Stolen identitities? - Redux

After reviewing in my head the details as mentioned to me by Ning, the various comments to my post Stolen identities, and also taking into consideration the availability of very few facts with regard to her fake blog, I have concluded that there simply could be more than one possible explanation how her old blog name could have been resurrected. These are the possibilities:

1. Someone who knows Ning's login name and password could easily login her account and create a new blog in place of the old (deleted) one;
   

2. Someone who may not necessarily know Ning's login name and password could also still create a blog with the same name, as long as the old URL is available.

While the former may be a practice of some unscrupulous people who violate the trust other people put in them by misusing login names and passwords, the latter is an activity performed by others who either want to take advantage of the popularity of certain URLs, even inactive ones (for whatever purpose), or potentially popular ones (for profit), in the case of cybersquatting. In any case we should be wary of both.

In other words, my allusion to another blogger being possibly responsible for this charade is only that: an allusion. While it remains a possibility, I want to clear up that it is not the only possibility. My apologies if I elucidated on only one possible inference in that post. If I inadvertently made it appear that another blogger was automatically guilty, then I apologize for that impression as well.

I am making this clarification in order to avert any potential blogger witch hunts, similar to what happened before. We all know that that was a truly dark period among Pinoy bloggers, and we should avoid having a repeat of that incident if we can help it.

That being said, stolen blog identities is something everyone should be aware and careful of. To prevent yourself from being victimized, try to observe the following precautions:

1. Avoid giving your login names and passwords to other people, especially those people you don't know that well;

2. If you have given your login name and password to other people in the past, even those people you trust, it's always a good idea to change your password;

3. Even if you're sure that no one else knows your password, it makes good sense to change it at regular intervals. Prolonged use of a password virtually guarantees that one day you will be careless with it, such as when you enter it using another computer (like in an internet cafe) which may remember it;

4. Avoid using the same password for your blog accounts, email accounts, etc. You're only making things easier for a potential identity thief;

5. Avoid using your real or full names in blog URLs. Use blog titles or aliases. That way, even if your blog URL gets stolen, it won't be much of a hassle;

6. If you're a blogger, and you're absolutely certain that you want quit blogging and delete your blog, it may be good practice to tell all your fellow bloggers to remove their links to your blog. Having more links raises the potential value of the URL, which may make it a good target for those interested in hijacking the URL of your blog, especially when you deactivate it.

I hope this post will clear things up, and perhaps even help you from being potential victims of blog identity theft.

To all those who shared their comments, views, and experiences regarding blog identity theft in my previous post, thank you very much.