AOL makes user searches public.

D

Dick Tracy

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You may have heard that AOL made public the searches of over 650,000 of its members, which was over 21 million searches. Some considered this an invasion of privacy, though the members weren't listed by name, only by a number. Only later did AOL apologize and remove the list.

But it was too late. many internet-savvy folk analyzed and copied the listing and posted it elsewhere. Declan McCullough at CNET news compiled several searches that were unorthodox:

USER 1515830:
chai tea calories
calories in bananas
aftermath of incest
how to tell if you're a victim of incest
pottery barn
i hate men

USER 9486162:
university of kentucky football
hold 'em poker school
ways to kill yourself
suicide by natural gas
suicide by overdosing
university of kentucky 2007 football recruits

USER 2708:
revenge tactics
the woman's book of revenge
dirty tricks for chicks
voice changer
how to humiliate someone
how to get revenge on an old lover
i hate my ex-boyfriend
makehimpay.net

USER 17556639:
how to kill your wife
how to kill a wife
pictures of dead people
steak and cheese
www.murderedpeople.com

There were also numerous searches for child pronography.
Click to expand...

Hmm.

http://czern.homeip.net/aolsearch/ - Search the logs yourself.
 
[quote name='jmcc']Searching for child pornography? Oh AOL users...[/QUOTE]
You can't get much darker than icing your wife and celebrating with a steak and cheese sangwich.
 
[quote name='Brak']You can't get much darker than icing your wife and celebrating with a steak and cheese sangwich.[/QUOTE]That at least follows a logical progression.
 
[quote name='Brak']USER 9486162:
university of kentucky football
hold 'em poker school
ways to kill yourself
suicide by natural gas
suicide by overdosing
university of kentucky 2007 football recruits[/QUOTE]

Pussy.
 
They seem fake to me. I mean, do you really type in phrases like that when you search? I wouldn't search for "What do do when you are a lesbian and your dad rapes your oldest cat"... instead I'd type "lesbians dad rapes cat".
 
[quote name='Moxio']They seem fake to me. I mean, do you really type in phrases like that when you search? I wouldn't search for "What do do when you are a lesbian and your dad rapes your oldest cat"... instead I'd type "lesbians dad rapes cat".[/quote]

Its AOL users. You're giving them too much credit...
 
[quote name='Moxio']They seem fake to me. I mean, do you really type in phrases like that when you search? I wouldn't search for "What do do when you are a lesbian and your dad rapes your oldest cat"... instead I'd type "lesbians dad rapes cat".[/QUOTE]
People really do that.

Check the history at a public computer.
 
Its interesting how you can look at searches like that and get a story practically built in your mind of that person. One chick is angry and wants to get back at a boyfriend possibly over the phone, a football hopeful possibly contemplating suicide, a woman with weight issues and a victim of abuse, a guy wanting to kill his wife, desensitizing himself with violent pictures. I mean 5 lines of searches and you practically know exactly what is going on in these peoples heads. Amazing!
 
[quote name='Brak']People really do that.

Check the history at a public computer.[/QUOTE]

Which is really the scary part about a lot of the searches. :lol:
 
I'm stunned by how many people have searched for "how to jack off" and "jack off lessons".
 
[quote name='Brak']I'm stunned by how many people have searched for "how to jack off" and "jack off lessons".[/QUOTE]

Well, when you're homeschooled you don't have peer groups to make fun of you for doing it, while simulataneously demonstrating proper technique in your general direction. ;)

While I'm glad AOL stripped identifying factors from this, the New York Times had a coverstory last week where they interviewed a woman who they identified by her online searches alone. Be very careful with some of this stuff - and, more importantly, with your online searches. Who knows if/when google might post your searches sufficient to have other people identify you.
 
[quote name='Brak']People really do that.

Check the history at a public computer.[/QUOTE]

While I never looked up anything "interesting", I have donw seraches with the full question rountinebefore- and gotten better results than using a keyword. It's kind of weird.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']Well, when you're homeschooled you don't have peer groups to make fun of you for doing it, while simulataneously demonstrating proper technique in your general direction. ;)

While I'm glad AOL stripped identifying factors from this, the New York Times had a coverstory last week where they interviewed a woman who they identified by her online searches alone. Be very careful with some of this stuff - and, more importantly, with your online searches. Who knows if/when google might post your searches sufficient to have other people identify you.[/quote]
At least with search engines, it's anonymized by IP address. My searches are spread across at least two IPs, and other people search on those same IPs.
 
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