I stumbled across two very interesting articles on search records and how they could be used here and here. This statement was particularly troubling with regard to a recent AOL data leak:

So what? you might ask. Think back to the supposedly anonymous search logs released by AOL last year, which were quickly linked to individual users. Paul Boutin’s piece in Slate included this arresting detail: "The searches of AOL user No. 672368 morphed over several weeks from ‘you’re pregnant he doesn’t want the baby’ to ‘foods to eat when pregnant’ to ‘abortion clinics charlotte nc’ to ‘can christians be forgiven for abortion.’ " The chance our search records will get exposed is remote, but not impossibly remote. Google has responded by anonymizing search logs after 18 to 24 months, and by promising that our data are secure.

Most people don’t understand their risks on the internet and threats to their privacy, so they are oblivious to the ways that they are being watched. Heck, many people don’t secure their wireless network – how would they be able to understand this?  Interesting.