We may know more about you than you think. While there are those who are savvy enough to not leave behind a trail of cookies or identifiable IP addresses as they traverse the Web, most aren’t that careful or organized.

Some may attempt to be anonymous online to surf adult sites to avoid dirty looks from loved ones, to upload music, movies or other files illegally obtained, or to have the ability to lash out at someone behind a username.

However, as technology becomes smarter in tracing the source, being truly anonymous on the Web is not something most will successfully accomplish and can lead to legal problems and/or public embarrassment.

In 2005, two fans, Jared Bowser and Robert Thomas, leaked four songs from an unreleased Ryan Adams album via an online message board.

The actions of these fans may have been done in the spirit of sharing music with fellow fans, however, when a corporate entity gets involved, it may lead to some serious repercussions.

The indictments are believed to be the first under the prerelease provision of the 2005 FECA law. The men are alleged to have posted portions of Adams' "Jacksonville City Nights" on a fan Web site about a month before its official release last September. Adams records for Lost Highway Records, whose Universal Music Group parent did not grant authority for the Internet distribution.

If convicted on all charges, they could have been sentenced up to 11 years in federal prison. In 2006, both plead guilty and were sentenced to two months’ house arrest.

More recently, in June, blogger Kevin Cogill was questioned by the FBI because of songs streamed on his site by the band Guns ‘n’ Roses from the long-awaited, possibly to be released this decade, Chinese Democracy. The blogger was a former employee of Universal Music Group. In late August, he was arrested and charged.

Now he faces up to three years in prison and $250,000 in fines. Last week, he became the first Californian charged under a 3-year-old federal anti-piracy law that makes it a felony to distribute a copyrighted work on computer networks before its release.

In the above instances, it can be argued that although what they did was wrong, these folks wanted to share music with others who may enjoy it. But what about those who have no clear good intentions?

Blogger Jack Bogdanski runs Bojack.org, a left-leaning site based in Portland, Oregon. When Bogdanski began writing his thoughts of the Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin, one person in particular opted to deliver personal attacks against Bogdanski and his family on an anonymous blog called “Oregon Reality.”

Last month, Bogdanski posted an entry stating that he had uncovered the identity of this person and would reveal it to the world in three days’ time. He had hoped the person would step forward as well as remove the personal attacks from their blog. Just prior to the reveal, some of the entries were removed, or ran with corrections. Still, Bogdanski went forward with revealing the person behind the attacks. It turned out to be an elected official from a Portland suburb.

Although your username may shield you superficially, it may not be that difficult to learn who you really are. So, before you log on to a site and register, think about what you will post. Thinking about sharing illegal files? Know that the owner the board, your ISP, or your employer will likely have to turn over any information about you to the authorities. Thinking about trashing someone’s reputation? Know that it may take a few clicks of the mouse to reveal your identity to the world.

A. L. Venable is a non-anonymous Random Citizen. She primarily writes at Dimple and a Smirk (dot) com and Our PDX Network.