| reply to danawhitaker
Re: We knew this already... said by danawhitaker:Most things on the internet do not need your real name attached to them. When you walk into a physical store, you don't automatically broadcast your full name and other personal details to them. You might carry an ID on you, but, if you're just shopping at Target, for instance, no one knows your real name just by looking at you. You can pay in cash, and go on your merry way with your purchases. No one knows who you are. If you commit a crime while there, they'll have certain information about you that helps them track you down - your footage on a security camera, a license plate number from your car in the parking lot - but they don't directly have your real name. Neither does that random person you meet in the bar, have a one night stand with, never give your name to, and never see again. That's what bugs me about the comparisons to how we have no anonymity in the real world. Sure we do. No one walks around with their name plastered on their shirt or glowing above their head in neon letters. In some ways, you almost have more anonymity, because if you pay in cash for everything, you really are off the grid. Everything we do under our online personas is already attached to usernames/usernames and can be traced back to an ISP. Whenever we participate in an online forum like this, or buy something, some kind of identifying information is available about us. Not so in the "real world". I can have conversations with people I don't know and never reveal my identity. Do you announce your name and address to the person you pass on the bike trail and stop to discuss the weather with? Highly unlikely. Short of following the person to see where they live, or asking their name, you'll never know who they are. How do you trace someone when they are using open wifi? Where i am sitting right now, i can see 6 open wifi to which i can connect. How do you trace someone in that case? |
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| You might want to think you're anonymous and maybe you are more so than the average user, but given enough time and computing power a discernible pattern will emerge regarding your online activities resulting in you being traced just like anyone else would. Only difference is it might take a bit longer. |
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 danawhitakerSpace...The Final FrontierPremium
join:2002-03-02
Urbandale, IA | reply to silentlooker
Open wifi at home, or at a public place? If it's a public place, and I were with law enforcement, I'd contact the businesses in question and check security footage in and around the vicinity of the open wifi for people who might be accessing the system. If it were in a residential area, and I were investigating a crime, I'd try to get any information I could from the owner of the connection about who was accessing it at that time. I maybe couldn't find you specifically, directly, but I could sure narrow down the search.
You're in the minority. Most people aren't doing that. Most people have some kind of stable internet connection, at home, at work, etc. Though, I admit, that's definitely undergoing a shift as people get more and more mobile devices like iPhones and iPads. But with the sheer number of cameras around, I'd never be arrogant enough to assume no one could have at least a start on tracking me down. You're still leaving a trail on whatever connection you *were* using.
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You're watching Sports Night on CSC so stick around... |
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| reply to silentlooker
If you're really interested in tracking someone, you can track someone by MAC Address or by physical surveillance. Like someone else said were all so boring it's not worth it, besides I don't think the FBI has enough manpower to follow everyone around.
Speaking of name glowing in neon above your head, awesome novels by Daniel Suarez, Daemon and Freedom™ have names floating above people's heads. Haha! |
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| said by ZachAttack:If you're really interested in tracking someone, you can track someone by MAC Address or by physical surveillance. Like someone else said were all so boring it's not worth it, besides I don't think the FBI has enough manpower to follow everyone around. Speaking of name glowing in neon above your head, awesome novels by Daniel Suarez, Daemon and Freedom™ have names floating above people's heads. Haha! Mac address easy to change so that is kind of hard. It's true that following everyone around is nearly impossible. |
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 AVDRespice, Adspice, ProspicePremium
join:2003-02-06
Onion, NJ | said by silentlooker:said by ZachAttack:If you're really interested in tracking someone, you can track someone by MAC Address or by physical surveillance. Like someone else said were all so boring it's not worth it, besides I don't think the FBI has enough manpower to follow everyone around. Speaking of name glowing in neon above your head, awesome novels by Daniel Suarez, Daemon and Freedom™ have names floating above people's heads. Haha! Mac address easy to change so that is kind of hard. It's true that following everyone around is nearly impossible. Until you log into your email, and give away the store.
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standard disclaimers apply. |
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 DavePR
join:2008-06-04
Canyon Country, CA | reply to ZachAttack
If it was just the FBI I'd have no problem. It's the corporate types that scare me, not the cops. |
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 VR LauraQueen Of CyberspacePremium
join:2002-02-10
NYC | reply to silentlooker
said by silentlooker:How do you trace someone when they are using open wifi? Where i am sitting right now, i can see 6 open wifi to which i can connect. How do you trace someone in that case? I think the point is that they can build a profile about you. E.g., if while you're on that open WIFI and logging in to DSLR's forum, then what you've just posted becomes part of the profile for the username associated with it. And yes, not everyone using an open WIFI posts anonymously. Vanity prevents that.
OTOH, if when using an open WIFI connection you only browse the internet and don't log into any website, e.g. your bank, messageboards or your e-mail account via a browser, then you're "safe" from "snooping", or at least safe from what you've just done online getting "added" to your "profile".
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»www.queenofcyberspace.com/usenet |
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