Basics

I've been asked by friends who are not technical for some basic advice regarding security. Though definitely not extensive, here is a start:


Life in General:

- Don't use the same name for online communication you want masked that you use ANYWHERE else on the Internet. Pick a new one that is completely unrelated to you or any other profiles you use anywhere else.

- Be mindful about the kinds of information you reveal about yourself, even while using a pseudonym. Even if no single post personally identifies you, over time you may reveal enough facts about yourself to make it easier to identify you -- if not identifying you outright.

- When protesting in real life, don't talk about what identity you use online. Nobody needs to know that information. Keep your friggin' mask on. Resist the temptation to make protests a "social" gathering. We've had a number of examples where socializing outside of protests has led to drama later.

- Don't drive to a protest if you don't have to. Vehicle license plates and VIN numbers = you getting identified waaaaay too easily. Walk. Take public transit. If that's not possible, at least park far enough away to not be obvious and walk or take transit for the last bit to the protest location. No need to be paranoid, but if you did take a car, be vigilant when returning to it to assure you aren't being observed.

- Have a camera or video recorder on you when doing something Anon related. At the very least, designate one person in your group to be responsible for recording the second anything fishy takes place. NEVER BE ALONE AND NEVER BE WITHOUT SOMEONE WHO CAN RECORD EVENTS.

It's not about being uber-paranoid and making it impossible to identify you. Anyone, with sufficient resources, can probably figure out who you are unless you've taken massive precautions to protect your identity. It's about making it just difficult enough, and time consuming enough, that it's not worth the effort. Don't be the low-hanging fruit.

Phone - http://no-geolocation.blogspot.com/p/how-to-disable-geolocationgps-on.html and http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/vibe/id433067417?mt=8

Car - http://www.logictoyz.com/security-/signals-jammer-blocker/car-anti-tracker-gps-signal-jammer-blocker-.htmL

Browser -

- Don't repeatedly use the same password - use unique passwords for each site. This will limit the damage if any of your accounts, anywhere, are compromised. (see http://strongpasswordgenerator.com/ - change at least one of the characters before using the resulting password)

Using Tor in Order to Surf Anonymously

https://www.torproject.org/projects/torbrowser.html.en
The Tor Browser Bundle lets you use Tor on Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux without needing to install any software. It can run off a USB flash drive, comes with a pre-configured web browser, and is self-contained. The Tor IM Browser Bundle additionally allows instant messaging and chat over Tor.

Want Tor to really work? ...then please don't just install it and go on. You need to change some of your habits, and reconfigure your software! Tor by itself is NOT all you need to maintain your anonymity. There are several major pitfalls to watch out for: https://www.torproject.org/download/download.html.en

Add - HTTPS Everywhere https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
HTTPS Everywhere is a Firefox extension produced as a collaboration between The Tor Project and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. It encrypts your communications with a number of major websites.

Add - Foxy Proxy - http://getfoxyproxy.org/
IP proxies - http://anon-proxies.com/ or http://www.publicproxyservers.com/proxy/list_avr_time1.html

Add - AdBlockPlus - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/adblock-plus/

(Advanced) Add - No Script - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/noscript/

Purchasing -
Instructions for setting up an anonymous paypal.

1. You can go to just about any store and buy a pre-paid VISA card for various amounts. CVS and many other pharmacy style stores will have them.

2. Create a new email address, there are several websites that also specialize in temporary addresses. Clear your cookies if you've ever used the email site your going to use before. Use tor and register a new email.

3. Create an account on paypal using a made up name, address, etc using this new email address, and linking your prepaid CC as your primary form of payment. You will want to do this via tor as well. I will stress again that if you have used paypal before in the browser you are currently using you should clear your cookies before you do this.

4. Paypal will make a few transactions that you will need to verify. The giftcard will have a website address on it that you can use to view transaction information. Once these paypal charges arrive, verify your paypal account. Visit the prepaid site via tor as well.

So now you have an anonymous paypal account to purchase with.

Computer -

- Encrypt any folder you store delicate/personal information on. T r u e C r y p t - Free open-source disk encryption software for Windows 7/Vista/XP, Mac OS X, and Linux - http://www.truecrypt.org/

- In order to be truly anonymous on a computer you need to get more technical. Please see the instructions here: http://forums.whyweprotest.net/threads/how-to-increase-your-anonymity-using-a-vm-and-vpn.33073/