Databases filled with gobs of juicy, personal information have been around since computers were invented, of course. But what was once the exclusive domain of skip tracers, private eyes and investigative reporters is now available to anyone with access to the Net. Today you too can be a gumshoe. Or a stalker. Or, if you're willing to work with borrowed credit cards, a thief.
Civil libertarians are understandably alarmed.
As technology has raced ahead, safeguards have failed to keep up. After USA Today publicized the site last month, it was besieged with up to 80 requests a second. Two days later it was shut down. His ironically named Stalker's Home Page has become the definitive source for information about how your privacy can be violated online. His theory is that by exposing the most egregious Websites to public scrutiny, he will force them to shut down.