Ever wondered what happens after you close your browser and end yet another session online? Have you ever felt like you’re being watched – and maybe even gossiped about – by those persistent tracking cookie monsters as you blaze a trail via your browser? If you ask yourself why anyone would care about your interests and what happens to the zillions of pieces of search data generated daily, the answer is simple: information is power. Our personal data is the most valuable asset class of the 21st century. Cookies are not the only way our activities are monitored. Every online action is stored in cyberspace, regardless of the device used, be it PC, laptop, or cellphone. Every transaction is a little piece of puzzle that will generate our consumer profile. Being smart about protecting this data is our new personal challenge – and a far more complicated task than stashing physical valuables and personal paperwork in a safe deposit box. Companies have already started the race to cash in. Azigo, Mydex, The DataBanker, and Personal.com are offering a cloud-based hub that allows users to safely store and/or remove their personal digital information from everything from medical records to music and financial reports. For many users, the biggest complaint about the online environment today is privacy concerns. But we still manage to be pleasantly amazed by search engines that “read our minds,” returning suggestions extremely close to what we’re looking for after typing in just a few letters. (These “miracles” are made possible through browsing history and cache. This data is now available across all devices, so it follows you from phone to laptop to tablet, as long as you’re signed in to your Google or Apple account.) Another common complaint is the stream of...