15 Minutes of Online Anonymity

[Konrad Hartmann]

I found this on the Reporters without Borders website:
Fifteen minutes of online anonymity | We Fight Censorship

The idea of it is to provide journalists (and anyone else) with a means of at least short-term surveillance-free communication. There are a lot of techy people on the forum, so I was curious as to what you guys think of it.

They also have an Online Survival Kit:
Online Survival Kit | We Fight Censorship

 

[stonehart]

Not a bad blog on how to keep your net footprint small but If remaining relatively Anonymous is what you are really wanting this little list of mine will help just that little bit more.

There is only one browser you should be using these days if you wish to have an almost non existent net footprint and that is Firefox.

Recommended extensions to minimize tracking and enhance browser security:

Adblock Plus: Adblock Plus - Surf the web without annoying ads!
EasyList and EasyPrivacy: The Official EasyList Website
BetterPrivacy: BetterPrivacy :: Add-ons for Firefox
Blender: meh/blender · GitHub
Clear Console: Clear Console :: Add-ons for Firefox
DoNotTrackMe: Abine - Online Privacy Starts Here
Disconnect: Make the web faster, more private, and more secure | Disconnect 2 | Disconnect
FireGloves: Cross-browser fingerprinting test 2.0
Flashblock: mozdev.org - flashblock: index
Ghostery: Ghostery
HTTPS Everywhere: HTTPS Everywhere | Electronic Frontier Foundation
NoScript: NoScript - JavaScript/Java/Flash blocker for a safer Firefox experience! - what is it? - InformAction
Redirect Cleaner: Redirect Cleaner :: Add-ons for Firefox
RequestPolicy: Firefox addon for privacy and security - RequestPolicy by Justin Samuel
Self-Destructing Cookies: Self-Destructing Cookies :: Add-ons for Firefox
TrackMeNot: TrackMeNot

Recommended search engines for private inquires:

Startpage HTTPS Privacy Search Engine: Add Startpage to your Browser
Ixquick HTTPS Privacy Search Engine: Add Ixquick to your Browser
DuckDuckGo (HTTPS/SSL): DuckDuckGo (HTTPS / SSL) :: Add-ons for Firefox

Miscellaneous extensions:

Cryptocat (secure communication): Cryptocat
EPUBReader: EPUBReader - Read ePub just in Firefox
MD5 Reborned Header: MD5 Reborned Hasher | Free software downloads at SourceForge.net
Tor Flashproxy Badge: Tor Flashproxy Badge :: Add-ons for Firefox

Resources for digital privacy and security:

How-to stop getting tracked in your Browser (HTML): Fix Tracking!
Crypto Privacy Copy Pasta (HTML): Crypto Privacy Copy Pasta
CryptoParty Handbook (PDF/EPUB): CryptoPartyHandbook - CryptoParty
How to Bypass Internet Censorship (HTML/PDF/EPUB): How to Bypass Internet Censorship

LEARN TO PROXY!!!!

I saw he mentioned TOR in his blog... to be blunt ... stay off it unless you really know what you are doing and have all the security holes client side fixed.
Aside from the obvious hackers etc what you will find in this lower layer can be generally distasteful.... The hidden wiki is part of this ... so use a proxy or say hi to the FBI.

Although I have studied Tor and its use I have never used it and never will... it was interesting but for me nothing more than that.

Also note that if you implement all of the measures on the list above you are either extremely paranoid or genuinely have something to hide.

I only use Ad blocker plus, ghostery, and better privacy for the simple expedient of keeping cookies and trackers in check.

 

[Randall]

I don't recall exactly where I read this at the moment, but I read someplace that all "Military Grade" really is, is an algorithm that only the military can decode, and that there is some law that says all public encryption algorithms have to include a special universal key that is registered with the government so that they can be deciphered by security agencies. So basically, if it's the feds you want to try to hide your data from, you might as well forget it unless you use some so-called "illegal" cryptographic method. Another tidbit that makes me wonder is this one:

This device complies with Part 15, of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to two conditions:
(1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and
(2) this device must accept any interference received including interference that may cause undesired operation.

Why would they make a law that says that your electronics must be able to be jammed or knocked out by something like an EMP? Curious isn't it.

 

[Konrad Hartmann]

I only use Ad blocker plus, ghostery, and better privacy for the simple expedient of keeping cookies and trackers in check.

Thanks for all the information. Yeah, currently I just use Firefox, Ghostery, Adblock, and No Script. Ghostery surprised me. I had no idea how many trackers there are.

 

[stonehart]

Thanks for all the information. Yeah, currently I just use Firefox, Ghostery, Adblock, and No Script. Ghostery surprised me. I had no idea how many trackers there are.

Yeah much more than you think I know.

 

[Randall]

Thanks for all the information. Yeah, currently I just use Firefox, Ghostery, Adblock, and No Script. Ghostery surprised me. I had no idea how many trackers there are.

I'm not sure if there is an application that does this for you, but if you watch YouTube videos or other online media players that use lousy Flash, they often want to store tracking info on your PC via the Flash player, which essentially sidesteps your anonymity software. To stop that you have to go into the Flash player settings and switch it to block it from storing information on your PC and to never prompt you, or it will keep popping up a stupid message.

 

[stonehart]

I'm not sure if there is an application that does this for you, but if you watch YouTube videos or other online media players that use lousy Flash, they often want to store tracking info on your PC via the Flash player, which essentially sidesteps your anonymity software. To stop that you have to go into the Flash player settings and switch it to block it from storing information on your PC and to never prompt you, or it will keep popping up a stupid message.

Correct

For those that are security minded like myself I have a habit of looking into and learning what every thing I load on my computers can do and possible security issues that can come from their use.

I would urge every one to work this way these days.

The list I provided is a good starting point but you really do not need to get to tinfoil about it all where the government is concerned.
Frankly it is not the government you should be concerned about in your day to day use but those that would like your personal information for other reasons.