Things You'll Need:
- a good memory
- awareness of your internet activity
- vigilance
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Step 1
What I am here to help you with is NOT protecting your bank account or credit information. Rather, I will protect you from more seedy attempts to ferret out your so-called "dirty little secrets" or perhaps those interests and website visits that you'd rather no one know about.
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Step 2
The most important thing you can do to keep your primary presence (the one you show to your friends, family, co-workers, etc) safe, is to NEVER use your primary e-mail address to log into, for example, porn sites or gambling sites. Though it is difficult to find people on those sites, it can be done. Create an entirely different e-mail address for ANYTHING that you do not wish to be discovered by prying eyes.
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Step 3
Create different user names for every site you visit. Try to make them unique so that they won't give clues as to who you are. Combinations of letters and numbers are good. However, don't call yourself "laguy61272" (assuming that 6/12/72 is your birthday and you live in Los Angeles). Yes, I'm sure there are lots of guys in LA with that birthdate, but it just makes it more likely that it is you.
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Step 4
There are more and more instances of employers and potential employers searching for peoples' Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter profiles, to see what sort of person you are. If you must have one or both of these, set them to private, or to only viewable by friends that you have approved. You may even want to use an anonymous picture rather than a real photo of yourself. Facebook gives a lot of control, even among your friends, over who sees what content on your page.
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Step 5
Don't forget sites like eBay and Amazon. Most everyone has either bought or sold something on them, and most likely are using your primary e-mail address. That e-mail address is searchable on both sites. EBay is a bit more difficult to glean information from; however, Amazon will show your "wish list" to anyone, and any book reviews or comments you have made. If you are buying books on how to change careers, write resumes, etc, your boss may find your activity and discover that you are planning to change jobs. Not likely, but possible. So, for these sorts of heavily-used shopping sites, create a different e-mail account.
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Step 6
Protect your blog. If you have a blog on Livejournal, blogger.com or one of the other blog sites, set it up with a unique e-mail address and user name. Choose who will be able to view it. If you leave it open, anyone can read that you hate your boss, that you lost a thousand dollars at the casino last week, or that you are cheating on your spouse with that hot guy at work. Yes, people ARE stupid enough to write such things in a public blog, and worse. Better yet, if you must blog about your not-so-honorable exploits, create a different "secret" blog. You can even set it to be viewable only by yourself, if you are using it as a personal diary.
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Step 7
Message boards and groups are other places where you can be vulnerable. Again, use a different e-mail address and user name if you join a board or group that you don't want people to discover. Don't post your real photo. And of course, never reveal where you live or work.
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Step 8
Don't forget IP addresses. Some message boards and groups display IP addresses on each post. All it takes for a suspicious friend or relative to confirm that it is you is to look at the full header on any e-mail they've received from you and find your IP address. If it matches up with the message board.... you are outed.
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Step 9
You can probably think of other internet activities that may be found by someone who likes to search for them. Believe me, if someone finds embarrassing dirt on you, it can turn your life upside down. Use a little care and common sense, and you can prevent a lot of heartache for yourself.
