[Public-List] Privacy Issues?

[John Riley]

Brennan Carney wrote:
> As to tracking, I seriously
> do not see how the corporate world could use my fondness for old boats to
> their marketing advantage.
>   

Not to veer to far off the sailing topic here, but that's not thinking
like someone who WANTS that information.  It's an easy thing to set up
computers to data mine - cross correlate information from one site to
another.

So, you post about boats here, and maybe somewhere else you just
casually mention that you like old boats...alberg 30  in particular, and
what have you posted on that other site?  What threads of connectivity
exist that taken solely don't amount to much, but taken together amount
to a pretty decent "profile" of not only your online browsing habits,
but also usable information.

Far fetched?

Not really.  Been digging into the whitehat security game for a couple
of decades, and this sort of thing has been known for a very long time.

Remember, they don't have to know who you are to use your information
either (a) for their gain or (b) against you.

Facebook is bad in this regard because it encourages people to 'share'
information with "friends."  It conditions people to ignore (or at least
underestimate) the problems with 'computer security' on the Internet.

I think there is a very real reason why my brother in law was asked if
he EVER even viewed a Facebook page, and if he had, it would have cost
him his security clearance and thus his present job.

Back to sailing, or in my case, dreaming about sailing.

-- 
John S. Riley
S/V Gaelic Sea
1972 Alberg 30 #521


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