What the web knows about you?
By zandi458
@zandi458 (28102)
Malaysia
December 16, 2010 12:28am CST
I have only discovered lately that two pieces of simple data - your name and your e-mail address can unlock a shocking number of details about you even if you consider yourself to be a private person who carefully guards your online identity. Our anonymity is no longer guaranteed once we enter the cyberworld. Even when we only join one site, the internet crawlers are able to gather information about our identity. Just by googling your name or your mylot name, you'll be shocked to find bits and pieces of your personal bio-data online and open for public viewing in this bounder-less internet.
Much of what the the net collects is public information from things like voter registration records, your business licenses etc..but the real treasure trove comes from social networks, which provide photos, interests, activities and a list of your friends. When I signed up with any site online requesting for my email address, it always come with a statement like this 'we promise not to sell your email'. It never really cross my mind that they are people making money from harvesting individual emails to be sold to interested parties for the purposes of advertisements and other unknown purposes. We can't stop the internet from exposing our private data as most of us are fully engrossed in online activities. The scary thing is that a lot of the information collected about us is incorrect. Accurate or inaccurate, life decisions are based on our online personal information. It's going to define us forever.
4 people like this
9 responses
@Memnon (2170)
•
21 Dec 10
I completely agree with you. There is much more than we are aware of stored about us. To that end I have different mail addresses for different purposes: for example my personal mail is not linked to any survey sites or forums- they are accessed from a different account.
It does not guarantee privacy, but gives me a little control over it. 
1 person likes this
@maygodblessu44 (7336)
• India
17 Dec 10
Hello my friend zandi458 Ji,
So nice of you for reaching bottomline of concept and exposing many unknown worriesto us. This is why we all get many SPAM mails even oiur SPAM GUARD IS KEPT ON . So also we get lot many lottery results. This is one aspect of this, now-a-days, i have been observing many Reality shows, where ultimately only money is drained out from common public to many MNC only by SMS, including Parliamentry debates , at least it is common in my countyryuI would award you PH.D. if I am authorised. But then what is best way to avoid, ultimately, disposing off my computer set only will solve the probnlem. So this is present day's demands.let's bear like this. Thanks.
May God bless You and have a great time.
@maygodblessu44 (7336)
• India
12 Jan 11
Hello my friend zandi458 Ji,
Happy New Year-2011. I think you are due to watch 'GREAT GAMBLER MOVIE' Thanks.
May God bless You and have a great time.
@GardenGerty (160713)
• United States
20 Dec 10
I do not put pictures of my kids and grandkids on the internet for just that reason.I know that I am all over the place online, and probably my real name is out there as well as Garden Gerty and they are connected, You cannot run and you cannot hide.
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
18 Dec 10
hi zandi now because I am always complaining about GoldCrest some people know just where I live but since nobody comes in here without signing in and if anyone seems suspicious police can be summoned in minutes.but as far as I am concerned I would welcome mylot friends to visit me as it gets lonely in a place like this. I have found that because I had spent years doing my family tree my name and address are on the net but old addresses and that does not bother ,me. Just so my
personal ids are not on display so nobody can scam me out of money or use my soc.security info or anything of that nature, anytime anyone
on the net asks me for my social security no. this entity is deleted. I do not give out that info to anyone ever on the net.
1 person likes this
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
17 Dec 10
Good discussion , Zandi. I know u are right . Seems like this kind of thing goes on in many ways. It's a shame people spend thier time being evil & want get out & do an honest days work instead of trying to scam people all the time.
1 person likes this
@paula27661 (15811)
• Australia
19 Dec 10
I am aware of how much of me is out there on the World Wide Web! I’ve published articles and I have a blog which contains information about me so I should not be shocked that people may have information about me because it comes with posting material about yourself on the Net. I started a discussion a while ago about an ex of mine who managed to track me down even though my name has changed and there is no one who knows me now that would have anything to do with him and I am still puzzled as to how he found me! I know there are probably ways and means I am not aware of and it is a bit unnerving but it seems to me something that is inevitable if you are going to utilise the Internet. Having said that it is wise to take as much care as possible to protect our privacy whenever possible.
@zandi458 (28102)
• Malaysia
19 Dec 10
Probably he was able to trace you as you have had your former name over the net. Computer savvy people know how to dissect the computer brains so it is not surprising they are able to extract information from individuals who are active online.
1 person likes this
