Show of hands…how many of you noted when I posted remotely (by reading the line "Sent from my Verizon Wireless Blackberry" at the conclusion of my posts)? How many of you thought to yourself that it's a bad thing?

You should have thought so.

I allowed it to post as an illustration of how we give up tidbits about ourselves all the time; and how scouring technology accumulates these tidbits to create a profile of us.

I was testing one of the apps that auto-answers messages while I'm driving (pun intended). Awesome tool, really, but all I could think about was how short-sighted it is as designed. Is that the only time I need to auto-answer texts and emails? Why isn't it designed to be used any time I choose?

Technically, it can – if you pay for it. The generic version allows me to modify the outgoing message to say 'I'm unavailable' rather than 'I'm driving', but it adds a tag for Chrysler, then says 'Drive Safely'. Kinda doesn't take much to figure out what I'm doing, does it?

So, with these two benign examples, assuming I used the default settings, what might you know about me?       

• You know I have a Blackberry (and the type of personal identifier that's paired with my device)
• You know my service provider is Verizon (hack away!)
• You know when I'm driving (e.g. I'm not home)

In law, the term 'preponderance of the evidence' is used a lot. The individual parts may not matter, but the sum of them might.

Don't idly (pun intended) let these little pieces of evidence (that's exactly what they are) complete the puzzle for those who might do you harm.

Re my signature…hmmm…was that information accurate? I'm not sure…

Sent from my PDA