ABSTRACT

At the start of this book we introduced the notion of a truth±lies paradox presented by the Internet. Technology that enables truth also, paradoxically, facilitates all kinds of deception. When faced with the choices that life online presents us with, we need to deal with this paradox both in selecting how we ourselves behave, and also how we interpret the actions and intentions of others. For this reason, we have placed trust as pivotal to solving the truth±lies paradox. As discussed earlier, trust is only really critical when there is both uncertainty and potential risk. Online much is uncertain, and this uncertainty carries with it a gamut of risks, ranging from phishing to spam deluges to physical harm.