Doxxing defense: Remove your personal info from data brokers • Hacker News Board

Re: Doxxing defense: Remove your personal info from data brokers

#131

Post by gcb0 » Thu, Nov 20, 2014, 8:54 PM UTC

pasbesoin wrote: post #105

People who can afford to are going to begin hiding behind shell corporations. Houses, other assets, etc. will be corporate-owned, with suitable non-descriptive names and corporate addresses. In fact, this is already occurring, although a prime driver has been a form of trust that reduces taxes particularly inheritance taxes. I'm not familiar with what e.g. Hollywood celebrities do, but at a guess many of them are lik…

agreed. most of the data those companies had on my name were from utilities, insurance, etc.

and most of them aggregated people with my common name in several states.

they had a lot of info, but also a lot of wrong info. all mixed together. i send removals for all entries, mine and otherwise :)

Re: Doxxing defense: Remove your personal info from data brokers

#132

Post by doctorfoo » Thu, Nov 20, 2014, 9:10 PM UTC

rudolf0 wrote: post #114

doctorfoo wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the bias in the media. GamerGate supporters are painted uniformly as misogynists. There is a legitimate argument about press ethics, freedom of speech, and whether appreciating an attractive body is the same as objectification. >justify some pretty terrible actions I'm asking that the terrible actions of BOTH sides are reported. There is an awful, hateful minority on both sides, but in the mainstream media, only…

I actually don't really think so. The people sending death threats and harassment to "anti-GamerGate" and the people sending death threats and harassment to "GamerGate" are not members of the opposing side or the same side. They're all the same people: Internet trolls who see a grand opportunity.

Irrespective of whether they are indeed a part of a given side, they are one-sidedly being described in the media as such.

Re: Doxxing defense: Remove your personal info from data brokers

#133

Post by doctorfoo » Thu, Nov 20, 2014, 9:15 PM UTC

pistle wrote: post #121

doctorfoo wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the bias in the media. GamerGate supporters are painted uniformly as misogynists. There is a legitimate argument about press ethics, freedom of speech, and whether appreciating an attractive body is the same as objectification. >justify some pretty terrible actions I'm asking that the terrible actions of BOTH sides are reported. There is an awful, hateful minority on both sides, but in the mainstream media, only…

Any non-misogynist Gamergaters (are there any?) don't get "it" or the media. Maybe in some weird deconstruction of "equality," so long as you can provoke a response, you can plead "they were mean too!" But, most people know who threw a punch first and who keeps throwing punches below the belt from their painful, awkward youth. The framing of the situation is not within the control of those who started the mess. Fewer…

> Any non-misogynist Gamergaters (are there any?)

Yes, there are. The majority, in fact. And there are a fair few women in the movement too, but I suppose you think they are poor deluded fools who are oppressing themselves and need the guiding arm of the authoritarian left (including its legions of male feminists) to help them think proper thoughts.

Re: Doxxing defense: Remove your personal info from data brokers

#134

Post by doctorfoo » Thu, Nov 20, 2014, 9:22 PM UTC

eli wrote: post #98

mason240 wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you feel any cognitive dissonance when typing that?

Not at all. Maybe you misunderstood me? Violent threats are totally unacceptable and cannot be justified by pointing to other instances of violence.

I vaguely hinted at supporting GamerGate, and this was enough for you to slander me as "trying to justify some pretty terrible actions". At no point did I attempt to justify any violent threats; quite the opposite, I simply pointed out more violent threats and suggested they should be given equal reporting.

The article in question could have addressed the real issue of doxing and online threats without taking a side in this political GamerGate fiasco.

Re: Doxxing defense: Remove your personal info from data brokers

#135

Post by hackuser » Thu, Nov 20, 2014, 9:26 PM UTC

jn1234 wrote: post #113

hackuser wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The electricity provider here requires the use of 'smart meters' (that is, if you want to use their electricity). Via smart meters, they can identify what electrical appliances are used in your house and when (and possibly even how you are using them, such as what TV show you are watching), giving them a good picture of everything that goes on in the privacy of your home.[1] There is no opt-out. They have this inform…

Except is that information public? That information actually has an extremely legitimate use, which is to better manage peak grid usage and how to optimize that.

> Except is that information public?

I don't think it needs to be easily accessible to the public to be problematic. Many people, including businesses and government, can have access. The electricity vendor has little incentive to protect it, to scrutinize government requests, etc. Recent NY Times articles describe the US Postal Service accepting almost all law enforcement requests for information on their customers.

Also, data has a way of leaking ...

> That information actually has an extremely legitimate use, which is to better manage peak grid usage and how to optimize that.

I do see a benefit to it, but 1) It should be anonymized and minimized. For example, how about aggregating data about usage on my block and storing that? Cleaning it of anything that violates privacy, such as high-resolution individual signals? 2) My privacy is a higher priority than their technical benefits; there's an assumption (maybe not by you) that whenever there's a tradeoff, privacy doesn't amount to much -- this is money we're talking about, after all.

Re: Doxxing defense: Remove your personal info from data brokers

#136

Post by ForHackernews » Thu, Nov 20, 2014, 9:27 PM UTC

thinkling wrote: post #126

rl3 wrote: post #4

The fact most of these sites even have opt-out mechanisms, and that they're apparently effective, is surprising and quite nice. Though, I suspect this became the case out of necessity as a result of horror stories and litigation.

I only looked at Spokeo, the first site on the list in the article. To opt out, you have to give Spokeo your email address, they send you a link, and you click the link to be delisted. Why does Spokeo make it so easy? The only answer I can think of is that they now have your email address and value that. Draw your own conclusions...

I used a fake email address.

Re: Doxxing defense: Remove your personal info from data brokers

#137

Post by doctorfoo » Thu, Nov 20, 2014, 9:39 PM UTC

snowwrestler wrote: post #57

doctorfoo wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the bias in the media. GamerGate supporters are painted uniformly as misogynists. There is a legitimate argument about press ethics, freedom of speech, and whether appreciating an attractive body is the same as objectification. >justify some pretty terrible actions I'm asking that the terrible actions of BOTH sides are reported. There is an awful, hateful minority on both sides, but in the mainstream media, only…

> whether appreciating an attractive body is the same as objectification I know this is off-topic, but the statement above is literally objectification, because it refers to a body (which is an object) instead of a person.

No, it is not. If I thought the owner of said body had no value other than their body, you would be correct.

You can appreciate a persons body, you can appreciate a persons personality. Doing the former doesn't magically invalidate the latter. That I appreciated just the body with a glance, at a point in time, doesn't mean the women has no worth other than this.

If I went around saying women had no value other than for pleasuring a man - now that would be objectification. I do not think that.

Re: Doxxing defense: Remove your personal info from data brokers

#138

Post by rudolf0 » Thu, Nov 20, 2014, 10:02 PM UTC

doctorfoo wrote: post #132

rudolf0 wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually don't really think so. The people sending death threats and harassment to "anti-GamerGate" and the people sending death threats and harassment to "GamerGate" are not members of the opposing side or the same side. They're all the same people: Internet trolls who see a grand opportunity.

Irrespective of whether they are indeed a part of a given side, they are one-sidedly being described in the media as such.

I agree.

Re: Doxxing defense: Remove your personal info from data brokers

#139

Post by mafribe » Thu, Nov 20, 2014, 10:12 PM UTC

rudolf0 wrote: post #112

ceejayoz wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sure all the folks claiming @femfreq made up her death threats will be equally skeptical about this one.

"KingOfPol" is known for lying and generally being not too mentally stable, so it's certainly not a stretch. Sarkeesian on the other hand is unlikely to lie about such things, but there was clearly some exaggeration involved.

Why is Sarkeesian "unlikely to lie about such things"?

Re: Doxxing defense: Remove your personal info from data brokers

#140

Post by shadowfox » Thu, Nov 20, 2014, 10:17 PM UTC

peterwwillis wrote: post #62

I don't think this is an effective defense. First of all, doxing works the same way private investigators do, so they do not require one-stop-shopping data banks. Social engineering and public records searches usually give you everything you need and are free. Second, if you're coming from the standpoint of a feminist decrying the ails of an oppressive society, you are pissing people off that will be motivated in att…

> IMO, the only defense against doxing is to dox yourself. Doxing is just a form of intimidation, after all, usually done by people who think publicizing some "secret information" will be taken as a vague threat. Make the information public and you remove their ammunition.

> To me, the best defense against a troll is being completely nonchalant and not giving a shit what they do. Hacked my accounts? Oh well, it's just an account, i'll make another. Sent me death threats? Hey, life is short and we all die some time.

I am clearly a little less nonchalant than you. But I don't feel all that inclined to publicly post my home address or my kid's school address or scout camp location.