What you reveal about yourself on the web social networks

A few years ago, a young mother came on this forum complaining about how her child's picture had been posted by a school's web site without thought about the families privacy. Her child had not been named, but the mom didn't want the kids face publicly displayed for all to see. I pointed out that with just a few clicks searching her forum membership details, I could (and did) find the woman's MySpace page (remember when MySpace was all the rage?)... where she not only posted her kids face, but named the child, and gave the general details about where the family lived, their daily activities, the friends they associated with, family members with their own MS pages, etc.

The point being that people often post more info about themselves... VOLUNTARILY... than they might realize.

Well, now some Dutch students are pointing out that a internet game called Foursquare can be used to precisely locate players, so that anyone planning on robbing them can tell when the coast is clear to burgle the hapless participants.

A website called PleaseRobMe claims to reveal the location of empty homes based on what people post online

Mr Van Amstel, Frank Groeneveld and Barry Borsboom realised that not only were people sharing detailed location information about themselves and their friends, they were also by default broadcasting when they were away from their own home.

..."The point we're getting at is that not long ago it was questionable to share your full name on the internet. We've gone past that point by 1,000 miles."

Charity Crimestoppers advises people to think carefully about the information they choose to share on the internet.

BTW... for any FaceBook fans out there. I was recently messing around with a friends Palm Pre cell phone. I input my membership info, and the phone automatically downloaded all the personal details of everyone in my friends list. Details such as addresses, phone numbers, birthdays, etc. It was frightening how much personal info my friends had voluntarily collected in the FB database, and just how quickly the device downloaded it into the phone. Many of these phones are designed to allow all the stuff you keep online to be instantly accessed from anywhere you are at. The upside is that you have your google calendar in your hand and can instantly change it where ever you are. If you lose the phone all data is backed up on remote servers. The downside is that you better use the security lockout or anyone finding your phone has all your personal details in their hands.

Oh yeah, these phones suck for battery life. It is worth having the car charger and maybe even the portable battery backups if you are a "power User" (pun intended).