How to be Anonymous Online 2016

53 Pages·2016·0.38 MB·English

by  A M Eydie

How to be Anonymous Online
Step-by-Step Anonymity with Tor, Tails, Bitcoin and Writeprints
(February 2016)

By A M Eydie

Copyright © A M Eydie
All Rights Reserved
2016
Table of Contents
Preface
Preview
WARNING, DISCLAIMER OR WHATEVER...
Section: Build A Toolbox
Section: Up and Running
Section: Safe Updates and PGP Program Authentication
Section: PGP/GPG – Everything you want to know
Section: Email, Chatting, Messaging
Section: Writeprints – They will identify those other anonymous netizens... but
not you
Section: Bitcoin is NOT Anonymous
The Great Flaw – You are not Stealth, You are Secure
In Closing
The following works are cited in these instructions:
Preface
Why publish a new guide for 2016?
Since publishing the original How to be Anonymous Online guide in
February 2013, I have made updates almost monthly. While this ensured that
those who purchased the guide were buying relevant information, eventually the
monthly tweaks to that information left them with partially outdated
instructions. To make up for this, I did two things. First, I posted the updates as
blog posts on my website howtobeanonymousonline.info. Second, I periodically
asked Amazon to allow those that already owned the guide to download an
updated version.
While blog updates are useful and ensure everyone stays in the loop,
someone that purchased the guide in 2013 has the headache of going through
three years of posts to see what has changed. As for Amazon, they usually deny
my requests to send out free, updated versions to those that already own the
guide. When Amazon has approved my request (which has happened once in
three years), it has been eight weeks before they make the update available.
That brings us to this 2016 version of the guide. Those of you that
purchased How to be Anonymous Online six months ago will not find this guide
to be much different than the one you already own. Those of you that purchased
How to be Anonymous Online three years ago will find that the 2016 edition is
a whole new animal. And, those of you that are buying this guide for the first
time have an up-to-date and entirely relevant set of instructions on How to be
Anonymous Online.
***
I know these instructions will be purchased by anonymity seekers of many
levels. Here is where I am coming from in writing this guide and what you stand
to gain.
First, this guide is $4.99. There is something worth $4.99 in this for 95% of
you. For beginners, you will be totally anonymous online in two hours (and that
is giving you time for a cigarette break). For post-beginners, you will discover
some little, yet important, detail(s), like a wrong setting in Tor, that will blow
your cover if uncorrected. After all, Tor and Tails DO NOT come preconfigured
for total anonymity (f.y.i., there is more to this guide than Tor). Remember, if
you have one, single, tiny, little hole in your system, you are NOT anonymous.
If you are a know-it-all anonymity expert hacker computer science grad student,
you do not need this guide, so feel free to move on. Again, this guide is only
$4.99. You probably earn that in 15 minutes at work. Amazon will even give
you a refund if you think this whole thing is a total waste.
Second, it is easy to be anonymous once you know how, but it is a pain in
the ass when you don't. For $4.99, I will take the pain out of your ass. In the last
ten years many anonymity "game changers," like Tor, Tails, and Bitcoin, have
come about… However, they have flaws. Tor and Tails need some
modifications to be secure. Bitcoin is not anonymous in its current form. It does
not even pretend to be anonymous. It is pseudonymous… This is a HUGE
difference. I talk about why this matters and how Bitcoin can be anonymous
shortly with modifications YOU will make (and no, not "Bit-Laundry"
services).
Third, PGP Encryption is confusing. I break it down into short step-by-step
instructions, saving hours of figuring it out yourself ($4.99 to save a few
stressful hours of your life is a good deal).
Fourth, this is not a book you read these are instructions you follow. If
you are looking for a book to spend the day reading by the fire, do not buy these
instructions. If you read these instructions in 30 minutes, and then complain that
this 'book' merely says install Tails, you did not read this page, AND you did
not follow the instructions. It will take you a couple of hours to build a solid
system. If you want to spend $4.99 to do things the right way the first time
instead of spending days searching Google and browsing forums trying to figure
this stuff out yourself (and still leaving holes in your system), purchase these
instructions. If you build your kid a doll house, you do not want a book about
doll houses, you just want instructions for building a doll house. For $4.99, I am
telling you what to do without asking you to subscribe to a proxy service, buy
software or trust a third party.
Fifth, I post all updates on my blog. I make updates often, and there is no
reason you should have to buy a new copy to stay "in-the-know." As new
technologies are developed, new shortcomings are discovered (like how your
mega-strong encryption will be broke in 5 years), and spelling mistakes are
corrected :/ I will share them with you.
Preview
This manual is written:
1. In 1,2,3 step format
2. With concise, yet thorough, instructions
3. For beginners using a DVD bootable PC with a DVD burner
I will teach you how to:
1. Use someone else's computer without them knowing
2. Browse the internet anonymously
3. Circumvent Windows without altering anything on the system
4. Make an email account that actually is anonymous
5. Use PGP Encryption the right way (I make this simple)
6. Taunt Kim Jong-Un
I will show you that Bitcoin is NOT Anonymous and how that is about to
change.
I will provide you with future updates.
I believe in the “Keep It Simple Stupid” methodology. This manual details
exactly what you need to get what you want, no more, no less. I wrote this so
you could be anonymous today instead of spending the next week reading
everything you find on Google and, in the end, still not know how to implement
the proper steps.
The problem I've seen in other books and online instructions is they give
you a bunch of sources and programs for anonymity, but they do not tie all the
loose ends together. For instance, you might buy anonymity software, but God
knows what a totally unrelated program in Windows is still tracking and saving
to your hard drive. Besides that, if you want to use a work computer, they
certainly are not going to allow you to install anonymity software. Moreover,
maybe, you do not want to encrypt your hard drive because that looks
suspicious. You need to run straight from a DVD, Flash Drive or Micro SD card
outside of Windows altogether. I will even show you how to boot with a flash
drive on old computers that typically will not do so.
Let’s tie up those loose ends.
----------
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Here are a couple of important points regarding Online
Anonymity:
1. Disabling Cookies is USELESS – You are still traceable through
your digital fingerprints
2. Using an IP Proxy Service is BAD – It routes all your activity
through a central source that can track you
3. Logging into a computer is BAD – It leaves a record that you were
there
4. Subscribing to an Anonymity Service is BAD – You are giving out
your name, credit card, etc. to buy your anonymity… You are not
anonymous if you have to share personal information!
5. Creating an anonymous Yahoo, Gmail, etc. account is BAD – Just
ask General Petraeus how well this works
6. JavaScript is BAD – This is a prime vehicle for transporting malware
into your system
7. Super-Cookies are BAD – They regenerate deleted cookies, are
stealthy and hard to delete
8. Digital Fingerprints are REALLY BAD – Advertisers have begun
using digital fingerprints to track an individual's activity. Digital
Fingerprints are pulled by gathering the data your system provides
websites, such as installed fonts, browser extensions and their micro-
versions, operating system and its updates, time zone, and such. While
individual bits of this information are not particularly dangerous,
collectively, they are compiled to create a traceable and absolute
"digital fingerprint."
9. Bitcoin is NOT Anonymous – Other books tell you that Bitcoins are
Anonymous or that you can use “Bitcoin Laundry” services to cover
your tracks. I will show why they are wrong and what technology is in
the works to fix this.
10. You Have Writeprints – Writeprints are a means of identifying an
author solely from the characteristics of her written work. With the
ability for individuals to mask IP addresses and minimize digital
fingerprints, writeprinting is often the only method available to
identify the author.
Don't worry, we are going to work around these.
WARNING, DISCLAIMER OR WHATEVER...
Do not be a fool. None of this is 100%.
To my knowledge, as of July 14, 2015, no one following my instructions
has faced an exploit. Since I update these instructions regularly to reflect
changes in technology, weaknesses that develop will see rectification quickly
and accordingly.
Unfortunately, everything has flaws, especially software. The most popular,
and probably most secure, software for online anonymity is Tor. The most
popular operating system for online anonymity is Tails. These are the heart and
nervous system of these instructions. The strength of these programs comes
from the ongoing development of each and their open code. When good guys
find flaws, work to rectify them begins immediately. When bad guys find flaws,
they may be exploited indefinitely.
If being anonymous online is a hobby, this is the way to go. If being
anonymous online is a way to restrict corporate advertisers from tracking your
online life, this is the way to go. If you hate the fact that some governments are
collectively spying on you for no reason, this is a way to make a point that you
are not blindly submitting and a way to complicate their efforts.
The great length that people must go to break these systems hints that they
work well. However, if you want a foolproof, 100% certain way to avoid the
prying eyes of every entity, there is no solution for you. There are organizations
with thousands of people dedicated to tracking and watching you. If you want to
use Tor to bad mouth Vladimir Putin, you should know that the Russian
Ministry of Internal Affairs has a 3.9 million ruble reward for developing
methods to identify you. If for nothing more than bragging rights, there are
academics and hackers that simply want to be the first to publicize mistakes. In
fact, a couple of researchers from Carnegie Mellon University gained a huge
amount of attention for their attempts to de-anonymize Tor users in 2014.
These are advanced methods for protecting your anonymity. I take you
through detailed steps, far more than you are likely to find in one place online,
to authenticate your software. I think the sections on authenticating your system
are the most overlooked, yet most valuable aspect of this guide. However, if you
are looking for a way to evade every entity in existence, I do not know what to
tell you.
Nothing I say, do, provide, link to or recommend is guaranteed to protect
your anonymity. Whether it is tomorrow or thirty years from now, every
security measure will eventually be compromised. That is the power of
technology. Frankly, if you can sue me for it, I am telling you that I am not
guaranteeing it; therefore, it is at your risk to follow or do anything that I write
in this manual.