With all the photos and disclosure of personal stacks on SS, I have been considering the security implications of divulging such info on a web forum. GP could you or one of the other computer legends please advise me on the possibility of having members personal details or home location compromised? Is this in any way possible? Im aware that you can locate country of origin but can you or an evil malignant force pinpoint precise locations? or acquire other identifying details through SS? Thanks
+1 I would say the biggest security risk would be gaining access to PM inboxes, this would containing delivery addresses (home addresses etc) of SS members. Quick browse as a member in Pic threads would give you an idea of what they have.
F2F sales in public places only Poboxes for deliveries no real names no posts about how many oz you have no posts with pictures of your stack purge inbox regularly (already taken care of by gp) just off the top of my head =)
Through IP addresses I can resolve a country, sometimes capital city, and the ISP, that's about it. The only way an IP address can be resolved to a home address is by the ISP (e.g. if the information was subpoenaed for a criminal investigation etc), and that requires both the IP address and a corresponding timestamp. This information is disclosed in the forum rules. Members cannot see your IP address, only myself as administrator. Now if you openly state that you're "Bob from Wangaratta", get parcels mailed to your home address, or give out direct deposit details with your account name and you're in the White Pages etc, then you can inadvertently divulge enough information to allow someone to identify yourself.
- Never store your PMs at home. - If you have to store it at home or close to you. Get it mailed to work or another family members address (ie. Live in different address, post to your family members address or PO Box). Delete Private Message's when no longer required. (Is there a way to backup Private Message's to local computer? Then delete) Slam
Ok thanks for that. I'm not concerned about the details people willing divulge, that's their choice. More the ISP tracking or external factors we cannot control. I'm an internet spud and am unaware of what abilities organised individuals or groups might have in tracking down the owners of some of these monster ( and very valuable stacks ) from their postings/ photos.
If you're concerned about lurkers or other members who you have not traded with identifying you from your stack, they can't use "computer techniques" to track you through the forum. No IP addresses are divulged on the forum except to the administrator, and if a member emails you via the forum, they can't find out your email address unless you reply. The biggest danger is yourself giving out the information inadvertently. Also think about other forums or websites where you might use the same username, and give out more information there than you do here.
There is software that you use that will show you the extent of ip details. Have a look at iptracker or something like that. We used it in another forum to help identify spammers. I am confident as well by using some common sense in posts as well as general internet safety your risks would be low, however I would never say there aren't any risks.
There was a guy mouthing off on share/property forums who had said he was from Africa. Curious about his user name I searched on it, thinking it may have been some animal or such from that continent. Apparently not. The only hits with his unusual name were his posts on various forums including a lady-boy site where he was propositioning a transvestite. So be careful. LOL
Usernames aren't necessarily unique either - just look at Auspm/Austacker Is it Auspm? Or is it Austacker? do-do-doodoo!
I only did that to throw you off the sent hanrahan Feel free to trace my username...I think you'll be pleasantly disgusted ! :/