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AOL Search User #4417749 Identified

nytimes.com — Ms. Arnold, who agreed to discuss her searches with a reporter, said she was shocked to hear that AOL had saved and published three months’ worth of them. “My goodness, it’s my whole personal life,” she said. “I had no idea somebody was looking over my shoulder.”

Who dugg this? Made popular Aug 9, 2006

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  • i440, on 10/12/2007, -2/+90"Hello, I would like to cancel my account."

    "I'm sorry to hear that. So what, primarily, do you use this account for..."
  • totorototoro, on 10/12/2007, -2/+77she canceled her account :)) :))
    if "cancel AOL account" wasn't in her search terms before, it is now.
  • knightblade2oo4, on 10/12/2007, -6/+56Calling to cancel my account...

    Sorry to hear that. Just let me sodomize you with a knife and we can talk...
  • tom6a, on 10/12/2007, -3/+37This is exactly what Google retains:

    Here is an example of a typical log entry where the search is for "cars", followed by a breakdown of its parts:

    123.45.67.89 - 25/Mar/2003 10:15:32 - http://www.google.com/search?q=cars - Firefox 1.0.7; Windows NT 5.1 - 740674ce2123e969

    * 123.45.67.89 is the Internet Protocol address assigned to the user by the user's ISP; depending on the user's service, a different address may be assigned to the user by their service provider each time they connect to the Internet;
    * 25/Mar/2003 10:15:32 is the date and time of the query;
    * http://www.google.com/search?q=cars is the requested URL, including the search query;
    * Firefox 1.0.7; Windows NT 5.1 is the browser and operating system being used; and
    * 740674ce2123a969 is the unique cookie ID assigned to this particular computer the first time it visited Google. (Cookies can be deleted by users. If the user has deleted the cookie from the computer since the last time s/he visited Google, then it will be the unique cookie ID assigned to the user the next time s/he visits Google from that particular computer).

    See: http://www.omninerd.com/2006/01/25/news/489?highlight=c4171#c4171
  • CamperBob, on 10/12/2007, -1/+34They did find the guy who was doing all the murder-related queries. Fellow named Steve King of Bangor, Maine. He had a pretty good excuse, as it turned out.
  • millixaw, on 10/12/2007, -0/+31A few more cases like these and it will be hard for the US gov't to gain approval for another Google subpeona-esque stunt like last year...
  • DangerStevens, on 10/12/2007, -4/+33Tie that to the google account cookie that's still in your browser from your Gmail session and they know that not only are you looking for cars, you've got an appointment at 6:30 to visit a dealership and your friends seem to chat you up about cars a lot between the hours of midnight and 1am.

    I love Google and I use their products but let's not kid ourselves: they know everything about me.

    http://multipartysystem.com
  • artnez, on 10/12/2007, -2/+30This is terrible. I feel so bad for her.
  • somerandomnerd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+23"someone tell the lady that google retains MUCH MORE data about you than the simple one month of queries claimed (in the article) by aol .."

    And maybe mention that Google refused to hand over their info to the government, compared to AOL's unrequested handing over of their info to the general public.

    I know which one I trust the most. And if there's a search engine company who doesn't record what people are searching for, how do they work on refining their services?
  • AppleBranFan, on 10/12/2007, -1/+22Moral of the story: Cancel AOL
  • queezenorph, on 10/12/2007, -0/+19How is she not suing AOL after all of this?

    There is no way I'd tolerate a complete shattering of my trust and privacy like that. She was identified even through AOL's "anonymity".

    When some people on that list find out that their lives are out there for the world to see, I'd be shocked if heads at AOL don't start rolling.
  • TheWriteGuy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+18Can she sue AOL for this? Have AOL's actions violated its TOS in some way?
  • JFetch, on 10/12/2007, -2/+19Why couldn't they track down the guy searching for a way to kill his wife?
  • icepick314, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18if you're gonna cancel the account, cancel the account, CANCEL THE ACCOUNT, don't forget to record the conversation...
  • Elohir, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16>what was the excuse then??

    As it turns out it was his dark half brother Richard Bachman making the searches.
  • badpit, on 10/12/2007, -1/+16It will very hard for her to drop the AOL account... You know that even the dead people rarely succeed.
  • videoeye, on 10/12/2007, -0/+15http://www.aolsearchdatabase.com/
  • konspence, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15Anyone who is surprised that much information about her was released by aol, please raise your hand now.
  • theoallardyce, on 10/12/2007, -3/+16The best part is you ***** yanks don't have a leg to stand on! ahahaha AOL can go and sell all your dirty secrets to the lowest bidder, hey would your employers be interested to know what crazy porn you've been searching for at home? I think they would! Maybe they can make a policy of printing it on a big board for the whole office to see?

    Get a data protection law, you have the right to know what data any organisation keeps on you - no matter if its AOL or the FBI, you have the right to know its kept safe. Sometimes socialism works.
  • Ratty, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13In the UK I think this would be a violation of the data protection act. But I'm unsure if the USA has anything similar.
  • troydoogle7, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12Aol Last week: "There is no personally identifiable information."
    Aol this week:"We acknowledged that there was information that could potentially lead to people being identified, which is why we were so angry.”

    “We apologize specifically to her,” he said. “There is not a whole lot we can do.”

    ERRR,,,, AOL, why not try to stop spying on your users.
  • bitcloud, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12Moral of the story:

    Your rights are being taken away from you from all directions, and sweeping issues like this under the bed doesn't make these companies STOP collecting your data... it just means that the data goes to select individuals, marketers, PR companies or worse - politicians, rather than the general public...
  • scott1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13Umm....
    This is not new...AOL has been on a downfall for a long time.
  • Kypt, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12People still own stock?
  • millixaw, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12Time Warner should just sell AOL to Microsoft. They'll know how to handle it better, and I won't feel dirty going to see Warner Bros movies.

    Seriously, it was more disturbing to see AOL's name on Lord of the Rings than any of Gollum's eating scenes.
  • bitcloud, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13Individuals can't sue companies... It's not feasable.

    Companies have legal budgets (& departments that exist to litigate)
    Old ladies have mortgages...

    It's like saying "If the italian soccer team steals your ball then why not just steal it back"
  • Ryosen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9“We apologize specifically to her,” he said. “The rest of you can just sod off.”
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Dugg, and plus points for the author linked to the adless print page!
  • Bigbro69, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Don't worry, it's probably as hard to get fired as it is to cancel your account.
  • Suplyndmnd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Too bad there's no "Caves in Afghanistan" searches or maybe we'd finally nail Osama. And who researched this enough to find out it was her? Or did she hear about the information and she found herself and came forward? I dont know, it's a NY Times article... maybe the article is photoshopped.
  • knightblade2oo4, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7wow it must be a ***** time to own stock...
  • thydzik, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6this is both so cool and scary.

    it is like reading a persons diary. I can only image all the searches I have entered. during all my different moods...
  • scott1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7AOL doesn't have stock.

    It's owned by time warner and it has stock...But it's stocks aren't doing too well..
  • theoallardyce, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Not really. You see AOL/Time Warner has sway in other commercial news outlets. These 'news' channels, papers and websites as they are known in America wouldn't want to piss off such an important potential customers and maybe even shareholders. You might be lucky, one or two news outlets might report this, it could be headline news or it could be a 30 second slot or a couple of inches on page 15. At the end of the day, most people will probably never find out and if they do they will probably never care. I expect even many of the people whos searches were printed will simply carry on being AOL customers.
  • Sukino, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7like from the beginning
  • chadedge, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Years ago I ran a Web site called "killaol.com" which explained the EULA - the full version which you couldn't read until you were already a customer (slick).

    Part of AOL's signup agreement states that you must accept their usage agreement, which you are presented with an abridged version (a paragraph explained that you would receive the full version once you were a customer). If you requested the full EULA, you were asked to become a customer or to get one from an existing customer (via e-mail and phone conversations this was discovered).

    What we found in the EULA: AOL is *not* an ISP; instead, they are a list broker of the highest cost - direct marketing companies such as AccudataAmerica sold the AOL "gold" list at a premium. The list contained summary information about users which was based on their browsing, e-mail, search and conversation histories. It was the most complete profile list I've ever seen. In direct marketing terms, the AOL list would nearly allow you to determine when a person would be most likely to purchase their next quart of milk (pure gold for direct marketers).
    Partner the AOL gold list with a transworld, experian, or other CC-based list and you'd have everything you could ever use to identify qualified leads for everything from toothpaste to sommelflanges.

    Of course, AOL was pissed as hell and went as far as having our 1u server physically yanked from our vegas server farm (at first, the farm was threatened with their entire class being blacklisted from AOL). If you did the math, a 1u server could hold about 200 domains, with 20-40 U's per rack, 4 racks per block, and about 500 blocks on the floor. That's 16,000,000 domains that could have paid the price for killaol.com telling the truth. The farm promptly yanked the server (an old Penguin Relion) and the domain went black. Months later, the server 'phoned-home,' from Vancouver!

    I spent three years exposing the AOL direct-marketing and list brokerage. I've always felt that, if you're willing to accept the sale of your personal information in exchange for what appears to be a good service (appears), then you have no complaints when the sale occurrs. I liken the sale to the same thing that happens when you use a check/discount card at your local grocer.
    However, AOL made it very, very difficult for their customers to discover this fact.
  • DigDugDigger, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I found the easiest and hassle-free way to cancel AOL is to call your bank instead and halt payments. When AOL stops getting your money, they'll cancel your service on your behalf.
  • nferrier, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I love the way the AOL guy says "we apologise specifically to her... but there's nothing we can do"

    Is that right? Nothing? How about compensation for those people whose privacy contract you have broken? Here in the UK we have laws about this kind of thing. Are all these customers in the US? I'm pretty sure the US has rules too.
  • Celeron, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5The downfall of AOL.
  • gkoberger, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4The best part about the canceling the subscription line is the one before it, too...

    "[T]he disclosure of her searches has left her disillusioned. In response, she plans to drop her AOL subscription."

    She's definitely delusional if she thinks she can cancel the subscription.
  • TheThirdWheel, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Wouldn't they sell to the highest bidder? I may be a Yank but I know economics.
  • rephlux, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5ugh.. IPSEC/SSL/tor/etc are great but do absolutely nothing about this attack vector
  • PoshNeya, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4"AOL removed the search data from its site over the weekend and apologized for its release, saying it was an unauthorized move by a team that had hoped it would benefit academic researchers."

    unauthorized?!? oh.come.on!
    somehow i feel sorry for that team who made that unauthorized move.
  • beatmonger, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Anyone else find it funny that she searches for "paranoia" like a dozen times?
  • fallen1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3bitcloud, "Old ladies have mortgages" but they also have a) lawyers who will work pro bono (technically for the exposure in this case) OR will work for a percentage of the award and b) have much better chance of getting both public good will and sympathy behind them. The old saying about "there is no such thing as bad news" does NOT apply when MegaCorporation reveals the entire personal life of Grandma. Even the apathetic citizens of the USA won't stand for that and that translates into negative press and declining share price.
  • dougbdl, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I have never seen a company that ***** up as often and as consistently as AOL.

    Can you imagine being a stockholder? Ugh!
  • bitcloud, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Like from when AOL thought it *was* the internet...
  • krinthekuz, on 09/16/2008, -0/+3woooo digg is gonna give out my comments!!! lets all go to kevin's house and beat his ass! or instead why dont we think for maybe .00001 seconds with our brain instead of our asses and realize the digg comments are already public. i could write a script in 20 min to crawl all the digg comments and log everyone's garbage and stupid ideas. the question is just how long it would take for it all to run. if it's publicly available on the web, writing a crawler to steal it all is easy.
  • edrift101, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I see a class action lawsuit coming that will be the demise of AOL.
  • koniosis, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Although adverts can be annoying they also keep websites like this free, and seeing as so many people will be interested in reading the article (and thus large bandwidth suck = large cost) linking to the ad-free print page is pretty poor Netiquette for want of a better word.
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