Internet anonymity is a myth...

Discussion in 'privacy general' started by DesuMaiden, Apr 14, 2017.

  1. DesuMaiden

    DesuMaiden Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2013
    Posts:
    599
    Let me be quiet frank...there is very little, if any, anonymity on the Internet. The moment you connect a device onto the Internet, the government and other groups with the right tools and resources can find out who you are, if they are willing to.

    There are some people who say that Tor can help make you anonymous. But the anonymity Tor provides is very limited. Like what the Tor Project website states, Tor is unable to protect your anonymity against a nation state level adversary like the NSA, CIA, FBI or numerous other intelligence and law enforcement agencies. If you commit a serious enough crime (whether it is cyber terrorism, identity fraud/theft or child porn), law enforcement will sooner or later find out your true identity and destroy your so-called anonymity regardless of what techniques you use to conceal your true identity.

    I find it surprising that so many people don't understand this...anonymity on the Internet is very limited. The best you can do is prevent someone with relatively little resources from de-anonymizing you.
     
  2. Minimalist

    Minimalist Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2014
    Posts:
    14,881
    Location:
    Slovenia, EU
    Yes, the same can be said for security. Neither can be achieved 100%. You can only somewhat limit your exposure.
     
  3. The Red Moon

    The Red Moon Registered Member

    Joined:
    May 17, 2012
    Posts:
    4,101
    Lets re-iterate,
    The internet is a public place.
     
  4. DesuMaiden

    DesuMaiden Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2013
    Posts:
    599
    The only way to be 100% anonymous online is by not using the Internet at all. Various third-party agencies (like advertisers, various websites and government agencies) already have a very thorough record of all of your Internet activities. Big Brother basically knows almost everything you do online. Wonder how YouTube comes up with Suggested Videos for you? It is because they track and keep record of all of your browsing history on their website, and know from your viewing history what kind of videos you are more likely to watch.
     
  5. Minimalist

    Minimalist Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2014
    Posts:
    14,881
    Location:
    Slovenia, EU
    Well then you're not online, are you?
     
  6. DesuMaiden

    DesuMaiden Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2013
    Posts:
    599
    Sometimes you need to sacrifice anonymity for sharing your inner most thoughts.
     
  7. Minimalist

    Minimalist Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2014
    Posts:
    14,881
    Location:
    Slovenia, EU
    Yes I understand. But even if you're not using internet you are probably not 100% anonymous. There are still records about yourself in various government databases, records about your IRL interactions...
     
  8. zapjb

    zapjb Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 15, 2005
    Posts:
    5,553
    Location:
    USA still the best. But barely.
    Can't wait for the 3rd season of Mr. Robot. At least in Mr. Robot there is infinitesimal justice strike that, I mean inconvenience for Big Brother. The business side of lack of anonymity bothers me a million times more than the 3letters having my data. Because I believe the 3letters are at least are trying to protect my individual/countries ever shrinking freedom. Read my sig though.
     
  9. Anatoly

    Anatoly Registered Member

    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2017
    Posts:
    3
    Location:
    Salt Lake City
    First post here. What I've learned as a Wilders leecher over the years is to separate your public personae from your private one. I do have a Facebook profile, GMail address and some other stuff. But my "separate" identity on Qubes/Whonix is very private and distinct. So I wouldn't be as pessimistic as OP. Most of the privacy stuff I'm applying today, I learned here and it is paying off. Thanks to Mirimir, Dantz, Palancar and so many others. And your avatar, DesuMaiden, is the best I've seen anywhere!
     
  10. guest

    guest Guest

    Finally...Nice to know i'm not the only one thinking that :thumb:
     
  11. Boblvf

    Boblvf Registered Member

    Joined:
    Aug 10, 2014
    Posts:
    141
    If TOR has good settings, if it has its classical extensions, it is anonymous, even if there is listening on the last node.

    No fault to exploit
     
  12. mirimir

    mirimir Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 1, 2011
    Posts:
    9,252
    Hey :)

    So I do agree with much of DesuMaiden's argument. But I do think that it's possible to have non-meatspace-linked personas using nested VPN chains and Tor/Whonix. Also anonymous activity. Sure, the NSA can likely track you down and pwn you. They can do traffic analysis. They can do network localization, by looking at intercepts from edges of successively smaller network segments.

    However, even if they could see everything, they can't (yet anyway) see everything at once. They need to focus, and do some work. For most of us, they won't bother. And if one is up to high-risk stuff, one better have their OpSec together. Fragmentation and encryption, and using multiple transient channels, certainly help.

    I've been working on an article for IVPN about de-anonymization. I've looked at how several high-profile targets got pwned. And what I conclude is that they all made stupid mistakes. Often at the beginning, when they didn't know what they were doing, and it didn't seem to matter very much. And then they just kept going. If they had made clean breaks, and had started over with solid OpSec, they might have avoided pwnage.
    I guess. I find it disturbing, actually. But maybe that's just me ;)
     
  13. zapjb

    zapjb Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 15, 2005
    Posts:
    5,553
    Location:
    USA still the best. But barely.
    I'm guessing the avatar is a pic of a MPDG my fav. :)
     
  14. illumination

    illumination Guest

    I find this to be a very redundant topic. It is rather simple,
    Step 1: limit what you divulge on your system and the internet, you alone, have control of this.
    Step 2: do not worry about the parts you can not control, as that is just wasted time and quite frankly looks like an unhealthy obsession.
     
  15. guest

    guest Guest

    +1 (feel like a deja vu btw :D )
     
  16. blacknight

    blacknight Registered Member

    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2007
    Posts:
    3,342
    Location:
    Europe, UE citizen
    Yes and not: certainly, whatever is my IT knowledge and skills, I agree that it's vain to worry about what I can't control. But I would not say " unhealthy obsession ": freedom is also privacy, it's natural to require it, also if it is no more achievable.
     
  17. illumination

    illumination Guest

    Indeed :D

    I find Freedom & Privacy to both be an illusion, unless you live completely off the grid, self sustainable, you really have neither.
     
  18. blacknight

    blacknight Registered Member

    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2007
    Posts:
    3,342
    Location:
    Europe, UE citizen
    Agree. I only meant that however privacy is a human right. At least in democracy. It should be. Sigh.
     
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.