Hello everyone, As a fellow stacker and security professional I wanted to help raise awareness to a potential threat that may impact many of the users on cointalk. I also want to share a quick solution to help protect yourself and your investments. One of my favorite coin forums is the site is “post your silver bullion”, but many of these pictures contain sensitive data that is embedded in the photo. This data provides tons of information including geolocation where the photo was taken and even full names. Case and point, a new member who recently posted silver bullion used an iPhone 4, and has a very nice swimming pool in their back yard – as shown in google maps. A second, more senior member copyrights his photos using his full name. This too could easily reveal the location of investments. Smart phones and tablets store the most information. Here is a link you can follow to disable geotagging that might reveal where the photo was taken { http://icanstalku.com/how.php#disable }. You can also remove personal information from an image before posing using Windows by selecting properties -> details -> remove properties and personal information. I’m sure OSX has similar methods. I’m not trying to pick on or single out any members on cointalk, but only wish to help its members protect their precious metals. Be safe out there!
A lot of folks use Photobucket to host their pics. If you go to your account and click "User Settings" then "Privacy" there are a number of options you can check to prevent identification of your photographs.. For example " When I upload, permanently remove information about where my photos were taken" and "File name scrambling" Maximus and his two buddies look after my stuff when I`m not around
Using security settings on Photobucket is a smart move. Maximus is intimidating looking, but all dogs turn into big babies when you wave a tasty treat in their face
Geo-location of images is a moot point if you avidly trade coins, and you're constantly giving out your home address. A safe deposit box and home alarm system are the answers. I've got nothing against dogs and guns, but why let it get to that point?
Who on earth would make a coin sale at their home address? Public venues only for me...but the issue of geolocation and meta data is good to be aware of. Posting photos (regardless of their content) that includes metadata about where they were taken won't just show someone where you live. The more you post, the more a criminal can piece together your daily commute, regular hangout a, friends, family, etc. just a good idea all around to turn that sort of functionality off.
If you don't have Photoshop, there are a lot of free EXIF erasing programs out there, and even ones that will do it from the cloud for you.
