Finding people using the web

Before the age of the internet, if you wanted to have a good chance of finding someone you'd have to hire a private investigator. This method is of course annoyingly expensive.  With the net, people are a lot more accessible. You might not like it, but no one can really hide from either the government, big business, or from any given private individual now that the net has utterly infiltrated the lives of most developed countries.

The FACT is this... if someone wants to find you, they CAN and will. The good thing is this works both ways. If you are getting nasty emails for instance from some loony toon, finding the IP address of the sender might well help you trace the sender, and indirectly even find out what their home address it ! Yes, it is both an exciting and scary situation at the same time.

Personally, I think the technological development is a very good thing overall. Sure, there are some stalker/slashers out there who will make use of the net to find/stalk various people, but these people have always found various ways to find others. Now you can find people too, and it is both easy and all perfectly legal.

www.192.com : Named after UK directory enquiries, this is a VERY useful site. You can track down most people you are after, assuming they do one of the following ; A:  vote in elections, or B:  have a phone number which is not ex. directory. Since most people vote, and most have a publicly viewable phone number, about 90-95% of the population are traceable via this site*

www.friendsreunited.co.uk : The UK version of this amazing worldwide connection site. If you are not a member of this site, then maybe it is worth joining- although maybe the people from your school days are not so wanted by you. All the schools are listed, and the number of people who have their details listed it quite surprising. It is quite freaky to see all those old names you may have totally forgotten. Not everyone you want to find will have decided to register, however you are sure to find some names from your year of graduation.

www.whowhizz.com : There are countless 'WHOIS' sites, this is just one I thought might be useful.

The way the web is setup, EVERYONE who has a domain name, has their details publicly available. Yes, this brings up the issue of personal security. However, if someone wants to find someone, they will find you regardless of the domain 'whois' regulation.  
In effect, this is one interesting way of contacting people who run websites, whom you'd like to send a message to. Many celebrities and media people have their own websites now, and getting directly hold of them can be somewhat difficult. The 'whois' system offers a way to get a message to them.

MSN.co.uk : Master Directory : The msn directory is immense and might offer a way to find someone you know (or want to know ;) ).

Yahoo.com : Master Directory : as above, with millions of people listed from across the world.
 

Personal Notice :  Stephanie Beard, whom I am trying to find.