6 ms·

All it takes is just once. I saw a reddit comment that documented how one user determined the real-life identity of another user who was attempting to stay ano

All it takes is just once. I saw a reddit comment that documented how one user determined the real-life identity of another user who was attempting to stay anonymous. The slip up? Two photos posted by the user under two different accounts shared the same background, and the user posted using both accounts in the same comment thread.

erock 13y ago
ahh yes, the creepy gone wild stalker story
- aestra 13y ago
  What's the full story?
  - heyitsnick 13y ago
    It's funny, i so rarely browse reddit, but i somehow happened upon this story this week - i guess it came up in some kind of mega "what are you most ashamed of" thread or somesuch. Ultimately it was as GP described; a redditor researched one of 'gone wild' big 'stars', poured through her history ,ultimately found another reddit account of a selfie shot that had the same background as the 'gone wild' shot so concluded they were the same or friends, researched back that history and ultimately found her real identity.
  - marti 13y ago
    Here's a link to it: http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1ndvh3/serious_whats_the_creepiest_most_obsessive_thing/cchrguv http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1ndvh3/serious_wh...
deadfall 13y ago
The internet is full of smart individuals with an eye for detail. Lesson learned, if trying to stay anonymous only use cat photos as profile pictures found on google images.
- evanmoran 13y ago
  Different cat photos!
  - wlian 13y ago
    Unless we all standardize on the same cat photo. officialcatavatar.com anyone?
    - fnordfnordfnord 13y ago
      Limecat. Been around for ages, ready for battle.
- sixothree 13y ago
  ... from the most generic search term you can imagine.
- roc 13y ago
  The lesson is that your ability to remain anonymous drops in almost direct proportion to the quantity of content you make available. A careful user might have a more-shallow slope; they might be able to post more photos, if they're carefully scrubbing EXIF and being mindful of spillage (unintentional details in the frame). But every single posted photo is still inexorably eating away at their potential to remain anonymous.
  - aragot 13y ago
    After publishing the first picture, you might have to throw away the camera... You never know how much unique is the fingerprint of the camera. Might be very useful to crawl profiles to map photos and screen names.
    - caf 13y ago
      You wouldn't have to throw it away, just label it with the identity that posts photos from it.
fnordfnordfnord 13y ago
I dox'd a guy once knowing only the day that he earned his pilot license and the state he lived in. (FAA publishes a database that contains that info).
- EGreg 13y ago
  Let's face it, at most one if your identities can be tied to your actual real-world activities. Otherwise people can find enough correlations to out you. Witness JK Rowling's new book.
  - mindcrime 13y ago
    Meh, you lot will never figure out my real world identity!
    - chad_oliver 13y ago
      If only I knew your phone number ...
      - mindcrime 13y ago
        I would have gotten away with it, if it weren't for you meddling kids!
  - dead_phish 13y ago
    JK Rowling's dox was a result of a member of the publishing house's solicitors telling his wife, who then told a close friend who provided the initial leak on twitter, which gave the newspaper breaking the story enough to go on to start drawing those conclusions. Found the BBC story about this, if you're interested. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23366660 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23366660
- dredmorbius 13y ago
  For me it was a first name (unusual) and two schools attended (this in the days when universities were much more liberal with posting their student directories.
sneak 13y ago
http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1ndvh3/serious_whats_the_creepiest_most_obsessive_thing/cchrguv http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1ndvh3/serious_wh...

erock 13y ago

ahh yes, the creepy gone wild stalker story

aestra 13y ago
What's the full story?
- heyitsnick 13y ago
  It's funny, i so rarely browse reddit, but i somehow happened upon this story this week - i guess it came up in some kind of mega "what are you most ashamed of" thread or somesuch. Ultimately it was as GP described; a redditor researched one of 'gone wild' big 'stars', poured through her history ,ultimately found another reddit account of a selfie shot that had the same background as the 'gone wild' shot so concluded they were the same or friends, researched back that history and ultimately found her real identity.
- marti 13y ago
  Here's a link to it: http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1ndvh3/serious_whats_the_creepiest_most_obsessive_thing/cchrguv http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1ndvh3/serious_wh...

deadfall 13y ago

The internet is full of smart individuals with an eye for detail. Lesson learned, if trying to stay anonymous only use cat photos as profile pictures found on google images.

evanmoran 13y ago
Different cat photos!
- wlian 13y ago
  Unless we all standardize on the same cat photo. officialcatavatar.com anyone?
  - fnordfnordfnord 13y ago
    Limecat. Been around for ages, ready for battle.
sixothree 13y ago
... from the most generic search term you can imagine.
roc 13y ago
The lesson is that your ability to remain anonymous drops in almost direct proportion to the quantity of content you make available. A careful user might have a more-shallow slope; they might be able to post more photos, if they're carefully scrubbing EXIF and being mindful of spillage (unintentional details in the frame). But every single posted photo is still inexorably eating away at their potential to remain anonymous.
- aragot 13y ago
  After publishing the first picture, you might have to throw away the camera... You never know how much unique is the fingerprint of the camera. Might be very useful to crawl profiles to map photos and screen names.
  - caf 13y ago
    You wouldn't have to throw it away, just label it with the identity that posts photos from it.

fnordfnordfnord 13y ago

I dox'd a guy once knowing only the day that he earned his pilot license and the state he lived in. (FAA publishes a database that contains that info).

EGreg 13y ago
Let's face it, at most one if your identities can be tied to your actual real-world activities. Otherwise people can find enough correlations to out you. Witness JK Rowling's new book.
- mindcrime 13y ago
  Meh, you lot will never figure out my real world identity!
  - chad_oliver 13y ago
    If only I knew your phone number ...
    - mindcrime 13y ago
      I would have gotten away with it, if it weren't for you meddling kids!
- dead_phish 13y ago
  JK Rowling's dox was a result of a member of the publishing house's solicitors telling his wife, who then told a close friend who provided the initial leak on twitter, which gave the newspaper breaking the story enough to go on to start drawing those conclusions. Found the BBC story about this, if you're interested. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23366660 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23366660
dredmorbius 13y ago
For me it was a first name (unusual) and two schools attended (this in the days when universities were much more liberal with posting their student directories.

sneak 13y ago

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1ndvh3/serious_whats_the_creepiest_most_obsessive_thing/cchrguv http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1ndvh3/serious_wh...