Doxxing defense: Remove your personal info from data brokers

[mrdmk]

This is something I have been looking for in my quest for privacy in today's technical world.

It is an older article, but it fits the bill.


Don't want your home address or other personal info published to the world? This weekend, take an hour or two to make yourself a less visible target.

By Ken Gagne
Computerworld | Nov 20, 2014 3:30 AM PT


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Many women gamers and developers, as well as those who support them, have lately come under attack from online trolls. A common intimidation tactic that trolls use is "doxxing," or publicly exposing their targets' personal details, including home address, phone number and even financial records.

Doxxing is often accompanied by threats of violence, sexual assault or murder. The message is clear: We're out to get you, and we know where you live. Some women in tech have left their chosen profession rather than deal with continued threats.

But anyone is susceptible to doxxing, as game developer Phil Fish discovered this summer after speaking up in defense of a female developer. As the host of a feminist podcast, I decided to take the precaution of trying to remove public records of my whereabouts.

Here is the list data broker services and search engines in the article and how to 'opt out of'

Spokeo, Pipl, Zoominfo, Whitepages, PeopleSmart, CheckPeople, BeenVerified, Intelius, PublicRecords360, ZabaSearch, US Search, PeopleFinders.com, and PeekYou

snip
Unfortunately, opting out is not a one-time process. "Even though you've opted out, these sites may refresh their data from new information that comes in," says Stephens of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. Anytime your phone number or address changes or your information becomes available from a new broker, your details may propagate to services you've previously opted out of. One need look no further than the fine print at Whitepages.com for an example, as the site warns: "Whitepages continuously discovers new information, so please check back regularly to make sure your information is shown correctly."

Link: http://www.computerworld.com/article/2849263/doxxing-defense-remove-your-personal-info-from-data-brokers.html


There is more information at the bottom of the article:

See our three-part series, "The paranoid's survival guide," for more steps you can take to protect your personal information:

Part 1: How to protect your personal data
Part 2: Protect your privacy on social, mobile and more
Part 3: Opting out, and how to protect your personal data offline


Good Luck!

[freshwest]

1. Thank you. Much needed. n/t

[mrdmk]

2. Your welcomed

[freshwest]

3. I have used some of those techniques, but yes, they keep on coming. I have hassles from things that

were resolved twenty years ago in data base errors. Yet there's no way to shut the door on them.

The newer uses of data for scams, harrassment and political uses are just enough to make one run for the hills. And I've always been fanatical on privacy.

I was unaware of some of the sites you mentioned. I will use them.

[Zorra]

4. Thank you, huge K&R. nt

[mrdmk]

5. You are welcomed also :-)

Keeping your privacy on the Internet is now work, a lot of work.

Just as much work as making sure your credit cards and bank account have not been compromised.

Using your computer as a tool is a good thing, whereas, working for your computer is a drag...

[Binkie The Clown]

6. Good to know. Thanks.

I don't know what people should do about their Amazon accounts, especially seller accounts. If that gets hacked they have your CC numbers, bank account, home address, the works.

Same with paypal and ebay.

I have all three of those, plus online banking and online Amex card, visa card, etc. It's pretty scary to think about how dangerous that can be.

[mrdmk]

7. These added conveniences become extra work is a problem

Reminds me of a saying, 'To err is to be human, to really screw things up, use a computer!'

[Binkie The Clown]

8. Maybe this guy (link) is not so far off

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026596579

JM Greer contends that as time goes on the risks and costs of using the Internet for so many things will grow to the point where people will choose, for reasons of economy and safety, to avoid using the Internet for financial transactions.

It’s crucial to remember here, as noted above, that the internet is simply a cheaper and more convenient way of doing things that people were doing long before the first website went live, and a big part of the reason why it’s cheaper and more convenient right now is that internet users are being subsidized by the investors and venture capitalists who are funding the internet industry. That’s not the only subsidy on which the internet depends, though. Along with the rest of industrial society, it’s also subsidized by half a billion years of concentrated solar energy in the form of fossil fuels. As those deplete, the vast inputs of energy, labor, raw materials, industrial products, and other forms of wealth that sustain the internet will become increasingly expensive to provide, and ways of distributing kitten pictures that don’t require the same inputs will prosper in the resulting competition.