My guess is that they are finding you by entering your name, some of your personal details or a topic that you have discussed in a blog or forum into Google.

Google is very intrusive in this respect, and once it records something it remains visible to the whole world for years.

Try it yourself and you will probably be pretty alarmed at what shows up.

If you still wish to continue using blogs then probably the best way to lose those unwanted followers is by breaking all the Google links i.e. change your blog name and do not include very specific/accurate personal details.

This problem won't be anything to do with the cookies etc. that have been stored on your computer - but keep cleaning them regularly anyway.

I do not do blogs, Myspace, Facebook and the like but it scares the bejabbers out of me when I hear what some folk write about themselves in those places. Nothing put out on the internet can be recalled so one should never write in haste or in a temper. That is not suggesting the OP wrote while in a foul mood but blogs seem to be a 'look at me' type deal. It is also a great place for an aspiring writer to get some exposure.

How many new computer users have the tech come to set them up and create the account as joe.public@someplace.com? This is absolutely wrong but the techs take the easy route frequently. Last names need to be protected in my opinion.

Forums like this one know each of our IP addresses, some use that information to stop multiple 'members' from the same address. This prevents an individual from trying to be more than one identity.

Words used such as "pervasive" and "you would be alarmed" are those which fit many of the large groups "running" the internet. Google is the better known. My first visit to blogspot.com to see what the noise was about and eventually I got to a Google Blogger page where a person can edit a profile. It immediately displayed a user ID and password that I used on Youtube to make comments about musical videos. That was long before Google purchased Youtube. Ghosts still walking the halls of the internet.

I agree with all that's been said, I never use my real name or location in any instance.

Like owbist, I stay far far away from facebook and myspace. My friends will never convince me those places are safe and secure. I never thought blogs would be dangerous.

I did recreate a blog - but it is a photography gallery type blog...no chit chat about personal stuff, strictly photographs (minus any portraits)...the administrator told me to re-register with something completely different so google could not search me with the past criteria. I created a brand new e-mail, new username, started with a new batch of photographs for my portfolio. Do you think I should be safe from those prying eyes I'm trying to avoid?

I still wonder about the host at a forum I visit....still wondering if somehow my visiting may link me back to that photogallery even though at the forum I'm not using any usernames or criteria even close to the brand new photoblog I created.

Maria-
I usually can find out a lot about a person online without even bothering to go to social networking sites by using bits of info that lead me to other bits of info. But I doubt very much that those people are tracking you with cookies or anything like that. The big companies are doing this for their own income-producing reasons, but the people who are annoying you don't have access to those databases. You just put too much personal info out there initially. When you simply visit a web site, you do not create some kind of magic beacon that allows other random people to track you. It's good to be paranoid about how much personal info you put on the web for public consumption, but your concerns about people being able to track you are misplaced.

The Internet is notorious for its veil of anonymity. What is real is only what you personally know is real. Everything else is smoke and mirrors. I can assure you that if a malicious individual was intent enough, and wanted to find each and every one of us on this thread he/she could. All it takes is time, money, computer power and desire.

Comments and suggestions made on this thread are absolutely valid and important. Keep your important information private. Once your information is in the wild you can't get it back. Also, even though a site is well known that doesn't make it safe and secure.

I am sorry but I do mean this, trust no one on the Web. Be polite, be friendly, enjoy the camaraderie, but don't drop your guard. And I am sorry I have to say this as I love you all, but ladies you lead the pack. You are just too trustworthy.

There's a couple of other forums I drop in on and I can't believe some of the personal information that's posted on the OT side. I could if I paid a lot of attention to the exchanges report where a member lives, what they drive, what time they are going to the doctor, how long they are going to be on vacation and when, what time they are leaving for the store and when they will be back, where they keep the extra key, and heaven knows what else I have missed.

Take myself for example. I have been here 10-11 years now and I have shared little bits of information about myself. Not much just a little. Who is to say I am who and what I say I am? I could be very easily some vodka drinking, cigar smoking Russian Mafia hire located in outer Siberia constantly combing sites, forums and e-mail exchanges for personal data. You just don't know.

As far as cookies go they are no big deal. Users confuse cookies with malware and viruses. Yes there have been a couple instances in the past, but overall they are just little packets of data which assist in the operation of the Internet; site preferences, page loading speed and log-ons to name a few. Remember use tracking is one of the ways that is used for paying the bills of the Internet. Without them sites like this might not be here for our pleasure.

Be safe. The soapbox is now put away.

DA

the tracking device as you call it is a stat counter pretty much anyone with a website or blog that cares about how many people visit and from where etc will put a stat counter device on their site many forums also use them. With a stat counter you can find a wealth of info on any individual that visits the page, for example if you visit one of my sites my stat counter will tell me your IP address your location info, where you came to my site from, where you went to from my site, what country, what type of pc what type of browser what type of operating system, just a ton of info. So if you did visit that persons blog from your new blog then yes she had a direct clickable link back to your blog since that was where you had come from, she would also have a direct clickable link to where you went to when you left her blog. Stat counters are very valuable to help a person find out where people are finding out about their site and where they need to improve to get more traffic to their site.

StatCounter.com - Free Web Tracker, Counter and Detailed Stats

there is one of many of the various stat counter sites you can look around and see what it has to offer.

Maria-
I should clarify my last post. It's true, as pointed out above, that other people can possibly identify some info about you (such as your IP address) when you visit a site that has a tracker, and you can have tracking cookies installed on your computer when you visit a site. But, if you delete the cookies, and don't go back to a site...that should be the end of it. They shouldn't be able to "follow you around" on the Internet. However, if you have a very persistent person who knows your IP address from a previous visit and has done some searching on the Internet about you, it's possible for them to come up with info about you, especially if you have publicly revealed things about yourself at social networking sites, or on blogs.

However, there are two things you can do that should eliminate most of your concerns:
1) Clear your browser of all cookies whenever you close it. Some browsers can be set to do this automatically.
2) If you want to visit web sites that you are concerned about or aren't familiar with, use special software like Anonymizer or Ghost Surf, which will hide all your personal info by hiding your IP address, blocking cookies, and encrypting your movement on the Internet. Not even your IP will know what you are doing or where you are going. The only downside is that it will slow down your surfing speed somewhat, but that may be a small price to pay for those times you want to visit a site but not leave any footprints.

Here is a link that might be useful: GhostSurf vs. Anonymizer

one good way to check what it is showing as your info while using an anonymizer is to go to IPchicken.com before you use the anonymizer and get your real readings then use the anonymizer and visit the site again, then you will see the fake info that is being given as your info.

The best way to deal with someone like the person you are describing is to completely, totally ignore them, forget they exist, do NOT go to her site, do not go to sites she frequents, do not have any type of contact with her, remove her contact info from all of your lists, block her from posting replies to your blog if she is doing that, you may have to shut off all replies till she goes away. Remove her from your life period, and do not allow her to get any kind of rise out of you, she is not worth it, and stop caring what she does or says. I have had a few of those in my life and found that to be the very best way to rid myself of them. If you do not feed the trolls they will go play somewhere else where they are fed.