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AOL Releases Search Logs of 657,427 Users
Posted by
timothy
on Mon Aug 07, 2006 04:41 PM
from the give-or-take dept.
from the give-or-take dept.
An anonymous reader writes "AOL has released the search logs of over 650,000 users for research purposes. This looks like it may become a public relations disaster for AOL, as well as a privacy nightmare for the users involved as Michael Arrington of TechCrunch notes: "AOL has released very private data about its users without their permission. While the AOL username has been changed to a random ID number, the ability to analyze all searches by a single user will often lead people to easily determine who the user is, and what they are up to. The data includes personal names, addresses, social security numbers and everything else someone might type into a search box." This is also being covered on The Paradigm Shift and Oh My News."
fantomas adds " Looks like they've just taken it down but it's still available on The Pirate Bay; not sure why but some of the academic researchers are going crazy musing the ethical aspects of letting the world know who's searching for how to kill their wives ..."
Update: 08/07 21:32 GMT by T : amromousa writes "AOL is now apologizing for the release ..., calling it a "screw-up," which they're upset and angry about."
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finally, maybe users will wake up (Score:5, Insightful)
Finally, for all my support nightmares AOL users I know (and there are many!) that I endured over the years, a misstep that may offend and bother them as much as supporting AOL has bothered me for the last bazillion years. Go away AOL! (But, leave a few of your coasters at the store counters, those did come in kind of handy.)
So, all of that aside (the court of public opinion stipulates AOL as stupid and insensitive), how equally egregious and offensive is others would propogate and perpetuate this misguided release of data? Any mirrors still carrying this information (and they are there) serves few purposes for continuing to provide access, and none are defensible: either they are happy and willing to allow potentially embarassing or damaging data to continue to be distributed, or they are sticking it to AOL when AOL has already fallen on their own sword -- enough is enough. It's not okay.
(So, how many wives are either not going to be home tonight, or are going to fix hubby his very favorite dish?)
Re:finally, maybe users will wake up (Score:5, Funny)
Re:finally, maybe users will wake up (Score:5, Funny)
You keep making oblique references to steak and cheese [urbandictionary.com]. I do not think that phrase means what you think it means.
(If it's 17556639's favorite dish, maybe his wife is looking forward to death.)
Re:finally, maybe users will wake up (Score:5, Interesting)
You're probably just trying to be funny, but this could be a real problem. I know I have had some seriously bizarre search historys when doing research on possible articles to write in my lame ass vanity site. They could very easily be taken out of context and used to make me look like a sicko instead of a cynic who wanted some of the bizarre material that non fiction can provide.
Maybe this guy is doing some research on a book. Maybe he's an artist doing some death metal band's cover. Hell, maybe they have a socially retarded CS major for a dorm mate and are trying to freak them out.
It's the ridiculous release of this type of data and the sensationalist warping of these smallest elements that allow our privacy to get train wrecked.
Searching for SSN's?? (Score:5, Interesting)
Who in their right mind would type their social security number in a search box, in plain text??? I mean, really???
Re:Searching for SSN's?? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Searching for SSN's?? (Score:5, Insightful)
Maybe they want to be sure no one's posted it anywhere?
Re:Searching for SSN's?? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Searching for SSN's?? (Score:5, Interesting)
Who in their right mind would give their SSN to AOL?
People really don't understand these issues.. I've this to be true recently when an HR person at my university asked me to send my SSN to her over email. Also, a couple weeks ago I booked a room at a hostel over the internet, and apparently I mistyped my credit card information, so they asked me if I could to to them again over email. You know, I just said "No, I'll call you." But it just goes to show that most people just don't even think about privacy issues. Even professionals who should know about these things. They just don't. Either that or they don't understand the technical side of it... like that email is not encrypted, etc.
As for search engines, I've no idea why you'd be searching for one on Google, unless for instance you wanted to see if your own was available somewhere--Which is funny, now that I think about it. How can you search for your own online information (to see what is out there) without giving it away yourself by typing it into a search engine?
Re:Searching for SSN's?? (Score:5, Interesting)
I send my credit card numbers over email all the time. But I only use "throw-away" numbers that are generated on the fly and can only be charged by a single vendor up to a specific amount (pre-set by myself). Most of the big card issuers offer a similar service for free (last I heard, MBNA, which has offered it for at least 5-6 years now, has not had a single instance of succesful fraud involving such throw-away numbers, never mind free, they ought to be paying me to use the service).
Re:Searching for SSN's?? (Score:5, Insightful)
I've read of someone who tried it only to find that a group/department at his college had is SSN# posted
Of course, a partial SSN with a wildcard match might be a better idea.
Re:Searching for SSN's?? (Score:5, Funny)
Unfortunately, though, Google thought I was entering a subtraction problem. The answer was -966. Now go theft my ID
Re:Searching for SSN's?? (Score:5, Funny)
Killing wives? (Score:5, Insightful)
If "End of the world" was searched for, how do you know if they are looking to the lyrics for an REM song, or trying to build a WMD?
it's a geographic location! (Score:5, Funny)
Hopefully Google takes note (Score:5, Funny)
Funniest thing so far (Score:5, Interesting)
A teacher's credit union employee was searching for sexy underwear, how best to conduct a relationship with a co-worker, and have sex in a pickup.
Just before that, she was searching for cars. And appears to have cancer as well, or lives with someone with cancer. Maybe it's her sick husband.
I wonder if that demonstrates why someone wouldn't want their Google searches or AOL info to make it into the public realm. AOL is obviously a bastion of consumer rights.
The last nail in the coffin (Score:5, Informative)
Some intresting tidbits:
17556639 how to kill your wife 17556639 how to kill your wife
17556639 wife killer 17556639 how to kill a wife
17556639 poop 17556639 dead people
17556639 pictures of dead people 17556639 killed people
17556639 dead pictures 17556639 dead pictures
17556639 dead pictures 17556639 murder photo
17556639 steak and cheese
17556639 photo of death 17556639 photo of death
17556639 death 17556639 dead people photos
17556639 photo of dead people 17556639 www.murderdpeople.com
17556639 decapatated photos 17556639 decapatated photos
17556639 car crashes3 17556639 car crashes3
160689 light brown colored semen 3/2/2006 16:30 9 http://experts.about.com/ [about.com]
6497dog eat monkey5/22/2006 5:39
6497dog eat monkey5/22/2006 5:39
6497capuchin monkey dog5/22/2006 5:39
6497dog eating monkey5/22/2006 5:40
6497dog eating monkey5/22/2006 5:40
6497dog eating monkey5/22/2006 5:40
6497dog eats monkey5/22/2006 5:40
6497dog eats monkey5/22/2006 5:41
6497eating capuchin monkey5/22/2006 5:41
6497eating capuchin monkey5/22/2006 5:41
6497eating capuchin monkey5/22/2006 5:41
6497kill capuchin monkey5/22/2006 5:41
6497killing capuchin monkey5/22/2006 5:41
6497slaughter capuchin monkey5/22/2006 5:42
6497feeding capuchin monkey5/22/2006 5:42
6497feeding capuchin monkey5/22/2006 5:42
6497eyes capuchin monkey5/22/2006 5:42
6497tail capuchin monkey5/22/2006 5:42
6497tail capuchin monkey5/22/2006 5:43
6497tail capuchin monkey5/22/2006 5:43
6497beach stud speedo5/23/2006 1:24
6497beach martin ricky5/23/2006 1:24
6497beach martin ricky5/23/2006 1:25
6497beach martin ricky5/23/2006 1:25
6497beach martin ricky5/23/2006 1:25
6497beach martin ricky5/23/2006 1:25
6497beach martin ricky5/23/2006 1:27
6497beach martin ricky5/23/2006 1:27
6497beach martin ricky5/23/2006 1:28
6497beach martin ricky5/23/2006 1:28
6497beach martin ricky5/23/2006 1:28
6497beach martin ricky5/23/2006 1:28
6497beach martin ricky5/23/2006 1:29
6497-5/23/2006 1:55
6497-5/23/2006 1:55
6497recent5/23/2006 1:55
6497speedo triathlete5/23/2006 1:55
3302children who have died from moms postpartum depression
3302children who have died from moms postpartum depression
3302rotovirus2006-03-24 19:55:12
3302statistics on infancide
3302statistics on infantcide
3302statistics on infanticie
3302statistics on infanticide postpartum depression
3302statistics on infanticide postpartum depression
3302statistics on infanticide postpartum depression
3302pictires of tom cruise and his wife
3302people magazines pictures of tom cruise and katie holmes
2652898my space.com (about 100 times)
2652898different ways to jerk of
2652898how to not ejaculate so early
2652898my penis has a big erection
2652898free videos of big dicks
Thanks to FARK.com for the snippits.
New data just released (Score:5, Funny)
Child Porn (Score:5, Insightful)
In Soviet....err...In America the government watches you! Ahh...how the times have changed...Working on losing the 1st Ammendment and 4th Ammendment in 8 years. As Thomas Jefferson said "The beauty of the 2nd Ammendment is that you don't need it until the government tries to take it away"... I recently had a picture taken of my baby girl at the National Archives with those 3 terribly important documents honestly wondering if they will mean anything or even exist by the time she is old enough to show her kids the picture.
But hey...may just be me being a pessimist...so maybe the spooks won't get up and arms datamining slashdot and seeing my TJ quote and come interrogate me for being a terrorist...just in case...
Last post!
14 download mirrors + BitTorrent link to the file (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.gregsadetsky.com/aol-data/ [gregsadetsky.com]
There are 14 mirrors listed there. They have all been added after this first mirror went live less than 20 hours ago.
I have already transferred 863Gb of data in that short period of time.
Re:14 download mirrors + BitTorrent link to the fi (Score:5, Funny)
User 17556639 (Score:5, Funny)
FTA:
Mmmmmm. . . Steak and cheese. . .
Identifying some users is easier than others (Score:5, Funny)
13455621 funky gibbon
13455621 chair repairs seattle
13455621 addams family
13455621 OSS cancer
13455621 FUD spreading
Re:Just like the Bush Phone Tapping (Score:5, Informative)
Then you're an idiot. The info itself can contain private info, and being linked by ID makes it much easier. Imagine this set of searches:
Susan Smith phone number
britney spears
Smallville high school
shoe store near smallville
Smallville abortion clinic
dr. joe jones
6 searches and already we can assume the user lives in smallville, is young, knows susan smith, and is looking for information on abortions.
Now, if instead of 6, we had every search for a month or two. How much more information about this "anonymous" user do you think we could find?