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roofth
Seriously Hooked
USA
649 Posts |
 Posted - 12/19/2005 : 4:52:40 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by azknitter
Type your name into www.zabasearch.com and follow a few links (the free ones)for an eye opening experience.
There's a long list of other search engines I could post here that would shock you. I learned about them from my husband who is a police officer who specializes in investigating identity theft.
Never post anything you don't want the whole world to know.
There's no point in making it easier for ne'er-do-wells to misuse your personal information.
Trish
whoa that was really scary. it listed me and ALL my residences for the past 10 years. how do you take yourself off of it???
as for my blogs (esp my personal one), i've put in some html in my template so that the webcrawlers and search engines don't pick up on my page when people are doing their searches. i've googled myself to check, and i don't show up (so far).
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http://ruthknits.blogspot.com |
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SpinaYarn
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
492 Posts |
Posted - 12/19/2005 : 10:50:38 PM
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You know - this brings up a whole lot of issues about blogs that most of us don't even think about.. EVERYONE can see it!
I did a google search for my name recently (after a client told me she had done that) and found all of my KR posts were there listed for all to see.,.... and that was okay with me.
I guess that I agree with the previous posts, don't write what you don't want the world to see - that's why we have blogs.. for the world to connect to us!
knit with joy-
Teyani
www.http://intrepidfiberwizard.blogspot.com/ |
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Bristolknits
Chatty Knitter
USA
173 Posts |
Posted - 12/20/2005 : 06:35:42 AM
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hmmm..this has all got me thinking...
I started a new blog with title "Carol's Knitting" and my blog address is http://vtknitter.blogspot.com
Do you think I should change it?
On my template, I actually removed the profile area.
It would be interesting to know if that was enough to keep anonymous?
Carol
Carol in Vermont
http://vtknitter.blogspot.com |
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Lanea
Permanent Resident
USA
5158 Posts |
Posted - 12/20/2005 : 06:44:14 AM
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What are you all afraid will happen if people can find you on the web? I absolutely agree with xmasberry that it is important to protect kids from child predators. But what are you adults afraid will happen if someone knows you blog or knows your address? Please give some thought to what you think the boogeyman will do. If your fear is rational, you can do things to make yourself safer. If your fear is irrational, it's hurting your heart and your brain and your arteries and it isn't serving you one bit.
Support our Yarniversal charities: http://www.cafepress.com/yarniversalcult
http://crazylanea.typepad.com/
http://www.crazylanea.typepad.com/eating_poetry/ |
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Lanea
Permanent Resident
USA
5158 Posts |
Posted - 12/20/2005 : 09:39:12 AM
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Oh, and if you're afraid your employer will find out you are blogging on the company time or saying bad things about the company, or that your co-worker will find out you have been trashing him on your blog, or anything like that, then give thought to your content and when you post. If your employer has any kind of sense, they can tell what sites you're looking at from your desk. If you hate your coworkers or are annoyed at your friends, make sure you tell them whatever you're willing to talk about on your public blogs. It is incredibly hard to maintain true anonymity in a blog--only a few people pull it off. I think it's actually safer to blog assuming that my friends and family and coworkers will find my blog and read it.
Support our Yarniversal charities: http://www.cafepress.com/yarniversalcult
http://crazylanea.typepad.com/
http://www.crazylanea.typepad.com/eating_poetry/ |
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myshelle10
Permanent Resident
USA
2749 Posts |
Posted - 12/20/2005 : 12:08:34 PM
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I don't have a blog, and I come up on lot of those-- they search things where you are publicly listed-- mailing lists, phone books, etc. It's frightening how much info can be put together into one place, but somehow not that surprisingl.... :P Yuck.
Myshelle10 |
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CPAknit
Seriously Hooked
USA
737 Posts |
Posted - 12/20/2005 : 12:11:27 PM
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I want to thank everyone who took the time to post a response. I took some time to do a search on my name and phone number. The end result is I have become more aware and cautious about posting names and exact places on my blog, but I don't intend to become unduly anxious about it. Not that I don't believe a stalker could create havoc in my life, but I agree with Lanea- We can't let fear stop us from living our lives and enjoying the things we love.
Cindy
http://cpaknit.typepad.com/can_a_cpa_be_a_knitter_ca/ |
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achrisvet
Permanent Resident
USA
5986 Posts |
Posted - 12/20/2005 : 12:13:14 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by RoseByAny
Nope. I did it with the spaces, without the spaces, with the quotes and without the quotes and got nothing like a listing....
"Choose your friends by their character and your socks by their color. Choosing your socks by their character makes no sense, and choosing your friends by their color is unthinkable."
http://RoseByAny.BlogSpot.Com
Do you have an unlisted number? It didn't work for my number, which is unlisted, but it did work when I put my mother's number in there.
Anita
My completed projects
and here
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gabsmom
Gabber Extraordinaire
380 Posts |
Posted - 12/20/2005 : 12:26:57 PM
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| I don't have a blog but my siblings do. I don't want to be on their blogs. It has nothing to do with fear or paranoia. Thankfully, my siblings respect my wishes. |
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mokey
Permanent Resident
15375 Posts |
Posted - 12/20/2005 : 1:41:42 PM
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I don't use my real name, the name of my business, or the real names of any people I know. You would be surprised at how much detialed personal info some people give out, really bright stuff like their names, kids' names, schools. I don't walk around the streets with my personal info flashing on my shirt and I won't do the same online.
"An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Martin Luther King Jr.
www.femiknits.blog-city.com |
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knittingdiva
Gabber Extraordinaire
394 Posts |
Posted - 12/20/2005 : 2:01:37 PM
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I figure it's pretty easy to tell from our blogs if we're single, what our living situation is, and probably a little bit about what we each do for a living. Add to that how many kids you have, what they look like, possibly where they go to school...
There are sick people out there, and I would rather be safe then sorry. I do not post identifiable pictures of myself on my blog, ask that my mother does not either, or my brother, and certainly would not post any of my friends and family. Imagine if someone recognized one of your children from your blogs, and could tell them what you were knitting, where you lived, what you had done on your last vacation...more or less handing the information that they would need to tell a child they were a friend of Mom's...no way. I don't want that information out there at all!
http://sometimesatypical.blogspot.com |
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myshelle10
Permanent Resident
USA
2749 Posts |
Posted - 12/20/2005 : 10:03:46 PM
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My number is unlisted, and doesn't coome up on a google search. Thank goodness my home phone number is safe :)
Myshelle10 |
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Ruby Plaid
Seriously Hooked
USA
657 Posts |
Posted - 12/21/2005 : 07:44:53 AM
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I play it safe and use my blog strictly for knitting purposes. I don't have my photo on it. I list the general metro area as my location, and though I occasionally post touristy photos of some local towns for a little interest, I don't give away where I live.
I'm not a parent, but if I were I would choose not to post photos or write about my kids, or reveal their names. I believe in the "you never know" philosophy. That's not to say that I'm so paranoid in the real world that I never leave my house or anything !
But that's not what my blog is for. With all of the above in mind, I just relax and really have a good time blogging about knitting.
That reminds me, I should post an entry today before the Christmas break. I won't get to blog for about a week.
My sassy knitting blog is here: http://www.xanga.com/RubyPlaid
Visit my crafts website: http://www.geocities.com/hotelcrafty |
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Shelob
Chatty Knitter
187 Posts |
Posted - 12/22/2005 : 11:03:08 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by booglass
I suppose it could happen that someone could use a blog to stalk someone but I agree that the possibility seems remote. I would think if you had someone stalking you in the past such concerns would make sense but I guess you never know.
Has anyone actually ever experienced this?
bonnie
Check out my blog:
http://www.booglass.typepad.com
Okay, not my blog -- a recent vice. But my ex did join a listserv I had contributed to for years when I left him -- escalating domestic violence situation. He's since stolen my identity and turned up in the parking lot outside my brother's apartment a state and a half away. I didn't find out he was on the listserv until I saw him post for help to get off -- 8 months later! I hadn't been posting, just lurking. No energy for it at the time. My only compensation for the terror and outrage I felt was that he spent 8 months getting 40 - 60 e-mails a day on a topic he loathed!
The other thing about blogs is that they tend to make readers feel that they actually "know" you. It's a chatty, seemingly transparent form of exchange. Readers can also interpret what you say in any way it suits them -- so it's a perfect way for a stalker to keep tabs -- a weird game of tag such over-controlling weirdos play. Just like those who get fixated on movie stars and public figures, the relationship CAN be completely based on how the stalker interprets "interactions" like blog entries, pcitures, etc.
Caution is a good thing. I don't put the names of people on my blog, just initials, though I do post pictures. My name doesn't appear there, but I'm also realistic enough to know tht if someone wants to find you, they can. The key is to determine how much effort is worthwhile to you -- an individual barometer. I'm shooting for maintaining a reasonable level of caution while not making myself nuts. My own barometer (or threat meter) has changed over time, gradually decreasing as I get farther from that portion of my past.
Protecting minors is a good idea to keep in mind; clearing pics with them and their parents might also be a good idea -- even the schools have to get permission from parents now to publish a student's name, photo, etc. for school events, honor rolls, etc.
Giving a child a reasonable choice or the chance to say no -- no matter how old or young -- once the child old enough to have an idea of what you're asking is important, I think. Empowerment and control over yourself are tricky things to teach and can get overlooked even as people try to make the best decisions they can make for the children in their lives.
One idea -- myfamily.com is a site for exhanging news, pics, etc. that requires you to be invited by a member and requires that you log on to gain access. Not perfect given the statistics on family violence and predators, but better than an open website.
Also, if you know how to edit code on regular webpages, you can create non-searchable pages by removing the "meta" code line (usually at or near the top). People can only find these pages if are links to them from a page that IS searchable, or if they know the full address.
Given your niece's reaction, I hope someone talked to her about her own experiences on the web? It must be really hard to help kids make sense of the warnings they get in school, their interpretations of news stories, urban legends -- some with truth behind them --etc.
But some of the things I've seen about online predators make my blood run cold. You don't want kids to live in fear all the time -- so what do you do?
~Shelob
The morn is up again, the dewy morn
With breath all incense, and with cheek all bloom,
Laughing the clouds away with playful scorn,
And living as if earth contain'd no tomb --
--Byron Childe Harold's Pilgrimage 3.98
http://caution-blind-driver.blogspot.com/ |
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RoseByAny
Permanent Resident
USA
12598 Posts |
Posted - 12/22/2005 : 11:16:45 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Shelob
The other thing about blogs is that they tend to make readers feel that they actually "know" you.
I've experienced this time and again being on the air in radio. People hear me every day, and think that because they know a lot about the persona I have on the radio, they know me. Not true. But I had a guy follow me around to various appearances, send me flowers, and tell his friends (who also called the station) that he and I were dating. Nope. I also had another guy say I sounded like fun and would I like to meet him and a bunch of his buddies at this deserted bridge around midnight for some "good times"... oddly, I told him I was busy.
The distinction of relationships online (and on the air) is interesting. We interpret tone in a way that we want, and think someone is jovial and witty, and meet them in person and it turns out they're bitter and offensive. We interpret someone online as bitter, we speak to them and find out they're laughing all the time. It's a tough thing to find the truth when you're making decisions based on such a one-dimentional medium.
"Choose your friends by their character and your socks by their color. Choosing your socks by their character makes no sense, and choosing your friends by their color is unthinkable."
http://RoseByAny.BlogSpot.Com |
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kdcrowley
Permanent Resident
USA
4773 Posts |
Posted - 12/22/2005 : 12:09:06 PM
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I just tried Zaba search and found that I am apparently 18 years older than I am. They have my address etc, but wrong age.
I don't think I will tell them it's wrong.
Kelley
Everywhere you go, there you are! Imagine that....
NaNoWriMo 2005 username: KDCROWLEY |
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ChristinaP
Permanent Resident
USA
1089 Posts |
Posted - 12/24/2005 : 12:11:30 PM
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My sister got all excited about the google phonebook listing and sent an e-mail around to our whole family about it... so then when I was on travel and wanted to send postcards, I couldn't understand why I couldn't verify anyone's address with google  - so I just looked them up in Verizon's online listings instead -- really, google is not any more evil than the phone company :)
In Maryland
Blog: http://christinasknitting.blogspot.com |
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calicokitty6
Seriously Hooked
USA
864 Posts |
Posted - 12/24/2005 : 5:08:26 PM
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I just went to www.zabasearch.com and put in about 3 different family members. All of us showed up. [crazy] They only had my maiden name and address from 8 years ago. My husband was not happy to see his name. Fortunately, we live where the zip is shared with 2 towns and the map would not show how to get to our house.
=^..^= Debbie http://calicokitty6.blogspot.com |
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Atavistic
Permanent Resident
6604 Posts |
Posted - 12/24/2005 : 5:31:02 PM
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I searched my name and Mr. Aerospace's on Zaba and got old addresses for me and none for him. Neither of our numbers show maps and reverse lookup doesn't work--probably because we both have cell phones and no landline! If you Google my whole name, and his whole name with some key words, you get links to internships we've each had, scientific papers we've each published, scholarships, various clubs, etc.
Amanda
"Is that my Not-Mine Sweater? Whoever gets that Not-Mine Sweater is very lucky." |
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lella
Permanent Resident
9697 Posts |
Posted - 12/30/2005 : 6:39:21 PM
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If you register a business your real name becomes public information. It's something that is for the safety of your customers; this so if you are a rat fink they can find you. I agree with all that Lanea has said. If you don't want your feelings out there, don't put them up anywhere on the web, blog or not. Most people are not interested in tracking you down for your feelings anyway. The crooks only want things they can get MONEY out of. Now the government, well, that's a whole other story.
lella[img]http://smilies.sofrayt.com/^/9971/omelet.gif[/img]
http://zippiknits.blogspot.com |
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