Table Of ContentHiding from the Internet
Eliminating Personal Online Information
Third Edition
Michael Bazzell
Hiding from the Internet:
Eliminating Personal Online Information
Third Edition
Copyright © 2016 by Michael Bazzell
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or
mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in
writing from the author.
First Published: January 2016
The information in this book is distributed on an “As Is” basis, without warranty. The author has
taken great care in preparation of this book, but assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions.
No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out
of the use of the information or programs contained herein.
Rather than use a trademark symbol with every occurrence of a trademarked name, this book
uses the names only in an editorial fashion and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no
intention of infringement of the trademark.
ISBN 13: 978-1522914907
ISBN 10: 1522914900
Contents
About the Author
Introduction
CHAPTER 1: Self Pre-Assessment
Search Engines
Alternative Search Engines
Search Tool
Ancestry Records
Email Addresses
User Names
Location Based Searches
CHAPTER 2: Self-Background Check
Public Websites
People Directories
Telephone and Address
Social Networks
Facebook
Private Databases
Credit Reports
Personal Reports
CHAPTER 3: Preparation
Loyalty Programs
Utility Bills
Removal vs. Disinformation
Anonymous Email Addresses
Anonymous Telephone Numbers
Mailing Address
Custom Opt-Out Request Forms
Anonymous Fax Service
CHAPTER 4: Online Protection
Basic Protection
Antivirus
System Updates
Anti-Malware
System Cleaner
Alternative Browser
Firefox Extensions
Intermediate Protection
NoScript
Search Engines Settings
Advance Protection
VPN
Tor
Tails Boot CD
Virtual Machines
CHAPTER 5: Credit Companies
Credit Opt-Out
Fraud Alert
Credit Freeze
Credit Options
Secondary Credit Card
Prepaid Credit Cards
Masked Credit Cards
CHAPTER 6: Anonymous Purchases
Online Purchases
Amazon
Kindle
Ebay and PayPal
Store Purchases
Services
Packages
CHAPTER 7: Anonymous Telephones
Contract Terms
Choosing a Device
Factory Restore
Cellular Service
VOIP Solutions
Complete Reset
Encrypted Communications
Signal
Silent Phone
Wickr
CHAPTER 8: Personal Data Removal
People & Telephone Search Engines
Caller ID Databases
Email Assumptions
Public Data Brokers
Non-Public Data Brokers
Data Marketers
DMA Choice
Catalog Choice
Ancestry Records
Online Coupons
Loyalty and Reward Cards
CHAPTER 9: Social Networks
Privacy Settings
Content Removal
Delete Accounts
Facebook
Twitter
Google
YouTube
Google+
Instagram
MySpace
LinkedIn
Photos
Google Maps
Blogs
CHAPTER 10: Web Publishing
Domain Registration
Search Engine Control
Robots.txt File
Webmaster Tools
CHAPTER 11: Government Records
Property Tax Records
Data Removal
Ownership Change
Internal Revenue Service
Voter Registration
Court Records
Concealed Carry Permits
CHAPTER 12: Disinformation
Name Disinformation
Address Disinformation
Location Spoofing
Telephone Disinformation
General Tips
CHAPTER 13: Aliases
Choosing a Name
Email Addresses
Telephone Numbers
Employment
Hometown
Social Networks
Identification
Family History
Digital Footprint
Legalities
CHAPTER 14: Future Habits
Identity Verification
Telephone Calls
Smart Devices
Monitoring
Website Analytics
CHAPTER 15: Major Life Events
Purchasing a Home
Renting a Home
LLC Bank Accounts
Anonymous Utilities
Vehicle Purchases
Marriage
Divorce
Death
CHAPTER 16: Data Leakage Response
Home Information Leakage
Photo Leakage
Financial Information Leakage
Reputation Information Leakage
Criminal Information Leakage
CONCLUSION:
About the Author
Michael Bazzell
Michael Bazzell spent 18 years as a government computer crime
investigator. During the majority of that time, he was assigned to the FBI’s
Cyber Crimes Task Force where he focused on open source intelligence,
hacking cases, and personal data removal methods. As an active
investigator for multiple organizations, he has been involved in numerous
high-tech criminal investigations including online child solicitation, child
abduction, kidnapping, cold-case homicide, terrorist threats, and high level
computer intrusions. He has trained thousands of individuals in the use of
his investigative techniques and privacy control strategies.
Michael currently works and resides in Washington, D.C. He also serves as
technical advisor for the television hacker drama "Mr. Robot" on the USA
network. His books Open Source Intelligence Techniques and Hiding from
the Internet have been best sellers in both the United States and Europe.
They are used by several government agencies as training manuals for
intelligence gathering and securing personal information.
Introduction
Hiding from the Internet
Many people believe that privacy is dead. In Open Source Intelligence
Techniques I demonstrated how anyone can use the internet to locate
personal information about oneself or others. From social networks to
people search engines, it is simply too easy to find private information
about each of us online. The internet will usually identify your residence,
family members, telephone numbers, shopping habits, vehicles,
employers, date of birth, education history, and many other details that
should not be public. This book will help you maintain your privacy from
the general public searching the internet.
Almost every online repository of personal information will allow you to
remove your personal information. Since these companies make money
from selling your private data, they do not make this removal process
obvious. You will not see a website such as People Finders list a huge
graphic on the top of their home page that says “remove your data here”.
Instead, they bury these links to keep the majority of viewers away from
online removal submissions and written removal request instructions. This
book identifies the best effective ways to remove your personal
information from public databases.
Third Edition
The first edition of Hiding from the Internet was released in August of
2012 followed by a second edition in 2014. Since then, a lot has changed.
Many of the techniques for information removal were slightly different
