Desktop

Ask something
Discussion Locked

How can I protect myself

0 helpful
21 replies

by penguinsrule 2 views

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.
About a week ago on an online grief forum apparently there was a person on there who was offended by something I had said. I had not revealed anything about my identity to any of them. This person went to some trouble and then posted on the board all kinds of information about me - my name, my address, my ip address, all kinds of personal information. Of course I quickly quit going to this site and asked the administrator to delete all my posts which I did. So, hopefully I am free of the this stuff, but it was quite alarming how easy it can be for a total stranger to find out information about you and I am trying to find ways of protecting myself and my computer from some insane person who could be out there. They literally posted everything about me online. It was very troubling. Thankfully that post was deleted by the administrator and it isn't still out there in public. Thank you so much

21 replies

by mjd420nova

One of the things you have to remember is that there are people out here that delight in upsetting others and will go to great lengths to do it. The other thing is that there is an awful lot of information about you right there in your computer. At one time or another you have revealed all, and it just takes a hacker to deposit a worm in your machine, and now they know all too. I take great pains to be sure that I conduct no transactions on this machine that might leave cookies and such where a hacker can get it. I have one special machine I use for doing those transactions, as does everyone in the household. It is double protected with virus checkers, double firewall and a hardware firewall. I have done extensive searches to see what info is out there on me, and can find none. Or at least none that matches my name to a user name. My name appears but no user name, IP address or even what ISP I use. A lot of my customers know me, but they are sworn to secrecy. Many even recognize the initials and the number association but that's it. If someone has posted your info, they either got it from your machine, or have followed you to web sites and harvested what you revealed there. Good Luck.

by murso

It's too easy. Forums are bot'd. People usually stick to the same user name or something similar. I know of a forum whose members have a blast breaking into people's photo accounts so that they can post other member's "private" nude or otherwise embarassing photos. And these are as low tech a hack as you are going to get; removing part of an url, etc.

Hide in plain sight. When you go online, assume all is exposed, so become someone else whose exposure would not put you at risk.

Be a number, not a name and for heavens sake, don't be unique or clever - it's too easy to track.
I have been able to find users based on their writing style. One guy had a habit of using a certain phrase. It was too easy to google the phrase to see what other names he had on other forums. (I was doing it for work at the time--guy was suspected of trying to steal and sell company data.)

Read more, participate less. If you must speak up, just use smilies and avoid topics on which you are passionate. Passion will loosen your tounge, or fingers as the case may be.

And remember that there are truly only 6 bits of info between you and another person. Make sure those bits lead down the wrong path.

by hal 9000

There is currently available software that allows a person to track down people and it's not all that hard to do if you know what you are doing anyway.

Don't rely on Windows to keep you secure and certainly don't expect any Windows deployment to be anything like secure at best Windows is a [b]Glorified Games Platform[/b] with more holes that Swiss Cheese.

If you want to remain totally anonymous don't have an Internet connection and certainly [b]Do Not[/b] visit sites like this. Anyone is capable of backtracking and then doing a search particularly if you are an American Citizen as there is no Privacy there. I was horrified when a friend showed me just what information about him was available on the Web that was freely available. It's the main reason that he left America and became a citizen of another country where he can remain unknown.

Everything that is currently available on him including his bank accounts are 4 years old and no longer applicable and this is only the stuff that is easily obtainable if someone wanted to they could dig down and find out everything that they want to about you without much trouble.

There are no [b]Paranoid Security Computer People[/b] just realists. Did you realise that there is not one bit of Telephone activity world wide that goes unmonitored? That is everything from a voice conversation to a fax to an e-mail to any thing like participating here everything is monitored and if you use some trigger words they will be picked up and looked further at.

Col

by zlitocook

A few websites awhile back that for $29 you could get any information or allot of information on just about any one. Two have been shut down but more pop up all the time.

by hal 9000

That they can tell you all but the colour of the underwear that a person is wearing the day that you make the request for data. I'm sure if they where to be paid a bit more they could even find that out at a pinch.

Col

by kiltie

Sorry no Kipling stories this time :D

ok, I'll relent and give you a quote from Wiki
[i]
I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who).
[/i]

It's so profound and meaningful from my tiny viewpoint.

As regards your post Col, we techies know a few things or two.

We could hack the world if we wanted, but we are the "good guys" fighting the bad 'uns.

EDIT corrected a typo

by zlitocook

The world is full of fools just be one of the fools that knows it.
And it seems by the government standards we did hack the world.
People look for some one to blame for every thing.
The old guys that just had fun, and helped make the new standards of today are still around. And love messing around with the new standards!
Hack the planet was from the movie Hackers and was a great movie because of Julie being in it.
But has no relation to how to hack or why it was done.
To hack is to learn and this leads to how to fix the system and make it work better.

by dawgit

I knew that all the time.
Actually I've always claimed to be a realist.
I guess that would explain the Paranoid part. Thanks, I wondered about that. B-)

by penguinsrule

but that doesn't mean I always do that great of job protecting myself and I want to change that and do a better job of it. Most of my experience was on VAX/VMS which already has security built in unlike MS stupidware that I"m using here. All the security products I've seen are useless to me. I like this privacy mantra software and I think that is a helpful product and zone alarm but not sure if anything else helps much - but I'm not up on pcs and I dont' know much about pc security software - so that's why I am asking. I already know VMS is C2 and B2 compliant, but I can't run that at home. And I"m NOT using FREEVMS on my computer, what a waste - I'd rather use Linux. None of this junk happens on my Apple Laptops - nothing at all - keeps working fine with no stupidity - no stupidware to deal with.

by hal 9000

If you look on the Off Topic section you'll see one of the headers as JD's own personal TR Space. :^0

Col

by penguinsrule

Nurses are the worst patients -they never take care of themselves, and Computer Security people are the worlds worst at protecting their own computer - they protect other people's computers all day and they just let theirs go (not everybody I know - maybe just me)

well - no more of that for me, I'm locking things down - but need more knowledge of pc security

by hal 9000

I need to stay up with some of the available stuff that is available though to be honest I do run a Nix Gateway so I'm fairly safe behind it. :D

But I caught myself telling a user to log in as Root over the phone and then telling them how to use the CLI in Debian to fix a problem with their XP NB. I wasn't thinking at the time and to make matters worse he only has a Windows NB so he can download MP3 Files for his I Pod and update his Garman GPS. He didn't even have a digital camera till about 18 months ago and I totally messed up his mind telling him all the Debian Commands to enter in.

[b]DAM[/b] I have to go there tomorrow to play with one of his download sites for music for his I Pod. Honestly he must have the most expensive I Pod ever as I've wasted hours showing him how to use it and the available software. But as I'm getting paid I really shouldn't complain too much. I just wish I was doing some real work instead of messing with Play Toys. :(

Col

by kiltie

Too much information overload.

Not a hosp, maybe some time on the Beach, eyeing up the Sheilas, drinking a few beers maybe.

by hal 9000

I'm not going back to that mad surgeon to have another examination for skin cancer. He decides that he needs something done to his work computer and then hits me to do the work but only after he's made the first cut. Then he starts complaining about how worried he is about the business computer and how he hopes that his hand doesn't shake too much so he has an accident.

He's really lousy even when I'm drinking all of his scotch at his home when he's incapable of reading the name on the bottle he'll suddenly get up stager over point to something on some exposed skin and say [b]"I don't like the looks of that you had better come in on Monday and I'll cut it off."[/b] You just know that he's got something lined up to hit me with.

So far I've lost about 12 Kilos and only one of those was a shin cancer all the rest where suspect and reason for some work to be done on his business computers. As I no longer do any Medical Work he needs to Blackmail me into doing it and it's impossible to say no when you have someone hovering over you with a scalpel making suggestions that he needs something done.

Mind you while he was away one time I did steal his boat just to get even. He had just spent several K on it and I told him that I sold it on E-Bay for a $1.50. :D

Col

by hal 9000

And then the colour of the duct tape that you are wearing today and then the time that you changed it to another colour in an attempt to prove them wrong. :p

Col

by kiltie

Sorry I mentioned it, but you sure need some R&R

If the beach isn't your thing, and Sheila's don't interest you (each to their own persuasion) and are you TT? so no beer?

Maybe I can interest you in an old 286 with DOS 3.11 to get your teeth into, assuming you have any left (I don't)

Joking aside.....
I have some great old DOS games, that I am seriously considering converting one of my computers to that exclusively.

I even have an old 5 1/4 drive and boxed sets of WordStar Professional and Borland C (If I ever get to feel like programming again)

Been quite a while since I wrote a [b]hello world[/b] program

hehehe

by hal 9000

So I try to stay away from it. Women can be really nasty as one made a complaint of [b]Sexual Harassment[/b] against me because I opened a door for her.

Now I stay well away from them unless I have legal council around for protection.

While a 286 sounds OK do I have to use M$ DOS? I would happily use DR DOS 6 as it will do everything that M$ DOS could and a lot more. I have it on either the 5.25 Inch or 3.5 inch floppies so I could install from either.

Col

This discussion is closed to new replies.