Amazon wish list: Risky for kids

I remember when my 8-year-old was really into Gundams (plastic robot-like toys), he had a lot of fun surfing through Amazon.com's toys and sending his favorites to his Wish List. I, in turn, found it very convenient later to peruse his list and do a little one-click shopping. But a new online-safety risk (especially for kids with unusual names in small towns) has come up concerning that feature and kids - because of the shipping address registered users provide Amazon and the way it can be associated with a child. "Site visitors can search wish lists by name," Internet News reports, so "it's relatively easy for a stranger to find a kid simply by searching for a common first name, then scrolling through the list to find those who have listed last names, cities and states." Other wish lists do a better job of protecting kids, Internet News reports. For example, Kaboodle, which is still being beta-tested, "lets users protect their wish lists with passwords if they choose," and Google's Froogle allows wish-list searching only by email address, so only people who already communicate with the person can find his or her wish list. Check out the article for details and advice.