Youtube automatically forced me to use my real name without even the option to use a handle. I had the same handle for 6 years. I deleted every account today. I hope another startup thats worth a crap comes in to fill the void that is left by a corporation that wishes to reveal who we are to every psycho and nut case.
http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2011/01/10/Google-Forces-Youtube-Account-Linking.aspx
I don't have any accounts with Google but I have noticed that one of my hotmail accounts keeps on asking me for my address and phone number in order to decrease the chance of getting locked out of my account. I decline each time, but it reminds me of the amount of information out there on us. Recently, I took all my personal info off Facebook, and have even resisted "liking" many things just to give the robots as little as possible to go on. I haven't reached the point where I'm trying to erase all of my personal info from the net but generally try to avoid giving it out if it's not necessary. I'm interested in knowing how people on the board maintain any level of anonymity on the net.
The best way to avoid having personal information on the net is to not add any. A simple but very effective solution. You do not NEED Facebook or twitter or any of the other myriad "social networking" platforms. They all exists to track you, gather information and sell it to the highest bidder. Why place your personal information where you have absolutely NO CONTROL over what happens to it?
Yeah, I used to add pictures quite often. It's for friends in far away places, and I know I appreciate seeing what others are doing as well. The problem is. You are essentially documenting your life through photos then giving it away. In an age where photo-analysis is getting high tech, I can't imagine what the limits are to such an ocean of information about that many people.
The best way to avoid having personal information on the net is to not add any. A simple but very effective solution. You do not NEED Facebook or twitter or any of the other myriad "social networking" platforms. They all exists to track you, gather information and sell it to the highest bidder. Why place your personal information where you have absolutely NO CONTROL over what happens to it?
I give as little as possible to Google.
For websearch use
https://startpage.com/ or
http://duckduckgo.com/
The Firefox browser has an add-on called "collusion" which will display all the websites linked to the ones you have visited during any particular web session. It's just a little frightening how far your information can be broadcast in a very short time.
The sum of the intelligence on the planet is a constant; the population is growing.
i concur Perfesser,
duckduck is my first go to then startpage (ixquick)
check out 'noscript' and 'ghostery' to disable trackers and unwanted scripts on firefox
And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her;
for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones,...
and slaves, and souls of men.