personal information + unsecure site

[the_slayer]

Hi,

is there any major risks with regards to registering on a site that requires information like your address but is done over an unsecure connection? banking and CC details are not required...

i guess the question is what can hackers do with names, addresses and phone numbers that would make a person concerned about entering these details over an unsecure site?

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

i guess the question is what can hackers do with names, addresses and phone numbers that would make a person concerned about entering these details over an unsecure site?

Names, Addresses, phone numbers...things already in public phone books.

 

[InvisiBill]

Keep in mind that SSL simply secures the data while it's being transmitted from your browser to their site. To even get that data, they'd have to be listening in on that conversation. There may be router and server logs in the transmission path that happen to store that info, but just because it's not SSL doesn't mean that it's automatically available to anyone who wants it. Likewise, just because something uses SSL doesn't mean that the server that now holds all your data is perfectly secure either.

It really is like the old example of a postcard vs. a letter in an envelope. Just because your address/message is visible on the postcard doesn't mean that everyone on earth can see it. Likewise, just because a letter is in an envelope doesn't mean that it can't get read by someone once it's been delivered and opened.

And like YeOldeStonecat said, that stuff is all NPI anyway. Check out http://www.zabasearch.com/ to see how much stuff there really is out there about you.