Steve'sDigicams

calr · Dec 13, 2012, 9:33 AM

I have noticed over the past couple years a tendency for members to list some or all of their expensive camera gear in their forum signatures. I am concerned that this is an open invitation to theft.

Computer hackers have no problem locating you through your IP address and other hidden information in your profile. If they are really good, they can track the information all the way back to the computer you post from.

It is my opinion that in the interest of protecting your investment (and the insurance company!), minimize the equipment listed in your signature or profile. I have already contacted one member privately who had a lot of equipment listed and he has voluntarily removed that list.

I know we are all proud of our gear and don't want to lose it. Please give this some thought and if you agree, remove the equipment list from your signature.

Have a Happy Holiday season and hang on to your gear.

Cal

Bynx · Dec 13, 2012, 9:47 AM

Maybe we could use a coded system. For instance, if we list a Kodak Brownie, then that would mean we have a Hasselblad. If we list a Pop Flash, that means we have a Canon. Well actually we dont have to do that because nobody would steal a Canon.

calr · Dec 13, 2012, 6:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bynx

Maybe we could use a coded system. For instance, if we list a Kodak Brownie, then that would mean we have a Hasselblad. If we list a Pop Flash, that means we have a Canon. Well actually we dont have to do that because nobody would steal a Canon.

Don't laugh, Paul. My first camera was a Kodak Brownie Holiday. I don't know what happened to that camera. Maybe someone posted it in their forum signature! LOL!

Cal

saly · Dec 13, 2012, 9:38 PM

Thanks Cal, living in a big city, I try to be very careful about protecting my ID, privacy, etc, but I had not thought about this. Sadly, you are absolutely right.

Bynx · Dec 13, 2012, 11:46 PM

The sad thing about this is no matter how low we try to think about what to expect from our fellow man, our fellow man always finds a way to sink even lower. Well I can tell you this....nobody is going to steal my Brownie.

Tullio · Dec 14, 2012, 9:53 AM

I work in IT and to be honest, one may gather the IP address where the post came from but to go from that to finding the user's address there is a huge gap. I for instance, post responses here from a variety of locations so the IP address goes all over the place. I personally don't list my equipment but my choice has nothing to do with fear of being robbed. One has a much much greater chance of being assaulted at a parking lot than robbed by someone who saw their expensive camera gear listed on a forum. Actually, sometimes is helpful to see one's camera list in case you are interested in a particular piece of equipment and has questions about it. You can contact the member and ask questions right there and then. In any case, that's my opinion.

Ozzie_Traveller · Dec 14, 2012, 1:44 PM

G'ay all

From Cal to Tullio & our ol' mates Saly & Bynx with his box-brownie > you're all 'right' about this topic

My 2-bob's worth is that Tullio's close to the mark in that "we & our skills" are what's important, not the lumpy paperweights we carry around our necks that is important

For me - I am interested in & I love 'photograhy' .... 'camera' [as shown in the sig lines] does not interest me as the main topic of conversation

Regards, Phil

selvin · Dec 14, 2012, 5:03 PM

Like many of my compatriots I hesitate to list my worldly possesions be it camera equipment or otherwise for public viewing. TV, movies and the media in general have made us a tad paranoid about the uncanny ability of someone out there tracking us down and relieving us of those worldly possessions.
Tullio is correct, finding our physical address from an IP address isn't as easy as it appears in TV and the movies- it can be done but with lots of resources and lot's of time.
Anyone with that much resources and time probably isn't going after a few thousand dollars of equipment it's probably more like what's in your banking/investment accounts or credit card accounts.
However, discretion is still the better part of valor, personally I refrain from listing equipment.

JimC · Dec 14, 2012, 5:11 PM

Detective work....

I do a bit of detective work almost every day; trying to figure out if new members are spammers or not.

Yes.. I can see IP addresses that members post from. So, that allows me to see where the posts are coming from, and check databases maintained by sites tracking spammers to see if an IP address is listed or not. Virtually any web site you access will know the IP addresses of all users visiting them.

I also check registration e-mail addresses, and more. Of course, it's very simple to see the ISP and location associated with a given IP Address. Ditto for their registration e-mail address (as users will often use the same e-mail address elsewhere, where you may find more personal information about a person using that address).

But, even without that info, just searching for a member name that a new member uses can turn up interesting info; as it's very common for members to use the exact same member names on other sites, and their profiles on other sites can have more information in them.

I do that kind of research when I suspect a member is joining for the sole purpose of posting spam (i.e., promoting a web site, company, or products). But, I can see where criminals may do the same thing (using search engines like google to try and figure out if the same member name was used elsewhere and to try to find out more info about that member if the equipment in a member's profile looks lucrative).

So, be careful what you post on web sites.

JimC · Dec 14, 2012, 7:32 PM

Ditto for what you post on social media sites (facebook, etc.), as I've seen more than one report about thieves breaking into homes when people reported they were going out of town on vacation, etc.

Here's one story I just found with a quick google search (and they are many more like it, with thieves robbing people because they posted they'd be away from home on social media sites).

http://www.wmur.com/Police-Thieves-R...4/-/index.html

So, be careful what you post online, as thieves will probably try and gather more complete profiles by consolidating info from multiple web sites in order to find more lucrative targets to rob.

Dec 13, 2012, 9:33 AM	#1
calr Moderator Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Beaverton, OR Posts: 8,466	Concerned About Theft I have noticed over the past couple years a tendency for members to list some or all of their expensive camera gear in their forum signatures. I am concerned that this is an open invitation to theft. Computer hackers have no problem locating you through your IP address and other hidden information in your profile. If they are really good, they can track the information all the way back to the computer you post from. It is my opinion that in the interest of protecting your investment (and the insurance company!), minimize the equipment listed in your signature or profile. I have already contacted one member privately who had a lot of equipment listed and he has voluntarily removed that list. I know we are all proud of our gear and don't want to lose it. Please give this some thought and if you agree, remove the equipment list from your signature. Have a Happy Holiday season and hang on to your gear. Cal

Dec 13, 2012, 9:38 PM	#4
saly Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: near Los Angeles, CA USA Posts: 4,764	Thanks Cal, living in a big city, I try to be very careful about protecting my ID, privacy, etc, but I had not thought about this. Sadly, you are absolutely right. __________________ Panasonic FZ150, FZ35 and GF1; Nikonos V when underwater ~~Art is in the eye of the camera holder~~

Dec 14, 2012, 9:53 AM	#6
Tullio Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 7,370	I work in IT and to be honest, one may gather the IP address where the post came from but to go from that to finding the user's address there is a huge gap. I for instance, post responses here from a variety of locations so the IP address goes all over the place. I personally don't list my equipment but my choice has nothing to do with fear of being robbed. One has a much much greater chance of being assaulted at a parking lot than robbed by someone who saw their expensive camera gear listed on a forum. Actually, sometimes is helpful to see one's camera list in case you are interested in a particular piece of equipment and has questions about it. You can contact the member and ask questions right there and then. In any case, that's my opinion. __________________ Tullio

Dec 14, 2012, 1:44 PM	#7
Ozzie_Traveller Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Australia, New South Wales central coast Posts: 3,645	G'ay all From Cal to Tullio & our ol' mates Saly & Bynx with his box-brownie > you're all 'right' about this topic My 2-bob's worth is that Tullio's close to the mark in that "we & our skills" are what's important, not the lumpy paperweights we carry around our necks that is important For me - I am interested in & I love 'photograhy' .... 'camera' [as shown in the sig lines] does not interest me as the main topic of conversation Regards, Phil __________________ Has Lumix mirrorless & superzoom cameras and loves their amazing capabilities Spends 8-9 months each year travelling Australia Recent images at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ozzie_traveller/sets/

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Dec 13, 2012, 9:47 AM	#2
Bynx Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: East of Toronto Posts: 8,800	Maybe we could use a coded system. For instance, if we list a Kodak Brownie, then that would mean we have a Hasselblad. If we list a Pop Flash, that means we have a Canon. Well actually we dont have to do that because nobody would steal a Canon.

Dec 13, 2012, 11:46 PM	#5
Bynx Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: East of Toronto Posts: 8,800	The sad thing about this is no matter how low we try to think about what to expect from our fellow man, our fellow man always finds a way to sink even lower. Well I can tell you this....nobody is going to steal my Brownie.

Dec 14, 2012, 5:03 PM	#8
selvin Moderator Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 7,204	Like many of my compatriots I hesitate to list my worldly possesions be it camera equipment or otherwise for public viewing. TV, movies and the media in general have made us a tad paranoid about the uncanny ability of someone out there tracking us down and relieving us of those worldly possessions. Tullio is correct, finding our physical address from an IP address isn't as easy as it appears in TV and the movies- it can be done but with lots of resources and lot's of time. Anyone with that much resources and time probably isn't going after a few thousand dollars of equipment it's probably more like what's in your banking/investment accounts or credit card accounts. However, discretion is still the better part of valor, personally I refrain from listing equipment.

Dec 14, 2012, 5:11 PM	#9
JimC Administrator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Savannah, GA (USA) Posts: 22,378	Detective work.... I do a bit of detective work almost every day; trying to figure out if new members are spammers or not. Yes.. I can see IP addresses that members post from. So, that allows me to see where the posts are coming from, and check databases maintained by sites tracking spammers to see if an IP address is listed or not. Virtually any web site you access will know the IP addresses of all users visiting them. I also check registration e-mail addresses, and more. Of course, it's very simple to see the ISP and location associated with a given IP Address. Ditto for their registration e-mail address (as users will often use the same e-mail address elsewhere, where you may find more personal information about a person using that address). But, even without that info, just searching for a member name that a new member uses can turn up interesting info; as it's very common for members to use the exact same member names on other sites, and their profiles on other sites can have more information in them. I do that kind of research when I suspect a member is joining for the sole purpose of posting spam (i.e., promoting a web site, company, or products). But, I can see where criminals may do the same thing (using search engines like google to try and figure out if the same member name was used elsewhere and to try to find out more info about that member if the equipment in a member's profile looks lucrative). So, be careful what you post on web sites.

Dec 14, 2012, 7:32 PM	#10
JimC Administrator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Savannah, GA (USA) Posts: 22,378	Ditto for what you post on social media sites (facebook, etc.), as I've seen more than one report about thieves breaking into homes when people reported they were going out of town on vacation, etc. Here's one story I just found with a quick google search (and they are many more like it, with thieves robbing people because they posted they'd be away from home on social media sites). http://www.wmur.com/Police-Thieves-R...4/-/index.html So, be careful what you post online, as thieves will probably try and gather more complete profiles by consolidating info from multiple web sites in order to find more lucrative targets to rob.