outsiders.

I think these protest groups may not be speaking for the general public. Some of the information we now pass over the Internet is done without our knowledge but with our safety in mind. All this serial number does is confirm you are who you say you are, so what?s wrong with that?

I don?t agree with these protest groups because they haven?t shown any examples of how this information can be misused. I think it is the equivalent of giving your information to a sales clerk when purchasing an item because that information is readily accessible to other vendors to assess you spending patterns. How else so these people think they keep get things in the mail that are related to thing they have previously purchased. I think it could be used to help alert you to more options when it comes down to competition.

It is a way of digitally identifying an individual to assure the vendor that they are who they say they are. It is a security-enhancing feature that is just like a digital certificate.