How do You Protect Your Online Privacy? 129
P asks: "In the light of the recent discussions about on-line privacy: What can one do to protect his/her on-line privacy, while still having a enjoyable web experience? For example, are you using PGP for all your emails and Zfone for all your VOIP traffic? Or are there better ways of protecting oneself? Share your tips and tricks."
Easy. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Easy. (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Easy. (Score:2)
Re:Easy. (Score:1)
Re:Easy. (Score:3, Funny)
I put on my robe and wizard's hat... [bash.org]
Re:Easy. (Score:1)
Forget it (Score:5, Insightful)
Want to feel safe on line? Write your Congressman, tell your friends about IP and privacy issues, affect a cultural change. As long as 51% of your friends are willing to trade freedom (theirs and yours) for security (mostly theirs), you're fscked.
Re:Forget it (Score:3, Insightful)
I understand that in an online community, privacy is a big issue. Just like condoms in schools are a big issue with soccer moms. However, in the overall scheme of things, there are a lot of areas that need to be fixed.
If you really want to make a change, start demanding term limits on the Senate and House.
Demand a Constitutional ammendment limiting the ammount of money a single person is able to contribute to a poli
yes about the F-22 (Score:2)
An F-35 with a laser might do OK against the F-22, but that toy isn't shipping yet.
Re:Forget it (Score:2, Informative)
First, we''re not going to be fighting F-16s, MiGs? Sus? Yeah. Mirages and ChengDus? Maybe. But not Fs. Anyway, it might be able to, I don't k
Eisenhower just a goddamn pinko (Score:2)
That's what Robert Welch (founder of the John Birch Society) argued [publiceye.org]: "Welch's famous book, The Politician, caused a stir even among many loyal Birch members who were shocked by Welch's assertion that President Dwight D. Eisenhower was "a dedicated conscious agent of the communist conspiracy.""
Got to love those conspiracists.Re:Forget it (Score:2)
We have those. Every two or six years (depending), the public gets to vote on whether they stay in office.
The kinds of term limits you're talking about are what lazy and ignorant voters ask for, so they don't have to get off their butts and figure out who needs to leave now. And legislative term limits don't do any good, because the professional bureaucrats who make up most of the government and have most of the r
Re:Forget it (Score:2)
Those states need those people. Mass knows that the one time every decade they need Kennedy, he'll be able to get face time on every network because he's a Kennedy. They know that his peers will listen beceuse if they don't, he'll talk to the lobyists and their campaign money will dry up.
Junior House and
Re:Forget it (Score:2)
The President has a term limit. Why shouldn't Congress?
The danger of that office gaining too much power is greater. For some reason the public is far more willing to giv
Re:Forget it (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Forget it (Score:1)
Electronic Frontier Foundation, Tor, & Privacy (Score:2, Troll)
I prefer Tor because it is affiliated with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). A page on the EFF website states, "A branch of the U.S. Navy uses Tor for open source intelligence gathering, and one of its teams used Tor while deployed in the Middle East recently . Law enforcement uses Tor for visiting or surveilling web sites without leaving government IP addresses in their web log
Re:Electronic Frontier Foundation, Tor, & Priv (Score:2, Interesting)
free the nerd inside you!
Re:Electronic Frontier Foundation, Tor, & Priv (Score:2)
Re:Electronic Frontier Foundation, Tor, & Priv (Score:1)
Re:Forget it (Score:1, Interesting)
I don't know where you're from, but here in the US if "they" want to tap my phone or see my data and pay records "they" just do it. Subpoenas are for people who hate America.
Remember kids: If you're not doing anything wrong, then the fact that you're gatheri
Re:Forget it (Score:2)
"They" are far less likely to want your data in the first place, if they don't see some interesting plaintext in the ether and trace it to you.
Easy! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Easy! (Score:1, Funny)
-Pete Koney
agreed (Score:1, Interesting)
And fuck grocery store 'discount cards'. I've found it is best to get a new card with application, then discard application and continue to use card. If the application is necessary, the store's address and name of "General Manager" usually works for as long as you need the card.
GPG and Thunderbird (Score:3, Interesting)
GPG hiccup (Score:2)
I use GPG, but so what? None of my friends do. (Score:2)
- promoting awareness of GPG (on those rare occasions when people ask me about the GPG signature block),
- using GPG for fun with fellow geeks I meet (but GPG is not mandatory --I mean, face it, I like you geeks and all, but no way am I going to exchange credit card numbers with you)
Right now I've got my wife set up to optionally have GPG available (via Enigmail on Thunderbird), but she's hardly usi
Re:I use GPG, but so what? None of my friends do. (Score:1)
You're 100% correct which is why I wish the major webmail providers would start looking at it. I think if its done well it can be very useful without getting in the way.
Re:I use GPG, but so what? None of my friends do. (Score:2)
GPG on Gmail == BAD (Score:2)
Ah NO. The point of using GPG for encryption is that the data is encrypted **BEFORE** it leaves your computer.
Do we really want Google's servers performing encryption/decryption on our email?
I think not.
built-in security? (Score:2, Interesting)
Why aren't all connections passed over ssl or ssh? I know it's a bit of overhead, but it's not that significant for modern desktops.
Why isn't it the norm to see web servers running SSL? Why is SSL reserved for only financial t
Re:built-in security? (Score:3, Interesting)
I suspect some netzis like China (Singapore?) would ban encrypted traffic if they could.
Re:built-in security? (Score:2)
And England and Australia.
The Clinton administration floated a bill that would mandate that the Feds keep in escrow "only accessible by subpoena or warrant" (yeah, right) all crypto keys.
Your slashdot id is low enough that you remember the Clipper chip, right? (And the Republican who lead the political charge against it?)
Re:built-in security? (Score:1)
Re:built-in security? (Score:1)
The problem with subpoenae is they're handed out like handbills. Just start a lawsuit, and you've got the power. Of course, you could plea the Fifth. I'm not sure if that's been ruled upon wrt cryptokeys.
Re:built-in security? (Score:2)
I'm with you for some stuff, but that's usually where verifying your identity is important. My webmail/imap host is SSL - https://www.fastmail.fm/ [fastmail.fm] but I have no idea who they actually are
Re:built-in security? (Score:2)
Browsers come with a limited number of root certificates. If they encounter a SSL connection not signed by one of these certificates, a dialog box pops up warning the user and asking if they wish to continue. Clearly, you don't want the browser implying that you're untrustworthy to your users, so you have to go out and get a certificate signed by Verisign or some similar company.
Large websites clearly don't have a problem with this. What's several hundred dollars to a
Re:built-in security? (Score:2)
http://www.cacert.org/ [cacert.org]
Re:built-in security? (Score:2)
http://www.cacert.org/ [cacert.org]
Bullshit! CaCert is not trusted by any browser with any marketshare above
The only free ssl certs you can get are usually limited to 30 days.
Re:built-in security? (Score:2)
Re:built-in security? (Score:1)
A secured-by-default network (Score:1, Informative)
tor (Score:3, Insightful)
i currently don't really worry about my email security (if someone wants to read my aunt's cookie recipes, thats fine by me). if i happened to be doing something important, i'd likely use some form of encryption, likely PGP or maybe something stronger.
The flaw in only using GPG for "important" stuff: (Score:4, Insightful)
This reminds me of a joke that takes place in a courtroom:
Prosecutor: Did you see this woman in New York?
Defendant: I refuse to answer that question!
Prosecutor: Did you see this woman in Chicago?
Defendant: I refuse to answer that question!
Prosecutor: Did you see this woman in Atlanta?
Defendant: What!? Atlanta?? I never saw her in Atlanta!
Moral of the story: if you don't pay attention to your email security except when you really need to, then when you do pay attention, someone else would also know to pay attention!
If someone wants to read my aunt's cookie recipes, that is not fine by me. Eat my {/dev/random}-XOR'd dust.
Re:The flaw in only using GPG for "important" stuf (Score:1)
Of course, you can just stop talking to your friends who don't install GPG and move on with your life.
this is easy... (Score:1, Funny)
Disable Cookies (Score:3, Informative)
I also use adblock to disable tracking sites. You know, hitbox.com and the like which use included URLs to track you by your IP address.
Re:Disable Cookies (Score:2)
Re:Disable Cookies (Score:4, Informative)
From
<script src="//images.slashdot.org/prototype.js?T_2_5_0_1
<script src="//images.slashdot.org/common.js?T_2_5_0_111a
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://a.as-us.falkag.net/dat/dlv/aslmain.js
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://an.tacoda.net/an/11711/slf.js">
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://a.as-us.falkag.net/dat/njf/104/slashd
<script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
<script type="text/javascript">
_uacct = "UA-32013-5";
urchinTracker();
</script>
Re:Disable Cookies (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Disable Cookies (Score:1)
Agreed on the satisfaction level. I use a local DNS server to block domains and all their wildcard subdomains of some of those bandwidth wasting "tracking" sites. Then the whole home network is "protected."
google.com is blocked by default by my NoScript in case they catch on, as you say. I never thought I'd like NoScript, but I've been pleasently surprised at it's ease of use and level of control. If there's a NoScript-type extension for your browser, you might find it useful too.
Happy surfing.
Simple (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Simple (Score:2)
You mean, it isn't??
Hmmm
Nah, I'll do it after I get back from the pub with our new equipment vendor.
My easy solution (Score:1)
Also, when anyone asks for my name, I tell them that my name is "Bob".
(btw... my post is supposed to be a joke)
Re:My easy solution (Score:2)
It is. Really.
Re:My easy solution (Score:2)
Re:My easy solution (Score:2)
Who wants Tinfoil ? (Score:2)
So you have to decide what is cost effective. For me, for most things, no security at all the the perferred option. I _want_ people to read my postings and email. I'm far more concerned with my msgs not being received/read than unauthorized people
Re:Who wants Tinfoil ? (Score:2)
Post your email account information. Server, username, password.
The ULTIMATE Solution (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:The ULTIMATE Solution (Score:2)
I don't (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:I don't (Score:3)
Heh-heh. You've never worked for a large company, have you?
Employee: "Hey, boss, this data's no good. Most people are just typing a-s-d-f for their names and addresses and registering fake info!"
Manager: "Yeah, but it's really important that we find out what they think of our site. Let's get them to take a customer survey after
The only was is to browse the web anonymously... (Score:5, Funny)
Here it is take it! (Score:4, Insightful)
1234 Anystreet
Anytown, CA
90210
(123)456-7890
DOB: 1/1/1900
email: aolsux@aol.com
Mothers maiden name: mommy
Easy to remember on any site I visit.
the moral of the story, NEVER give out true information to ANY online site.
You make exceptions on an as-needed basis.
(eg. bank, 1 or 2 trustworthy sites to shop from.)
Re:Here it is take it! (Score:1)
Re:Here it is take it! (Score:1)
Re:Here it is take it! (Score:2)
Re:Here it is take it! (Score:3, Interesting)
It lets you generate a "one-time use" number, with a limit on the amount and expiration date. Once that number is used, it can't be used again. I just used it to buy a radio for my Harley; the price was about $700 plus shipping, so I made the amount $800 and expiration date two months out.
Once the company uses that number, it's locked. I can go into ShopSafe and reclaim the u
Re:Here it is take it! (Score:2)
A better choice of ZIP code (Score:2)
Re:A better choice of ZIP code (Score:2)
Now I have to go and re-register everywhere.
Protection (Score:1)
Re:Protection (Score:1)
How do I protect my identity? (Score:3, Funny)
Whois records (Score:3, Interesting)
I sent him a mail explaining that it wasn't me sending the spam, and he wrote back apologising, then I explained to him all the information that I'd found including the google earth picture and he couldn't believe what I'd come up with by just roaming around the net.
My 8 years of internet usage.. (Score:2)
Out of site out of mind and common sense is the only way to survive.
Using a variety of tools... (Score:2, Informative)
For IRC, connect using SSL (If you trust the network admins. Even if you don't, still better than nothing) and perhaps through Tor as well. For email, anything PGP-ish.
Also, for protecting my files, I use TrueCrypt [truecrypt.org].
Re:Using a variety of tools... (Score:2)
I have had no major problems surfing anonymously using the service. Minor problems are certain pages not loading correctly due to CSS/cookies/etc. being blocked or mangled by the Anonymizer service. Most of those pages were places I did not need/want to browse anonymously anyway (/., banking, and others of that sort) so it wasn't tha
Re: (Score:1)
Re:Cookies (Score:2)
Unlike standard cookies however, every user of a PC has to use an online tool [macromedia.com] to change your privacy settings. There is no broswer control of this. I've found the easiest method is to nuke the shared objects folder on startup.
Easy (Score:1, Funny)
Another approach that works 100% of the time (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Another approach that works 100% of the time (Score:2)
(I ran for public office, so unfortunately, my address is now out there... for those who know where to look
The best... (Score:1)
Cross platform tools (Score:2, Informative)
Some cross platform tools I use both under Linux and Windows:
Important step (Score:2)
P works for CIA? FBI? NSA? SecSer? Homeland? (Score:2)
Email filtering. (Score:2)
I, like many of you have the ability to have anything@mydomain email addresses that i can use/create on the fly. So what I do is, whenever I register on a website or give my email address out to a third party, I enter/provide a unique address. my email address at slashdot is 'slashdot@mydomain', at amazon it's amazon@mydomain and for any business contact it's my companyname@mydomain - anyway you get the idea.
The instant I get spam sent to an address, I immedi
Re:Email filtering. (Score:1)
Re:Email filtering. (Score:1)
Technologies to use... (Score:5, Informative)
Secondly use encrypted filesystems for data you want to keep private. I can recomend encfs for Linux http://arg0.net/wiki/encfs [arg0.net]... it's easy to use and can be installed with yum in Fedora. It uses file-level encryption which makes possible incremental backups which retain the encryption.
If you want protection from being forced by a court to give up your key, take a look at http://www.truecrypt.org/ [truecrypt.org] . This is a filesystem that lets you keep multiple levels of data encrypted with different keys, and if you give up one key noone can know that there's more data hidden with another key.
For web browsing use Tor, http://tor.eff.or/ [tor.eff.or]. Tor is still under development and may not be secure against a focused attack on you specifically, but at least your ISP won't be able to easily spy on you and your IPSs logs (which as we know are being mass-analyzed by the NSA) won't show anything about your activity. Also tor is
Plus, here's a good trick for ensuring that your web browser cache, history, etc., can't be easily searched by someone who gets access to your computer... put them on an encrypted filesystem, as follows. Make a script that mounts an encrypted filesystem (asking for the passphrase), sets your HOME env var to the newly mounted fs, then starts Firefox (which now places its cache there because that's HOME), and unmounts the encrypted fs after Firefox exits. You should do this even if your entire home dir is also on an encrypted fs, because your normal home dir is likely to stay mounted for longer periods of time, so this way you separate the risk levels. And it's easy. An additional little-known trick for this: set the LOGNAME env var to something other than your username to let you run a second copy of Firefox on the same X display (so you can have an "insecure" and a "secure" one running at the same time).
Of course use GnuPG for secure email. The Thunderbird Enigmail extension makes it painless.
You should also give money to the EFF and run a Tor server if you can, to help maintain our ability to have some privacy.
Finally, if you are a hardcore libertarian and/or think we should have a truly free Internet, experiment with FreeNet http://freenetproject.org/ [freenetproject.org] and consider donating to its development. This project ran into some dead ends with scalability but the developers have taken a fresh approach and the new 0.7 dev version looks like it might be the start of something that could get big. They have a full-time programmer working on it paid by donations (and he's so dedicated to the ideal that his salary is the bare minimum he needs to live), so consider donating. (Btw., I'm not a libertarian in the political sense, but I think we need a strong counter-balance to the marching forces of fascism, so I donate to the Freenet project.)
GnuPG and TOR (Score:1)
Many people say "I will encrypt if I am sending/recieing something important/strange". It sounds reasonable, but this his way they (the ones who, legaly or illegaly, oversee) know when you send/recieve something (that you think is) "special" and to who. It's worse than not encrypting at all. They know that you have things to hide other than casual things (aunt's cookie recipe).
The poin
It's easy. (Score:2)
Why should VoIP need a server, anyway?!? (Score:2)
So, why should VoIP be any different... ie, after a directory lookup leads to a connection
between caller and callee?
(We're talking about the simple case of a 2-party conversation...)
Maybe Im getting old... (Score:1)
FF extensions and tor (Score:1)
The FF extensions I use are:
Protecting one's net.privacy. (Score:1)
Use a nym (Score:2)