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PRIVACY OF YOUR DATA ONLINE: SEARCH ENGINES, PUBLIC RECORDS ONLINE, ETC.
What's available about you online? Also see the People-Finding file for ways in which others could be researching you.




Over-exposing on the Internet (opinion)
"WOULD KNOWLEDGE about the sexual orientation, partying habits, or political views of your prospective college roommate influence your willingness to cohabitate, before you even had the opportunity to meet?"
Full story - Boston.com
Submitted by Anonymous, Mon Oct 3 08:38:56 EDT 2005



On website, women identify cheaters
"It reads like the FBI's Most Wanted list, complete with mug shots, physical descriptions, aliases and modus operandi of alleged perpetrators. But the fugitives listed on www.dontdatehimgirl.com aren't evading law enforcement. They're on the run from wives, girlfriends and lovers."
Full story - Miami Herald
Submitted by Anonymous, Wed Sep 28 08:17:40 EDT 2005



Ex-Girlfriends Take Revenge
"... First reported by the New York Post on Sept. 13, the idea of DontDateHimGirl.com was conceived to make other women aware of the dirty deeds their former men engaged in."
Full story - Hofstra Chronicle
Submitted by Anonymous, Fri Sep 23 18:10:49 EDT 2005



For victims, news about home can come online
"... In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, hundreds of displaced residents and their relatives -- along with people like Sprague -- have turned to the Internet for information about a home feared damaged or destroyed. Many are using Google Earth, a program available at the Google Web site that lets users zoom in on any address for an aerial view drawn from a database of satellite photos."
Full story - CNet
Submitted by Anonymous, Mon Sep 5 10:00:13 EDT 2005



Expect recruiters to Google you for "digital dirt"
"Most job hunters never even know when they've lost out on an interview because of "digital dirt." It could include your chat-room tirade on an ex-roommate's sex life or that photo of you and college buddies smoking something that's not exactly tobacco - stuff a prospective employer finds by Googling your name, stuff that causes her to scratch you off the "to call in" list."
Full story - Seattle Times
Submitted by Anonymous, Sun Sep 4 19:53:35 EDT 2005



Zoom Information: People Information Summarized
"... "We all have identities-at work, at home, and on the Web," says Jonathan Stern, founder and CEO of Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Zoom Information (ne Eliyon Technologies). "Information about people is infused everywhere on the Internet, but it's not organized. What we've done is collect huge amounts of information about people and put it all in one place . . . allowing them to manage their Web identities.""
Full story - RedNova
Submitted by Anonymous, Sun Sep 4 10:55:22 EDT 2005



ZabaSearch Makes Defamation Easy
"The makers of the infamous ZabaSearch public search engine have decided to boldly go where millions have gone before -- into the realm of blogs... This could open the service to charges of libel and harassment, depending on the nature of the content. It's one thing to post personal opinions on a Web site or blog, even one of a public nature. It's another to post personal opinions on a public records database."
Full story - ConsumerAffairs.com
Submitted by Anonymous, Fri Sep 2 09:29:53 EDT 2005



Search site to add free blogs
"What's worse than a Web site that, for free, provides oodles of personal information about you and your family to anyone who wants it? How about that same site adding a blog feature that allows people -- former classmates, ex-lovers, disgruntled co-workers -- to discuss you online?"
Full story - SFGate
Submitted by Anonymous, Fri Aug 26 12:20:28 EDT 2005



This is Going on Your Permanent Record
"... But as I also noted, "accidental archiving is a way of life." Most search engines cache some pages. The Internet Archive grabs pages at various intervals from unknown swatches of the open Web. It's an odd sort of permanence, consisting of semi-random snapshots of content, but it's consistently out of your control. Since "hard disk storage is cheaper than dirt" (to quote Roy Tennant of the California Digital Library), it's easier to build that permanent record than to forget what should be forgotten."
Full story - EContent
Submitted by Anonymous, Thu Aug 18 20:11:35 EDT 2005



Amazon.com unveils photo-mapping service
"Hoping to become a more popular Internet destination, a small search engine owned by Web retailer Amazon.com Inc. is testing a mapping service that will display street-level photos of the city blocks surrounding a requested address."
Full story - BusinessWeek
Submitted by Anonymous, Tue Aug 16 11:21:51 EDT 2005



Google blackout of journalist a black eye for Internet giant
"... In what is shaping up as an emerging public-relations black eye for the Mountain View-based Internet search company, Google has said it will stop talking to all reporters from the CNet News.com service for a full year because one News .com reporter disclosed personal information about Schmidt gleaned from a 30-minute search on -- you guessed it -- Google."
Full story - Mercury News (reg. req.)
Submitted by Anonymous, Wed Aug 10 09:41:35 EDT 2005



Has Google 'Blackballed' Naughty News.com?
"CNET News.com claims that Google won't talk to it until July 2006 in response to "privacy issues" raised in a News.com story which revealed details of Google CEO Eric Schmidt's personal life."
Full story - Computer Business Review Online
Submitted by Anonymous, Fri Aug 5 14:18:26 EDT 2005



Online Service Provides Easy Access to Your Private Data
"Two years ago, I wrote about the privacy threat posed by local governments posting online public documents that include personal data. This practice allowed anyone to get your address, unlisted phone number, Social Security number, and other sensitive data. At that time, anyone who wanted your details would have to know what county (or counties) held information about you and search through deeds, marriage licenses, and other documents for the juicy tidbits. Now a new Web service has made finding public-records data as easy as typing a name."
Full story - PCWorld
Submitted by Anonymous, Tue Jul 26 08:42:47 EDT 2005



Microsoft enters Internet map service fray with Virtual Earth
"Microsoft has weighed into the Internet mapping competition with "Virtual Earth," which enables people to view homes and businesses in any US neighborhood from the air, the company said. MSN Virtual Earth was released on the Internet on Sunday night, company spokesperson Jessica Munn told AFP by an email interview."
Full story - TechnologyDesignerz
Submitted by Anonymous, Tue Jul 26 08:26:12 EDT 2005



Privacy is easy to breach (opinion)
"The fracas over whether Karl Rove, one of President Bush's most trusted advisers, publicly outed an undercover CIA operative highlights the ease with which personal information on virtually anyone can be obtained. It also points to the need for privacy laws -- and, in this case, national-security laws -- recognizing the harm that can be done with only a few computer keystrokes."
Full story - San Francisco Chronicle
Submitted by Anonymous, Fri Jul 15 11:17:17 EDT 2005



Moving Past Google Privacy Fears & Toward An Industry Solution (opinion)
"Google's balancing act from News.com revisits the well-trod path of Google as potential privacy threat. Personally, I would love to get beyond these "what Google might" do stories and more toward what the search engine industry itself ought to be doing in terms of protecting privacy, especially as everyone's offering personalized search or search history features. Your comments will help, as I'll explain below."
Full story - SearchEngineWatch
Submitted by Anonymous, Thu Jul 14 09:27:55 EDT 2005



Google's balancing act
"Google CEO Eric Schmidt doesn't reveal much about himself on his home page... Assuming Schmidt uses his company's services, someone with access to Google's databases could find out what he writes in his e-mails and to whom he sends them, where he shops online, what's stored on his PC, or even what restaurants he's located via online maps. Like so many other Google users, his virtual life has been meticulously recorded."
Full story - CNet
Submitted by Anonymous, Thu Jul 14 09:12:29 EDT 2005



Privacy Group: Online Investigators Dig Up Too Many Secrets
"The Electronic Privacy Information Center says online private eyes dig up unlisted phone numbers, addresses, detailed phone records, employment history, and motor vehicle data on private individuals, often using deceptive practices."
Full story - InformationWeek
Submitted by Anonymous, Wed Jul 13 13:53:18 EDT 2005



Women use Web for male stalking
"A new breed of women are using the Internet as their very own private detective before embarking on dates with men they deem suspicious, a new survey has found. Around one in ten women confess to surfing the Web as a way of finding out about someone they might fancy, with even more connecting online when they know the male intimately. This translates into two out of three British females entering keywords into search engines to expose the suspected hidden past of their partners."
Full story - Contractor UK
Submitted by Anonymous, Sun Jul 3 10:48:34 EDT 2005



Internet pix cost ex-porn star her livelihood
"A FORMER PORN STAR lost her job after bosses found old pictures of her curves on the Internet. The un-named woman was working for Sweden's national medicine authority, interviewing drug addicts. And all seemed to be going swimmingly until details of her prowess in front of the camera were revealed."
Full story - The Inquirer
Submitted by Anonymous, Sat Jun 11 10:33:50 EDT 2005



Internet Witch-hunts (opinion)
"Korea is one of the global leaders in IT industry, but the nation's awareness of ethics falls short of its technological reputation. Nothing shows this better than the ongoing controversy about the cyber terror against the "dog excrement girl." The young woman has become the hottest target on the Korean websites since she reportedly got off a subway car without cleaning up her pet's poo. The Internet has turned what could have ended just as a personal rebuke into a national bashing."
Full story - Korea Times
Submitted by Anonymous, Thu Jun 9 08:24:28 EDT 2005



Chinese stars' phone numbers posted online
"Actress Zhang Ziyi and pop star Zhou Yanhong were among hundreds of Chinese stars flooded with calls after their cell phone numbers appeared on the Internet. The list of about 600 numbers posted on a Web site Saturday was taken down Monday, the Beijing Star Daily reported."
Full story - WebIndia123
Submitted by Anonymous, Wed Jun 8 14:41:29 EDT 2005



Online privacy watched?
"Imagine that you move and get an unlisted phone number to protect your privacy, only to discover that your new address is available free to anyone over the Internet - complete with satellite photos of your house. This is the alarming reality facing stalking victims, celebrities, law-enforcement officials and other privacy-seeking people in the age of new search engines that cough up personal data about almost anyone in seconds."
Full story - Salt Lake Tribune
Submitted by Anonymous, Tue Jun 7 09:10:43 EDT 2005



Google CEO defends privacy policies
"Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt acknowledged that his company's search engine can ruffle privacy feathers, but said the company's technology doesn't violate the company's founding motto, "Don't be evil." Schmidt discovered his own home phone number through Google, but said he was able to remove it by filling out Google's standard form. But Google shouldn't be blamed when that sort of private information crops up, he said."
Full story - ZDNet
Submitted by Anonymous, Fri May 20 06:56:18 EDT 2005



Online registry hurts privacy: commission
"The executive director of the Privacy Commissioner's office does not like the amount of personal detail available on a provincial government website. The provincial Registry of Companies and Deeds %96 which has always been accessible to the public %96 began offering its services online in January."
Full story - stjohns.cbc.ca
Submitted by Anonymous, Wed May 18 12:56:34 EDT 2005



Your Identity, Open to All
"A search for personal data on ZabaSearch.com -- one of the most comprehensive personal-data search engines on the net -- tends to elicit one of two reactions from first-timers: terror or curiosity. Which reaction often depends on whether you are searching for someone else's data, or your own. ZabaSearch queries return a wealth of info sometimes dating back more than 10 years: residential addresses, phone numbers both listed and unlisted, birth year, even satellite photos of people's homes."
Full story - Wired News
Submitted by Anonymous, Fri May 6 09:33:08 EDT 2005



I'm Watching You
"A lot of people have their panties in a twist over Google's satellite maps. They're determined to view this new feature as a serious, scary invasion of privacy. We should get a few things straight, though. First of all, these kinds of satellite images have been available for decades from the U.S. Geological Survey to anyone with some cash. And for the past couple of years there have been multiple online pay services (like ImageAtlas) offering them in searchable formats, the same way Google is doing right now."
Full story - Weekly Planet
Submitted by Anonymous, Thu May 5 13:32:01 EDT 2005



It's impressive, scary to see what a Zaba search can do
"Everything that's great and everything that's frightening about the Internet can be summed up in a single word. Zaba. That's Zaba as in ZabaSearch.com, a so-called people search site that allows you to quickly track down the whereabouts of just about anyone, free of charge."
Full story - SFGate
Submitted by Anonymous, Sat Apr 16 12:09:38 EDT 2005



Is Yours A Published 'Home Of Shame'?
"PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- A code feud has moved through City Hall and into cyberspace. A Treasure Coast man started a Web site in hopes his neighbors would start cleaning up their act. Terri Bainbridge found out from her husband that their house was on a Web site called Port St. Lucie Homes Shame."
Full story - WPBF
Submitted by Anonymous, Thu Apr 14 07:38:14 EDT 2005



Savvy Consumer: Services raise concerns about privacy issues
"... Google has gone one step further - providing two links to instant maps to your house from Yahoo! Maps and Mapquest. While the service may be a convenience to some, others view it as an alarming invasion of privacy. "The information is out there," said Ari Schwartz, associate director of the Center for Democracy and Technology in Washington D.C. "We've discussed reverse lookups in the past. But this will make is so much more widely available.""
Full story - FortWayne.com
Submitted by Anonymous, Tue Apr 5 07:34:11 EDT 2005



Net Aids Access to Sensitive ID Data
"Want someone else's Social Security number? It's $35 at www.secret-info.com. It's $45 at www.Iinfosearch.com, where users can also sign up for a report containing an individual's credit-card charges, as well as an e-mail with other "tips, secrets & spy info!" The Web site Gum-shoes.com promises that "if the information is out there, our licensed investigators can find it.""
Full story - Washington Post
Submitted by Anonymous, Mon Apr 4 08:27:16 EDT 2005



Al Qaeda Friendly Internet Bulletin Board Posts E-Bay Users Personal Information
"Although they don't know it, Matthew Crawford, Julia Morrison, Lisa Moorhead and Jerome Schneewind all have something in common. They belong or have belonged to on line Internet giant eBay and along with a number of other individuals, their personal information, such as date of birth, credit card number, social security number and mother's maiden name were posted prominently on a now closed Arabic bulletin board..."
Full story - American Daily
Submitted by Anonymous, Wed Mar 30 06:54:45 EST 2005



You Cannot Hide From Public Record Search Engines
"As a search engine optimization specialist, I often run across search engines of different sorts than most people are aware of. This week I stumbled across a free site that is used by journalists to do background checks and fact checking on sources of news stories. I am also an advocate for personal and financial privacy and find privacy invasion particularly offensive, so this search engine offends me."
Full story - WebProNews
Submitted by Anonymous, Fri Mar 25 09:08:42 EST 2005



Finding the Real You Online
"Many people get a thrill when they look for their names on the Internet and something actually comes up. That is not always the case when the information or the photograph recalls some past embarrassment or humiliation."
Full story - Washington Post
Submitted by Anonymous, Wed Mar 23 11:00:36 EST 2005



Startup helps control personal info on Web
"A Cambridge startup is offering a service it says gives a measure of control over the personal data the Internet disgorges, giving new meaning to a practice commonly termed "ego surfing" or "Googling yourself.".. ZoomInfo's computers have compiled individual Web profiles of 25 million people, summarizing what the Web publicly says about each person. The service, launched Monday, allows Web surfers to search for their profile, then change it for free."
Full story - Centre Daily
Submitted by Anonymous, Mon Mar 21 06:48:19 EST 2005



Fred Durst Sues Over Stolen Sex Video
"One week after a sex video starring Fred Durst began circulating on the Internet, the Limp Bizkit front man has filed a $80 million lawsuit against web sites that posted the footage and stills from the singer's X-rated romp with a former girlfriend."
Full story - The Smoking Gun
Submitted by Anonymous, Sat Mar 5 10:53:24 EST 2005



'Good guys' show just how easy it is to steal ID
"Teams of hackers surfed the Web at Seattle University yesterday, harvesting Social Security and credit card numbers like a farmer cutting wheat. In less than an hour, they found millions of names, birth dates and numbers -- cyberburglar tools for the crime of identity theft -- using just one, familiar Internet search engine: Google."
Full story - Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Submitted by Anonymous, Sat Mar 5 09:18:44 EST 2005



Feds Catching Up With Proxies
"The Commerce Department has disputed claims by domain registrar Go Daddy that the department launched a new policy when it declared in February that people would no longer be able to keep their personal contact information private when they register a .us domain."
Full story - Wired News
Submitted by Anonymous, Sat Mar 5 08:54:23 EST 2005



Chill passes through courthouse
"... Internet search engines have made personal information about public officials in sensitive positions far more accessible than previously. "It used to be either you had to go down to the county courthouse or recorder's office to physically get the information," said Jordana Beebe, communications director for the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a consumer information and advocacy group in San Diego. "Now you can go to a multitude of Web sites, plunk down some money and find the information you're looking for." Beebe said, "There's a push to educate people in law enforcement about ways to cover their tracks from people who want to harm them.""
Full story - USA Today
Submitted by Anonymous, Fri Mar 4 04:10:14 EST 2005



Internet leaves an open window on lives of judges
"The killing of U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow's husband and mother has rekindled an ongoing debate about how to protect the privacy and safety of judges in the Internet age. For years, officials have struggled to inform the public about judges' qualifications and finances, while respecting the special safety concerns inherent in a job that sometimes requires ruling against dangerous or unstable people."
Full story - Chicago Tribune
Submitted by Anonymous, Thu Mar 3 08:48:31 EST 2005








Other resources on PRIVACY OF YOUR DATA ONLINE: SEARCH ENGINES, PUBLIC RECORDS ONLINE, ETC.:
  • Online Privacy Alliance
  • Internet Privacy Coalition
  • EPIC Online Guide to Privacy Resources
  • Internet Privacy Law
  • GetNetWise




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