untangling_the_web

DOClD: 4046925
UNCLASSIFIEDNFOR OFFISIAb l:J8~ O~JbY
20 years, Date of Birth - including month, day, and year. Include print out of info.
to be removed.
If you actually provide this much detailed data, you may be opening yourself up to
identity theft. Furthermore, the Privacy Rights' page identifies twenty data vendors
who offer opt out policies and fifteen that do not. All the vendors who allow users to
try to remove personal information have their own procedures and requirements,
and even if you diligently follow all these steps and these vendors really do remove
the data, this still leaves many more vendors who will not remove your data as well
as new vendors, unknown vendors, and foreign vendors. However, that's not the
worst of it: "Opting out may prove to be a fruitless venture since often online vendors
will simply repopulate the data when they obtain their next download of information
from the source. According to People Data, their information is refreshed every three
to four months. Your only option would be to check back and go through the opt-out
process again if you find your information has been reposted.,,228 Unless and until
there is a way to get personal information out ofpublic databases, requesting
online data brokers to remove your information is probably counterproductive.
In short, trying to keep your personal data private will quickly turn into a full-time job,
you almost certainly will not fully succeed , and you will have to keep asking to have
your data removed over and over again. So what are we to do? If you are a victim of
domestic violence, stalking , or some other such crime, it is worth your time and
energy to try to keep your personal information off the Internet and out of these
databases. For the rest of us, prevention is the best approach. Guard your "holy
trinity" of personal data-name/date of birth, address, and Social Security Number.
Be especially leery of providing your Social Security Number. Most companies want
your business, and if you refuse to provide an SSN, they probably will still do
business with you rather than lose a customer. For now, it appears we are going to
have to live with the uneasy balance between privacy and the free flow of
information.
Understand the Pros and Cons of an Anonymizing Proxy
If you are truly concerned about revealing anything about yourself as you surf the
web , consider using an anonymizing proxy. A proxy is an agent that interfaces
between you and the Internet. Most proxies strip out all references to your IP
address. ' your location, your email, types of software you are using, and the
previously visited page (http-referrer). Some, such as Anonymizer, also let you
block cookies and disable scripts, both of which can potentially be used to track your
228 "Online Data Vendors : How Consumers Can Opt Out of Directory Assistance and Non-public
Information," Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, February 2006,
(12 September 2006).
UNCLASSIFIEDNFOR OFFl6IAL l:JSE ot.LY 601