Astroglide Generously Provides The Internet With A List of 250k People Who Use Their Lube
Ever sign up for a free sample of Astroglide? If you used your real name and address it is probably on a list that Astroglide accidentally made available to the internet. The list, which features full names and addresses, but no financial information, included "clearly fake entries for President George W. Bush and former Republican Senator Rick Santorum," according to the Wired Threat Level blog. Also included was the very real entry belonging to a vice-chancellor of a "prestigious" American university, who (when Wired called him at home) wasn't too upset:
"Obviously I would be disappointed [by the company breaking its privacy policy], but I'm not worried about that information getting out. I think I just gave them my name, address and phone number. I can see how other people would be concerned about it, though."Uh, yeah. According to the Department of Homeland Stupidity blog, the data breach also includes "a spreadsheet containing 4,529 records of people who ordered the company's Silken Secret vaginal moisturizer product." The file contains names, ages, email and home addresses, and "why they wanted to try the product", including options like "Intimate Activity" and "Vaginal Dryness." Nice.—MEGHANN MARCO
Astroglide data breach exposes customer information [Department of Homeland Stupidity] (Thanks, Michael!)
Sex Lube Maker's 250K Customer List Slides Onto Net -- Updated [Wired Blog]
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Comments:
the only reason this is a story is because the product is sexual in nature
This is certainly a slippery slope.
This is definitely the funniest data breach yet.
@indianaguy: Um...yeah, because so much on the Consumerist is sex-based. Unless you get off on cat pictures, then yeah, this is porn.
I think more at issue here is the publication of private information. Teachers who were foolish enough to put their real names on here are in real danger of losing their jobs in some states that have "morality clauses" in their contracts, even though this is Astroglide's fault.
Contacting the professor was a good move, and his response was great.
It's just lube. People aren't allowed to have sex anymore?
The real question is... where the hell is my free sample? it said 4-6 weeks! its been at least 7!
@spiderjerusalem: Wow, I now know far much more about you than I ever wanted to. Thanks for sharing.
@Bay State Darren: You're more than welcome. I'm fascinated that you had a threshold about what you wanted to know about me, personally.
I'm allergic to that stuff. The one time I tried it, I got rashes down there. Not fun at all.
Here it is:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=site%3Awww.astroglide...
However I don't see the Cached link on any of it.
@spiderjerusalem: If people only use cash to buy things that they don't want tracked, then cash purchases automatically become suspect.
Getting sexual aids delivered in similar packages to CDs from amazon feels much more inconspicuous, and some states have stupid laws as to what can be sold, which is why so many things are labeled as toys, not for human use.
@William C Bonner: Yeah, but cash purchases at your local botique aren't going to get your personal information plastered on the net, and endanger your standing at your job or in the community, especially small cash purchases like personal lubricant.
Getting sexual aids delivered from websites exposes you to having your identity and purchases splayed out on that website like a porn star in a pterodactyl skin flick.
like a porn star in a pterodactyl skin flick.
There's a genre I don't want to think about.
"Ooh, baby, your dramatically lengthened fourth finger gets me so hot."
So, how would anybody know the entries for Bush and Santorum are fake?
@narky:
It's just lube. People aren't allowed to have sex anymore?
Some people who are having sex may not want certain other people knowing it—for example, if they're unmarried, they may not want their parents to know; or, if they're being stalked, they may not want their stalker to know.
Besides, the fact that person X is using lube carries a little more information than "X is having sex". For example, if X is a young woman, young enough that her self-lubrication is reliable, then using lube might make people guess that she's having anal sex, or having sex with an older woman. Nothing reprehensible there, but she may have to interact with some people who disagree.
then whatever you do, don't search "pterodactyl" on pornotube.com.
I'll try to avoid it.
I would be upset that my name is on the list, but I like that people might assume I actually have sex.
At least I can take comfort that there are 249,999 other people who are as embarrassed as I am right now.
I'm at work & can't access pornotube at the moment...but aren't pterodactyls some sort of dinosaur/bird critters? So this is dinosaur porn??
Goddammit, now everyone on the intarwebs is going to know I have a dry vagina!
@Chongo: I got mine a couple weeks ago.
@AnnieGetYourFun I'm glad I used a fake name now.
How many other consumerists were exposed by this bungle?
There was free lube and no one told me?
This thread is getting me hot.
why bother with astroglide or any of those other over-priced crappy products. just go to your local grocery store and you'll find plenty of options from butter to non-stick cooking spray or even a tub of crisco. granted the cashier might look at you a lil funny purchasing a box of condoms, a bottle of wine, crackers, salami, some veggies, cheese, and a tub of crisco, but that's half the fun and anonymous!
I like that they blame Google - as shown in the below email. any 5th grade webmaster knows how to prevent inadvertent indexing!
Google inadvertently indexed a limited portion of our data archive. The files have been removed from Google's active index of our website, and they will complete processing our request to remove all records in the next day or two.
BioFilm has implemented long and short term protections in order to prevent a recurrence of this situation.
Although what has transpired was beyond our control, BioFilm has always made the security of our internet customers a top priority and we deeply regret this unfortunate incident.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions. Our hours of operation are Tuesday - Friday, 7am - 5:30pm PT.
Warm regards,
Kathleen H. Geddes, Sr. Customer Service Manager
BioFilm, Inc.
3225 Executive Ridge
Vista, CA 92081
PH: (800) 848-5900 ex. 136
FX: (760) 727-8080
Email: kathy@biofilm.com
@royal72: Don't know if you're just being sarcastic royal72, but I believe substances like butter or crisco can degrade the latex in condoms making the sex not so safe...
I have screen shots for any mass mailers out there, or if you want to see if your name made the list!
This was discovered Friday and published Saturday on other sites.
Nobody has said it yet???? Ohhh man.....
Smooth move Astroglide!!
John Stracke Says:
"For example, if X is a young woman, young enough that her self-lubrication is reliable, then using lube might make people guess that she's having anal sex, or having sex with an older woman. Nothing reprehensible there, but she may have to interact with some people who disagree."
Is that what you think when you think lube?
I'd just assume she's aiming for a marathon session. Isn't that what it's made for?
@Tophernet: I called them on their bluff and this is what I got:
Dear Mr. Watts,
BioFilm regrets the unfortunate incident leading to your e-mail to us. As previously advised, once BioFilm became aware of the issue, immediate action was taken.
All appropriate measures have been taken with Google to remove the files from Google's active index of our website. BioFilm has and will continue to implement security measures to assure that a recurrence will not occur.
(I called her on the fact that it was not Googles fault)
The confidentiality of our internet customers is of utmost importance to us.
We hope that any inconvenience that this has caused you is kept to a minimum.
Sincerely,
Lisa O'Carroll
Vice President of Sales & Marketing
BioFilm, Inc.
3225 Executive Ridge
Vista, CA 92081
Ph: 760.727.9030
Fx: 760.727.8080
E-Mail: lisaoc@biofilm.com
I love that last line, I read it to be Please do not tell anyone. I guess I got this since I told her I was going to send a letter to everyone in my area whose data was exposed, ummm, released, since I have all the screen shots. I gave her a chance to offer to send the letters, but if she does not, then I will.
See, this is why more people need access to things like Hustler stores. I mean, Astroglide is tacky. We spend a little extra money on a good brand at an actual physical store location, and have the added bonus of not having our information up for grabs.