On Thursday I needled one of my friends about his use of a pseudonym and an avatar that didn’t show his face. He suggested I did a Google search on him. Which I did.
Total time:
under 2 minutes
Overall result:Scary – within one commandline search and two clicks I was, metaphorically speaking, inside his living room.
This dude runs his personal domain under a pseudonym. Hence =>
First stop:
whois -H domainname
Result:
real name, street address, phone number and primary email – poof goes the pseudonym
Second stop:
Google Maps
Result:
street map, satellite picture and link to a real-estate listing
Third stop:
Real-estate listing
Result:
detailled pictures of a condo in the same complex as my friend’s. A comparison with a video posted to YouTube by my friend shows an almost identical view from the front room window. Enough similarity to deduce that the condo on sale is on the same floor across the corridor from my friend’s.
Secondary Result:
Thanks to the estate agent’s use of Wells Fargo Price Tracking one also saw that real-estate prices in this neighbourhood took a nosedive between July and September of this year. This particular condo’s asking price plummeted from 29k to 14k. A tidbit that your bankmanger might find interesting when re-evaluating that loan you secured with title to your condo.
Conclusion:
Say farewell to your privacy the moment you register your own domain.
Posted by dozykraut 