Please don't demand personal details (or share too much)

[Peregrine]

ok, wasn't sure. Thanks for the clarification.

[Peregrine]

heh, there's an "ask jeeves" bot pokin' around. Thought that mildly humorous...

[3×5]

The butler did it!

[3×5]

Hey, I don't know if this is the right thread for this, or if this deserves its own thread...

I have become more concerned lately about my online privacy. I recently quit Facebook, and, knowing myself, I can't imagine why I joined in the first place. I was already plenty paranoid before I started divulging my personal information on this massive corporate website, whose president and CEO is notoriously empathically challenged.

I also fed all my email addresses into gmail, which I used as my primary email address, and which then had me logged in all the time while I searched for everything under the sun. I started using Google Docs as my primary word processor and spreadsheet maker.

Google announced its new privacy policy this month, and the New York Times outlined how they, and Facebook, use aggregate data to predict patterns in behavior among people whose fit your demographic and disposition.

In other words, even if you're divulging relatively little data about yourself, if others like you are, and they're able to match you to your own 'kind', then they can predict your habits and patterns of behavior, at least at they pertain to your online activity, based on what people like you tend to do. The article says that credit companies are now using this data, and you can be declined credit based on it. It stands to reason, then that Facebook and Google could sell this data to think tanks, and who knows who else.

I think I would participate in forums like this one more often if I believed I was truly anonymous online, and I am slowly trying to get there. I got off Google suite and started using an alternative search engine. I stopped using Google Chrome and started using SRWare Iron, the secure, open-source browser upon which Chrome is built.

I know there are other posts about threats to our internet freedom, but I thought maybe this thread could serve to offer practical information on how we can protect our privacy and anonymity online. I have tried Tor, and I used Ubuntu Linux for years before finally giving up on it because I couldn't run my music software on it (though I would like to go back to it). I am not an IT or computer science person, and I'm wondering if there are any such people in the community who know about things like, or how to anonymously correspond with people, host a website, et cetera.

I once emailed someone who required a pgp key and I wonder how that actually secures your conversation. I would imagine only an encrypted, open-source instant messenger would be secure, but I'm not sure. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[Stephen Morgan]

I also fed all my email addresses into gmail, which I used as my primary email address, and which then had me logged in all the time while I searched for everything under the sun.

Yeah, DuckDuckGo is the way to go. Or Scroogle,m when it's working.

I started using Google Docs as my primary word processor and spreadsheet maker.

Should use LibreOffice.

I think I would participate in forums like this one more often if I believed I was truly anonymous online, and I am slowly trying to get there. I got off Google suite and started using an alternative search engine. I stopped using Google Chrome and started using SRWare Iron, the secure, open-source browser upon which Chrome is built.

Firefox is more customisable.

I know there are other posts about threats to our internet freedom, but I thought maybe this thread could serve to offer practical information on how we can protect our privacy and anonymity online. I have tried Tor,

Tor is excellent for anonymity, I2P has a built-in anonymous e-mail service.

and I used Ubuntu Linux for years before finally giving up on it because I couldn't run my music software on it (though I would like to go back to it).

Use some other music software, Banshee or Clementine or something.

I am not an IT or computer science person, and I'm wondering if there are any such people in the community who know about things like, or how to anonymously correspond with people, host a website, et cetera.

Tor and I2P can both be used to host anonymous web servers, although you'll have to set up a server on your own computer. Tor hidden services and I2P eepsites. Feel free to DuckDuckGo them.

I once emailed someone who required a pgp key and I wonder how that actually secures your conversation. I would imagine only an encrypted, open-source instant messenger would be secure, but I'm not sure. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

PGP signatures ensure that the message came from who it claims to have come from, although it doesn't stop people readin it unless it's actually encrypted rather than just signed.

I2P has a built-in chat server, for anonymous IRC with other people on I2P. You can also use Tor as a proxy for your IRC client.

[elfismiles]

A splendid idea 3x5. I am struggling with similar considerations.

And thanks SM for that info.

Hey, I don't know if this is the right thread for this, or if this deserves its own thread...

I have become more concerned lately about my online privacy. I recently quit Facebook, and, knowing myself, I can't imagine why I joined in the first place. I was already plenty paranoid before I started divulging my personal information on this massive corporate website, whose president and CEO is notoriously empathically challenged.

...

I know there are other posts about threats to our internet freedom, but I thought maybe this thread could serve to offer practical information on how we can protect our privacy and anonymity online. I have tried Tor, and I used Ubuntu Linux for years before finally giving up on it because I couldn't run my music software on it (though I would like to go back to it). I am not an IT or computer science person, and I'm wondering if there are any such people in the community who know about things like, or how to anonymously correspond with people, host a website, et cetera.

...

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[3×5]

Thanks, Stephen. I will definately check out I2p and the other recommendations. With regards to Ubuntu, I make music using Reaper and a lot of VST software, with an external low-latency audio interface that connect to a guitar and microphone. Unfortunately, this software studio will not work in Linux without a Windows emulation layer, which means you're using Windows again anyway, only the software and hardware now takes a huge performance hit.

Another thing I neglected to mention before: KeePass. It's a keychain program that automatically generates very secure passwords for you, and the file that holds all the passwords is encrypted as well. You just have to create one clever password you can remember, to unlock the keychain. You can then see all your usernames for different message boards, social networks, online banking, email, and so on. You then copy the password to the clipboard. After 10 seconds, KeePass deletes the password from your clipboard.

The best way to use KeePass is to install the portable version on a thumb drive that you keep on your actual keychain. It's probably a good idea to periodically make a secure backup of your keychain file.

This is a nice solution, even if your computer is already compromised. Let's say someone has remote desktop access to your computer, meaning they can see what you see on your screen. Your computer is also infected with malware that is logging all your keystrokes. With the message described above, you could generate a password that KeePass never shows you, copy it, paste it into an online registration form, and use this password from now on, without having ever seen or typed the password in the first place.

[Stephen Morgan]

Thanks, Stephen. I will definately check out I2p and the other recommendations. With regards to Ubuntu, I make music using Reaper and a lot of VST software, with an external low-latency audio interface that connect to a guitar and microphone. Unfortunately, this software studio will not work in Linux without a Windows emulation layer, which means you're using Windows again anyway, only the software and hardware now takes a huge performance hit.

I'm an acoustic man myself. Still, I'm sure you could find some equivalent. Ubuntu Studio even comes with the -rt low latency kernel for better multimedia performance. I use the zen kernel myself.

Another thing I neglected to mention before: KeePass. It's a keychain program that automatically generates very secure passwords for you, and the file that holds all the passwords is encrypted as well. You just have to create one clever password you can remember, to unlock the keychain. You can then see all your usernames for different message boards, social networks, online banking, email, and so on. You then copy the password to the clipboard. After 10 seconds, KeePass deletes the password from your clipboard.

I don't like overly secure passwords. I just remember mine, and have Firefox remember them. If you're worried about someone getting them off your harddrive you can encrypt your harddrive with LUKS or your home partition with ecryptfs. If you want a really secure password, just type `dd if=/dev/urandom of=passphrase.txt bs=128 count=1`. Obviously there's GPG if you want to use public-key encryption.

The best way to use KeePass is to install the portable version on a thumb drive that you keep on your actual keychain. It's probably a good idea to periodically make a secure backup of your keychain file.

This is a nice solution, even if your computer is already compromised. Let's say someone has remote desktop access to your computer, meaning they can see what you see on your screen. Your computer is also infected with malware that is logging all your keystrokes. With the message described above, you could generate a password that KeePass never shows you, copy it, paste it into an online registration form, and use this password from now on, without having ever seen or typed the password in the first place.

Talking of USB drive, you could get the TAILS Live USB, designed to send everything through Tor and to wipe your RAM at shutdown and so on. Being a Live USB without persistence all your activity is untraceable as soon as you shut down. Constructed on a Debian base.

[3×5]

My next question is this: how do you detect if you're being surveilled, or if your network is being exploited? I think it would ease my paranoia to be able to determine these things, and to protect my home network. Is there a way to encrypt data before it leaves your router? Is there some kind of packet sniffer sniffer that can detect digital eavesdroppers? How do you know if you can trust your ISP with your data? Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

[Stephen Morgan]

My next question is this: how do you detect if you're being surveilled, or if your network is being exploited?[]/quote]

You don't.

I think it would ease my paranoia to be able to determine these things, and to protect my home network.

Use a password.

Is there a way to encrypt data before it leaves your router?

Use encrypted connections, SSH tunnels, encrypted proxies or just connect to HTTPS sites when available with HTTPS Anywhere from the EFF.

Is there some kind of packet sniffer sniffer that can detect digital eavesdroppers?

No.

How do you know if you can trust your ISP with your data?

You don't. In fact they're probably required by law to spy on you.

[3×5]

I am using https anywhere. I don't know a lot about encrypted connections or SSH tunnels. When I use FoxyProxy, Google records my IP as the proxy's IP, but whatsmyip.net always knows and displays my actual IP address. This leads me to think that this isn't actually hiding my IP at all.

[Stephen Morgan]

When I use FoxyProxy, Google records my IP as the proxy's IP, but whatsmyip.net always knows and displays my actual IP address. This leads me to think that this isn't actually hiding my IP at all.

I'm not seeing that happen. Maybe your browser's set up wrong. Some torrent clients, for example, send out your real IP to peers, so torrenting through a proxy with those clients does nothing.

[iridescent cuttlefish]

Wow. While I admit I've been away for a few years, I'm a bit shocked at both how little has changed (Darth Cheney's office apparently tracked my scribblings on architecture and anarchy across a number of sites which republished them, with some quite severe and I'm sure wholly intended consequences for me and my family) and at how we're only now seeming to take such consequences seriously. I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for the evolution of our fears in this regard, but it also seems rather obvious, or?
Remember when Jeff used to write about Full Spectrum Dominance, back in those quaint and simpler times, before everyone was posting personal info dic pics on Fecesbook? A good part of the difference between then and now has to be that the black hats' capabilities have matured: DARPA's sets teams have become our nightmarish reality.
One thing that hasn't changed, of course, is the willingness of so many public actors to pretend to be the opposite of what they really are. My current personal favorite is Glenn Greenwald, the new progressive commentator over at Fox. I mean, Julian Assange is just so bloody obvious. The heroic patriotism of super-modest genius Edward Snowden isn't really much harder to see through, either. But Greenwald? I think old boy hoodwinked a lot more people for a lot longer. Of course and on the other hand, when Carter Page namedrops Glenn in a speech in Russia (where the G-man has had a media platform on Putin's RT network), and when the intrepid brave journalist brags to Roger Stone that he was the one who gave our wannabe Leader his "fake news" mantra, it not only gives us just a bit of a peek behind his curtain-cape...but it really makes you wonder why he's publishing his own dickety pictures. To disillusion those who fell for his spiel, to make all the suckers believe there's no one who ain't owned by someone else, or?

[fruhmenschen]

I just got this message when posting

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[seemslikeadream]

fruhmenschen
you had a character in whatever you were posting that is not allowed like emoji from twitter