[Vision2020] From Today's Daily News

[Saundra Lund]

Visionaires:

The article below appeared in today's Moscow-Pullman news.  Especially for
those of with teens and/or younger kids who access the 'Net, there's some
excellent information in the article!


Teens get lesson in online safety; Internet expert says personal data on Web
sites not hard to find
By Amy Gray, Daily News staff writer
Tuesday, June 26, 2007 - Page Updated at 12:00:00 AM

Joanne Wollstein was making plans to take strategic safety precautions on
her MySpace Web page Monday after hearing Internet safety expert Linda
Criddle speak on the Washington State University campus.

"I definitely realized my pictures have lots of things on them that could
help someone find me," the Olympia teenager said.

Criddle worked for MSN (now referred to as Windows Live) for Microsoft for
13 years, looking at how online services can be abused and how the company
could build safer software. She also worked to prevent abuse and create
monitoring tools to improve safety of consumers using Internet services.

On Monday, she showed a group of nearly 100 4-H teens how to decrease their
chances of being targeted by a predator. Criddle said teens who are not wary
of sharing information about themselves are giving information to criminals
who would very much like to know where they live and gather enough personal
information to secure a credit card in their name.

"You may have no money in your bank account, but you are still prime targets
for identity theft," she said. 

"The really cool thing about using a teen's identity is that (a criminal)
can probably use it for several years before you even know," she said,
encouraging them to seek a free credit report.

She showed the teens examples of MySpace pages and how she can determine
personal information about teens who have attempted to protect their
privacy. Even if they do not supply their name, she pointed out that MySpace
often puts the individual's last name in their URL as a default. Many
MySpace users try to hide their identity, but then include photographs that
show exactly where they live and include details about their school or work
or lifestyle.

She showed a page with a photo of a house announcing a family's move.

"I want to have a party at this house! It's empty! They've moved! Anyone
want to have a kegger? How about a drug deal? Maybe get some cool
appliances?"

Then Criddle showed a couple's wedding site.

"Meet Katie and Eric. They're in love and getting married," she said. "Happy
people aren't thinking about safety. They want to tell you where they met
and how they met and they want to share and they want you to understand.
That's nice - if you're a really nice person."

Thinking as a criminal, the couple has posted a great deal of valuable
information, she said. They list a wedding registry and a quick look will
allow a criminal to determine the worth of the gifts.

"If they're getting married that day, where AREN'T they?" she asked the
teens, several of whom correctly answered: "AT HOME!"

Sites like MySpace and Facebook also allow people to link their friends -
and post information about them. Wedding party members are linked from the
couple's page, providing information about other people who won't be home on
the day of the wedding.

"Most people don't know they were the victim of an Internet crime," she
said. "(Criminals) don't leave a calling card that says, 'I knew you were
going to be gone because I saw your MySpace page.' "

She showed a list of comments left by friends on a MySpace page. Through
three different comments, Criddle was able to figure out the first and last
name of the supposedly private individual. One girl's screen name was "Sexy
Santoro."

"What do you think her last name is? Don't use words like 'Sexy' - you might
as well say, 'Come hurt me.' " In addition, a friend commented on her photo,
addressing her by her first name. So despite her attempts to be anonymous,
Criddle could quickly and easily identify her. Other clues gave her
hometown.

"We have to watch and respect each other's information," she said. "There
are people who are very systematically collecting your information."

These tools and tips are important for adults as well as teens, she said.

Criddle worked at Microsoft for 13 years before establishing her company,
LOOKBOTHWAYS Online Safety Consulting LLC. She has created a distance
learning course for WSU that will start next month for K-12 teachers -
"Internet Safety for Educators."

"I have looked at the very ugly side of humanity," she said, exploring
Internet kidnapping cases, drug deals and pornography.

"Sexual predators are out there. The Internet didn't create them, but it did
give them a new tool," she said.


Amy Gray can be reached at (509) 332-0745 or by e-mail at agray at dnews.com.