Would Exposing Yourself Online Endanger Your Privacy and Safety?

[capablanca]

Originally Posted by Ikmisje

One thing, never use the same username (pick something commonly-used instead of something unique and hard to forget) for every forum u visit...

I am now going under different nicknames for each of the message boards I visit. I have made a few mistakes tho. One of them is signing up hotmail/ MSN with a significantly unique Windows Live ID. Later, I did the same for my photobucket album where the photos in it were posted (not my own pictures though) on a forum I posted regularly. To make it worse, I actually use this email for school purposes and I really hate it if I have to make a new one, then notify everyone that I change a new contact email blahblahblah So now whoever tries to google that nickname can easily be linked to that forum I posted, where I shared about almost everything (because I thought no one knew me there and I was safe to reveal everything as long as I didn't give out too much personal infos. Btw it is a forum with little to no Malaysian active members)
Another concern of mine is how Facebook is rapidly eroding my (and others') privacy. Friends tagging photos all the time then these photos u might not wish to be seen or shown on your profile are there automatically. Thus, I remove tags all the time
I also try not to give out as many personal infos about myself as one of my coursemates has confessed not too long ago that he knew about one of my forum accounts long time already. One info here and there added up and will soon become enough for someone with a slightest intention to sneak a look into your life. I only disclose where I am from, I am studying in a uni near home, taking a course with low percentage of girls, my race LOLOLOL!!!

Err, you know you can control the privacy of your photos. I can control who looks at my tagged photos as well as access into my photo albums and other personal information.

[senksiang90]

wow, for me i dont really mind showing off my identity. i guess the more u try to hide, the more someone would actually try harder to find out more about u. bt in the end i guess all u should do is control ur words and try nt to hurt any1 especially in heated online discussions. i use the same username for youtube, facebook, yahoo, msn, recom, twitter, etc n so far i have nt experienced any probs.. bt all i cn say is as long as u select ur words correctly, u wont end up getting screwed by anyone. I once played an online game and got into a heated battle, chain attacking each other, getting alliance to fight with each other and so on. imagine if we do such things real life.. LOL.

[Smilehoe]

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_lis...y=steve+rambam

Here's a talk given by steve rambam, an online investigator. The title being "Privacy is dead" discusses several issues on how easily our information can be obtained. It's shocking to see even uploading photos to flickc allows someone to trace back to you.

However, having said that, the point of his talk is more than convincing us that measures are futile. Rather it serves to remind us to be better cautious before we click the post/submit button online.

My point of view is, although I'm aware that certain personal informations are available online, I try to make it harder for people to collect them. To quote steve (not verbatim), "Things that go online aren't yours anymore."