Unfortunately all I need to know is which hotel you're staying at, claim I'm a friend and get a room near you, or even right next door. The big news story was Erin Andrews of ESPN was filmed undressing in her hotel room. How easy is this to do? So easy it's sickening.
What can you do to protect yourself? First, don't check in under your own name. Hold the room on a credit card, then go in and pay everything cash under a different name. Don't leave ANY identifying items in your room, as low paid hotel workers are huge snoops. They're the paparazzi's dream. When you get to your room, check the walls, pictures, doors, especially if there's an adjoining door between rooms. That peep-hole is NOT your friend. Carry black electrical tape and cover it! You can easily remove for viewing. Good tip, do this at home as well with any peep holes. Carry travel alarms and portable security items with you at all times. If possible, keep the do not disturb sign on the door so that no workers access the room if you're concerned about privacy. Celebrities have a lot more to worry about than most of us, but there are weirdos everywhere. A client of mine was stalked by their own family member who was trying to get blackmail photos to post online in hopes of extorting money. A total stranger will have no problem asking if a certain person has checked in, and if you act like you know the person and do a good acting job, you'll get plenty more personal info. Hotel workers aren't really bright and honestly don't care about your safety. They should ring your room and tell you someone's asked about you, but they never do. The hotel assumes that if you have the person's first and last name, that you must know them.
Rock stars had the right idea when they checked in under crazy names to avoid being found. REO Speedwagon singer Kevin Cronin often used Mr. Graham Crackers. Hotels should allow you to use any name you wish, and if you have concerns about nosy people, tell the hotel that under no circumstances is your info to be given out. I've traveled and paid hotels cash, never showing any form of ID. If someone asks you for ID, be prepared and have another photo ID that you've "created" or had created such as a company badge with a photo, but a different name. Be sure someone in your close circle of friends or family has all your contact info, but don't give it out to anyone else. Don't allow anyone to ring your room either. Use your cell phone. Faxes, use an online fax service especially if what you're transmitting isn't for prying eyes.
Many problems for celebs and the rest of us arise because we're too comfortable and put convenience and speed over common sense. I always stress to people that they should become aware of who's obsessed with them by installing trackers on their social networking pages. If you want to know how to do it, email us or we'll post links and how-to on our site. Several of our clients who were not celebrities were shocked and sickened to see who was stalking them online, how many times pages were re-loaded and accessed. One woman's page was re-loaded over 60 times in an hour. The predator was reloading her page once per minute desperate to see what she posted. Her friends also installed trackers and they found that the predator was stalking all her friends on Facebook as well. He was later arrested for what else? Checking into a hotel she was staying at! How did he know her whereabouts? She shared too much with friends, mentioned her hotel and bingo, the stalker simply went to the desk posing as a friend. He even had her flight info since she had posted a link to it for a co-worker online. The predator was an acquaintance of a family member who had become obsessed.
Murders and kidnappings happen, rapes, robberies you name it. You are NOT ever safe in a hotel, famous or not. This goes for men too. Don't talk about your plans on social networking sites, don't use real names. Be sure to have trackers on social pages so you know who's a little too interested in you & when possible pay cash for your hotel rooms. If you feel your privacy has been compromised, alert hotel managers immediately & demand a change of rooms.
Click here to read the link about Erin Andrews and the stalker who not only peeped and took photos/video of her in her hotel room, but also had done this to other women. Erin Andrews Story
Monday, October 12, 2009
Miley Cyrus leaves Twitter - good idea for Privacy?
First of all, unless you're a celeb and want to use your real name, opt for a fake one. You can also just put your first name and maybe change the location. Don't put your real age or birthdate! Never. Spies can easily use this to cross reference you on all the social networks. Avatars...do you really need your photo on there? I love seeing the real person behind the Twitter but you can take a far away photo, make it blurry and be sure you're not in the pic with another person. Now regarding TwitPic and photos you post for friends...my advice? Don't post personal stuff. Get your own private website, password protect it and share photos there if at all. Yes it's fun to have photos up for people to access, however what control do you have when photos end up in the wrong hands? A harmless "sexy picture" of you can be misconstrued, posted on adult sex sites etc. For celebs, sometimes any press is good press, but for the younger girls, watch what you post as it will come back to haunt you. Celebrities have to deal with people re-posting their photos on dirt blogs, and yes, the studios DO see photos of you, and if you're constantly seen partying, it can reflect negatively and hurt your career. Also, what about your friends in the photo? Do they know you're posting pics of them? Do you have their permission? This is especially important when you have friends that are not of legal age. Parents of even celebs might get a bit miffed if another celeb carelessly posts unflattering photos of their children. As for sharing pictures, can't you just send photos to your buddies in private? If you must post something and want to maintain privacy, again, blur out location details, license plates, landmarks etc.
What do you Twitter about? Fun stuff, business, news? Watch what you say & don't give too much info. Keep us all guessing, it makes you mysterious! Don't name names of friends, or give them a fake name instead, "my friend Beth" is really my friend "Brenda" and so forth.
As for celebrities, we love to hear your tweets about upcoming shows, appearances, records, and your likes and dislikes. No need to shun all the social networking opportunities, as you can get great exposure and many new fans in the process. I'm not Miley Cyrus' age, but she's a great kid, I do enjoy her music and I think she's a major talent. I got a kick out of reading a few of her tweets, and it was nice to see a young person with her level of fame, still being able to enjoy fun the other girls are having.
Her decision to delete her Twitter account is sad for fans, but the abuse level of Paparazzi and gossip sites is making it impossible for celebs to enjoy themselves and hang with the rest of us. Paparazzi and gossip sites are alienating our favorite stars more and more. Publishing someone's tweet through a screen capture of their page or a RT from someone else is cheesy and classless. Sure some are funny to read, but now it seems that our own so-called "news" programs are getting carried away and copying what celeb dirt blogs are posting. This is horrible journalism and it's disappointing that our world news has become inundated with celebrity foibles and flat-out lies.
So maybe we should all think a bit like Miley in this case. Whether you know it or not, even if you're not famous, I can tell you that you have followers, stalkers, neighbors, co-workers just looking for the next juicy tidbit you throw out there. Unlike Miley, most of us don't have deep pockets to file defamation lawsuits if something gets out of hand. Play it safe grown ups and kids, go ahead and Twitter away, but keep it lite and don't reveal too much. Keep photos vague, and do NOT use the direct message feature for anything that you don't want slipping out. One person had all their direct messages posted public by a Twitter glitch. Real nice eh? Have a separate email address where you can talk in private to your online buddies, put this on your Twitter account and when you sign up for the email address on Yahoo, AOL or wherever, do NOT use your real name, age or geographical location. This way if Twitter is hacked, it's no big deal. Also, don't use the same password for your Twitter account as the email you signed up with. Best to be as elusive as possible.
Celebs out there, we love you and want to get to know you! Ignore the haters, block the meanies, lock your Tweets if need be and think about how much info you want to divulge. A few celebs I know have opted to put a fake photo and name up just to hang with us as normal people. Do you know who they are? You'd be very surprised at just who might be a famous person in your circle of followers! Lastly, celebs are people too. If you don't like the person, their music, movies etc., don't harass and insult the star directly. It's RUDE and shows you were raised by evil trolls. Keep your opinions to yourself and like Mama told you: "If you can't say anything nice then don't say anything at all". Miley, if you do decide to come back to Twitter, just know that the friendly people greatly out number the jerks.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
If your Gmail was already hacked go to this page
Can't access Gmail due to hacker attack? Go to this page for assistance: http://bit.ly/HZgf7
In case you haven't heard: Gmail, AOL, Yahoo, Hotmail password hack
Click this link for the article http://bit.ly/2g978x Our tech for discreet computer services has already repaired several infected computers, stemming from phishing attacks on individual accounts. If you don't already have a good virus software, there's a free version of AVG, or Avast to protect you. Also have Zone Alarm installed as a firewall. StopZilla has also been great for catching attempts to hijack user's home pages etc. (We receive no affiliate commissions for these, but we do use them ourselves) Always look up on top of your browser for the URL to make sure the site you're visiting is truly owned by a company, such as Ebay, PayPal, your bank etc. Phishing scams are clever and they dupe even smart people like yourself. You know how it is, you're in a hurry to get through emails and you click without paying much attention. Take your time and be very careful at what items you click.
While you can't stop hackers who get info straight from email providers, you can take measures yourself such as changing passwords often, setting your emails to receive text only (no images) or html that can have program running which will compromise your computer.
Programs can be hidden in pictures, and if you click on an image, you can unknowingly open your computer to a host of hackers, viruses etc. Again, if you have kids using computers, start teaching them about these things. If your teens are computer savvy, they may have a thing or two to teach you!
No email is ever totally secure, however there are smaller paid email services out there who are very difficult to hack, and mostly don't get hacked because the phishers don't want to work that hard. Look around for one main email to be used for important items. Don't use the same email account for everything. Use the freebie accounts such as Yahoo or AOL for your Twitter, Facebook or MySpace accounts. As for MySpace especially where you can be looked up by your email address, use a totally different email than you normally use for anything else. Don't allow MySpace to list you by your real name, age or location. It all depends how much privacy you want.
Case in point, there was a person threatening others on Craigslist. They were stupid enough to email threats from their email account. Investigator simply types in that email into MySpace and gets a full account of where the person lives, their family photos etc. Stupid is as stupid does. Yes using multiple emails is a pain, but there are several free programs out there now where you can check all of them at once. Small price to pay for maintaining your privacy. For now, consider changing your passwords. When you do, don't pick something predictable. Pick something abastract such as when you have to type in those Capcha phrases. Pick something odd that no one will guess. You can't be 100% safe online but you can be pro-active.
While you can't stop hackers who get info straight from email providers, you can take measures yourself such as changing passwords often, setting your emails to receive text only (no images) or html that can have program running which will compromise your computer.
Programs can be hidden in pictures, and if you click on an image, you can unknowingly open your computer to a host of hackers, viruses etc. Again, if you have kids using computers, start teaching them about these things. If your teens are computer savvy, they may have a thing or two to teach you!
No email is ever totally secure, however there are smaller paid email services out there who are very difficult to hack, and mostly don't get hacked because the phishers don't want to work that hard. Look around for one main email to be used for important items. Don't use the same email account for everything. Use the freebie accounts such as Yahoo or AOL for your Twitter, Facebook or MySpace accounts. As for MySpace especially where you can be looked up by your email address, use a totally different email than you normally use for anything else. Don't allow MySpace to list you by your real name, age or location. It all depends how much privacy you want.
Case in point, there was a person threatening others on Craigslist. They were stupid enough to email threats from their email account. Investigator simply types in that email into MySpace and gets a full account of where the person lives, their family photos etc. Stupid is as stupid does. Yes using multiple emails is a pain, but there are several free programs out there now where you can check all of them at once. Small price to pay for maintaining your privacy. For now, consider changing your passwords. When you do, don't pick something predictable. Pick something abastract such as when you have to type in those Capcha phrases. Pick something odd that no one will guess. You can't be 100% safe online but you can be pro-active.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Reader Question - Onlne sites that share info w/collectors
Q: Which online sites are notorious for sharing my personal info with databases used for debt collection?
A: First of all - ALL of them can be used. The most evil and notorious?
Anything reunion oriented. Those feed directly to Intellius and U.S. Search etc. They feed to all attorney databases. Why they like those? Duh! Your name, age, where you went to school, who your friends are is all there, provided by you. What a better way to nab you than have you incriminate yourself and broadcast to the world who you are and where you are, where you work.
DO NOT sign up for those sites and if you did, then use a diversion tactic and slowly post false info that you've moved to another state, changed jobs...then delete your account and disappear.
Facebook, MySpace, Twitter - all places where you do not want to reveal name or location. Don't text from a phone app and show latitude longitude either. That's stupid. Be careful what you share on TwitPic or other sites. Host photos on your own privately registered site. Make a password protect for friends and name your photos a bunch of jumbled numbers and letters so Google Images doesn't show them to anyone who types in your name.
If you're concerned about privacy, then start creating false info about you on reunion type sites and eventually fade from the sites altogether.
Delete your MySpace. Don't put your age on MySpace, put 100 or something so you can't be tracked. Learn to use the "Hide" info codes. The new MySpace format allows for more private pages, but MySpace is the personals equivalent to Craigslist. It attracts a wide audience and is the first stop of any stalker trying to find you.
Use a different email address for all social neworking sites that is totally different than any emails you give your friends or anyone else. This way no one can type your email address into social sites and locate your page.
I'll write more tips on this later, but it answers a very important and intelligent question from our reader. This reader is "thinking"! Let's all be more like that, and think about how sites we think are safe, are making money selling our info to collectors, to stalkers and to spammers.
A: First of all - ALL of them can be used. The most evil and notorious?
- REUNION.COM
- CLASSMATES.COM
- Any reunion type sites! Stay away!
Anything reunion oriented. Those feed directly to Intellius and U.S. Search etc. They feed to all attorney databases. Why they like those? Duh! Your name, age, where you went to school, who your friends are is all there, provided by you. What a better way to nab you than have you incriminate yourself and broadcast to the world who you are and where you are, where you work.
DO NOT sign up for those sites and if you did, then use a diversion tactic and slowly post false info that you've moved to another state, changed jobs...then delete your account and disappear.
Facebook, MySpace, Twitter - all places where you do not want to reveal name or location. Don't text from a phone app and show latitude longitude either. That's stupid. Be careful what you share on TwitPic or other sites. Host photos on your own privately registered site. Make a password protect for friends and name your photos a bunch of jumbled numbers and letters so Google Images doesn't show them to anyone who types in your name.
If you're concerned about privacy, then start creating false info about you on reunion type sites and eventually fade from the sites altogether.
Delete your MySpace. Don't put your age on MySpace, put 100 or something so you can't be tracked. Learn to use the "Hide" info codes. The new MySpace format allows for more private pages, but MySpace is the personals equivalent to Craigslist. It attracts a wide audience and is the first stop of any stalker trying to find you.
Use a different email address for all social neworking sites that is totally different than any emails you give your friends or anyone else. This way no one can type your email address into social sites and locate your page.
I'll write more tips on this later, but it answers a very important and intelligent question from our reader. This reader is "thinking"! Let's all be more like that, and think about how sites we think are safe, are making money selling our info to collectors, to stalkers and to spammers.
Test us. Email your privacy questions.
Click HERE to email The Privacy Club your questions. We'll answer them here for all our readers (never sharing your name of course). You will not be placed on any email list, nor will we ever sell your info or spam you.
Ask questions on internet privacy, surfing, email, email tracking, hacking, cleaning computer spyware, wipe your hard drive, surf anonymously.
Life questions, such as how to, shall we say, "avoid" child support collection while you're out of work or broke, how to set up your own private corporation that collectors can't find in a database, protect your assets from liens, protect wages from garnishment. Evading the unlawful debt collectors harassing you and your family. Becoming invisible.
We're compiling a series of booklets on each subject which we are striving to make affordable to all. The economy is tight, collectors are breaking laws, and committing blatant fraud. Privacy is becoming a lost right here in our own country.
Our stance isn't from any conspiracy theory or paranoia, it's from watching our clients suffer and wait until things are out of control. They are realizing now, that it isn't so crazy to be pro-active. A little bit of healthy paranoia may often save you thousands of dollars. We don't condone breaking major laws, or evading taxes etc. in fact you can have a fully legal and law abiding LLC or Corporation right here in the states and still be private. You can start your own 401K, write off your medical costs, and write off things legally that you never thought about. Imagine getting money back from the IRS? Imagine even if you didn't get money back, that you didn't owe anything? Think tax breaks are just for the big guys? Nope. The IRS and our government wants businesses to succeed now more than ever! More on that in other posts.
So ask your questions and we'll post answers here. We can email back to you personally as well. Thanks for all the really kind emails we've received on our site! Books and e-books are in the works.
Ask questions on internet privacy, surfing, email, email tracking, hacking, cleaning computer spyware, wipe your hard drive, surf anonymously.
Life questions, such as how to, shall we say, "avoid" child support collection while you're out of work or broke, how to set up your own private corporation that collectors can't find in a database, protect your assets from liens, protect wages from garnishment. Evading the unlawful debt collectors harassing you and your family. Becoming invisible.
We're compiling a series of booklets on each subject which we are striving to make affordable to all. The economy is tight, collectors are breaking laws, and committing blatant fraud. Privacy is becoming a lost right here in our own country.
Our stance isn't from any conspiracy theory or paranoia, it's from watching our clients suffer and wait until things are out of control. They are realizing now, that it isn't so crazy to be pro-active. A little bit of healthy paranoia may often save you thousands of dollars. We don't condone breaking major laws, or evading taxes etc. in fact you can have a fully legal and law abiding LLC or Corporation right here in the states and still be private. You can start your own 401K, write off your medical costs, and write off things legally that you never thought about. Imagine getting money back from the IRS? Imagine even if you didn't get money back, that you didn't owe anything? Think tax breaks are just for the big guys? Nope. The IRS and our government wants businesses to succeed now more than ever! More on that in other posts.
So ask your questions and we'll post answers here. We can email back to you personally as well. Thanks for all the really kind emails we've received on our site! Books and e-books are in the works.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Want to know what I can find out about you?
Are you on Twitter, Facebook, My Space, Reunion, Classmates? If so then take a look at what I can get on you! I can sign up, become a friend of yours, stalk you, your friends, it's endless. Your bosses can snoop on you and you've just basically put a target on your back.
This post CLICK HERE by PC World is very good advice, however the best advice for privacy is to stay OFF the grid, off the social networking sites. Your real friends are people you see in real life and have emails to so that you can send messages and pics in private. What's the purpose of using your real name and posting your life and job online anyhow? Brownie points? To show off to past classmates "how well you're doing". To me, it seems arrogant to say the least. If you're not a celebrity getting paid big bucks to have your privacy violated then why on earth are you violating yourself? Think about that for a minute.
Common sense says don't post drunken photos, naked photos, photos of yourself doing drugs etc. But for heaven's sake you're posting your spouse's pics, your kids, your friends. Do they have a say in what you're posting? Do you realize it would take me a few minutes to locate you down to your front door with the info you post? So please people, realize that it isn't smart or necessary to post your life online. Think your info is gone when you delete it? Think again my friend. Info is cached. Go look up something on Google. Clicking main link may come up empty, but look below at the button that says CACHED underneath the site's description. Bingo, there's the old site, pictures and all. Are you using photobucket for images? For that matter any free service? They can be copied by anyone, they can be photoshopped and re-posted to ruin your reputation.
A woman browsing Craigslist saw a photo of her son being used in an adoption scam. Imagine her horror! She apparently posted a pic of her son on a social networking site and exploited the poor child unknowingly.
Kidnappers. Need I mention that if a criminal learns who your local friends are, your best friend, he/she can approach your child and name-drop to gain their trust?
Do your social networking under a pseudonym and do not post your real name anywhere.
"But how will people find me" you ask. My answer: Who the hell online really needs to find you that bad? Are you seeking fame? What is it that you want really? Again, your friends are people you know and email. Send them your pictures in private. Refrain from even posting names of pets, because trust me, I've located more people through veterinary records and animal control. Don't post your real name anywhere, don't use your real address, if you can, don't even post your city. It's all about how much you're willing to give up in the name of privacy.
Scary thing is that it isn't only me who can locate you, anyone with a few bucks to spare can pay for a search service and locate you if you're easy to find. I've set up decoy accounts and caught stalkers, and you'd be surprised that often stalkers are often people you actually know. That acquaintance or family member who is all too sweet when they see you in person. Why? Because they're feeling guilty for stalking. You can put trackers on many social networking sites now, that will enable you to see who visits your site and for how long. One of my clients had an aquaintance hit his site over 60 times in an hour. This is more than one page reload per minute. Why? Who cares why, the fact is that they did it in the first place.
So go now and change the details in your social sites. Pick a handle, don't use your name. Put fictitious info in the first name, last name and address fields. Don't put your location or change it to something far away. Never put your real birthdate. More later... in the mean time, clean up your cyber trail.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Twitter DDoS Cyberattack Aug 6th
So Twitter shows its vulnerability again. What do you have linked to Twitter? A main email account? Your real-life name? What about Facebook? I'm not concerned about privacy there because none of my real info is shared. Sure they can track my entry and exit pages, look at my link to a blog, but I've already done my homework and there's nothing that can be used against me. How about you?
Earlier this year Twitter corporate was hacked (in my blog archive a few days ago I mentioned this). The convenience of Twitter, all the applications, access by phone, ability to attach it to other accounts is part of what makes it vulnerable. Often attacks are harmless pranks, however sometimes hackers are testing just how unprotected a site is. While Twitter isn't a pay service and your credit card info isn't on their corporate servers or the website itself, your name is, your email is, and that's not good.
Twitter goes down by DDoS cyberattack
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Twitter users were unable to access the Twitter homepage on Thursday, which the company said was due to an ongoing distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) cyberattack.
TechCrunch reported that Twitter was inaccessible as of approximately 9 a.m. eastern time. By 11 a.m. eastern on Thursday, the company posted on the Twitter status blog: "We are defending against a denial-of-service attack and will update status again shortly."
Media outlets on Thursday also reported that popular social networks LiveJournal and Facebook were suffering outages.
A DDoS or DoS is a type of cyberattack used by hackers to overwhelm a website or server with traffic to slow down or force a website offline. DDoS attacks often use botnets of compromised PCs to submit repeated requests to a targeted website.
Recently, DDoS attacks have been reported against the online media site Gawker, the file-sharing site The Pirate Bay and the messageboard 4chan.org.
A series of DDoS attacks beginning the weekend of July 4 hit government websites in the U.S. and South Korea.
More than 160,000 infected PCs were used in those attacks to disrupt service from sensitive sites including those of the White House, the Secret Service and the New York Stock Exchange.
ADNFCR-1765-ID-19300667-ADNFCR
The above cited from: MXlogic.com
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Notice they mentioned compromised PC's. What does that mean? Same as my friend's dilemma. A backdoor program used an open port from her computer for malicious activity. How did this happen to her? Not using proper WIFI locking, allowing her kids to download software and games, not having a Zone Alarm and proper spyware detector. Sometimes even those programs aren't enough, but you have to be vigilant.
Privacy isn't free, you have to work hard to keep it. Next blog I'll list what minimum anti-spyware and locks you should have on all your computers. If you're downloading things or using a Bit Torrent service, you should really consider having a separate computer dedicated to only that activity. Once your downloads are done, that dedicated computer is offline. If you're doing file sharing and need to be a "seed" download location for sharing bit torrents, then do not network the dedicated computer with your work or home computers. As for Twitter? It's harmless for social fun, just be aware that any info you share, real name, real location etc. is not private and not really removable from a cache online either, even if deleted. Facebook? I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole. There's no reason for me to be available for contact or to be found through my list of friends. To be honest, all of my real friends are people I can reach or email on my own.
Bands and those needing exposure, it's a double edged sword. Remember the 4 P's Pay Price in Privacy for Publicity. If you don't need your name private, that's fine, but watch your credit and debit cards, ATF bank drafts okay? And don't list your home address anywhere.
Number one reason why sites or companies are either hacked or compromised? You got it, financial gain. Do you have too much info out there? Make a note to start changing things.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
20 Important Privacy Tips if your kids are online
Can your kids ruin all the hard work you've done to maintain your privacy?
Face it, kids are going to download fun stuff, you can’t get around that. Don’t make the mistake my client did and have all computers in the home networked. Her business was on the same system as her kid’s computer and she suffered ID theft, complete with backdoor ports that were having her always-on cable connection acting as a server. Here are some key points for privacy when kids are online:
There’s a lot more, but these are important key points for you to consider. A little info is all an ID thief needs. Also keep in mind that not all predators are men. Increasingly adult women are stalking children. Bored women sitting at home have found it amusing to toy with teen girls by pretending to be a boy that likes them, or in one case, the adult woman, for no reason, posted a teen's racy pics on escort ads complete with the girl's home address which she found on a paid online people search! If a predator seeks out your child and gets obsessed, it’s all too easy for them to show up at your front door. I’m sick of all the stupid useless articles that tell a story and give vague remedies. You’ll get advice from us that’s been proven and tested. Stories we share actually did happen to clients and they've given us permission to share in order to help you. The Privacy Club will expound on the subjects with affordable books and printable forms for all your needs. Bookmark us or follow.
Face it, kids are going to download fun stuff, you can’t get around that. Don’t make the mistake my client did and have all computers in the home networked. Her business was on the same system as her kid’s computer and she suffered ID theft, complete with backdoor ports that were having her always-on cable connection acting as a server. Here are some key points for privacy when kids are online:
- Have ONE cheap computer separate from your network that is ONLY used for downloading things. When you or the kids are done downloading, you disconnect from the internet
- Your work computer should be separate from your kid’s computer. Don’t let them use yours for any reason. Password protect your files and don’t lose the password!
- Have the main internet cable in your room or office that can be locked
- Disconnect it when you’re not home if you don’t want the kids online
- WIFI – do not leave this open! Assign only specific computers access and use a password that no one can guess
- Photos online: Don’t do it unless YOU are hosting the page yourself. My advice is if you want to make a photo gallery, get a program that will make a Flash gallery so photos are harder to steal. (Case in point: woman finds pics of her toddler son being used as a child in adoption scam ring on Craigslist!)
- Also think about making a password protected site that friends and family can access. No more Picassa, Twitpic, Flikr, Photobucket
- If you have photos out there, name them as a bunch of jumbled numbers and letters so they don’t come up in searches under your name
- Use a no right click code on your webpages. While people can still steal or screen capture photos, it makes it frustrating for a novice
- Don’t let your kids post photos that aren’t blurred or cropped to hide address, license plate, vehicles and photos of home or other family.
- There are codes on most networking sites that will hide your age and location. It’s best if kids use these.
- Kids should pick a pseudo name and use it instead of their real name. Even so, make sure their real-life friends don't post your child's real name such as in comments on My Space
- When signing up for websites or services, kids should use a free AOL or Yahoo account (Yahoo is more secure)
- Phone numbers and info: Kids don’t always have common sense, they should never post their real names or any personally identifiable info online.
- If your child ever had their info filed in a public court record such as divorce or support filings, check online to make sure his/her SSN is blacked out on the scans. If not, contact the courthouse immediately to file and have this removed
- Schools are generally pretty good about not revealing info, but if you’re really in need of a high level of privacy, I know many parents who opted to home school.
- Instruct kids/teens not to tell others where they live unless it is a trusted friend. Have kids memorize a street that's a good distance from yours if asked where they live (do you really need your trees covered in toilet paper or deal with high school pranks?)
- Have kids use disposable email addresses for sign ups (Mailinator, My Trash Mail)
- Teach kids not to enter ANY info into a form or link that comes via email. Scammers use similar names or fake URL with a look-a-like page to trick kids into inputting sensitive info
- College kids: tell them NOT to post their college schedule publicly. Info should be shared via private email only, not via the mail on My Space or public sites
There’s a lot more, but these are important key points for you to consider. A little info is all an ID thief needs. Also keep in mind that not all predators are men. Increasingly adult women are stalking children. Bored women sitting at home have found it amusing to toy with teen girls by pretending to be a boy that likes them, or in one case, the adult woman, for no reason, posted a teen's racy pics on escort ads complete with the girl's home address which she found on a paid online people search! If a predator seeks out your child and gets obsessed, it’s all too easy for them to show up at your front door. I’m sick of all the stupid useless articles that tell a story and give vague remedies. You’ll get advice from us that’s been proven and tested. Stories we share actually did happen to clients and they've given us permission to share in order to help you. The Privacy Club will expound on the subjects with affordable books and printable forms for all your needs. Bookmark us or follow.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Celebrity Privacy - The High Price of Fame
The issue of celebrity privacy goes back at least to the nineteenth-century growth of newspapers, but came to dominate discourse on privacy at the end of the twentieth century and beginning of the new millennium. In the United Kingdom, the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997 was regarded by many as due in part to media intrusion, enabled by the use of new surveillance equipment, and also due in part to press refusal to observe conventions on personal privacy for public figures.
In the United States, President Bill Clinton's impeachment in 1999 for having denied on oath improper sexual relationships became unavoidable when DNA analysis was carried out on his semen. Responding to the constitutional crisis that then arose, Thomas Nagel, professor of philosophy and law at New York University, made a plea for the protection of presidential privacy. In what he called "the disastrous erosion of the precious but fragile conventions of personal privacy in the United States over the last ten or twenty years," Nagel lamented that "American society has lost its grip on a fundamental value, one which cannot be enforced by law alone but without which civilization would not survive.… The division of the self protects the limited public space from unmanageable encroachment and the unruly inner life from excessive inhibition.… The growth of tolerance does not make the collapse of privacy significantly less damaging" (London Review of Books, 4 February 1999, p. 3–6). The support given to the president throughout the unsuccessful impeachment hearings in the spring of 1999 suggests that despite his admissions of wrongdoing, the U.S. electorate sympathized with Clinton's plea that even presidents have private lives.
A transatlantic case that came to trial under English law was the claim for damages by the film stars Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas against Hello! magazine in 2003. The prosecution claimed that their right to privacy had been breached by the magazine's unauthorized publication of photographs from their wedding. Both sides claimed a vindication of sorts when Zeta-Jones and Douglas were granted the relatively small sum of £14,600 (US$23,360), including £3,750 each for emotional hurt, in compensation for what the judge ruled was a breach of confidence, since the couple had granted publication rights to another publisher. The judge rejected the couple's complaint about invasion of privacy since there was no privacy law in England. Commenting on the verdict, many British newspapers described the issue as one of control rather than privacy, thus illustrating nicely the gap between popular understanding and academic research on privacy.
Cited from:
Twitter Internal Accounts were Hacked!
As I typed the last entry I forgot to add this link: Website publishes hacked Twitter information.
Now if Twitter is not careful with their own internal corporate privacy, then trust me, they could give a damn about the user's info. Thank you Twitter for screwing up in an epic way and proving my point.
Like I said, please don't get careless with your personal information. Stay safe.
Now if Twitter is not careful with their own internal corporate privacy, then trust me, they could give a damn about the user's info. Thank you Twitter for screwing up in an epic way and proving my point.
Like I said, please don't get careless with your personal information. Stay safe.
Tracking Applications - Twitter and others
Tracking is the norm for SEO web marketing specialists, businesses. Of course you want to track trends, keywords etc. What about social networking sites like Twitter. Let's take for instance a funny one, Tweetdouche (pardon the name, it isn't my fault) It's a silly app that tracks everyone on Twitter who has been called the "D" word.
Ok, haha, so it's funny. What else are people tracking? Twitter is not secure by any means, and there's no way to be totally safe online even if you lock your tweets. You're being tracked online wherever you go. Yes you can use services like Anonymizer which are very good, but still you can be traced. Even if you did nothing wrong, your name, email, location and statistics are logged and saved somewhere. Even if you clean out cookies in your computer, there's still a file on you. I can tell what page you came in from and where you exited to. If you for instance, go to one site and then exit it and leave for a porn site, bingo, you'll soon find lots more Viagra and naked chicks in your spam box. If you click on any of those emails, you've done the spammer a favor - you've just validated your email as a good one to sell on the spam market.
On Twitter, if you dare even jokingly type in the word "porn", you'll be inundated by the bot applications which are written and set to scan Twitter keywords constantly. Type in the word boner or sex? Hello - you now have followers who are really bots trying to lure you to naked pictures where more spyware resides. Even if you erase a post, it's still cached out there in cyberspace.
Biggest mistakes that lead to Tracking Applications getting too close for comfort?
As you can see there are many ways you can be tracked. Want to see just a teeny bit about what sites can tell about you? CLICK HERE to see right now. Trust me, they see and track a lot more than the basics.
IP addresses are tracked, though they don't trace directly to your home. They serve a general "area" that can extend for miles. Once you've put in your email address however, the apps have your general area, plus access to your email. Ever wonder how spam will put familiar names in the from or subject lines? One of my emails is a made up name, the ending is "adek" Suddenly spam arrives addressed to Mr. or Mrs. Adek, and even has the frigging audacity to include an attachment saying "Photos from Adek reunion". Are people so stupid that they'll open the attacment? Yep, someone did once, and now the scammers are milking it for all it's worth. There's a fool born every minute and I'm often shocked at what my clients innocently get themselves into.
My Twitter Test
My test for Twitter tracking apps and ads: Got a virgin Yahoo account. Kept it for months, no spam except the usual petty garbage you always get with Yahoo. The second I signed up for a Twitter account with it, I'm inundated with spam and all of it is relevant to things I've talked about or mentioned on Twitter. I do not use this account on anything but Twitter. Coincidence? The tracking of that email will dead end with Twitter since I use it exclusively for that. They will not be able to trace what else I sign up for with that account and make a profile on me? Getting it now?
While SEO people study marketing trends, I've been forced to study spamming trends. Next post will be exclusively about anti-spyware programs and how to keep your kids' browsing and downloading from harming computers in your household.
This post was timely since I just got done counseling a client yesterday who had ID theft via a so-called friendly application that got into his computer through social and dating sites. It
was running backdoor applications through ports thus using his computer as a server. He has a cable connection that's always on, so bingo, this is just what the hackers were looking for.
Social networking is fun, Twitter is fun, but, like I tell my clients; remember the old saying: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"
If you enjoy this, subscribe or follow us on Twitter @ThePrivacyClub
New website should be up this week as well.
Ok, haha, so it's funny. What else are people tracking? Twitter is not secure by any means, and there's no way to be totally safe online even if you lock your tweets. You're being tracked online wherever you go. Yes you can use services like Anonymizer which are very good, but still you can be traced. Even if you did nothing wrong, your name, email, location and statistics are logged and saved somewhere. Even if you clean out cookies in your computer, there's still a file on you. I can tell what page you came in from and where you exited to. If you for instance, go to one site and then exit it and leave for a porn site, bingo, you'll soon find lots more Viagra and naked chicks in your spam box. If you click on any of those emails, you've done the spammer a favor - you've just validated your email as a good one to sell on the spam market.
On Twitter, if you dare even jokingly type in the word "porn", you'll be inundated by the bot applications which are written and set to scan Twitter keywords constantly. Type in the word boner or sex? Hello - you now have followers who are really bots trying to lure you to naked pictures where more spyware resides. Even if you erase a post, it's still cached out there in cyberspace.
Biggest mistakes that lead to Tracking Applications getting too close for comfort?
- Using a real name
- Using an email you use to pay bills or do business and personal things with
- Giving too much info about where you live, landmarks nearby, posting your email address
- Your kids just trying to be friendly and posting too much info
- Photos of you and your kids (think Michael Jackson was crazy for covering his kid's faces? Nope, he was being a protective parent, like him or not)
- Taking Twitter quizzes and anything that says "sign in with your Twitter account"
- TwitPic - did you pay attention and check the box that says DON'T post on public timeline? Do you really need all the world knowing your personal business?
- Photo no-no's - License plates. Did you remember to blur any license plates before posting a pic? Addresses, landmarks?
- Signing up for Twitter, My Space, Facebook with your main email
- Taking surveys
As you can see there are many ways you can be tracked. Want to see just a teeny bit about what sites can tell about you? CLICK HERE to see right now. Trust me, they see and track a lot more than the basics.
IP addresses are tracked, though they don't trace directly to your home. They serve a general "area" that can extend for miles. Once you've put in your email address however, the apps have your general area, plus access to your email. Ever wonder how spam will put familiar names in the from or subject lines? One of my emails is a made up name, the ending is "adek" Suddenly spam arrives addressed to Mr. or Mrs. Adek, and even has the frigging audacity to include an attachment saying "Photos from Adek reunion". Are people so stupid that they'll open the attacment? Yep, someone did once, and now the scammers are milking it for all it's worth. There's a fool born every minute and I'm often shocked at what my clients innocently get themselves into.
My Twitter Test
My test for Twitter tracking apps and ads: Got a virgin Yahoo account. Kept it for months, no spam except the usual petty garbage you always get with Yahoo. The second I signed up for a Twitter account with it, I'm inundated with spam and all of it is relevant to things I've talked about or mentioned on Twitter. I do not use this account on anything but Twitter. Coincidence? The tracking of that email will dead end with Twitter since I use it exclusively for that. They will not be able to trace what else I sign up for with that account and make a profile on me? Getting it now?
While SEO people study marketing trends, I've been forced to study spamming trends. Next post will be exclusively about anti-spyware programs and how to keep your kids' browsing and downloading from harming computers in your household.
This post was timely since I just got done counseling a client yesterday who had ID theft via a so-called friendly application that got into his computer through social and dating sites. It
was running backdoor applications through ports thus using his computer as a server. He has a cable connection that's always on, so bingo, this is just what the hackers were looking for.
Social networking is fun, Twitter is fun, but, like I tell my clients; remember the old saying: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"
If you enjoy this, subscribe or follow us on Twitter @ThePrivacyClub
New website should be up this week as well.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Privacy and how to keep it - Tips and Tricks
This is a preliminary blog that needs to be updated. Content will cover all the nasty little tricks the corporate world and even the government use that jeopardize your privacy, safety and security. ID theft is rampant and by popular request, I've finally decided it's time to write a blog about it.
Currently I have several books in the works, and also working the kinks out of my website and publishing company. Understandably this is a lot of work to take on, which is why I was reluctant to start a blog at all. After consideration and interest from social networking sites like Twitter, I feel I have useful info to share with all of you, tempered with a bit of humor and sarcasm as always.
Currently I have several books in the works, and also working the kinks out of my website and publishing company. Understandably this is a lot of work to take on, which is why I was reluctant to start a blog at all. After consideration and interest from social networking sites like Twitter, I feel I have useful info to share with all of you, tempered with a bit of humor and sarcasm as always.
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