Find Personal Information about People

Posted by Cheryl in Knowledge, Search Engines, Security, The Web  Tags: , , , ,

26

Apr



The Internet is a big place with a lot of information. While most of it is helpful, there’s also a lot of rubbish. For example, social networking sites like Facebook can help you find long-lost school friends and keep in touch with them.

Then, there’s Pipl. The site is a search engine. Nothing different about that, you say. Except that you can use the site to search for people. It’s as easy as typing in a first and last name and basic info like state and country of residence. After that, sit back and wait for the results.

The creepy part is that you will actually find very personal information showing up. Depending on the kind of trail your target has left, you can get a list of addresses, telephone numbers, etc. You even come across direct links to profiles on the various social networking sites.

Pipl gathers all the information using sources from the ‘deep web’, which is essentially those parts of the web where web-crawlers from the average search engines like Google and Yahoo do not reach. This includes databases of personal profiles, public records and other people-related documents.

Frankly, I think a site like this is dangerous. Not only can a person be cyber stalked but also he or she can potentially be targeted physically as well. For most folks, Pipl may seem like a joke but there are plenty of unscrupulous individuals just waiting to take advantage of a goldmine like this.

I did not find much information about myself thankfully. But I also do not give out much personal information about myself. Not all people are as cautious though. And in the case of public records, you do not have much choice over what gets displayed.

How much information did you find out about yourself on Pipl? What do you think of these kinds of sites? What are some of the measures you take to protect your privacy online?


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11 Users Commented In This Post

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darkkosmos says:

I found 1 link that has my actually name on the search, I guess if you stay off facebook and myspace and other social sites you are good. (I use a second identity too xD)

Transcontinental says:

I’ve found very little information around my name, still a few links to posts I had committed declining full identity before thankfully becoming aware of … links, time and memory !

Yes, The Web is the Eye, not of God but of Earth, the Eye that sees and the Eye that recalls, a very Public Eye in fact !

Above all, social networking seems to have landed on Planet Web at the very time stress of anonymity was ready to strike back with the relief of nudity, that is, identity. “I am what I am” is fine in a private living room, in an auditorium, at a chat with one’s psy, but dangerous on the Web.

In fact, two dangers, one is ourself, the other is out there :

1- Ourself, that is the relation between our comments and our identity. That should in fact not be a problem for any identity which follows a coherent and responsible thought, and speech ;

2- Out there, that involves relation between identity and privacy, snail/email addresses, phone numbers, factual data as a whole.

It does remain a challenge to comply to both freedom/responsibility of one’s given identity and awareness of omitting private data. One evening on the Web, for instance, a few drinks and/or tiredness, an appealing chat, “What’s your phone number, Mike?” … that’s when you have to think twice!

Transcontinental says:

Nothing!

Dante says:

Thanks. Neat little site. I’m a blackbox as usual :)

Spinner says:

Woah! This sounds kinda scary. I’m not sure I like the idea of my personal info just floating out around there.

Tobey says:

In a perfect world, this website would be an appreciated way to find some info about ppl you are interested in.

In our real world, it might get pretty creepy to have your personal info available through a service like this.

The essential rule is to never put your personal data onto the Net unless you really know what you’re doing. Then you should have no reason to be scared of this..

Roman ShaRP says:

I found nothing on my nickname, and 2 links on real name.
Not much, I must say ;)

Jojo says:

Cool service. It can get you started on a search. They have nothing on me because I don’t leave public tracks.

But try http://www.zoominfo.com/. These guys have better info usually.

What worries me a lot about all of these type of services is that they are so easy use and pick up a lot of info for no cost. For example, say you are looking for a job. With the info you provide on a typical resume (CV in rest of world), someone in the company can find your age easily.

With age discrimination rampant in many industries, including the corporate IT world, it is easy to discriminate against anyone you want without even having to bring them in for an interview.

I think birth dates should have to be removed from all public accessible data bases.

Keule says:

Nothing special, except my old ICQ number with my name….and I can’t remember the old password….darn.

Jedi says:

Yes its not very impressive , I think google would cough up more results. The concept is interesting. Online sleuthing gets a little easier.

Transcontinental says:

Copernic Agent (Pro) delivers also unexpected results, sometimes. That’s how I found out that my ex-wife had three kids. Not mine!

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