TeddyR's Journal: I may have a stalker.... rant....

It seems that I have myself one of those internet stalkers.

Normally I would ignore the flame bait that such a stalker would be spewing, but in this particular case I have a very strong feeling that I know whom it may be. There are certain items that are public information, but others that very few know. Unfortunately I do not have 100% proof so I am not able to mention the persons name in a public forum like /.; and this person HAS shown very strong propensity for using their "good 'ol buddy" connections to sue people.

At first it was only on /., but recently it seems that the stalker has now decided to follow me and others onto other sites. All I can do is to request from the site webmasters the IP information for the messages.

Un/Fortunately most are refusing to send me the information without a law enforcement request. {There are mixed feelings on that matter for obvious reasons}. Since I work in the industry I know of the issues relating to computer and network security.

My next step might be to request an official restraining order be sent to them; but then I have to fill out a whole bunch of paperwork and such...

I have always known that having a presence on the internet meant that it would be easy for someone to find out some information about me.

This led me to do a quick set of "vanity searches" to see where my information has appeared.

The first place that I checked was google. It seems that google has now increased the offerings that it returns dramatically. Just for laughs, search for "yourname, city, state" and it may return your address and phone number. Google does have a way for you to "opt out" of the address/phone number feature.

Another search would be "email address" or "nickname".

There are several phone (forward or reverse) directories on the internet which may have your number.
http://www.att.com/directory/

Then there is the forgotten information that may still be in older databases and profiles from those IM services that you may have used once and forgot about. A perfect example is the information contained in the profiles of services like ICQ's whitepages. Things like Birthdates, phone numbers, etc.

If you have a domain name, then it is trivial to check the whois records for information about you (including email and phone number)

Then come all the "reunion" sites like classmates.com who may have bought or received access to old databases and alumni records.

"One of the most practical of our present safeguards of privacy is the fragmented nature of personal information. It is scattered in little bits across the geography and years of our life. Retrieval is impractical and often impossible. A central data bank removes completely this safeguard." Frank Horton

To paraphrase something I once heard.... I may be paranoid, but that does not mean that they are not after me....

It seems that the "internet" as a whole has become such a central data bank....