Ask HN: What strategies do you use to protec yourself from online harassment?
1. Find pictures of you
2. Find your address and that of your family
3. Connect your social graph
4. Get contact information
5. Many more bad things
How do you limit the surface area of an attack like this?
Some of the things I do:
Detecting potential threats or current exposure
1. Run reverse image searches on public pictures.
2. Search my phone number & identity online.
3. Check meta-data, ex-if data on images.
Limiting Exposure
1. Not having facebook, twitter or instagram, or making privacy settings maximum.
2. Getting a new phone number after +10 years as it is associated with your identity all over the internet.
3. Creating social networking profiles with some correct information and some incorrect information.
4. Having strong passwords and different user names for every message board you post on.
5. Either register websites with fake/incomplete info or get whoisgaurd.
Doxxing
One of the biggest ways that an attacker can find your real identity is via payments. Paypal, google, venmo etc. These by necessity are tied to your real identity and can be associated with you. If you have a site with donations people will donate $0.01 and get the data associated with purchase.
Public Profiles
1. If you have a youtube channel turning comments off will limit low hanging fruit.
2. Making it difficult to associate your public profile with a real way to contact you. Difficulty to get a phone number, address or email.
3. Never respond directly to people accosting you.
These aren't really that great but just some ideas I've had/employed for myself. How do you protect yourselves and what are some good strategies?