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Identity Finder Frequently Asked Questions

The following are frequently asked questions (FAQs) about working with Identity Finder and scan results.

How do I edit e-mail messages and remove attachments?

Why did Identify Finder find that? (False positives and other files)

How do I edit e-mail messages and remove attachments?

You can edit e-mail messages you have sent and received to:

• Delete Social Security Numbers or other sensitive information from messages you have sent or received.
• Delete attachments you have sent or received that contain Social Security Numbers or other sensitive information.
• Delete attachments to free up space on the e-mail server or on your h:\ drive.

To edit e-mail messages:

1. Open the message by double clicking it or opening it from Identity Finder.

2. Click on Other Actions in the Actions group.
   
   

3. Click on Edit Message. You will be able to edit the message and delete the SSN or other sensitive information. When you close the message, click Yes to save your changes.
   
   

4. If the message contains an attachment that you need to remove, right click on the attachment and select Remove. Save your changes when you close the message. This will remove and delete the attachment.
   
   

Why did Identify Finder find that? (False positives and other files)

Identity Finder will find things that look like Social Security Numbers, even if they really aren’t.  It’s looking for a pattern and it is better to find some files that can be ignored than to miss some Social Security Numbers.  When Identity Finder says that a file has a Social Security Number in it by mistake, that’s called a False Positive.

Some of the False Positives we’ve see include:

• Mistyped telephone numbers: (319) 38-1234.  Identity finder doesn’t care how you separate the numbers, it just sees a total of 9 numbers in a row with no letters between them and thinks it might be a Social Security Number.
  
  What do I do?
  If you are sure it is not a Social Security Number, you can tell Identity Finder to ignore the file.
  
  
• Internet cookies and other identifiers.  When you visit a web page, it may put a cookie on your local computer to save your settings.  The random number that the web page gives you may look like a Social Security Number.  Here’s a cookie that CNN left on one computer:
  .cnn.com    TRUE  /     FALSE 128166551   CNNid Gaa54548-14803635-1150020624187-1
  Identity Finder will think that 128166551 is a Social Security Number.
  
  What do I do?
  You can safely Shred these files.
  
  
• Other files.  If you could look at a program file like winword.exe, you’d see a bunch of random numbers, letters, and symbols.  Some of those numbers might look like a Social Security Number to Identity Finder.  We’ve tried to limit these False Positives as much as possible, but there will always be exceptions.
  
  What do I do?
  If you can’t read what is in the Identity Finder Preview Pane because it is full of funny looking characters, you can ignore the file.  If you are still in doubt you can contact the Help Desk and they will help you out.

If you have questions or issues regarding tasks with Identity Finder, contact the ITS Help Desk.

Return to the Identity Finder Support Site

Last Updated: 04/24/2008