Younger members, please read

[goldenspines]

*gives Nate a golden star*
You make a awesome point, Nate.
It's sad to see so many people revealing they're whole lives on the internet, totally unaware a that someone like Nate could be stalking them.

[soul alive]

So true - thanks for the warning, Nate.

Another scary thing is Facebook - while it is a networking website, it's now open to anyone, not just students... though you can make your information available only to friends, something I highly recommend doing.

Thankfully, I should be fairly hard to track down where I'm currently living - going to college out of state, no local phone number, no listed address.

[samuraidragon]

Thankfully, I should be fairly hard to track down where I'm currently living - going to college out of state, no local phone number, no listed address.

Ditto. I homeschool, I have an unlisted number and address, I live in a large city.

With what Nate said though, I read a story recently where a stalker-type used only a photo and the name of a girl's city to find her. Albeit it took him quite a while as he was looking pretty hard-core.
Don't everybody freak out though, it was one of those they-where-chatting-together-online-and-she-gave-him-her-picture things, there probably isn't much danger in just posting your picture online. Which reminds me to say, if someone on a chat or something makes you uncomfortable, or seems not quite right, don't continue to talk to them.

[AsianBlossom]

Thanks for posting this. This is why I won't even make my age public on here.

[Mithrandir]

I hate to rain on the "picture without location is OK" parade, but if you click a link on someone's forum/blog/etc, you may as well be giving your town away. The IP address you view the page from is sent everytime you look at a webpage, etc. Since you guys visit my server, I can see every town you come from. If I examine the packets more closely, I can see every switch your data packets come from - this lets me track the internet route the packet took and narrow down exact local and in some cases get within a thousand feet of where you were using the internet.

And you don't have to be a computer geek to get this information. There are websites where you can just give the iP address to the site and get all the pertanent data back.

Just be cautious how much you trust people, out there.

- Mithrandir

[Phantom_Sorano]

Wow. That's interesting. Younger members need to really careful not only on this this site, but other sites not as safe as this....mainly Myspace. There have been girls tracked down and raped from what they considered "harmless" information on Myspace. That's all I have to say, really, most of it has already been mentioned. Just be careful.

[Alice]

I wonder about this stuff sometimes.

I'm definitely not a kid anymore, (25), but I'm not always sure how much I should post my name on the internet.

On the one hand, as a writer, I should want my name "out there." And lots of authors do have websites, and it works fine for them.

But part of me is wary of posting anything like my name, or picture... or in some places, even my gender.

[Sonicbomb77]

Since I first used a forum sometime, prolly in 2003 or sooner, I always thought this was obvious, yet even to this day I still here parents saying this. Its rather sad that no one listens or better yet sees why they should listen. I don't need to be shown an experiment to believe it, I know that kids these days know and have known the capabilities of the internet, but I suppose the reason why they still do it is the common refrence of "It won't happen to me" which then bugs me because then I would have to ask, why risk it? :\ What makes you so much more special because you have now pinpointed yourself to a recently made friend you made in a country several thousand miles away (or w/e they say about themselves).

This has to be one of the few topics I hate to bring up because it makes me feel like im extra stupid living in this generation.

And yes this topic did just cause me to rant >: (

EDIT: cleaned up most of the pointless ranting stuff to get to the point faster.

[rocklobster]

I feel the same way. I mean, why does the Superman suit have to have the stupid "Cape does not enable user to fly" warning.

[Casull]

I didn't read any other posts, just the main post in the thread))

Tracking IS awfully easy. I played a game with a guy from CA once -just for fun!- . I found him a few minuets before he found me along with high school pictures of him (he's not a kid (23) don't ask ;P ) , the tracking took about five minuets. the point is all these people out there are so afraid of being "stalked" and yet someone wouldn't have to actually do much at all to know where they are, it's crazy.

people may want to try to track themselves with google, or something else -like I did- with the information given on a profile they might have online. if they don't have one, just track with info you might give out. try it!

I've found that there are three ways to find me... but I'm not telling ;P if you find them, you're good.

now once you find your kinks, learn them, and cut them off if you can/wish.

as a side note: I am not a stalker, tracker, whatever! some people actually think I am, and it's not true! I respect the privacy of where people live! I may know how but I am not at all tempted to find/track ANYONE so leave me alone! if you have concerns you may PM them to me.

also, this thread is not at all to suggest you should stalk/track other people, even me. thank you

thanks for postin' this thread Nate.

[Reba]

Yes Nate, Good point..I was wondering though...Since I don't go to public school and I'm not even a registered home schooler, Could you still find me?

[rsnumber2]

I hate to rain on the "picture without location is OK" parade, but if you click a link on someone's forum/blog/etc, you may as well be giving your town away. The IP address you view the page from is sent everytime you look at a webpage, etc. Since you guys visit my server, I can see every town you come from. If I examine the packets more closely, I can see every switch your data packets come from - this lets me track the internet route the packet took and narrow down exact local and in some cases get within a thousand feet of where you were using the internet.

And you don't have to be a computer geek to get this information. There are websites where you can just give the iP address to the site and get all the pertanent data back.

Just be cautious how much you trust people, out there.

- Mithrandir

I'm not all that IT savvy, but I have an account at statcounter.com. Everyday I pull it up just to see how many hits I got on my websites. It shows the town that the viewer came through (sometimes it is way off). It even has a google map type feature that shows balloons over each visitor. Althought I wouldn't use this info for ill will, it could be done in the wrong hands. On the other hand it is quite useful. For my father's business, we can see where to concentrate advertising (if traffic is steady) or increase advertising (if business shows signs of decreasing). I use it to track my freinds to see if they had visited regularly. It's also interesting to see how far across the globe your little page can be pulled up.

[Casull]

Yes Nate, Good point..I was wondering though...Since I don't go to public school and I'm not even a registered home schooler, Could you still find me?

Well.. I'm not Nate but, yes, it is possible. but a school makes it much more easy to at the very least pin-point your location during school hours.

Nate, anything to say? *shrugs* sorry. lol

[Sonicbomb77]

yes you would still be able to be found, just prolly not as easy. Your registered into the system at birth, and tho it may not be in records until age 18 of your exact whereabouts, the census would know about your parents and thus youd be expected to be with them.

Also, I believe private school is the same as public school as in the county has data regarding you and your whereabouts. Might be the same for orphanges :\

[Miss WWE 2007]

Interesting...we do have to be careful...

[Mave]

This certainly encourages us not to make enemies online as well. It's not like I want someone who hates my guts to track me down right at my own doorstep. You know what I mean?

......No, I do not hate anyone enough to do this. Neither have I had anyone hate me enough to do this. <.<;;; It's just a random thought.

On a more light-hearted/joking note, never invoke the wrath of OldMith. You'll never know when you'll find him at your doorstep, only to have him greet you with a solid fish-slap on the cheek (an old salmon in particular), yelling "Quit PM-spamming me and leaving smart-S remarks on CAA, you Internet junkie brat. I'm [] this close to hacking your school records and ensuring that you'll never graduate. EVA."

XDDDD

[Mithrandir]

...




That only happend ONCE!!!

[Tommy]

Just to clarify, when someone says they're from Boston it usually means the Boston area.

I don't live in the city of Boston specifically but rather one of the many towns in the Boston area.

Just thought I would let you know in case the person Nate "experimented" on was me.

[Kenshin17]

And what if our router is set up for NAT? Does this not muddle with ones ability in realtion to IP tracking?

[Mithrandir]

And what if our router is set up for NAT? Does this not muddle with ones ability in realtion to IP tracking?

On a consumer model DLS/cable router, that won't help in the slightest. It hides your INTERNAL IP address, but not your external. The external IP on your router is still linked to your ISP.

e.g., You could be tracked to your house, but not to your bedroom.

[Kenshin17]

Thats what I figured after I thought about how NAT works. Kinda answered my own question.

[Seppuku]

^^ i agree even though i have mine posted XD

[JesusFreak84]

My reply is a little late in the game, but this is definatly an important thread, one I'm quite glad to see stickied.

And yes, Mith can track you pretty close to where your buns are planted in front of the computer. (*Cough*.hack* ) One solution would be to install Tor (The Onion Router,) or just use TorPark (Firefox + Tor, all configured and ready to go right "out of the box," so to speak. Also runs on a USB key.) There are also many anonymizing {sp?!} websites out there, but I don't know how good any of those are. Things also get weird when you access from a school network. >_> Anyway, that's a solution to that. Also all the stuff already posted.

Stay safe, folks! ^_^

[Cardinalman]

I agree because if they know these things they could track you down and things could happen before you knew it

[Little T-chan]

Wowww...X_X; Good thing I've always been cautious about giving out my personal information ! *pats self on head* Be careful, everyone!! <3

[RubyJewelStone]

They shall nevar find mah computer chair! *spins*

My city is too big anyways. And technically it isn't named what everyone calls it, and all kinds of confusing stuff like that...>.<

The only problem is when the church/school/organizations put stuff up. That's why I make sure not to put my last name.

[HyperSock]

Um... Wow...

Uh, I know I'm not supposed to give out personal infos and stuff.

And I'm a little kid.

And I can juggle.

[Sohma]

I'm very glad you posted this. My family watches the news quite often and we see what can happen to kids who give out thier info. They talk to me and my siblings about these things so we know the dos and don'ts of the internet. And we wouldn't dare go against these rules for the things we see happening everyday. I hope this shows others the dangers of the internet.
I honestly didn't know if there were other members my age around CAA but I'm glad to know now that there are! (;

[Sanji07]

I completely agree. You deserve a plum. ^_^

[eternalprincess]

Good point made.

I never post anything besides my Sate or First name. On any of the forums I am on.