Avoiding Social Networking Can Backfire
Thu, 06/25/2009 - 14:42
Topic Source:
Years ago a friend told me I should have a blog and be on Facebook.
To my eyes Facebook just looked like a badly organized dating club, and the idea of having to fire regular musings out into cyberspace via a blogocannon has never appealed.
Figuring I was just too lazy to sign up for these services, my dear friend offered to register me anyway and just give me the passwords. Being a Google fanboy, he could sign me up as roelof.temmingh on Gmail and connect my newly created Facebook profile to that email account.
That got my attention.
Mon, 06/29/2009 - 10:32
#2
At least it's a pretty damn
At least it's a pretty damn good business model ;)
Use our service or be damned to identity theft!
Mon, 06/29/2009 - 11:35
#3
So the idea is put all your
So the idea is put all your personal information in the public sphere so it can't be stolen?
I think I'll stick to the precautions that were drilled in to me in the mid 90's when I first got a modem, always use a pseudonym and never give out personal information.
I do have a facebook account, two in fact. One with my real name and only family members linked, another with a variation on this name as facebook didn't like the name "bastard" to which my friends are linked. If you know me in real life you'll know my online monnicker.
Mon, 06/29/2009 - 13:32
#4
Yeah but the problem with
Yeah but the problem with this is if I can get your real name, say I work in the same office as you, and then I go to twitter and register an account with your name; You're registered with your moniker, so there's no duplicate accounts getting created. Then I fill out some basic details, and start sending out invites to people in the office along with hilarious updates about your love of cross-dressing and dwarf tossing.
unfortunately anonymity isn't a solution to this since having no presence allows someone to more easily imitate you. The problem is in the human trust model; not in your ability to stay off the radar.
Mon, 06/29/2009 - 15:02
#5
In that case you would in
In that case you would in effect be creating identity fraud, there are (or at least should be) systems in place to deal with such things. It means going out and constantly tracking down the "next big thing", having your information in so many places it would be near impossible for someone to not get their hands on it.
My way of going about things is far from perfect, but there is no perfect system. The method you're talking about though sounds too much to me like selling ones own credit card details on the black market just to stop others from making a profit off it.
Tue, 06/30/2009 - 14:52
#6
Be named after someone else
You could be fortunate to be born with a name that is the same as someone famous. I have had many vanity searches to try and find my real self on the net. No luck yet, just this other person everywhere. Sort of like hinding a tree in a forest.
Tue, 06/30/2009 - 14:55
#7
heh... I know what you mean
There's quite a few Patrick Gray's out there... there's the former acting head of the FBI, there's a priest/author, and most confusingly an IT guy who writes opinion pieces for TechRepublic on ZDNet.
That's made doubly confusing by the fact I've probably published a couple of hundred stories on ZDNet with the same byline -- I used to work there.
Wed, 07/01/2009 - 08:40
#8
Security Through Obscurity
I'm lucky enough to share a name with a very prolific Chinese born nuclear research scientist (not bad for a white English guy!)
Google my real name and I think my linked-in profile pops up at about page 7, and that's it. Even Maltego barely picks me up in all the noise.
If I ever started getting really active with blogs etc the guy would probably think I was 'doing a Roelof' on him!!
Fri, 07/03/2009 - 21:04
#9
There are two me's
Am with changlinn on this...to a point. I am anonymous where I need to be, and "out there" when I want to promote my work.
They are separate. I know there are links between, but they are hopefully not too obvious to at least the casual observer.
Wed, 07/08/2009 - 12:55
#10
It is good to have
It is good to have support
Online monikers are all good and well but that can usually be linked. Especially if they are one as unique as mine, thats why I decided a while back to openly link Changlinn and my real name.
But then I have other nicks that are never linked, heck I even have nicks I use on one site and no where else, password safe for the win.
I think this identity divide will become like the digital divide, you may go for a job in the future and your employer can't find anything about you so may not hire you. My current employer found my site during the interview process and joked about co-locating servers in my rack at home, and not letting me call servers after my favourite book characters... :)
I have believed this exact thing for some time now. My theory always goes back to for someone to steal my online identity now they would need to steal credentials for my webhost, Email host, Facebook, linked in etc. I do play some snobbery though, I hate myspace and its gag enducing designs, so I did stear clear of it. But most people trust my site directly.
Very good article, I think I will show to my, there is nothing about me on the net friends.
--
"Put me here and I am all yours, not for the money and not for the appluase", Melanie Safka