5 articles about keeping your identity ("persona") safe

Seems to be the day of "user identity theft" with the following 4 articles (plus mine from a week or so ago) popping into the feeder.

With the news that Facebooks "Beacon" program being amended due to privacy concerns (Google News: facebook beacon) the whole subject of "online identify" will, I predict, become the dominant conversation during 2008, especially as Google and the like push further into the enterprise with a "life online" delivery of services.


Colin Jackson: On the Internet no-one knows you’re a dog
Colin the voice of IT-ness on National Radio's Nine To Noon and a few days ago he turned his attention to thorny issue of ID verification, the government and what it means to you and me.

...
It’s really getting at the notion that we are anonymous on the Net and that people can’t tell much about you from a screen name or email address.

Q: Is that true?

A: No, not really. Clever or well-resourced people can tell a lot about you by looking at the traces you leave online. Never assume you can’t be traced across the Internet.
...

lifehacker: How to Track Down Anyone Online
And Colin's broadcast/article leads me nicely on this (USA based) article from the ever useful lifehacker.

When you're trying to find someone online, Google's not the only game in town. In the last two years, a handful of new people search engines have come onto the scene that offer better ways to pinpoint people info by name, handle, location, or place of employment. While there's still no killer, one-stop people search, there are more ways than ever to track down a long-lost friend, stalk an ex, or screen a potential date or employee. The next time you wonder, "What ever happened to so-and-so?" you've got a few power people search tools to turn to.

Computerworld NZ: 8.3 million in US victims of ID theft in 2005
Problem is growing there, but not so bad in NZ

And for those that need a more homegrown perspective check out this article from Computerworld

NZ ID theft figures
According to Statistics NZ's "Information and Communications Technology in New Zealand" report, released last month, the proportion of individuals who had been a victim of fraudulent ICT activity that resulted in some loss was 1.6%, well below US figures.
The 35- to 39-year age group had the highest proportion of those who experienced loss (2.3%), followed by the 50- to 54-year age group (2.2%), and the 55- to 59-year age group (2.2%).

5 easy ways to protect your online presence with Dr Miramar Mike
And once you've had the pants scared off you you'll want to be protecting your own identity ("persona") with my 5 easy steps:

1. Reserve your name in all the right places
2. Have a plan for each persona
3. Monitor who's referencing you and why
4. Maintain one core set of information
5. Don't use the same email/password password for all

Happy and safe surfing everyone