http://www.nypost.com/seven/06012009...es_on_the_web_...

Flying under the radar of the Google-Microsoft rivalry in the
high-stakes search industry is a new gang of sites that build deep
dossiers on your secrets -- and those of your pals -- just from your
keyboard strokes.


The launch of Microsoft's Bing on Wednesday is putting the spotlight
on some of the darker corners of the search industry, including sites
that online experts say act like privacy pirates on the prowl for
users' secrets.


Under the guise of "marketing research," these new search engines
feed
on social and people networks -- as well as contents of your e-mail
address books -- to collect data ranging from favorite foods to
photos
with old flames.


The outreach of these commercial entities, which cost just a few
bucks
a month, makes Big Brother looks passé, according to the current
issue
of PC World.


PC World's wrap-up on the new "people eaters" says the firms operate
legally because the information they capture is already out there for
the public to see.


Among the leading outfits trafficking in your personal life are
Spokeo, Pipl and CVGadget.


Spokeo's Web site promises to help you "uncover personal photos,
videos and secrets," including "juicy" and "mouthwatering news about
friends and coworkers."


"Aggregated identity is actually a new type of identity," says Spokeo
CEO Harrison Tang.


Spokeo uses online address book contacts to track personal activity
on
the Internet, from blogs to file share services including Facebook
and
MySpace. Even random photos posted years ago on Flickr could pop up
in
seconds.


Other sources are Amazon Wish Lists, Pandora playlists and many of
the
movie rating sites, said PC World.


None of the new search outfits apologize for the prying.


"All you can do is learn to live with it," said Kevin B. McDonald,
executive VP of Alvaka Network, a network management firm.


"That's the confines of the world we live in."