Before the Internet came along, doing a background check on someone you had your peepers on involved you asking common friends about them, what they like doing, or where they hang out. Or when applying for a job, it meant ringing up references you might have listed on your Curriculum Vitae. But with today's technology, knowing all that is just a mere click away. And for about $3 (which you can charge to your credit card), Spokeo lets you know all that and more without having to reach for the phone or fish from a friend.

Spooky-o

Spokeo is a search engine that uses email addresses to find people across the social Web. It combs 41 social networks and collects all information associated with all email address in your virtual black book, which include blog entries, LinkedIn profiles, Flickr photostreams, tweets, Facebook comments, even wish lists in Amazon. And every time new content is added, Spokeo lets you know. They take their tag line to heart - "uncover personal photos, videos and secrets," including "juicy" and "mouth-watering news about friends and co-workers."

It's a bit fascinating to learn more about the people on your list except those that you barely remember or care for. Suddenly you have insights into preferred music, favourite books, and political views of a whole shnazz load of people you probably even wouldn't know what to say if you bumped into them in an elevator.

Electronic exposure

Whether they target businesses or individuals, such services have one thing in common: people-stalking utilities build a highly detailed dossier about you solely from information that you yourself published. The reality can be chilling if the information is going to certain individuals: the bank, an employer big on background checks, or an ex with Glenn-Close-in-Fatal Attraction tendencies.

The thing to remember, of course, is that these services aren't doing anything illegal. The information Spokeo gathers is ready information that anyone who knew where to look and had the time to do it could find so they aren’t breaking any privacy rules. If you made your profiles private, then obviously, they won't be able to get any meat on you. But if like most people you've posted stuff online without thinking twice about who can see it, Spokeo will find it.

Online Protection

There's no question the evolution of Internet technologies, particularly in the realm of search, has made it easier to find publicly available personal information.

Here are some pointers to take note of for a safer online experience:

Just because some people fill up the profiles as if it was going to be graded means you should do the same. If you don't feel like answering entries that you aren't comfortable putting, don't.

If people want to reach you, they can always send a message through the site.

Set up a separate email account that doesn’t use your real name and use that to register and receive mail from the site.