Family FAQ

You asked:

I've heard you can use tools to track the location of people who visit your MySpace profile. If this is true, should I be concerned?

The Online Family answers:

Sites such as MixMap and Trakzor, allow you to see, for example, the geographic location of who's visiting your MySpace profile. For example, according to MixMap's site you can use its tool to see the town, county, and state of people who look at your MySpace profile. So if two MixMap members visit each other's MySpace page, they can see each other's general geographic location on a map, along with other MySpace profile details such as sex, age, distance and so on. However, if you're not a MixMap user, then its web site claims that you will only show up as "anonymous" on someone else's tracking map -- but your general location could still show up even though you're known as "anonymous."

If your kids use social networking sites, this kind of tracking is a concern. It could help someone begin to narrow down where they live. To protect their privacy, make sure your kids don't register for tracking sites like MixMap or Trakzor, and that they don't communicate with people who track visitors this way (the tracking program logo should show up on any site where its used). Most importantly, be proactive in your protective efforts and make sure your kids do not include their city, state or address in their MySpace profile.

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