Re: Got an account on a site like Github? Hackers may know y...
by martey on Thursday August 01, 2013 @01:00AM
(#6138768)
> The only place this is likely to be an issue is when a site knows you but you assume you're anonymous. If you're using a web service where you want to be anonymous, connecting anything with your identity is a bad idea.
While I wish the article headline mentioned Gravatar as opposed to Github, I think it is worth realizing that Github provides instructions to use a fake email address in your .gitconfig to protect your privacy [1] while simultaneously requiring you to provide a valid email address while setting up your account. [2]
[1]: https://help.github.com/articles/keeping-your-email-address-...
[2]: https://help.github.com/articles/github-terms-of-service#a-a...
If a site uses your Gravatar, game over: Gravatar's literally a raw MD5 of your email with the aim to give you a globally identifiable avatar. That's been known (documented!) for a long time and unlikely to be a surprise to many of us here.
The only place this is likely to be an issue is when a site knows you but you assume you're anonymous. If you're using a web service where you want to be anonymous, connecting anything with your identity is a bad idea.