Thursday, July 28, 2011

True Identity vs Anonymous: Evaluating real-life examples

The privacy and dignity of our citizens are being whittled away by sometimes imperceptible steps. Taken individually, each step may be of little consequence. But when viewed as a whole, there begins to emerge a society quite unlike any we have seen, "a society in which government may intrude into the secret regions of a person's life".

Why be Anonymous?
"The right to be let alone is indeed the beginning of all freedom".
1.Everyone has the right to privacy.
2.Anonymous NOT EQUALS Law-breaker.
3.Requires intellect, desire, diligence, and dedication.

Cloak
-Minimally anonymous
-The FBI will find you

Dagger
-Moderately anonymous
-More difficult
-Potentially illegal
-The FBI can find you

Hermit
-Off the grid
-Completely invisible
-Up to you who finds you

Awareness
-Must develop new habits, gets easier over time
-Be discreet when talking to others
-Say as little as possible
-Identity awareness
-Use social engineering
-Look Around!
-Situational awareness
-Look for and avoid surveillance
-Blend in, do not stand out
-Ongoing process

Getting Started In Real Life
-Cancel All Subscriptions
-Forward Mail to a Secondary Address (Third-Party, Scanned Mail Service)
-Expunge legal and credit histories
-Place locks on credit files
-Shred everything

Getting Started Online
-Eliminate online profiles (Friendster, MySpace, Facebook, etc)
-Clean Up Search History
-Nothing in the Cloud (Host Your Own, Encrypt Everything)
-Everything in the Cloud (Host Nothing, Encrypt Everything)
-Format and Reinstall
-Create All New Accounts

Becoming Anonymous
-Change your name
-Alternative ID
-Alter fingerprints
-Sell registered properties
-Terminate all contracts
-Disposable email addresses (Dodgit, Guerilla Mail, Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo)
-Mail box rentals (Mailboxes, Scanned Mail Service)
-Fake your own death


Shelter
-Single Room Occupancy (Cash rent, Long-term sublet, Shared utilities)
-Unregistered RV
-Commune (Kibbutz, Nudist Colony, Don’t Drink the Kool-Aid)
-Travel Continuously (Couch Surfing, Hostels, Shelters, Public Parks, Squatting)

Making Money
-Jobs that pay cash
-The world's oldest profession (e.g. Porn)
-Day labor
-Service industry
-Graphics and web design

Using Money

-Use Cash
-Classifieds, Cash Auctions
-Gift Cards, use as CCs
-Check Cashing Services
-Digital Money (E-Gold, Paypal Corporate, Internet Bartering)
-Money Orders
-Offshore Accounts
-Sugar Daddy

Transportation
-Public (Buses, Trains)
-Metro
-Cabs & Gypsy Cabs
-Greyhound
-Carpool / Rideshare
-Vehicles w/o Registration (Bicycles, 50cc Scooters)
-Travel in Disguise (Wear hats and glasses, Pre-determine camera locations)
-Avoid frequent mass-transit

Tracking
-Disable GPS devices
-Disable bluetooth
-Turn cell phone off when not in use
-RFID tags (RFID Zapper, Use a shielded wallet)
-Harden computers and smart phones
-Tinfoil hat

Communications

-Telecom (Pay phones, burners, Prepaid LD)
-Internet (Use email lightly, Internet Relay Chat, Usenet / classifieds)
-Encryption (Off the Record, Steganography)
-Phreaking
-Voice over IP (Hosted VoIP, BYO VoIP)

Online
-Public kiosks, local wifi
-Prepaid SIMs for data
-Use a Live CD
-Use tor, anonymous proxies
-Enable safe browsing
-Anonymous searching (startpage, googlesharing, customize google)
-Anonymous remailers
-Netbook + Truecrypt encrypted SSD, USB

Social Interaction
-Use disguises in public
-No long term communities
-Use a proxy
-Avoid people
-Avoid all social networking
-Avoid all publicity

The Rules
-Do not be your identity
-Get rid of your paper trail
-Use cash
-Constantly improve your situational awareness
-Blend in
-Encrypt everything