Dear CNET members,
Happy Friday! This week's topic is not only very interesting, but
it also can be very frightening for some. Bryan went to www.spokeo.com,
entered his name into the search, and was surprised to discover a lot
of information about himself--from phone numbers to addresses,
and much more. (Sorry, international folks, this site only applies to
people in the United States.) If you haven't done it already, give it a
try and see what turns up on your name.
For those who are having a panic attack right now, or thinking
that this is illegal--relax. This type of search site is
not new to the Internet and all the information that
is available is already available through public records and
other resources. However, I will agree that it is scary how easy
it is to pull up so much information on an individual. Looking up
this information back in the pre-Internet days probably would have
taken months or years to track down. But we are in the digital age, and it's
here to stay, so we should expect that it is available.
In this week's member answers that address Bryan's concern, you'll learn
how to get off of this site's search results, get some tips on how to keep
some of this stuff off of sites like these, and get member reactions.
And if you haven't already chimed in on the discussion, drop by and tell
us how you feel. If you have any other tips or suggestions to share on how
people can minimize their public information from surfacing up on sites
or how to protect privacy, please join us and share them. We're all
ears! Thanks to all who contributed.
There will be no newsletter next week, so I want to wish you all a happy
Thanksgiving! Have a safe and happy holiday!
Cheers!
- Lee
Got suggestions? Send me an e-mail: messageboards@cnet.com
|
Whoa! I just found out about this Web site: 
Featured member solutions
"
