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How To
Protect Your Information From The Internet
Kotaku.com Patrick Klepek
Do you know how much of your personal information is
floating around? It's more than you think and very easy to find. Phone numbers,
home addresses, email accounts. As my recent
story about gamers who got swatted showed, anybody can become a
target. You don't have to be someone with a million followers. Social networks
have encouraged us share everything, including where we're hanging out. We've
signed up for a million different accounts, and we need to be more careful.
The worry here is doxxing.
Dox is short for documents. The act of doxxing involves
finding online documentation related to a person, typically their phone number
and home address. This information can be used in a variety of ways and it's
often malicious. It could exist online as a scare tactic, a way of silencing
someone through fear, or it could lead to other forms of harassment, such as
swatting.
Before we move forward, a warning. Some of the websites
listed here could be used inappropriately. These website have been and will
be used to target and dox individuals. That said, doxxing instructions are easy
to find on the Internet—they're a Google search away. Rather than pretend these
websites don't exist, it seems better to become aware of how your own
information might be used against you and begin to take some precautionary
measures.
Determine What Information's Already
Out There
The first step is learning how much of your information
might already be floating around. It's shocking how much I found about myself
through websites designed for culling public data. What follows represents a
sample of what I've seen referenced in various doxxing threads.
It's important to remove information from these websites
because there's a domino effect. These websites pull details from one another.
Removal from one can directly impact another.
However, this post does not cover
everything. Nothing can, really. There will always be new, unexpected
tools. A more exhaustive list was featured in a reddit post a few years back.
·
Spokeo: One of the most common places for
people to start looking for details. Just type in your name, email address, or
phone number, and marvel at what comes back. It's scary. It doesn't have to
stay that way, as it's possible to opt-out and have pages disappear.
Fill out this
form to have a page removed. You can do this for yourself, loved
ones, and others. There's a daily limit, but you can head back and request more
takedowns. While it doesn't permanently scrub the information from the web, it
removes one of the easiest ways for people to immediately access it. The harder
it is to find, the better.
·
White Pages: This is one of the big aggregators.
Thankfully, it's also easy to remove everything about you, friends, and family.
This page
will guide you through the process.4
http://www.whitepagescustomers.com/how-do-i-remov...
ifyoucanreadthis youareapope
·
10digits.us:
Yet another aggregator culling data from across public
sources.Fill out this
form to have a page removed. You'll have to send a copy of your ID,
but the site allows you to blank out your ID number and other private details.
It's simply for verification.
·
Pipl: This one freaked me out because it
elegantly compiles the information into an easy-to-read report. Listed below
the report are the many sources of information Pipl is pulling from. This might
help you figure out what social networking profile is responsible for listing
your phone number in a public space because you didn't adjust the privacy
settings.
·
WHOIS: If you own a domain, information on
the owner is public. You'd be surprised how many people accidentally allow
their home address, phone number, and other details to be listed so freely.
This is often because they're not aware of it. Most domain providers make it
possible to hide all of these details. Hover, for example, offers this service for free.
·
Privacy Settings Are Boring But
Really Important
Our personal information is monetized by social networks,
and it's the reason these networks don't charge anything. But when's the last
time you took a long look at your privacy settings?
Location data, which leaves a publicly available bread
trail, is the primary concern here.
Log out your social network of choice and check out the
"public" version of your profile. You might think your profile is
private, but it doesn't mean some of that information isn't available.
While every network is different, there's a few really
common examples of privacy missteps.
Facebook has some default settings, but they don't really go
far enough. If someone's trying to learn about you, Facebook's a tremendously
useful place to start. Many people don't hide their friends list, for instance.
You might have our privacy settings locked down, but do your friends? For more,
read this extensive piece from Gizmodo on totally locking down Facebook.
On Instagram, profiles are public unless you specify
otherwise. Even if you don't tag locations, Instagram marks photos on a
"photo map." Maybe you've snapped photos of your animals, children,
or friends at home. GPS data is incredibly accurate these days. If so, this
photo map leads right to your home. You can, thankfully, remove the
location data and keep the photos.
Each services handles this differently. Bottom line, check
your settings every few months.
Your Password Sucks
I'm serious. CNET published SplashData's annual list of the worst
passwords last week, and the results are horrifying. Here are the worst
offenders:
1.
123456
2.
password
3.
12345
4.
12345678
Oof.
Company databases are compromised on a daily basis. Chances
are your password, for one website or another, is already available online. If
you're like most people, you cycle through a few passwords, perhaps adding tiny
variations on them, and apply those across the Internet.
That's bad. If one of your passwords is undermined, it's
easy to figure out the rest.
So much of your life is on the Internet, and it's worth
investing a few dollars in protecting it.
Last Pass
and 1Password
are the best options available. Each has a powerful password generator,
ensuring your passwords aren't your pet's name with numbers. Plus, there are
browser extensions and mobile applications to make them ubiquitous across
nearly every platform. With the press of a button, ridiculously complicated
passwords are quickly entered into whatever website your on. If your password's
compromised, they'll make you a new one.
Learn To Love Two-Factor
Authentication
Even with 1Password or Last Pass, it's possible for a
password to get shared around online. While nothing is ever truly foolproof,
two-factor authentication is about as safe as you can get.
It's a simple concept. With two-factor authentication, it's
impossible to login to any website or service without providing additional
confirmation from another device. As a result, even if your password is found,
unless someone has direct access to your phone or tablet, you're fine.
Bookmark this
page for an updated list of websites with the option for two-factor.
Below is a list of likely places where Kotaku readers
might want to consider the added security:
·
Twitter
·
Facebook
·
Xbox Live
·
Skype
·
Gmail
·
Steam Guard
PlayStation Network does not support two-factor at this
time, unfortunately.
If You're Worried, Let The Police
Know Now
Most police departments don't know what swatting or other
forms of anonymous harassment are, but it can't hurt to let them know you're
worried about becoming a target. Give them your phone number. In the event the
police are called into action, they'll be able to contact you.
Granted, these steps are a pain in the ass. Changing
passwords sucks. Authenticating takes time. It's too bad we can't just live on
the Internet and have everyone be cool. We don't live in that world. It's
highly unlikely you'll become a target but you never know. Better to be
careful.
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