The Internet today...

[Elate]

The two things I will willingly give out are my name (First name), and the city I live in. Why would I feel the need to give out anymore? Unlike some I keep my facebook mostly private.. I never saw the need to put my address on there, if someone knows me well enough to have me on facebook, they can ask for my address.

 

[Henkie36]

What most people don't seem to realize is that everything that has been put on the web since 2001 is still there, and what's more, it's not going anywhere any time soon. I have a Facebookaccount, but only let people in who I see almost on a weekly basis. I don't use it on my cellphone, because that way Facebook can and will use it to keep track of your exact position 24-hours a day, 7 days a week. But hearing from the people around me, I seem to be the last one who is trying keep a big wall between on line and real life.

 

[C F]

I don't use social networking sites like facebook, since there's nobody I'd like to keep up with. It's a lot easier to guard your information when there's no point in giving it out.

I only keep up with a select few people either on Xbox LIVE or an internet forum somewhere. And the only place I access any of my online accounts is at home, with a secure network.

I only ever give out my birthday and my country (United States, I'm okay with giving the state if I feel it's relevant to the topic at hand). I know most of the ways people track others, so I take care to tiptoe around them.

 

[Hosker]

I honestly don;t see the problem with giving out your name. You do it in real life all the time - what are people going to do with it?

 

[Waaghpowa]

I think it's less about being too comfortable and more about ignorance. People seem to think they understand how the internet works when really they don't.

Also the people who freak out over security breaches annoy the hell out of me. Anonymous took down their site!? OH GAWD! ALL OUR PERSONAL INFORMATION AAAAH! Seriously, your info was probably viewed or taken on numerous occasions without your knowledge, it makes no difference.

 

[beniki]

I'm pretty open about my name and personal details online really, say all you like about hackers and stalkers but the reality is that there's no reason anyone would want to track me in particular out of the millions of people online.

Here's a good example of the age divide.. and you're only a handful of years younger than me. The reson I don't give out personal information is pretty much the same reason I keep my wallet in my pocket instead of dangling it from my back pack. Someone can still get their hand in my pocket, but there's no sense it making it easy for people.

And I would be kind of creeped out if there was some guy fapping to my Facebook picture... and more worried if he could then find my home address easily. I can't quite understand the thought process of 'It's online, it's not really me.' Particularly if my online personality had the same name as me.

-snip-
obligatory this is from another thread but clearly illustrates why you should take care with personal information on the web today.

I know of a few examples of this... and yet people still can't see the dangers.

I still can't find anything about me besides my Facebook on Google, and that's pretty securely locked down (It has to text me a code if I go on a different computer. Technology is crazy these days)


Edit: Except when I type in my Minecraft username... Which my little brother pretty much solely uses. Okay. Me and my little brother are going to have the biggest fucking talk in the entire god damn world about some serious fucking issues. Wow.

I will never look at this kid the same again.

And yes OP. I now feel like I know exactly what you mean. It would appear my little brother does not have a sense of security and anonymity that you are talking about.

And I now understand why the few times I go on Minecraft that it's a brand new girl character.

This is bad.

Er... sorry for causing family controversy. Kind of shocking to get a developing example of what I'm talking about within the same thread.

Yes, a number of my generation are not careful enough online with their data - handing out mobile numbers over Facebook and such.
However, the same can be inverted: a number of people from older generations are too cautious with their info. E.G: This Origin hate. Use Steam? Use Facebook? You're getting data mined too, Origin is just one more on the list. I don't have any essential data on my PC or on Origin/Steam/Facebook, and I don't use the same passwords on different sites. Am I 100% safe? Nope. Am I safe enough that I really don't need to worry about Steam/Facebook/Origin? Yep.

But I think the only reason companies are trying this now is because the younger generation isn't cautious enough. Like I said, that kind of data mining wouldn't have gone down well with the internet going public five or six years ago (or perhaps a little earlier... not quite sure when Facebook started up).

I just see it as a sign that younger internet goers don't take the internet serious. Because as the meme says, this is serious business. I think they're too comfortable with the idea of information sharing, and don't know, or are unwilling to accept that there could be consequences.

Actually, as this threads been going it looks like the age where people are less wary about the internet starts at around the born in 1991/2 range. Kind of surprised, since I was originally thinking of older teens, but perhaps the 'younger' generation is older than I thought.

Edit: Oops, messed up my quote stacks. That'll teach me not to preview.

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

Personally I have redundancies on top of my redundancies. Barely any of my accounts anywhere on the internet link back to an e-mail address with a real name and details. Obviously some of it has to, but I counter that by giving out the absolute bare minimm of details anywhere I go.

I don't know which generation I count as. Being 22 seems to put me right in the middle of 'too old to really get the awesome power' vs 'can't unplug ever.'

My parents don't get the internet. They use it and are actually very technogically savvy, but they don't understand it. My sister on the other hand practically gets the shakes if she isn't allowed to have her iPhone next to her at dinner just in case someone IMs her. She's 18.

 

[beniki]

This might be a double post but I feel like posting this.

A GUIDE TO SAFEGUARDING YOUR LIFE (In no particular order)
-------------------------------
1. Passwords. Rotate between several simple passwords. Do not use the same thing for everything. Do not think you are teh leet and just spell your name in 1337 5934K. It is not that secure.
2. Alias. I rotate between several, usually non-sensical words. Like my alias here. Razada is just a name I came up with for my Ork in WoW several years ago.
3. Lie. Seriously. Not all the information you give out about your habits and hobbies should be correct. And for the love of god, if you are signing up to a n "Adult" site or a site associated with any form of sexual fetish, lie. And keep lying. It is just not safe. At all. Sure, be open... Eventually.
4. Do not broadcast your username for everything on a public forum. Miroku2235 learnt this.
5. Paranoia is healthy. Seriously. The internet is filled with people who want to do you harm. Never forget this. From government agencies who want to profile you to opportunistic scammers or perhaps a vengeful ex.
6. (Related to 5). I am a good person. This fact is the only thing that has stopped me from posting naked pictures of ex girlfriends online. Like a good person, when the relationship ended, I deleted the pictures. Well, mainly because I did not want to be reminded of anything, but lets put that aside for now. If I was not a good person I would have put them online. In short I am saying that you should never give ANYONE access to pictures of you wearing less than all of your clothing. Digital ones anyway. Feel free to print them or whatnot. Just be careful. That homemade video of you failing in bed might end up on the internet one day and that would be less than brilliant.
7. (Related to 5) Websites that allow you to stream a live feed from your webcam? Bad idea. People can record those. You might end up regretting it.
8. FACEBOOK PROFILE GOES ON PRIVATE FOR STRANGERS. Seriously. Anyone could be reading it. Anyone. That picture of your little brother eating yoghurt? Some asshole might be sat in his room having a wank to that. Keep it on private and you stop that shit from happening. On a less dark (And more realistic) note, if your FB profile aint on private someone could steal you identity. With EASE.
9. (Related to 8) Stop posting everything about yourself on FB. Its dangerous. Also, consider your posts and pictures. Although they are not supposed to, employers WILL look you up online. That really funny picture of you with a joint hanging out of your mouth? Congratulations! You are unemployable.
10. Do not admit to illegal activities on the internet. It is kinda basic but seriously. You would be surprised.
11. I guess I am done. That should do.

How many of you do all of the above? Seriously? The internet is a dangerous place.

Good advice... but your Escapist profile alone has a lot of info about you... Name, age, birthday, and I assume that's a picture of you with the spiffy hat.

 

[Keava]

I was looking at an EA Origin thread (one of the many, many many threads), and it made me remember something I've been thinking about for a while.

The younger generation are too comfortable with the internet.

I don't mean they should be scared of it or anything, but it just seems that these days, people aren't cautious enough. They readily give out personal information, allow all kinds of data scanning on their computers, and even frequently give their real names online.

It just seems so strange to me. I grew up using a pseudonym or a nick online, since it was considered dangerous to tell people your real name.

I don't know.. am I just overly paranoid about the dangers of giving away information, or is the younger generation of internet goers not taking things seriously enough?

Well aren't You overdoing it a little bit? Scared of giving Your name? Don't be ridiculous now. I mean I use internet for about 17-18 years now.

The issue is people are both paranoid and hypocrites about some things. One one hand They will have fully fleshed out FB profile, with their full name, address, schools They did attend, friends with similar set of information, etc. while on the other They get all bothered because some corporation will use the data about Their gaming preference. Really now?

Just like You don't go around waving Your ID around in public, You don't do it on the internet, sure, that's obvious, but that doesn't mean You have to cover Your face whenever You go near the window, does it?

Personally I'm not really troubled by the fact that my name exists in some table somewhere as someone who bought certain games or used certain web services. It really doesn't affect my life at all.

Common sense is really all You need. Don't have passwords that tie to Your dates/SSN/names/etc., have separate e-mail (or few) for various sign-ups so You don't clog Your main account, don't store Your credit card info in plaintext on Your HDD ... just like outside of internet You shouldn't carry Your CC pin on a note along with Your card, etc.

 

[Richardplex]

I feel y'all should have a looksie of this Visual Novel (PCGamer put it in their top 10 2011 Free games) http://scoutshonour.com/donttakeitpersonallybabeitjustaintyourstory/

It's like an hour long, and it's pretty much about privacy issues of the current generation.

 

[IamQ]

Overall, I'm pretty meh towards internet privacy. Maybe it's because I haven't gotten any internet nemesis's yet, but I've just never felt the need to disguise myself on the internet. When people were panicking over the fact that origin will watch what you do, I thought to myself "Well why is that so bad? What, are you afraid that their judging you in their offices?"

I suppose I'm one of those teenagers that you speak of, but may it be.

 

[JoJo]

I'm pretty open about my name and personal details online really, say all you like about hackers and stalkers but the reality is that there's no reason anyone would want to track me in particular out of the millions of people online.

Here's a good example of the age divide.. and you're only a handful of years younger than me. The reson I don't give out personal information is pretty much the same reason I keep my wallet in my pocket instead of dangling it from my back pack. Someone can still get their hand in my pocket, but there's no sense it making it easy for people.

And I would be kind of creeped out if there was some guy fapping to my Facebook picture... and more worried if he could then find my home address easily. I can't quite understand the thought process of 'It's online, it's not really me.' Particularly if my online personality had the same name as me.

You're forgetting Facebook privacy settings. The fapper wouldn't be able to see any more than my profile image and first name/surname unless I accepted their friend request and I only accept people I know in RL. It would take a lot of digging to even connect this account or my YouTube to my Facebook profile and then what? I take a sensible view of privacy: anyone can easily find my town, country, first name, hobbies out etc, with some searching they would be able to find out my surname, mental health issues, family size etc, important stuff like address or phone number would be impossible. Some people are certainly well too open with their information but there's also such a thing as being too paranoid too, no-one's going to track you down because you put your real first name in your profile or used the same password.

Actually, as this threads been going it looks like the age where people are less wary about the internet starts at around the born in 1991/2 range. Kind of surprised, since I was originally thinking of older teens, but perhaps the 'younger' generation is older than I thought.

I don't find this particularly surprising, I've had the Internet in my home since I was about 10 so I've practically grown up with it and my household was comparatively late getting it compared to my classmates.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

In anycase, I'm very careful about internet security as any of my friends on the Escapist will tell you. I'm very close to deleting my Facebook account due to it bypassing my settings and suggesting me as a friend to some people I know here.

Life sphere.

Internet sphere.

Only by meeting me face to face can you get to know me as a real human being instead of an internet username...

 

[Macgyvercas]

I give my first name online. There is only one person on this site who knows my last name, and she left awhile ago.

As for FB, I at least know who everyone on my friends list is, even if I may not know them well.

 

[Weaver]

I don't even use my real name on Facebook.

 

[Xenowolf]

I know what you mean, especially as I recently realized that if you do enough research and googling on me, you will probabaly be able to find stuff I said on the Internet when I was 11 (which is why you shouldn't reuse old usernames, and with everything I've said then, you would probabaly be able to deduce what my real name is/where I) and since then I've been trying to be more vigilant with my personal data.