Is it safe to use a real picture for your avatar / profile pic??

[Spellbound]

For the last few years I've used real pictures of myself for my avatar and for a profile pic. Last night, I forwarded a thread link to some friends and they commented back to me asking why I was using a real life picture....saying it was unsafe to do so. Upon that response, I then changed my avatar to an AC/DC album cover from 1981. I see that some folks here at Avalon (including Bill) use real pics for their avatars while others do not. My question therefore, is it safe to use a real life picture of oneself for one's avatar (or profile) in an online forum?? Or is that a dangerous thing to do (tempting fate). What are the dangers here?? Identity theft?? What is the difference between posting a real picture here vs say an online dating site?? Admittedly, I'm not very tech savvy, but I've always wondered about this.

Dave - Toronto

[Sean]

I can't use my real pic. I come here to talk about, and say, things that I can'tell anywhere else..

[Spellbound]

Anyone who knows me knows that I believe in aliens, JFK conspiracy, sasquatch, and gov't cover-ups. Most think I'm nuts, but that doesn't bother me. For me, that wouldn't hinder me from posting my picture. However, are there other dangers of doing so?? Would/could that tie into identity theft??

Dave - Toronto

[korgh]

Rule #1: Never upload ANY personal data about you.
Rule #2: Make sure about how to security yourself when you connect your computer.
Rule #3: Try to stay "low profile" reducing the finger prints from you S.O.
Rule #4: Paranoia is never enough when you don't know who is the enemy
FACT: They know who you are no matter what you do. Its only a question of time.

Cheers!

[Atlas]

A facial recognition system is a computer application capable of identifying or verifying a person from a digital image or a video frame

Facial recognition can be used not just to identify an individual, but also to unearth other personal data associated with an individual – such as other photos featuring the individual, blog posts, social networking profiles, Internet behavior, travel patterns, etc. – all through facial features alone.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facial...Privacy_issues

[Althena]

NO! NO, no no nononono.

[Atlas]

N.S.A. Collecting Millions of Faces From Web Images
The spy agency’s reliance on facial recognition technology has grown significantly over the last four years as the agency has turned to new software to exploit the flood of images included in emails, text messages, social media, videoconferences and other communications, the N.S.A. documents reveal.

[shaberon]

I haven't used one so as not to feed the facial recognition borg. I have a little less objection to filling the net with "watchwords"...such as "flu" or "Southern California" which it can attempt to ip trace all it wants, there is no camera on this thing for remote takeover.

Truth? I was on a police list since I was maybe fourteen--never having had an encounter with them at that age. Computers, at that time, were along the lines of 8088s. I can only guess that "someone" decided to...say something about me. It never really made any difference, but I do not care for the much stronger radar they use now.

[Wind]

It doesn't really matter, it's a personal choice. If they want to find out who you are, they will. Not much you can do about it.

[Limor Wolf]

Speaking our minds and being who we are is a fundamental right, it is natural in free society and is the basis of freedom itself, this is what I chose and do not give my consent to anything else over my choice of reality. True freedom should never be diminished from our world, no matter what tactics are being pulled. It is a personal choice, of course, but we do give our consent when not continuing to live our life according to what we believe in and act upon, no battles are encouraged or needed. The fear that this matrix of illusions tries to coerce on us is someone else's game but not our own, someone else's creation, but not our own. This world supposes to fulfill our needs (while we respect it and are in gratitude and are creating from this emotion) and not the other way around, yes, we ought to live in respect for others and expect respect back, but first we may want to chose to respect ourselves enough, that will be a good start. Many blessings ~

[Limor Wolf]

Reading Wade Frazier's post from 7 of September, will quote here -

"Scarcity and fear have always been the great shaping hands of human societies, and are so deeply ingrained that few people can really even sense them, as it is like the air they breathe. "

[Atlas]

AMAZING Facial Recognition Breakthrough Announced

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=SYVExWwmRlI

[ElfeMya]

Posted by Wind (here)
It doesn't really matter, it's a personal choice. If they want to find out who you are, they will. Not much you can do about it.

I tend to agree with you and from personal experience, no matter where you are, all the players are always on the playground ... There is something liberating in becoming public though and not perpetuating a cycle of fear through this.

[pugwash84]

I use mine because I am not bothered if people know who I am, I will say how I feel and what I think on here and to peoples faces lol x

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Wind (here)

It doesn't really matter, it's a personal choice. If they want to find out who you are, they will. Not much you can do about it.

Exactly. If you use a computer with a built-in camera, for instance, they'd have your picture long ago -- if they actually wanted it.

They can also (if they want to) record your voice, your movements, your financial transactions, and ALL your communications, including all e-mails, Facebook posts, Skype and SMS texts, and anything you write here. And map your network of friends (and different kinds of friends) pretty exactly.

With some targeted people 'of interest', they probably have them so well profiled they know what they're going to have for breakfast before they do themselves... maybe not just a joke.

[DeDukshyn]

Posted by korgh (here)
Rule #1: Never upload ANY personal data about you.
Rule #2: Make sure about how to security yourself when you connect your computer.
Rule #3: Try to stay "low profile" reducing the finger prints from you S.O.
Rule #4: Paranoia is never enough when you don't know who is the enemy
FACT: They know who you are no matter what you do. Its only a question of time.

Cheers!

Here's my rules:
#1 "Don't give a **** about anything"
#2 "Don't make stupid decisions"

[Chester]

Posted by Spellbound (here)
For the last few years I've used real pictures of myself for my avatar and for a profile pic. Last night, I forwarded a thread link to some friends and they commented back to me asking why I was using a real life picture....saying it was unsafe to do so. Upon that response, I then changed my avatar to an AC/DC album cover from 1981. I see that some folks here at Avalon (including Bill) use real pics for their avatars while others do not. My question therefore, is it safe to use a real life picture of oneself for one's avatar (or profile) in an online forum?? Or is that a dangerous thing to do (tempting fate). What are the dangers here?? Identity theft?? What is the difference between posting a real picture here vs say an online dating site?? Admittedly, I'm not very tech savvy, but I've always wondered about this.

Dave - Toronto

What can happen?

[Rich]

It's whatever we believe in that makes it safe for us or not because that's what we will manifest but I agree with Sam in reality nothing can happen except we might manifest our fear.

[Olaf]

It doesn't matter. Since project avalon has included the funtionality of Google translate, which is included on top of every page you load, google already knows your identity.

It even does not help to use different browsers, because your IP adress as well as other unique identifiers of your system (such as operating system, grafics controller, installed fonts and much more) allow it to take a personal fingerprint of your system.

[Nick Matkin]

Something no one here has yet mentioned.

If you use a picture that you have taken yourself and use as an avatar or in a post, no matter what it is, and posted it on any other website at all a simple reverse image search will show other websites where is occurs. This can be an easy way to find out who you are, where you live and no doubt other details.

Google has a reverse image search anyone can use (it's not a secret) and tineye.com does the same thing. There are no doubt others.

These reverse image searches are extremely useful in exposing some group or individual claiming a photo is of one thing, when a search shows it was something else, first published some years before of another incident in a different place! (You have been warned. Don't do it.)

There are some incredibly nasty individuals out there, dangerous crazies. One or two may lurk of here for all I know and I'm sure Bill and the mods know all about them. If you piss them off, they may go to incredible lengths to gain revenge. Having an avatar that you've used on facebook or twitter is just making it easy for them.

If you do it to my avatar, you can see what it is and where it came from - and whether it's copyrighted or not!

Keep safe folks...

Nick