Posted on 07/30/2005 10:05:24 PM PDT by Panerai
Your personal information has become big business on the Web. Most online companies count each registered user's personal info as a valuable asset. If you're registered somewhere, you have a price on your head. But there are ways around that.
Beyond the creepy feeling of knowing your personal information is being used as a commodity, registration is annoying. You can choose not to register, but sometimes that means not getting the content you want, say, at the New York Times Web site.
Anonymous registration
A site called Bugmenot.com uses a community approach. People are encouraged to submit their logins at registered sites, then those logins are shared. The result is, if you want to read content at a site that requires registration, you just go to Bugmenot.com, type in the URL of the site you wish to read, and get a login and password to use temporarily.
I've tried it at several sites, and it works well. The only downfall is that most of the logins are not activated to post in forums and message boards. That's a good thing and a policy they should adhere to. In fact Bugmenot.com has a long list of terms and conditions that state clearly what is acceptable and what isn't. The site simply wants to protect your identity, not aid you in spamming or committing crimes.
You should think about the fact that this kind of service could be considered stealing. After all, the content sites are giving you the content you'd otherwise pay for, in exchange for your personal info. You're cheating them of valid personal info. It may or may not be technically a violation, depending on the site, so be warned.
(Excerpt) Read more at reviews.cnet.com ...
Bookmarked.
Good post. Thanks.
Bookmarked here too.
Thanks.
Most of the names I've tried using from bugmenot were crap.
Its not considered stealing,if you use these bogus logins at liberal sites such as the new york times...Haven't they always stated that its only a crime if you think it is..I feel its okay,so that must make it okay...I wonder if they feek that way when their homes are robbed?????Dontcha love moral relativism??????
Some sites have tumbled to the bugmenot program. They no longer accept the bugmenot recommended logins.
And the Anonymizer no longer has a free program--at least I couldn't find one at the site.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.