I’m surprised by the backlash regarding this tool. Well, I guess surprised is the wrong word. I get that it is creepy. There are lots of websites that do this very thing like whatsmyname.app.
I personally like running my username through tools like this and aggregating my digital presence. When I was younger, I signed up for lots of sites that were the cool, new thing. Checking myself years later, I am shocked by the wide berth I left. Fitness accounts. Accounts from that time I was getting into studying chess. I’m the type of person who is always on to the next hobby. I go 100% in on something, then pop to the next thing. It was a big wake up call to me looking back seeing how much presence I left. Many accounts are so old I can’t even get into them anymore to clean up what’s out there. Tools like this can be used for good.
That said, I totally understand the cyber stalking/bullying concerns. I am also astounded by the cyber sleuth types. In the documentary, Don’t F* with Cats, people spent 100s of hours carefully walking through streets in Google Maps to match a location to a photo they had of a guy who killed a cat on YouTube. It seems to me where there’s a will, there’s a way. It’s scary, and unfortunately a lot of tools we can use to protect ourselves are the same tools that can be used against us. Look at cyber security in general. A black hat and a white hat are people with the same skills, but ethics draw a line between them.
Tools like this also make me uncomfortable and I said as much last time an issue like this was discussed [1].
But I don't think the "it can be abused" argument is compelling. Most of the tools we have today can and have been abused. As you point out, we know bad actors use infosec tools and run the same POCs that researchers produce when they find new exploits and vulnerabilities (after disclosure); they check the same CVEs and read the same papers. But this information has to be released and these tools have to be out in the open. Security through obscurity is a disaster.
Besides the other intended goals of these tools, I am hoping they will raise awareness and get many people to realize how easy it is to identify and deanonymize them online.
I somehow agree that there is no good strategy against "dual use" . However, why not simply put usage terms in the licence. The copyright owner chooses actively what uses they allow. IMHO it would be an ethically good thing to at least try to at least legally disallow "abuse": Authors of software need to claim more responsibilty and at least actively reflect on potential uses of their software.
What would that achieve, in terms of actually stopping bad actors? Genuine question: I’m guessing the ability for the copyright holder to sue a stalker? But why would they, and that remedy wouldn’t really work, if my guess is right. I must be missing something
Forgive me for being so dumb despite being on this website for so long. How do I download and install this program from github (macbook, no dev tools or terminal or anything on my computer)?
I personally like running my username through tools like this and aggregating my digital presence. When I was younger, I signed up for lots of sites that were the cool, new thing. Checking myself years later, I am shocked by the wide berth I left. Fitness accounts. Accounts from that time I was getting into studying chess. I’m the type of person who is always on to the next hobby. I go 100% in on something, then pop to the next thing. It was a big wake up call to me looking back seeing how much presence I left. Many accounts are so old I can’t even get into them anymore to clean up what’s out there. Tools like this can be used for good.
That said, I totally understand the cyber stalking/bullying concerns. I am also astounded by the cyber sleuth types. In the documentary, Don’t F* with Cats, people spent 100s of hours carefully walking through streets in Google Maps to match a location to a photo they had of a guy who killed a cat on YouTube. It seems to me where there’s a will, there’s a way. It’s scary, and unfortunately a lot of tools we can use to protect ourselves are the same tools that can be used against us. Look at cyber security in general. A black hat and a white hat are people with the same skills, but ethics draw a line between them.