security breaches in AO

[Outer_Heaven]

Okay, I've searched this site to ensure that this topic hasn't been posted before, and I haven't gotten any results saying it has, so I am going to ask it anyway.

In this thread here,
from last week, we got on that girl for posting her email address in the thread and made her remove it and threatened to ban her if she didn't.

If that's the case, why is it you can click on any given profile on this site and see their email address' and messenger handles displayed prominantly for everyone to view? And in fact, even if their email address' are not dispayed, the majority of those yahoo messenger handles and AIM handles are in fact email address'.

I know the majority of the members here are not displaying them, but I have noticed quite a few since I have been a memeber here, including senior members.

So why then do we even offer the option to display this information if it constitutes as a breach of security, and why are we not getting on those memebers who are doing this as severely as we got on that girl for?

[Negative]

- E-mail addressed aren't in someone's profile. You have the option to e-mail them through Antionline, but you won't know their e-mail addy.

- Member profiles are not available to non-members, so there's definitely a difference between someone's Yahoo/AIM info being in the profile and posting your e-mail addy in the forums (which are available to non-members).

- The people that have their Yahoo/AIM info in their profiles are people who LOVE to be bugged by hundreds of people...

I don't know if anyone threatened to ban her (didn't see it in that thread... may have overlooked it, though)... If someone posts his/her e-mail in a thread, he/she is probably going to be advised to remove it (for the first reason stated above) - that definitely goes for someone else's addy.

[Outer_Heaven]

What about this one?


But what I meant was that anyone here, on this site could get them and link them back to email address'. I know all you have to do for yahoo handle's is go to profiles.yahoo.com/whateverthehandleis and it will tell you if it is an email address or not.

I don't know if anyone threatened to ban her (didn't see it in that thread... may have overlooked it, though)...

You're right, it isn't there anymore. That person has since edited it, but I do remember that threat being made though.

[Negative]

I have an MSN account, but I've never ever used their e-mail service... so there's a difference between knowing someone's Messenger addy and being able to contact them through e-mail. If a person chooses to make his/her IM info public (although it can only be viewed by members, so it's not that public), that's their own choice.

Could you link me to the post where he/she was threatened to be banned?

[IKnowNot]

To ( humbly ) embellish on what Negative said, probably because we are a paranoid bunch and know that posts are searched by bots .....

Unless you are a member you can’t view the profiles to get the profile information you mention, thus the bots can’t either. ( That’s the idea anyway )

Leaving out the obvious psychos out there, way back when, spammers obtained addresses from running bots. ( or that’s the way I remember it, but my memory is fading lately. This business is growing too fast; I can remember things that happened in the third grade but I can’t remember what I had for lunch! .. I would of said breakfast, but I have the same thing for breakfast every day .. I think I had breakfast this morning .. never mind )

Plus you may not want every member ( not all are trustworthy unfortunately ) emailing you. You never know which one is going to put you on their AOL forward list and suddenly you are being spammed!

Hope this explains it.

[Outer_Heaven]

Plus you may not want every member ( not all are trustworthy unfortunately ) emailing you. You never know which one is going to put you on their AOL forward list and suddenly you are being spammed!

Hope this explains it.

Yes, I know why you are not supposed to post your email address and personal info in your profile. What I am saying is members are posting this information in their profiles, and if we got on that girl, who is a member, for posting her's in a thread, then why do we even allow members to post them in their profiles? And why are we not getting on those that do?

I know why you shouldn't post it. What I am trying to address is the fact that members are posting it in their profile anyway. In that post it was stated that giving out your name and email address here on this site, is like walking up to a total stranger on the street and telling them your name and home address, which is something that you would not want to do. And that posting your email address in a thread here is doing exactly the same thing, and if you wouldn't give out your name and home address to a total stranger on the street, then why would you give it out here on this site?

I realize that, what I am saying is that you can check any give profile, not all, again, as I said, the majority do not have them of the ones I've checked randomly, but I do remember a good number of them having them in there that I have seen since becoming a memeber. Semper Fi

[ikalo]

Outer Heaven:
Posting = writing a post in a thread (if this definition is not correct, please correct me)

So, you can't post any info in your profile! You can edit your profile, and that is not posting. Point is that everyone (including bots, web crawlers etc.) can read posts on this site, but only memebers can read someone's profile. Negative, did I get it right?

[Outer_Heaven]

Outer Heaven:
Posting = writing a post in a thread (if this definition is not correct, please correct me)

So, you can't post any info in your profile! You can edit your profile, and that is not posting. Point is that everyone (including bots, web crawlers etc.) can read posts on this site, but only memebers can read someone's profile. Negative, did I get it right?

But do you trust everyone on this site? That is the point I am trying to make. Yes, I KNOW ONLY MEMBERS CAN READ SOMEONE'S PROFILE. Do you trust/know every member on this site? We got on that girl for her posting her email address, in a thread. Yes, she was a member, and yes, only members can read view profiles. We're all members, but we got on her for doing that. But you can go to any given profile and you will sometimes see their email address, and more times than their email address, is their messenger handle, which for yahoo and AIM, more times than not, IS their email address, or one email address that they use. I just sent a PM to I KnowNot, demonstrating how I confirmed an email address that was a yahoo messenger handle on a profile I found not even 20 minutes ago. Not that it is hard to do, but I don't want really want to display that info on this thread, embarrassing anyone. But if have to in order to demonstrate, I will.

Again, I know only members can view someone's profile. That girl, and I know you posted on that thread so you know who I am talking about, was a member, we got on her and made her remove it. Then why on any given profile you check is that information allowed to be so prominantly displayed? Whether it is an email address or messenger handle, it is still leaving them vulnerable.

What point ARE you trying to make?

[IKnowNot]

Semper Fi you SOB

The profiles are available to members only, not bots ( again, supposedly ) but the threads are available to anyone surfing and to bots.

Members are subject to review of their initial membership qualifications which include email addresses. Although these may be forged, spoofed, or “ throw away” ( won’t get into techniques now ) it lowers the number of people who can access the information.

If a person wants to include other info in their profiles it is up to them. They should be aware; they are using a computer on the Internet, they should know there are some risks. They should also be aware, if they have come to this site, that there are problems with the Internet! If not they can read prior posts and they WILL know soon after joining and can adjust their profiles accordingly.

Also, as stated, this info is limited to members. As I have nothing to hide but am parinoid, don’t like SPAM, and am, on a DAILY basis familiar with identity fraud I have limited my information. ( what I wrote is correct. )

Ok, while writing this I got your PM.
The link you provided for the profile did not yield results. You need to consider the fact that the quick link starts with “ http:// “ remove that if you are going to past a URL.
I got by that, refer to the above answer.

Does this answer the question?
If not, PM me again, but it may be awhile before I answer as I am drunk and going to bed now.

[IKnowNot]

You posted while I was writing.

But do you trust everyone on this site?

Ask the TheSpecialist about that!!!