A Paranoid Schizophrenic's reasoning of why you want to Remain Anonymous ONLINE

I am not actually a paranoid schizophrenic, it just made for a good title imho. At least I hope!

A lot of people do not take seriously the need to protect their online identity. Through my years of using the internet I have developed a system that works for me. I feel that my strategy can help some of you as well. Try to get into a paranoid mind frame. Realise that there are a lot of freaks on the world wide web.

With major websites like eBay, Paypal, and other websites where real life money and legality is tied in, you should always use your real life information when submitting to them. Try to make sure that you do not accidentally put your real life information such as your name at a public part of these sites if you can.

When it comes to website like forums, email, communities, chatrooms, blogs, and the like don't be afraid to use an alias. Sometimes something as simple as John Doe will work just fine. I have never had a website reject me on a random alias. I am pretty sure that they would reject you on some of the bigger websites that must have your real life information. With these same sites there is no real need for a real life address or telephone number as well. You need to be careful as there are a lot of places that will sell information as well as emails that they are given.

When it comes to emails, just make sure that your friends know that it is actually you. There are always exceptions to my rules. Such as someone who is using email or a website for a professional type business, in these cases you might want to use your real life information. For everyone else try to pick an email that isn't your full name such as JohnDoe@hotmail.com

When it comes to things such as video games try not to give too many details about yourself. If you feel the need to provide information consider making up or altering some of the details.

In todays world it is amazing what can be done if you have even a portion of a persons identity. With a little know how you can find out a lot with a little bit of information. Something as simple as the city that you live in can be enough for a dedicated person to take advantage of.

Here is an example of 2 scenarios: Pleaes keep in mind these are fictional worst case scenarios. They are meant to stimulate thought as well as be entertaining.

Scenario A

Imagine that you are on a car forum community. You have been there for many years talking and giving advice to members. You followed all of my guidelines except for one. You put the town that you live in your profile. You also made it known that you are a mechanic own your own shop. Now for whatever reason a member decides that they don't like you and have a chip on their shoulder. This could be due to bad advice, jealousy, or even your screen name. You have now given this individual plenty of ammo to use against you. Lets say you live in Hicksville Arkansas, which is a small town that only has 3 mechanics. Someone crazy enough could figure out which one you are with a bit of research. If they are close enough to you they could make the drive. Who knows what they would do. It could be quite worse than them making a trip. Imagine them filing false complaints against your shop. If you have an online presense they could easily leave bad reviews and other traces on the internet. They could start prank calls, significantly increase your telemarketing calls and junk mail. He could even possibly innitiate some sort of lawsuit over trivial stuff, just to grief you. There is no limit to what this individual could do. They do not even need to be in the same country as you either. While some of this might be far fetched anything is possible in todays world.

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Scenario B

You are still a member of this forum community but took all of my advice. You have a member of this forum that is mad at you and out to ruin you. You did not use your real city, name, or any other important details. All they know is that you are a mechanic in Arkansas. It would be virtually impossible to find you out of hundreds if not thousands of mechanics as long as they do not have too much information. All this individual can do now is cry on the internet about some mechanic in Arkansas.

I hope that this article has been helpful to some of you.

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