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"Dave Borgenicht is the co-author of the best-selling Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, which has spawned numerous sequels, games, t-shirts, a TV show and more.  For more tips, check out the official blog or follow the Worst-Case Twitter feed @WorstCaseBooks.\nThese days, it\u2019s getting tougher and tougher to keep a good name unbesmirched.  Surveys indicate that as many as half of hiring managers use search engines to screen job applicants, and 1 in 10 have rejected potential employees because of damaging information on the web.  Even if there's no one out to get you, it's likely that you've left your own e-trail of embarrassment: Facebook photos, blog comments, cached web pages, YouTube videos \u2014 all these things can provide the world with evidence of your previous poor judgement and wrongdoing.\nHere\u2019s how to combat that, and purge your online past.\n1. Take Down Your Own Postings\n\nThe vast majority of embarrassing online material consists of things people posted themselves. Remove all such material from your Facebook page, MySpace page, Classmates page, Twitter postings, and anywhere else it appears. When evaluating whether material is unacceptable, imagine your grandmother or a potential employer viewing it.\n2. Block Outsiders\n\n\n\nReset the \u201Csettings\u201D on your social networking profiles to limit access only to people you have approved.\n3. Search for Your Name \n\nFind your entire online presence by searching for yourself in every search engine. Dig into all the resulting pages and open every link. Look for pictures from your past in which you are doing embarrassing or questionable activities, such as doing a keg stand, setting a police car on fire, or wearing stonewashed jeans.\n4. Search Smarter\n\nRedo your search, this time searching for just your last name, in combination with your hometown, college, or any institution you\u2019ve been a member of, such as a scouting organization, sorority, or fight club. \n5. Politely Request Removal\n\nE-mail the administrator of any site that includes dubious material relating to you, and ask them politely to remove it. \n6. Litigiously Request Removal\n\nDraft a threatening e-mail and send to the site owner, carbon copying the e-mail to your local police precinct or FBI branch office. Generally, it is impossible to force removal of non-copyrighted personal photographs, but the threat of a lawsuit can be enough to intimidate non-experts.\n7. Clarify Photographs\n\n\n\nAdd photo \u201Ctags\u201D or captions to pictures that show you throwing up on spring break, or making out with a cab driver, strongly condemning your identical twin\u2019s behavior or praising the wonders of Photoshop.\n8. Counter-Post\n\nFlood the Internet with attractive, non-incriminating photographs of yourself, and launch a blog detailing your charity work with homeless puppies. The more positive material you post, the further the negative material will be exiled to the end of the search list.\nSee also:\n- HOW TO: Survive Disconnect Anxiety [HUMOR]- HOW TO: Outsmart Phishers [HUMOR]\nImages courtesy of iStockphoto, CareyHope, richcano"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2010/01/06/erase-online-past/>