We hear a lot about privacy. Mainly, we hear about how to protect your privacy on the web. Many of the steps people take to insure their privacy on the web would be at least frowned upon in the physical world.
Imagine a world where everyone wore a mask. Several people would stop on a street corner to yell obscenities at someone who just commented on the radical design of a new car. Seems pretty unlikely doesn't it.
Go to a Windows forum or a Linux forum or just about any OS forum. Someone who would not use that OS on a dare will be there telling some poor sap he is an idiot. Usually, everyone is wearing a mask.
Of course, someone will now say, "I want to remain anonymous to keep my identity from being stolen." This is not a good reason. Yes, identities are stolen. The problem is they are not stolen because you let someone know your real name is John Doe. Identities are stolen because you bought something or gave someone a tax payer ID or driver's license number or other important number so you could go somewhere you wanted to go.
I doesn't matter to whom you gave this information. It doesn't matter where you were when you did it. It may happen online. It may happen at a store. It may happen at your credit card company. Truly, it happens way too often at your credit card company or at some other trusted agency. Someone breaks in or someone at the agency throws out old records without shredding them.
What can you do? Check your credit report. It will show you when someone has tried to get money from your identify. It will not show you that someone has been using your identity to harm others or to harm your good name. Only a solid identity system could prevent that, but then everyone would know who you are. You don't want that do you?
Imagine a world where everyone wore a mask. Several people would stop on a street corner to yell obscenities at someone who just commented on the radical design of a new car. Seems pretty unlikely doesn't it.
Go to a Windows forum or a Linux forum or just about any OS forum. Someone who would not use that OS on a dare will be there telling some poor sap he is an idiot. Usually, everyone is wearing a mask.
Of course, someone will now say, "I want to remain anonymous to keep my identity from being stolen." This is not a good reason. Yes, identities are stolen. The problem is they are not stolen because you let someone know your real name is John Doe. Identities are stolen because you bought something or gave someone a tax payer ID or driver's license number or other important number so you could go somewhere you wanted to go.
I doesn't matter to whom you gave this information. It doesn't matter where you were when you did it. It may happen online. It may happen at a store. It may happen at your credit card company. Truly, it happens way too often at your credit card company or at some other trusted agency. Someone breaks in or someone at the agency throws out old records without shredding them.
What can you do? Check your credit report. It will show you when someone has tried to get money from your identify. It will not show you that someone has been using your identity to harm others or to harm your good name. Only a solid identity system could prevent that, but then everyone would know who you are. You don't want that do you?
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