Normally I use a free piece of software called Open Office to write these articles.  Tonight, however, I’ve decided to use Microsoft Office.  Whether for nostalgic reasons or simply for change, I decided to open the Microsoft product.

There’s been a lot of talk over the last year or two about metadata and because it’s all over the news I’ve received tons of questions.  I hear a lot of talk about metadata, but I’m not convinced those who talk about it understand its meaning.

Metadata is stuff most people don’t care about.  When this article is opened by the newspaper all they care about is the content.  After it’s printed in the paper all the readers care about is that they read something entertaining and educational.  For most of us it’s about the content.

Underneath all the content and characters is hidden data called metadata.  Every electronic file includes it; pictures, documents, emails, it all has hidden forensic evidence about the file’s creation and edits.

Everything we do electronically can be traced using metadata.  Years ago when software first started being developed, authors needed a way to track documents.  I don’t mean track locations; but rather, how the file was created, where it was created, etc.  Basically, metadata is data about data.

Pictures contain metadata called EXIF information.  It can easily be read on a Windows machine by right clicking the image and scrolling to information.  The EXIF data tells the story of when, where, and how the picture was taken.  It even tells if and now the picture was edited.

Although most people don’t care about the underlying information, many professional organizations use that data to scrutinize documents.  Colleges, for example, used to keep a database of metadata to scan for plagiarized documents.  This database could compare metadata between many documents and assist a professor in determining if a document was truly original.

Depending on the email system, all emails have underlying metadata which can tell a reader exactly where the mail was sent from and how it was edited.  When I used to import products I would scan the metafile to see exactly when they sent the email and from what IP address.  I would use that data to structure my deal.

Radios which display the station identifier or song use broadcasted metadata which can’t be heard but is used by the radio.  Broadcasters use this data everyday for many reasons ranging from visual displays on radios to interception by affiliates about the broadcast.

I kept wondering why people have such a concern over the government intercepting metadata.  After all, metadata is simply information about the actual data.  It’s not the actual phone call the government is intercepting, it’s the data about the phone call.  Really, they’re looking at the exact time I called Aunt Edna.

Phones used as internet devices carry much more information than about the call to Aunt Edna.  Smartphones also have metadata about internet usage.  An in depth history of visited websites is within easy access to anyone who has access to either my phone or account information.  All phone history has the potential of being transferred to the carrier as metadata.

Lots of people have asked me what metadata is and why they should be worried.  There’s no need to panic about someone intercepting your metadata or using it for ill intent.  There’s not a lot anyone can do with this stuff other than see what word processor you used to type your weekly article.

(Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. located at 509 Main St. in Gardner.  You can text him directly at (978) 413-2840 or visit www.LocalComputerWiz.com.)