Discussion on security when using IM

beach

Fine this is an off topic subject as far as this sites main theme is concerned. I know there’s a thread discussing about using the real name in the site too.

Far from a personal name, looking at a few incidents happened recently, I thought of opening a thread to personal security issues on online.

We’ve at the forum rules somewhere a piece of advice against giving out personal details. The trouble is, this is a traveler’s site. Means a lot of personal subjects naturally creeps in to solicit the best advice. The locations, the plans, family, career,…..all some how or other get revealed. For a casual user, these are trivial little info like every one would have. But if someone who is stalking or with malicious intend, these are very vital details.

On other kinds of forums (ex. Photography, politics, professional topics, etc) you may not reveal too much of clues on personal identity and details thanks to the nature of the discussions itself.

So there are two points I would be interested in to bring in.

Where do we draw the line on giving out details?
Ok, though it’s a personal choice and depends on once situation, to what extend people can go ‘safely’ in being ‘public’

The second issue is about the ‘dangerous’. We have heard enough about the troubles people are facing due to Internet related stalking etc. Though they are real and present, is it really a monster that sits next to your doorstep. I mean, the extreme cases get a lot of news attentions.

What exactly are the known ‘dangerous’ people are exposed to?

This is a site that doesn’t involve any thing on money transactions. So it looks like the frauds of credit cards or bank accounts may not be a big issue here. I think that’s the biggest scam over the net. Apart from this what are the kinds of troubles people are exposed in using a site like IM.

I think many of the IM members are not very IT savvy. At least knowing things and projecting the sites alertness looks like a prudent thing to do, both in all the members being aware of things and also in sending a message to people with mischief to not to waste their time here.

Please share your views on this.

The hallmark of this site has been its openness and friendliness. Let that not be drifted away because of some odd antisocial elements, how they are known in India!

Prof. Lionel Aranha

I have always used my real name/identity while communicating on IM.

So far so good. I haven't had any problems whatsoever; though on one ocassion a member from Kerala; who could not figure out my gender; asked for my gender in the chatroom. When he knew that I was male (like him) he faded out without the customary byes. This guy's english was bad and I concluded that he was a stalker and not a serious IMer.

Now for a lady there would have been a problem if she has used her real name/identity.

I believe that one has to be cautious......

snowcrab

There have been problems with females presenting as older than they really are- twenties instead of twelve, agreeing to meet in person guys presenting as younger than they are, twenties instead of fourty. That's not a good situation especially if the girl isn't savy enough to insist on a public meeting spot. But with an international forum like this, that might be sort of difficult to achieve.

The other thing is revealing sensitive data that may get to the wrong eyes and provide fuel for blackmail. I think everybody really has to remember that everything they send off to a public board is in the public domain, just as if they had printed in a newspaper and distributed it on the street, and every bit as hard to recall as well.

Private email is not really a lot more private either. ISP's have given themselves sweeping powers to inspect all traffic on their service in search of individuals using their service wrongfully and governments, at least some of them, feel perfectly free to seize any server they want anywhere. The US secret service went into a UK website hosting service and seized servers with the European Indimedia files on them, shut down delivery temporarily to fourteen different European countries under the guise of it's "War on Terror".

The big security issue with India Mike I think would be if spammers were to hack into their list of residential e-mails. What a bonanza, 6000 addresses of known international travelers, can you imagine the deluge of spam (possibly with trojan attachments) we all would be getting if that happened? Whew!

ploink

I usually don't tell much about myself on even the most friendliest forums, and that's why I'm usually not among the most popular members either. The internet is great for sharing information, meeting people, and what not, but unfortunately, it's also great for hassling people,... No need to tell you more about it. I prefer peace of mind. Admittedly, some people I know would be able to recognise me on the basis of my profile and posts. I did hesitate before choosing to show my gender (female) on this forum, because it really does matter. For example, I've received a couple of "wannabefriends" PMs from members who've a couple of posts only. Maybe I'm heartless, but I've chosen to ignore these PMs. No offence. I'm sure Mr. ploink will approve.

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Indojingai

Not posting your precise address, names, IDs or any ways to reach you in perosn will be a good start.

And yes women will have to be more cautious ... just like the offline world.
(C'est la vie.)

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