Plenty of people have googled themselves before and been shocked by the amount of information they can learn from accounts they thought private. In addition, googling your name can also turn up information about any privacy breaches you may have been a part of.
It's important to remember that the rankings you see are NOT the rankings seen by everyone else. Your search results are tailored to you. As a result, googling yourself doesn't give you the big picture. It just gives you an (often misleading) indicator of your performance based on narrow criteria.
It's totally fine to do an initial Google on someone you just met (especially somewhere like a bar or online) simply to make sure that s/he is, in fact, who they say they are.
Can Someone See When You Google Them? If you search for someone's name online, they won't receive a notification that you Googled their name, nor can they find out that you searched for them.
There are real-world consequences to what's out there about you online, even if you had nothing to do with it. It may surprise you to learn: 33 percent of Google search results are influenced by other individuals of the same name. 20 percent of people find outdated or flat out inaccurate information.
There is no way to know if you've been Googled, and you can't know how many times your name has appeared in search results. However, you can use Google Alerts to find some answers. An alert looking for your own name might seem somewhat self-absorbed, but it's the first step in playing it safe.
#1: Go private on social media
If you have an account on any of them that features your name, Google will find it. Not only will they find it, Google will display the account(s) highly in any search for your name. A quick way to clear those results is by making sure the profiles on those accounts are private.
If your private information is leaked to the Dark Web, scammers can use it to steal your identity, rack up debts in your name, deplete your Medicare benefits, or ruin your credit history.
For example, some of your friends might mention your name in a social network or tag you on online photos, or your name could appear in blog posts or articles. Search for your name on Google to see what information about you comes up.
You're in control of what information you share with Google when you search. To browse the web privately, you can use private browsing, sign out of your account, change your custom results settings, or delete past activity.
Firstly, you don't necessarily need to put your real name (although it is a requirement by Google). You can just put your nickname and make it look convincing that it is a name, and you should be okay with it. If you don't need Gmail, you can just follow the steps here and you should be alright.
Search the person's first name and last name as a single search term within double quotation marks: e.g. "John Smith". If the name is a somewhat common one, many irrelevant results will show up. To filter these results, try including a middle initial or middle name with your original search: "John A.
You can sign up for a privacy scan to see what's out there. There are many online monitoring services that will tell you when you've been mentioned on the internet. The most popular site is Google Alerts, but there are others like Mention.com that you can use if you prefer.
BrandYourself will help you position your information closer to the top so people won't get the wrong idea about you when they do a cursory search for your name. Google yourself now if you haven't done it already! You never know what you're going to find.
Use a distraction. Another technique to keep you from self-diagnosing is distraction. When you feel like doing some Googling distract yourself by doing something else — going for a run, calling up a friend, watching some funny videos, whatever will get you out of your head.
You can pay for an internet privacy service, such as DeleteMe, Kanary and OneRep, while people-search websites such as Spokeo, MyLife.com and Radaris have procedures to allow consumers to request removal from their database.
Is it legal? Using Tor or visiting the Dark Web are not unlawful in themselves. It is of course illegal to carry out illegal acts anonymously, such as accessing child abuse images, promoting terrorism, or selling illegal items such as weapons.
Can the police track you on the dark web? Yes, the police can still track you on the dark web if they need to, although it's extremely hard to do so. The Tor browser you use to access the dark web can mask your identity and location.
Similar to using a standard web browser to access the open web, the act of using Tor or a dark web browser to access the dark web is not illegal in and of itself. It is illegal to perform illegal acts on the dark web, regardless of the level of anonymity provided by the platform.
Yes, they can.
The people who can access this information could be your boss or family member if they control the network. It is best to use security tools: VPNs, HTTPS proxies, and the Tor browser to keep your searches private from them.