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AOL Releases Search Logs of 657,427 Users

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the give-or-take dept.

An anonymous reader writes "AOL has released the search logs of over 650,000 users for research purposes. This looks like it may become a public relations disaster for AOL, as well as a privacy nightmare for the users involved as Michael Arrington of TechCrunch notes: "AOL has released very private data about its users without their permission. While the AOL username has been changed to a random ID number, the ability to analyze all searches by a single user will often lead people to easily determine who the user is, and what they are up to. The data includes personal names, addresses, social security numbers and everything else someone might type into a search box." This is also being covered on The Paradigm Shift and Oh My News." fantomas adds " Looks like they've just taken it down but it's still available on The Pirate Bay; not sure why but some of the academic researchers are going crazy musing the ethical aspects of letting the world know who's searching for how to kill their wives ..." Update: 08/07 21:32 GMT by T : amromousa writes "AOL is now apologizing for the release ..., calling it a "screw-up," which they're upset and angry about."

7 of 346 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Searching for SSN's?? by RonnyJ · · Score: 5, Funny

    AOL users! ;)

  2. it's a geographic location! by krell · · Score: 5, Funny

    You insentive clod! The end of the world is a geographic location! Not everyone has been sold on the junk science of the round earth!

    --
    Where were you when the voynix came?
  3. Hopefully Google takes note by zibix · · Score: 5, Funny

    I hope that Google will now mark aol.com as an unsafe website to visit.

  4. New data just released by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    657,437 searches for "how to cancel AOL"

  5. Re:Searching for SSN's?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    But I thought AOL was the Internet? Now I'm confused..

  6. User 17556639 by aquatone282 · · Score: 5, Funny

    FTA:

    17556639 how to kill your wife
    17556639 how to kill your wife
    17556639 wife killer
    17556639 how to kill a wife
    17556639 poop
    17556639 dead people
    17556639 pictures of dead people
    17556639 killed people
    17556639 dead pictures
    17556639 dead pictures
    17556639 dead pictures
    17556639 murder photo
    17556639 steak and cheese
    17556639 photo of death
    17556639 photo of death
    17556639 death
    17556639 dead people photos
    17556639 photo of dead people
    17556639 www.murderdpeople.com
    17556639 decapatated photos
    17556639 decapatated photos
    17556639 car crashes3
    17556639 car crashes3
    17556639 car crash photo

    Mmmmmm. . . Steak and cheese. . .

    --
    What?
  7. Identifying some users is easier than others by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    13455621 how to fucking bury someone
    13455621 funky gibbon
    13455621 chair repairs seattle
    13455621 addams family
    13455621 OSS cancer
    13455621 FUD spreading