The use of smartphones and other internet-enabled devices has created a rising interest in online spying by regular PC users, as the number of for-pay snooping services also increases.

"Everyone’s checking out everyone else," said Wolfgang Kandek, Qualys IT security risk company analyst, in an interview with the San Jose Mercury News.  "Once you put information online, it’s there forever. So you can look someone up on Facebook, look at their house on Google Earth and follow them around on Twitter."

High school and college students also are more likely to openly share information through e-mail, social networking, and other online options.  At first glance, this activity doesn't seem overly dangerous, but it's becoming even easier to find information as more users open up about their activities.

A recent news report from the United Kingdom revealed an increasing number of UK internet users are limiting the amount of information shared on their profiles.  Specifically, 80% of the people surveyed in the annual report said they have privacy settings in place -- near 30% increase in three years -- as privacy groups continue warning users not to share too much information.

In the future, school administrators plan to work with parents and students to help educate them on the dangers of sharing too much information online.