revealing actual address

[N/A]

what's the risk of revealing your identity and address in World Wide Web?

[Kassia]

you get world wide web recognition. which can be both good and bad...just depends what a person out there does with that information.

[Kubie]

And a mailbox full of spam
Carl

[cuffs007]

People do it all the time... over the web, the phone, thru the mail, at the local store... Personal info is always given out, but not with much thought... I always say BE CAREFUL, but not to become paranoid and introverted... Life is like a box of bargain computer components, you never know what you're gonna get

[Nuclear Krusader]

Originally posted by cuffs007 Life is like a box of bargain computer components, you never know what you're gonna get

True. And you never know how much that component you picked up will make you suffer.

[dldz]

Originally posted by Nuclear Krusader True. And you never know how much that component you picked up will make you suffer.

Ohh . . . . How true Nuclear K
just imagine if eveywhere you went in life you left a copy of your physical address,phone # etc .......

[Confused]

For me it depends upon who I'm dealing with. I have 2 hotmail accounts, one totally bogus as far as name and location (most people and sites get this), another with my name and address, for those that have a need to know. I use that one for trusted individuals, and sites that I order from. I use it mainly because mail is stored on MS site and limits my exposure to viruses. It's the rare individual that gets my ISP id., simply because many viruses populate by sending to everyone in the Outlook Express address book. And I DO NOT open attachments unless a trusted individual sends a seperate email informing me that the are sending a email with an attachment.
Chas
PS
Radio Shack thinks I'm Cash Sale and my phone number is dial-a-prayer and my address is 69 Nowhere Ln.

[Charger]

I'm like Confused. Whenever I have to fill out a form and I don't know what I'll be getting I always give an unused E-mail addy and an alias.

[N/A]

ok...i basically know that you should not give your personal info out to strangers.
but what is the RISK if a hacker or something that dont like get that?what danger she/he can cause me?

[dldz]

For one example my parents got a new puter and gave me the old one to part out etc. While digging around i found all sorts of stuff and on C:\ there was a folder called 'CCShipping info', so I open it and it had about 4 CC #'s with the experation everything!
And of course they're home address,full names. How dumb ? my dad said he kept it there for easy access. Well needless to say he doe'snt do it anymore.
Things like that could cause a person alot of heartache.

[doctorgonzo]

Like I have said before, it pretty much isn't worth worrying about. Far more damage can happen as a result of low-tech snooping. For example, mail theft is up 200% in the Twin Cities from a few years ago, as more and more people find that stealing credit card applications and checks from people's mailboxes is the easiest way to steal somebody's identity and money. I would be far more worried about somebody stealing my mail than somebody stealing my identity from the web.

That being said, simply be sensible. I haven't really made significant attempts at hiding by setting up false e-mail addresses and the like, and so far nothing has happened. Just a lot of spam, but who doesn't get that these days? Do common sense things like run a firewall, don't open unknown e-mail attachments, scan for virii and keep those virus definitions up to date. If you do all that, you will be doing about as much as you can as far as protecting yourself from your end.

[mbossman2]

From my life in running a Frauds department at a bank:

Never give out any more personal information than you absolutely have to. With only a few pieces of information (say your name or address) and a dumb/trusting customer service agent at a company(say a bank), someone can completely ruin your credit life. In addition, by publishing any of your personal information, you may, inadvertantly, have given the final piece to the puzzle.

[N/A]

Then whats the point of WhoIs?
my friend had his web site up for his clan.he didnt even knew that i could find this real name,phone number,address.
Not good.

[doctorgonzo]

Originally posted by N/A Then whats the point of WhoIs? my friend had his web site up for his clan.he didnt even knew that i could find this real name,phone number,address. Not good.

That's not really a big deal. Unless your friend isn't in the phone book, doesn't have a drivers license, doesn't vote, doesn't have a credit card, doesn't go to school, doesn't have a birth certificate, and a bunch of other stuff, the whois directory entry probably isn't revealing anything that people can find out from other sources. Go to Google and type in your friend's name, or your own. Most people are surprised at what comes up.

The information in a whois database isn't all that dangerous. More dangerous is a paycheck stub or a credit card application that you throw in the trash and somebody steals.