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Help, I'm being stalked by the BBC (and also online advertisers)

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Seven ways to rescue your online reputation

A bad reputation can hurt you big time -- especially if it's based on false or malicious information. Here's how to ensure your name isn't mud on the Internet.

By Dan Tynan

If someone is slandering you on their own site, you can politely request that they stop doing it – or better yet, have a lawyer friend draft a letter for you.

7. Bring in the big guns. If you’re really being slandered or harassed, you may have to seek professional help to silence your critics.

Beware, though, a lot of firms have sprung up that claim to help you manage your reputation but are mostly there to siphon money out of your wallet (more on one of those in a future post). Depending on the services offered, the price can get pretty steep.

Reputation.com has a good (ahem) reputation for helping people without gouging them. The Internet Law Center may also be able to refer you to someone who can help. As for the rest, well, shop carefully and ask a lot of questions about what they will really do for you and what it will really cost.

Your online reputation is worth a lot. But it’s not worth getting ripped off over it.

Got a question about social media? TY4NS blogger Dan Tynan may have the answer (and if not, he’ll make something up). Visit his snarky, occasionally NSFW blog eSarcasm or follow him on Twitter: @tynan_on_tech. For the latest IT news, analysis and how-to’s, follow ITworld on Twitter and Facebook.

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Author Dan Tynan has been writing about Internet privacy for the last 3,247 years. He wrote a book on the topic for O'Reilly Media (Computer Privacy Annoyances, now available for only $15.56 at Amazon -- order yours today) and edited a series of articles on Net privacy for PC World that were finalists for a National Magazine Award. During his spare time he is part of the dynamic duo behind eSarcasm, the not-yet-award-winning geek humor site he tends along with JR Raphael.