You wonder how web sites like FB know about email addresses you maintain without being explicitly told. I can't tell you how they got hold of your Yahoo address, but it must have been from a publicly accessible source.
Alternaut, did you read my post no. 18532 (now on page 1)?
I did not give them my real name. They did not know my real name. Real name, not. I did not give them my company name. They did not know my company name. I was a Fictional name. There was no connection, there, between me/my company, and my Fictional name.
No ONE had responded to "friend" requests either. ALL they knew was that I had "friend requested" some relatives. That does not instantly identify me or my company!
Despite what you claim as certain, it is most assuredly not because they are somehow hacking your Mac.
Hacking? I never mentioned hacking. What I am saying is that they proved to me that they do have a trail of websites visited,
even if you are not a member of F/book. Beyond the obvious (you or your friends somehow publishing your info like DK described) there are various ways in which you as internet surfer stand out. Some of these details are discussed in the thread
Web privacy: cookies vs browser specs. Related privacy/security concerns were discussed in several MacWorld articles I linked to in
THE CYBER-SECURITY THREAD.
Another tool I can recommend in this context is Safari extension
Ghostery, which shows you who's tracking you when you visit any particular web page. Install it, visit these forums again and see for yourself. Then compare that with other sites you frequent.
The first thread you mention, I am already in it.
The one linking to Macworld, I have just looked at, and I had already done all the safety/security tips recommended therein.
As to whether FTM can access your cookies, I can say that as a mod I can't with the UBB.threads tools I have access to. It's possible that admins have access to such tools, but to be sure they would have to chime in with the details. That said and assuming they have such access (it would be a UBB software-based privilege), I'm sure that they aren't likely to use it if only because they have better things to do. That may not reassure you, but it's good enough for me. Btw, the FTM cookies control your access to the forums, nothing more, nothing less.
Finally, the email address you need to provide FTMF upon registering is required so admins have a way to contact you directly, in case contact via the forums is not possible or desirable. Even for that purpose we don't use these addresses lightly, nor (AFAIK) do we provide 3rd party access to them.
That is not the address I deleted.
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I must admit to being astonished that people as computer-savvy as yourselves (that's a collective yourselves) are not bothered about the fact that F/book have proved that they track internet use AND demonstrate that to your face. If, however, you now have me down as a delusional hysteric then I'm afraid there is little I can do to prove what I say happened to me on Monday night.
F/book is the creepiest site on earth, and they prove it. Oh, and I don't use Safari, but thanks for that suggestion, I only use Firefox and IE when absolutely necessary as aforementioned elsewhere on this forum. (People didn't believe me about that either IIRC.)
