Internet Anonymity & General Security Tools

[Mazzaroth]

Disposable e-mails for anonymous sign up:
https://www.guerrillamail.com/

A cool thing about this is that if you ever need to use the email again, you have the option of typing in whatever you want the e-mail to be, and then it can re-expire. Most popular websites have the e-mail extensions for this service banned.

Anonymous web-browsing:
https://www.torproject.org/

Can be slow depending on your ISP and traffic, but still good for "emergency use". More information about what it does on the website.

Free SMS messaging with real phone numbers:
http://www.pinger.com/tfw/
http://www.textnow.com

Both of these provide real phone numbers and can send and receive texts. This is good for when you need to provide a phone number when signing up to a website. The downside is that popular websites like Google and Facebook etc have already banned the service.


Peerblock (IP blocking utility):
http://www.peerblock.com/releases

This blocks IP addresses from various tracking websites and companies. It also allows you to block virtually any IP you want (some may suggest PeerGuardian instead, and I suppose it's all up to preference). This is good if you are paranoid about hackers, cookies, or any kind of unauthorized access to your computer in general.


Other useful programs for general security (I'll post only the commercial ones because I'm non-offensively assuming people won't know how to use the other kinds):

Avast! Antivirus
Advanced Systemcare
Spybot: Search and Destroy
AVG

Antivirus programs that I do not recommend:
PandaCloud Antivirus
ESET NOD32 Antivirus
Sunbelt (Vipre) Antivirus
COMODO Antivirus
I'd put Norton here too, but maybe it's just because it's too imposing.

 

[korvus]

Thank you for posting this.

I use tor on a daily basis and it is truly awesome. It can be used for getting past firewalls as well as anonymous internets use.
It's beautiful when after I install tor the tor daemon immediately starts up. There's even a utility (torify) that allows you to run any applications that use network to run with tor, but I believe that's only for *nix.

I definitely have to give guerrillamail.com a go.

 

[Jonathan Jarvis]

Dear Mazzaroth,

Many thanks for the info and the links. Going to have a play with them over the next few days.

 

[cutekittycat]

adding to that of anonymity (there was a thread earlier, i think): do not use google search

 

[Ubogion]

i find tor with proxy browser and linux live cd leave no trace no matter what i use.

 

[Lovely Jar]

I was looking through the computer forum for a recommended antivirus program and found this thread linked from the "I think I have A Hacker..." thread.

I have a question if you will Mazzaroth. Or for whomever may be very keen on computers.

I'm looking to the Avast free AV. I formerly had Norton.
Is Spybot an added benefit given the free Avast doesn't cover that much in protection areas? Or is it overmuch?

And the torproject I've heard about. However, what will that do to membership here when it changes or masks our IP? Don't forums get suspicious when there's a masker detected?

Per email, I saw a link when seeking out email providers to, Hushmail.com.
Do you have any experience with them?

Disposable e-mails for anonymous sign up:
https://www.guerrillamail.com/

A cool thing about this is that if you ever need to use the email again, you have the option of typing in whatever you want the e-mail to be, and then it can re-expire. Most popular websites have the e-mail extensions for this service banned.

Anonymous web-browsing:
https://www.torproject.org/

Can be slow depending on your ISP and traffic, but still good for "emergency use". More information about what it does on the website.

Free SMS messaging with real phone numbers:
Textfree Web for Free Unlimited Texting From Your Computer
TextNow

Both of these provide real phone numbers and can send and receive texts. This is good for when you need to provide a phone number when signing up to a website. The downside is that popular websites like Google and Facebook etc have already banned the service.


Peerblock (IP blocking utility):
Releases – Peerblock Site

This blocks IP addresses from various tracking websites and companies. It also allows you to block virtually any IP you want (some may suggest PeerGuardian instead, and I suppose it's all up to preference). This is good if you are paranoid about hackers, cookies, or any kind of unauthorized access to your computer in general.


Other useful programs for general security (I'll post only the commercial ones because I'm non-offensively assuming people won't know how to use the other kinds):

Avast! Antivirus
Advanced Systemcare
Spybot: Search and Destroy
AVG

Antivirus programs that I do not recommend:
PandaCloud Antivirus
ESET NOD32 Antivirus
Sunbelt (Vipre) Antivirus
COMODO Antivirus
I'd put Norton here too, but maybe it's just because it's too imposing.

 

[Lovely Jar]

OK, since noone has cared to reply I thought I"d update.
I've gone ahead and taken advantage of some of the links in this thread.

I wanted to update this to forewarn anyone who is considering the Guerillamail email account that is listed above.

DON'T DO IT~!

Anyone who knows the address of that Guerillamail account can access your email.
That's about as secure as having no windows or doors on your home.
The address lasts forever but the mail that is received in the Inbox is deleted after 1 hour whether you check it or not.

I checked out Hushmail and they are superior by far to Guerilla.
Hushmail.com
You can even encrypt your messages, sign your email. And it's free! You do have to sign in every three weeks or the account will close unless you purchase that former address in a subscription form.

 

[EphesiaNZ]

i find tor with proxy browser and linux live cd leave no trace no matter what i use.

Just to inform people here of what Ubogion is possibly referring to is probably this,

The Amnesic Incognito Live System

Burn to a CD, boot of it and you have a TOR based system. Once you shutdown your system all session activity has gone as it was in memory.

 

[EphesiaNZ]

adding to that of anonymity (there was a thread earlier, i think): do not use google search

A lot of people are starting to use Duck Duck Go in order to remove fears of Google spying on theirs searches.

 

[EphesiaNZ]

Also with TOR (on Windows) make sure you have an up to date version of Firefox. Version 17 ESR of Firefox was reported as being the NSA's best friend when used with TOR...

 

[High Fidelity]

I'd like to add that with TOR, it never has been safe, it isn't currently safe and it never will be safe.

A fairly decent disposable email however is hushmail.

 

[EphesiaNZ]

Yeah, I have little faith in using TOR considering it was designed by the US govt/military in the first place. Not only that but, its more than possible that the NSA have setup their own end nodes or have infiltrated nodes setup by TOR users.

I think the safest email system is one where you physically have your mail server at home with you and have gpg signed emails. Alas, most of us can't or won't be able to do this and will always be at the mercy of those who want to abuse the system.

My ISP has its email hosted with Yahoo and has been subject to several attacks and left users compromised. To give them "credit" they have just announced they will use SSL to secure email transactions... Yes, about 10 years too late but, a step in the right direct i guess. Needless to say, I do not use their email system and have my own so that I have full control over what happens.

 

[HantsUK]

If you want anonymity then do not use the internet.

I guess the question is: who or what are you trying to protect against? Your government or authorities? A foreign government? Big companies? Hackers? Criminals? Your boss? Family? Newspapers?

You can encrypt email messages, add public key encryption (to prove it's from you and hasn't been tampered with), but who you are sending to (or getting emails from) can be just as interesting to a third party as the content. And that's difficult to hide!

No matter what precautions you take, they are only as good as your recipients' precautions.

If you are afraid that one of the big email providers is monitoring your emails (eg for advertising), they could still (in theory) do this even if you don't use them. They could do it by looking at emails sent to you (or received from you) by their subscribers.

 

[snowfam]

If you woul like to see how little privacy you have on the internet, use mozilla firefox and get the addon calle collusion. After you surf while using collusion you'll never feel safe on the net again (and this is just the people you can actually watch watching you). Collusion is not available for mobile so you have to be a pc user to take advantage of it.

 

[EphesiaNZ]

If you want anonymity then do not use the internet.

Yep classic response . However, your anonymity is not even guaranteed sans internet. Governments and organisations will always keep stuff about you which may migrate to other entities which have paid to use it.

Also, not being on the internet these days is possible but is about as useful as a chocolate teapot.

I guess the question is: who or what are you trying to protect against? Your government or authorities? A foreign government? Big companies? Hackers? Criminals? Your boss? Family? Newspapers?

I guess the answer is quite simple, everyone on the net unless I want to share info with them openly.

No matter what precautions you take, they are only as good as your recipients' precautions.

Not really different to real life, anytime you impart info of any nature in whatever form that may be, you are trusting the recipient that they will act with discretion.

If you are afraid that one of the big email providers is monitoring your emails (eg for advertising), they could still (in theory) do this even if you don't use them. They could do it by looking at emails sent to you (or received from you) by their subscribers.

Yes and it does happen but that's the risk we accept when using the net today. At the very least users should be asking themselves if they can be safer and more secure on the net - this is not only for incoming data but for that which they send and interact with on such sites as Facebook etc...

 

[FreedByte]

I have a different recommendation that doesn't require tor because I think tor is overkill and unnecessary. A warning in advance that some of these tools can cause problems if you don't know what you're doing, so use at your own risk. I recommend:

Browser

Mozilla Firefox - if you are using firefox with flash, set flash to ask before use.

Browser Addons

Minimal inconvenience

HTTPS Everywhere - This addon enables an encrypted connection to websites you visit in your browser whenever possible (it displays https:// instead of http:// when it is connecting securely, and in Firefox displays a lock symbol), helping keep your connection secure. Unfortunately HTTPS isn't offered on CF, which means our passwords aren't being sent securely, but HTTPS is offered on a number of other websites.

Disconnect - This addon blocks trackers that are built into some web pages.


Higher - High inconvenience (fairly technical, will break many webpages)

NoScript - Allows you to only enable JavaScript, Java, and Flash for sites you trust. I believe you are not supposed to use it with Tor.

Request Policy - Lets you control which cross-site requests are allowed by sites you visit.

Operating System

Something linux-based, but only install if you know what you are doing so you don't lose or break anything. Ubuntu and Linux Mint are good for beginners, though I cannot recommend Unity, the default desktop environment on Ubuntu.


Email Client

Mozilla Thunderbird is great


I have plenty of other recommendations for software but that's probably good for now

 

[FreedByte]

If you woul like to see how little privacy you have on the internet, use mozilla firefox and get the addon calle collusion. After you surf while using collusion you'll never feel safe on the net again (and this is just the people you can actually watch watching you). Collusion is not available for mobile so you have to be a pc user to take advantage of it.

I'm gonna get this to see if my configuration is actually working

Also, is it called Lightbeam now?

 

[EphesiaNZ]

Disconnect

- This addon blocks trackers that are built into some web pages.

You shouldn't need a no tracker addon these days as Firefox and Chrome web browsers have a "do not track " option in their settings - just set and forget.

Something linux-based

Indeed or even OpenBSD for the hard core geeks

Mozilla Thunderbird is great

Yes, with GPG option possibly too.

 

[FreedByte]

You shouldn't need a no tracker addon these days as Firefox and Chrome web browsers have a "do not track " option in their settings - just set and forget.

I think I'd disagree with that because do not track doesn't have to be honored. Disconnect does end up indicating that it is blocking things for me, and I do have do not track enabled.

Indeed or even OpenBSD for the hard core geeks

Any benefits over linux?

 

[EphesiaNZ]

Any benefits over linux?

Depends how you define benefits.

If you want a fancy desktop or ease of use then its Linux. OpenBSD is security focused, each release is security audited. OpenBSD's firewall, pf, is arguably the best there. Other things OpenBSD are famous for are OpenSSH (critical for most people) and OpenNTPD plus the upcoming OpenSMTPD which I can see becoming the de facto mail server people will use.