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Anything Goes
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I only have posted routes that are public and not near my house that lots of runners run..and sometimes I just post general area not specific streets. You can choose to not post routes which is what I have done. I share personal info with my local running partners I met on DM but that is about it. I would just not post your routes if you are not comfortable.
posted about 2 years ago
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You are correct!
People Tweet when they are away from home - perfect for burglers!
Most people do not consider how much info they are posting for the world to see.
I am on facebook, dailymile, etc. I am hoping it does not come back to haunt me.
While you are running and or walking, consider listening to the weekly podcast "Security Now". They discuss topics such as this and more. They go into depth about the subject, but explain it in such a way as to help the novice understand. And you may be interested in how to "bank securely", etc. BTW I am not affiliated with the program in any way.
I happened to discover podcast because of dailymile!
posted about 2 years ago
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Am I right in assuming you can keep your profile public but 'privatize' individual walking/running routes? I think I saw that option when I was fiddling around before. If that's true, then that's better - I'd just keep all my walks private. Assuming my totals from those walks would show up in my workout log regardless.
posted about 2 years ago | edited about 2 years ago
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I've had a friend test something for me tonight. I'd run up a list of 7 main walking routes I'd typically take, and asked her to try to access any of them to check that the privacy settings of 'only friends' I'd set for each were working fine...they were. She said the prompt said something along the lines of 'Hugglemama has no routes or they're private'. All well and good.
Then she mentioned being able to see clearly the main roads and (where applicable) suburb names from the little icons to the left of my route list. If someone knew the area, it would be blatantly obvious where I live by the shape of the roads. I know the likelihood of something like this actually leading to security issues is low, but it's still there.
Is there any way the admins of dailymile might introduce a generic 'this route is private' icon to go on the left of any route set to 'private' by a user? The fact that you can still see main roads and suburbs from the icon, despite setting a route to 'private', seems to be a fairly big oversight in terms of security.
I thought I'd stumbled onto everything I'd been looking for in a training/workout register but this might actually cause me to avoid the site altogether. Suggestions?
posted about 2 years ago
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For what it's worth: that thought dawned on me, too. And so, I deleted the one route that started and finished at my actual house. Is it paranoia? Maybe, but sometimes paranoia is a wise precaution.
Actually, though, when I map a route on dm, I'm usually thinking that someone else might want to use it - like another local runner/walker/cyclist or perhaps a visitor from out of town looking for a place to run or walk. And so, I always mark the start/finish at a place suitable for public parking, even if that's not where I start/finish myself.
posted about 2 years ago | edited about 2 years ago
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John, I've emailed the dailymile team about this. I'll let you know if I find out anything useful.
posted about 2 years ago
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Having been on-line for many many years, I personally don't worry much about this topic. I suspect a combination of gender and age along with a generally trusting nature make this seem reasonable to me. I can certainly see a case where a woman may wish to be a bit more "private" about her activities and I do know of some women who have been stalked in real-life based upon internet information.
So, are you being paranoid? If all you're doing is keeping your life private then you're just being reasonably cautious.
Where it become paranoid is if you start obsessing about the topic.
That all said... no one who goes into the "internet waters" is invisible... you can obscure your presence... but you can't hide it. The key is to simply be prudent in what you share. If you have reason to be concerned then lower your presence, remove personal info and obscure your location.
posted about 2 years ago
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I've thought about this a lot, actually. I don't post any of my running routes, only distances, and I consciously make sure to avoid saying where I actually run and when. So if you're paranoid, so am I. :)
posted about 2 years ago
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I've thought about this too so I don't start/end any routes from my house.
But most of the time I tend to think that people around me IRL are more of a threat so I also try to vary my routes and times when I run just so I'm not being too predictable.
posted about 2 years ago
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I thought the same thing. I made my fiance delete off the routes he had posted because they started/stopped at our house. I wasn't comfortable with that.
posted about 2 years ago
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I initially had concerns about this when I started my blog, but after doing a bunch of reading I became less concerned. There are tons of people on-line who post all kinds of things about themselves and their families - just look at all of the mommy/daddy bloggers out there who post about their kids. It was on one of those blogs where somebody made a point that really stuck with me. Basically, it was that you are putting yourself out there anytime you go out into public - whether it be the grocery store or anywhere else. As Mimi says, I tend to think that the people around you in real life are more of a concern. I also delete any route that starts at my house, but I also think we can sometimes worry a bit too much about these things.
posted about 2 years ago
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in reply to what Peter L. said:I initially had concerns about this when I started my blog, but after doing a bunch of reading I became less concerned. There are tons of people on-line who post all kinds of things about themselves and their families - just look at all of the mom... read more
I agree - it's possible I overthink these things. That said...
I have a blog as well, and I do post occasionally about my kids, but I think the difference in that case is that if you're careful, you should never be in a position where one of your readers could identify your house. This wasn't the case with dailymile, until I clued on to the 'don't start the route at your house' thing. I deleted those walks when I did realise what was going on, but for some reason they are still showing up when someone happens to do a search by my suburb name. My username isn't attached to those walks anymore, but a couple of them do show a very distinct and obvious start point of my house. When you zoom in, you can pinpoint the house number. I assumed once deleted they were off the system totally. It doesn't appear to be that way, and that's seriously annoying.
I understand my own ineptitude at starting the route mapping without adhering to the 'don't start at your house' rule, but surely once I'd worked out what was going on and deleted those walks, they should cease to exist anywhere on the site, right? Uh, no.
To show why this is somewhat concerning for me, let me take you on a little journey.
Let's assume I'm talking with some acquaintances or folks I just met and in passing mention I have a blog. Since my blog is in the public arena, and I don't post any subject matter I wouldn't tell someone in conversation anyway, I have no problem with 'strangers' reading it, since that's who reads it online anyway. On my blog, I don't use our real names, location (beyond my large capital city, but never my suburb name or 'area' of my city), the kids' schools names (or anything about them that could identify them), or my husband's profession (you'll see why in a moment). Perhaps they even tell some people they know, something I have no control over. They could be passing on my URL to a whole range of 'questionables' and I'd never know. Again, since you can't control who sees a public blog *anyway*, this is generally fine with me. If it concerned me more, I'd make my blog private. It doesn't, so I don't.
Let's say while reading my blog, they notice the dailymile widget and click over. They already know I live in a particular area from our shared acquaintances/location (though not from my blog). So it's not too much of a stretch for them to put two and two together and do a search on my suburb. Maybe they take a clue from the one walk still in my profile listing, even though it doesn't show the start point of my house, and work out the suburb name. Perhaps now they recognise similar routes (in the search results list) in similar neighborhoods to my one public one - since a large chunk of my (assumed) deleted walks are STILL showing up in searches. Maybe they're not nice people. Maybe they work out that the walks are all named fairly similarly - walk 1, walk 2, etc and might be assumed to be by the same person (in my case...they are) even though there's no connecting username. Maybe they look closely at the two or three 'obvious start point' routes. Maybe they zoom in. Maybe they see my distinct and very obvious house number.
See why I'm a bit concerned? It's not just enough to say it isn't LIKELY to happen - it still could, and it's something I don't think dailymile addresses closely enough. Though I don't say this publicly online, but feel it's warranted now, I'm married to a police officer. He knows his stuff. And this 'stuff' he knows would make your toes curl. When I say it happens, it does. Perhaps not quite as dramatically as I've laid out here (I don't live in a high crime area) but it's always a possibility. True strangers (of which 99.9% dailymile users qualify) probably wouldn't give a damn, but it's the people who already have reason to come into contact with me - or anyone else for that matter - the scope here is immense - who are going to *have* the subtle clues needed to put two and two together. Most security concerns in this arena originate from people you know, not total strangers.
As I've said, fine that I didn't work out the 'start point hoopla' thing first up. But deleting walks when you do work it out should erase them *permanently* from the dailymile system, and it doesn't. Oh, and by the way, each one of these walks were set to private during the initial set up - why were they even showing up in ANY list, even before I deleted them? And then there's the small notion of being able to (often) see main roads and suburb names merely from the square 'mini maps' alongside the route names, without even needing to open them up (as far as I understand it - and someone correct me if I'm wrong - private walks are meant to be unopenable and yet still show this mini map). Effectively this (at least partially) nixes the whole 'private' part. Private -ER maybe.
Sigh. I realise what I must sound like. But as I said in an email to dailymile admin (and yes, I was "that" person), three things should be happening
1) Private walks should not show up anywhere on the site except when you're viewing your own page, logged in as yourself. Not by your friends. And definitely not by the public.
2) There should be more levels of privacy for individual walks - 'private' (just yourself), 'for friends only' and 'public', instead of the public and friends options currently there
3) Deleted walks should stay dead and buried permanently, not show up in suburb searches. Not enough to simply remove user attribution.
Someone else said to me that they left some of their walks on public in the view that someone searching the neighborhood would get use out of it. People will always have the option to do that, but the privacy levels for those of us who don't want it should be re-examined.
Bottom line - I love to blog and participate in sites like dailymile, and for those that are saying "if you don't like the lack of security online, get off', you'll never control it", I think the point is being missed. There's a way to do both - be a part of a community online AND remain private and secure while doing so. I've never come across quite the same conflict as I have with dailymile...I want to be able to pre-route out my maps, not enter in a generic few numbers from my waistband pedometre because I'm worried someone might find my house. Seems like a few admin tweaks in the security department could fix the issue lickety split - and then everyone could be happy and I wouldn't have to waffle on so much! LOL.
Okay, off soapbox now. But genuinely appreciative of everyone's thoughts and comments here - keep em coming.
posted about 2 years ago | edited about 2 years ago
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You are totally right on all points, Hugglemama. It would behoove DailyMile to plug their obviously privacy and security holes before there's an actual breach or incident.
posted about 2 years ago
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You're paranoid.
The phonebook gives you up. Take a look at whitepages.com, you can do a reverse search on an address, at least for U.S. addresses.
Generally speaking, if someone wants to find you, they'll find you.
You are right in being concerned about online safety, however. You should be very careful how much personal info you put online.
posted about 2 years ago
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As some others have said, I don't use the Garmin upload for any workouts starting directly at my home. I only upload that way for workouts done elsewhere or those in which I don't turn on the Garmin till a few blocks away.
posted about 2 years ago
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Exactly, which means DM is not a smart site to participate in, because they report all your activity to the world - via Google search. There is no such thing as being paranoid when it comes to sharing info on the 'net. All you need is a stalker type ex-boyfriend or friend, weird-o to Google your name. Maybe guys don't have this fear so much. Anyhow...I am not pleased about Dailymile not having a section called "Privacy and Security". I stopped posting my workouts when I realized they show up when someone Googles me. If DM wants continued success, they need to protect their users. I find it a huge oversight on their part.
posted about 1 year ago
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If they want to Rob/Kill me they will have to race me for ;)
posted about 1 year ago
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in reply to what John P. said:For what it's worth: that thought dawned on me, too. And so, I deleted the one route that started and finished at my actual house. Is it paranoia? Maybe, but sometimes paranoia is a wise precaution. Actually, though, when I map a route on dm, I... read more
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posted 12 months ago | edited 11 months ago
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posted 12 months ago | edited 11 months ago
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