Posted on 04/15/2005 10:15:58 AM PDT by Cagey
Everything that's great and everything that's frightening about the Internet can be summed up in a single word.
Zaba.
That's Zaba as in ZabaSearch.com, a so-called people search site that allows you to quickly track down the whereabouts of just about anyone, free of charge.
There are already numerous people search resources online, varying widely in reliability and fees.
(There's also an interesting story about the people behind ZabaSearch and the notorious mass suicide in Southern California involving the Heaven's Gate cult. But we'll get back to that.)
What makes ZabaSearch great is that, at no cost, it quickly and comprehensively places a remarkable amount of data about people right at your fingertips.
What makes ZabaSearch frightening is that, at no cost, it quickly and comprehensively places a remarkable amount of data about people right at your fingertips.
"It's extremely troubling," said Gail Hillebrand, a staff attorney with Consumers Union in San Francisco.
"It's a fundamental invasion of privacy because they've put all these records together and give them away for nothing instead of keeping them separate and making people pay to get them."
Robert Zakari, ZabaSearch's president, told me the service was quietly unveiled on Feb. 28 without any marketing or publicity. All traffic since then has been exclusively through word of mouth.
Once people discover the site, Zakari said, they typically begin hunting for old girlfriends or boyfriends, former classmates or military pals.
"It's all about making contact," he said. "It's addictive."
It's also in the eyes of some a threat to people's privacy and safety.
"Think what this could mean for anyone with a stalker problem or a restraining-order issue," said Hillebrand at Consumers Union.
But Zakari countered that ZabaSearch represents only "a natural evolution of technology."
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
LOL Some folks just aren't leaving trails behind them. Do your feet touch the floor?
I wonder who runs this site and if it's legit. Would hate to give a card # to some George Soreass front group or something.
"Here's looking up your old address."
*looking downward*
I am touching the floor.
What's it mean when I can see the floor through my feet?
I know I've left a bit of a footprint behind.
Strange that the search thingy didn't find it.
I'm almost disappointed.
"This is the one and only time I bless my parents for gifting me with an exceedingly common name."
I have a very uncommon name, like as in every person with my last name is some kind of relative. Caught some I was totally unaware of. Did find an old buddy that I'd lost track of. I wonder who else I can track down?
"It's a fundamental invasion of privacy because they've put all these records together and give them away for nothing instead of keeping them separate and making people pay to get them."
Liberal idiots say the stuipidist things.
Not too impressive. It has my current address and old phone number (I switched to my unlisted second line and dropped the first when I got a cable modem) and it has my last address.
That's it. I can find this same information at other sites.
It couldn't find my name. :-)
People I wish to correspond with know where to find me.
HA! I'm not even listed...
Did you click on the satelite image link?!
No, not yet. I first checked the site while using Firefox. Links don't work in Firefox. Will try in I.E. later.
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