What Does Your Computer Know About You?

Identity finder.

By Marissa Malone

Published October 17, 2014 This content is archived.

Celebrate National Cyber Security Awareness Month by locking down your personal information.

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Marissa.

Marissa Malone (UB Student, Class of 2015) has a dream of traveling to all seven continents, and she’s already visited four. When not globetrotting, Marissa studies Communication, Spanish, and Management at UB while working for both UBIT and Career Services.

Identity Finder scans, locates and eliminates personal information on your computer to prevent hackers and viruses from establishing a data breach with your identity. Identity Finder, provided free by UBIT, recently released a brand new version, making the software compatible with the latest operating systems for Windows and Mac.

Gone Forever!

Identity Finder scans for all data and prompts users to take action to secure your digital footprint. Actions such as quarantine, shred, and secure help prevent breaches by eliminating or securely storing personal information. According to the Identity Finder website, the shred feature “guarantees hackers are unable to recover any of your sensitive data,” because Identity Finder uses the U.S. Department of Defense deletion standard.

Your Digital Footprint

Identity Finder prevents events such as personal identity breaches from taking place by searching your computer for the following information and other personal data:

  • Driver’s license numbers
  • Passport information
  • Payment information
  • Phone numbers
  • Email addresses
  • Social Security Numbers
  • Bank account numbers

It is important to note, when Identity Finder scans your email for personal information, you are only able to take action if an email client like Thunderbird or Outlook is used and your email is hosted in UBmail Powered by Exchange.

Quick Security Tips from UBIT

  • All staff working with students should run a daily scan.
  • It is better to create different passwords for Identity Finder and your UBITName.
  • You can select specific locations on your hard drive for Identity Finder to scan.