Security Concerns on geneology websites

[jenwood1948]

Hi

Has anyone had any concerns re: where websites get their information if not from you. Sometime ago I began entering my family tree into a website so I could see the full picture. This week I received a message from this website informing me that a match had been made with the info I entered. Within these matches were photos and other bits of info of my family which non of my family have exploited and I am wondering where they have come from. I have emailed the website with my concerns and am awaiting a reply.
Have any of you experienced anything like this.

Many thanks for your help in advance

[rockyfowler]

Set your tree to private- it automatically sets your tree so anyone can see or copy any part of your tree (My Heritage Family Tree Builder) best RF

[SRD]

There's an awful lot of stuff out there that some people are happy to share with everyone. Personally I have a large quantity of photos from my maternal grandmother held on Photobucket, whilst requiring a password to access it (a password I'm happy to share with anyone who has a link to my family) it is open for anyone who does have access to copy pictures from it and publish them in their own genealogy sites, I've noticed bits and pieces turning up all over the place. It's nice to be credited as the owner but I'd be daft to think that everyone is actually going to do that. But I've made more contacts and learnt more about the distant recesses of my family through mutual contacts found because I have so much open information than I could ever have found by keeping everything under wraps.

I also have my own website with lots of info about people and places. Through it I've had contact with people who knew my father (who died when I was 4) and someone who very nearly became my step-sister but with whom I lost contact in my teens, they found my site simply by googling their own names or those of people they knew long ago. If the info isn't public it can't be found.

Of course one has to be careful when dealing with info about living people, but that can cause anomalies as well; On one of the sites I use there are trees with 'Private' information going back to the late 19th Century (presumably in an effort to prevent more modern day people from being identified as belonging to that tree) but others have all of the same info publicly laid out for all to see.

[Antie Em]

I agree with SRD.

I have all my hard work safely stored on my PC on Roots Magic.

I have my Dad's side of the tree on Tribal Pages, this is mostly all I have collected and I do share it with proven relatives, and I change the password regularly.

I also have my tree on Genes Reunited - but only the bare bones - this is really useful for making contact with people who might be related.

Years ago, I put some information on an Ancestry notice board about the parents of one of my ancestors. I later found out that this information was wrong, and made the amendments to my family tree. That information is still around on at least five Ancestry trees. This is the big problem when people copy without bothering to check for themselves.

[jenwood1948]

Thanks for your replies and yes I do realise that it can be a good thing to have info regarding ancestors and to be found by others...as is some of the info received in the matches.....I suppose what I am saying is that a couple of photos of my immediate family have appeared on the website of which we have no idea as to how they got there. What is also wierd is that the so called 'site manager' of the their family trees other than my own, are people I know like my step-daughter....as far as I know she has had nothing to do with this site (I havent entered their names anywhere) but in their family tree my own family names and info etc are appearing ...where could this be brought from....we did think it might be facebook but my son-in-law says that he has never sent a certain photo over the net to anyone so the plot thickens.
I am so upset about the possibility of my family being exploited by these websites I am now wondering what I can do about it. As yet I havent had a reply from the offending website...will keep you posted

[Antie Em]

Thanks for your replies and yes I do realise that it can be a good thing to have info regarding ancestors and to be found by others...as is some of the info received in the matches.....I suppose what I am saying is that a couple of photos of my immediate family have appeared on the website of which we have no idea as to how they got there. What is also wierd is that the so called 'site manager' of the their family trees other than my own, are people I know like my step-daughter....as far as I know she has had nothing to do with this site (I havent entered their names anywhere) but in their family tree my own family names and info etc are appearing ...where could this be brought from....we did think it might be facebook but my son-in-law says that he has never sent a certain photo over the net to anyone so the plot thickens.
I am so upset about the possibility of my family being exploited by these websites I am now wondering what I can do about it. As yet I havent had a reply from the offending website...will keep you posted

That's horrible - especially if the photos are of living people. It can only have been put there by someone who is connected in some way to your family, or who has had the information from a family member, with or without their consent.

Genes Reunited have a scrict code, and I know from personal experience that they will deal with the person who added the information. They should have that person's bank details and e mail address. Someone once worked out who my parents were and put my mom's name and her date of birth on Genes I complained to the company, saying that my mom was in her 90's and still very much alive. This person was a very, very distant relation (our cat ran over their garden, type of thing) and certainly someone I didn't know.

The information was removed, and that person's tree disappeared.

I hope you get it dealt with soon - good luck

[snoopysue]

I agree with SRD.

I have all my hard work safely stored on my PC on Roots Magic.

I have my Dad's side of the tree on Tribal Pages, this is mostly all I have collected and I do share it with proven relatives, and I change the password regularly.

I also have my tree on Genes Reunited - but only the bare bones - this is really useful for making contact with people who might be related.

Years ago, I put some information on an Ancestry notice board about the parents of one of my ancestors. I later found out that this information was wrong, and made the amendments to my family tree. That information is still around on at least five Ancestry trees. This is the big problem when people copy without bothering to check for themselves.

I also agree with SRD.
As for Ancestry, I have noticed that people don't even correct wrong info even when I have given them dates and places that prove things. My tree on Ancestry is private only because it is so easy too copy without even checking. I always do my best to help people who contact me, and I feel that this is the way to go, as there is often an exchange of information.